After that, he’d spent the days roaming the streets, looking through dumpsters for something to eat and trying to find a safe place to sleep. He did pretty well until he didn’t. Homeless, with only the clothes on his back, Cain was ready to give up until he met Sarge who took him under his wing and taught him how to survive.
Pushing those memories away, Cain sat down on the edge of the bed, running both hands over the covers. This couldn’t be happening—at least not to him. ‘Life is hard, and then you die,’ Sarge used to say. He hadn’t really understood what it meant until his friend was killed one night protecting Cain from two guys high on whatever they’d taken. Holding his dying friend in hisarms, Cain begged him not to leave, but like his parents, Sarge did.
Angry at himself for dwelling in the past, Cain jerked his hands off the bed and looked up at Steel. “What are my chores? Jackson said I had to work so I’d like to start doing them.”
Steel had seen many emotions fly across Cain’s face before they suddenly stopped. And he realized by the abrupt question, Cain had turned off the memory faucet of his emotions. “Jackson wants you to settle in first, starting with getting you some clothes. Come.” Walking into the sitting room, Steel headed to the computer on the desk and turned it on. “This is yours…do you know how to use it?”
Nodding, Cain stared at the laptop. “I do…but I’m not very good at it.”
“Neither was I when I started, but Zane can help you.”
Glancing up, Cain asked, “Who’s Zane?”
“He’s our resident computer geek…and another one of Jackson’s brothers. But, in the meantime, let me get you set up.”
Cain watched as the Alpha Mate’s fingers moved so quickly across the keyboard that it was hard to follow and, after several moments, he gave up. His method was more hunt and peck…slow, but that way he kept mistakes to a minimum. Shifting his gaze, he examined the room, concluding it had to be the sitting room Alpha Mate had mentioned. To him, it looked more like a living room and was larger than most in the foster homes he grew up in.
“There,” Steel said, rising. “I’ve set up accounts for you at several stores so all you have to do is pick out theitems you like and put them in the shopping cart. When you have everything you want, click the checkout button and they’ll be shipped here.”
“Huh?”
“Here…have a seat,” Steel said, moving out of the way.
Cain did as he was told, but unfortunately, that didn’t clarify anything. Staring at the screen didn’t help either. Embarrassed at his lack of knowledge, he murmured, “I’m tired…can I do this later?”
“No problem,” Steel replied. “I’ll probably be in the kitchen when you get up.”
“Thanks,” Cain muttered, holding his breath until he heard the bedroom door close. Then exhaling, he turned back to the computer, closing it so the moving screensaver could no longer mock him. Getting up, he walked over to the bookcase in the corner, hoping to find something of interest he could read. At least that was something he was good at.
~/~/~/~/~
Reeve threw down the last file and stood up, stretching his muscles, tight from many hours spent bent over the records of Josiah’s assets his men had found. The only missing piece of the puzzle was how much Jackson would want as restitution and once he had that number, he could wrap up this part of the job and get one step closer to being free of his High Council duties. Gathering up the files and accounting records, he put them in a drawer before closing and locking it.
Looking up when the door opened, Reeve smiled at his friend. “Where’s Tristan?”
“Finishing up Alpha stuff,” Heath said, grinning. “Then we’re heading back to our place to get ready for dinner tonight.”
Reeve’s eyebrow shot up. Making a show of looking at his watch and then back at Heath, he asked, “Isn’t it a little early just to have a shower and get dressed? You do know it’s not a black-tie affair.”
“Look who’s talking! Why doyouneed to leave so early?”
“Because I promised my mate I’d help make dinner…unlike you, who just wants to fuck your mate.” Reeve smirked as he picked up his buzzing phone from the desk. Glancing down at the screen, he frowned. “What the fuck?” he muttered before answering the call. “Reeve here…what’s the problem?”
“Who is it?” Heath asked.
Waving his friend off, Reeve listened intently as his boss filled him in. “How many escaped?”
“Right…send me the list…and I’ll need more enforcers,” Reeve replied, pausing for a moment before adding, “Dammit…how the hell did it happen?”
Listening to Reeve, Heath figured out something was wrong but it was impossible to know what by hearing only one side of the conversation. He sat down in a chair, determined to wait until his friend was through with the phone call.
When Reeve finally hung up, he slowly sat down and then looked at Heath. “Remember when we talked about the possibility that Josiah had someone on the inside helping him?”
“Yeah…were we right? Is that what the phone call was about?”
Nodding, Reeve said, “Last night…or maybe early morning…they don’t know exactly what time it happened because the security videos were erased…”
“For shit’s sake,” Heath said, impatiently, “tell me what the fuck happened!”
