“I’m sorry…” Kahn started to say, then stopped. “Go ahead…what were you going to say?”
“We didn’t know about Rudy but now that we do, it’s more important than ever that you do not go out alone until Reeve makes sure Rudy doesn’t have allies who might be willing to kill you in order to help him.”
Frowning, Kahn asked, “I thought you have him locked up?”
“We do…but I’m not worried about Rudy as much as I am about the pack’s enforcers. Right now, Reeve has them confined but he plans to release them as soon as we confirm none of them knows where your father is.”
“So what does that have to do with me? I’m missing something.”
“Look, right now, the Council regards you as the presumed Alpha…”
“Even though my father still hasn’t been caught?”
“Yes,” Heath said. “Reeve is acting as the Alpha for now, but when Josiah is captured—unless there’s a valid reason preventing you from assuming the role—Reeve will transfer the position to you.”
“But I don’t want it…doesn’t my wishes count for anything?”
“They do, but that’s a battle to fight in the future. That isn’t the problem right now.”
“Then what is? You’re not making any sense at all.”
“Right…okay, I’ll try to explain it. If Rudy has someone kill you, he’s next in line to be Alpha of the Silver Point pack, and…”
“The Council would allow that? How? According to the eyewitness, Rudy is just as guilty as my father.”
“Of course the Council would never permit it…but being the presumed Alpha gives him certain legal rights in the Courts,” Heath said.
“You mean he could get off?” Kahn asked.
“Maybe…who knows? But as the pack’s Alpha, Rudy has certain rights he doesn’t have as a pack’s second.”
“Holy shit! Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Kahn stared at Heath, suddenly realizing the impact it could have on his mother and sisters. “Fuck! That means my Alpha father also has those rights and could escape punishment.”
Sighing heavily, Heath nodded. “However, he’d have to have a damn good defense in order for him to beat the charges.”
“Like blaming Rudy,” Kahn mused.
“Yeah, but that’s unlikely to work because an eyewitness places Josiah at the scene, giving orders. He’d have to come up with something else.”
“Like someone drugged him?”
“Possible,” Heath conceded. “But without proof, I don’t think the Courts would buy it.”
“I wouldn’t put anything past my father,” Kahn replied, “especially if it meant getting out of the shitstorm he’s in.”
“I agree, but right now, I have to call Reeve and tell him about Rudy. Believe it or not, you are in serious danger…at least until Reeve clears every enforcer.”
“Yeah…well there may be others. Rudy basically ran everything because my father hated to deal with problems pack members had.”
“You mean he was acting like the Alpha?”
Shrugging, Kahn said, “I guess you could say that…but it wasn’t always that way. It was different when I was young. My father knew what was going on with every pack member, but once Rudy was hired, things slowly began to change with Rudy handling not only the enforcers but the day-to-day stuff too. When I questioned my father about it, he told me it gave him more time for more important things.”
Heath contemplated everything he’d learned from Kahn and the only logical conclusion wasn’t going to sit well with Reeve. Instead of treating Rudy as a secondary player—one who simply carried out Josiah’s orders—he was, instead, a major one. And that fact shifted the focus of the entire investigation because Heath would bet his last dollar that Rudy was just as crooked as Josiah. Looking over at Kahn, he finally saw what Reevehad surmised—here was a man with honor, one who tried his damnedest to do the right thing even when his father had tried his hardest to corrupt him. Kahn was exactly what the Silver Point pack needed in a leader, but that decision would have to wait for another day. “I cannot stress enough the danger you are in, so please, let me and my men protect you and your family.”
Kahn searched Heath’s face. The man truly feared for Kahn’s safety and he now had to admit it was justified. Knowing his death could only help Rudy escape paying the price for the crimes he’d committed, he’d now do everything possible to stop that from happening. “I will…and I promise I won’t leave again…but I need you to understand, there are things I must accomplish in order to make sure my mother and sisters have a home.”
“Understood. You tell me what it is and I’ll figure out a way for you to do it…deal?”
