His correction didn’t rankle, if anything it had Ryan shaking his head with wry amusement—the posturing was still going down, but hell, if the kid could back up the BS with action, who was he to judge?“Good to know.”
Marc shot him a look and said, “Trip’s in bed.Adam’s staying there to keep him there.Until El goes up that is.”
“She’s not going anywhere until this conversation is over,” Ryan said ruefully, scratching El’s ears again.
When the Panther made a satisfied rumble, half-purr, they all laughed.
Even Shawn.
Marc shook his head.“Didn’t think I’d have much to be laughing over an hour after that fuck up out there.”He ran a hand through his hair, and Ryan saw flecks of ash dust his shoulders.
Jesus, if Marc looked like that, he could only imagine the oil painting he presented.
“Sirs?I really need more information.The other officers aren’t going to find out much; I know the Pride will clamp down, but we need to feed the humans something.”
Because he agreed, Ryan murmured, “You’re right.”
Bailey, looking relieved, prompted, “So, the Pride Luna is a secret Shifter and is a part of a human dynasty that founded this country.”
Shawn snickered.“Pretty much.Great summary there.”
Bailey’s lips twitched, but he remained, otherwise, blank-faced.
Ryan grunted.“Yes, unfortunately, that’s all true.”
“What about the kidnapping attempt you mentioned, sir?”Bailey asked Shawn.
“That was Pantera-funded.At least, we believe it.Our own officers haven’t found any ties between the crime and the Pantera, save for the fact El’s guards, who were behind the kidnapping attempt, were Pantera too—”
“Isn’t that link enough?”
Marc wriggled his shoulders with unease.“I don’t know.There’s a lot at play here.A lot we don’t know all the details about.”
“Such as?”Bailey prompted.
“These kidnapping attempts aren’t new.El’s been under severe threat all her life; undoubtedly because of her position in human society.But, why now?Why come after her now?The guards who betrayed her had debts and wanted the money.The Pantera had no reason to suspect she’s a Panther.Why would they be involved?”
“We all know the Pantera make a lot of their money through crime.”
Ryan nodded.“We do, but I know where Marc’s coming from.”He let the silky fur on El’s head calm him.“I’ve got a lot of pissed off Pride members wanting to challenge me,” he said after a few moments of contemplating how to exactly put that into words.
Bailey frowned.“Do you mind if I ask why, sir?You’re a good leader.One of the best in the States, and you’re powerful.Even I know that and I’m not from around here.”
Marc sighed.“Because he doesn’t want to be leader and everyone knows it, but they can’t challenge him because his Lion is a bad ass bastard and will annihilate anyone who tries.”
Ryan conceded that with a grimace.“He’s not wrong.They can’t get rid of me, even if they wanted to.They can’t survive the challenge.My beast is too strong.”
Bailey frowned.“Do you really think it could be one of your own?A lot of Pride members died out there, sir.I haven’t had the number count yet, but it’s looking close to a dozen.Would one of your own really target you and his brothers, too?”
Marc shrugged.“Why not?Power corrupts.”
Ryan sighed.“Look, the truth is, I’m stuck in this position.A lot of people wish that weren’t the case.”He shot Shawn a look, then Marc one, too.“We thought no one saw El last night.But maybe they did… Maybe they saw she’s Pantera, and they know she’s our mate… That could piss a lot of people off.Then, there’s the fact Shawn’s a mate too.”
Bailey’s mouth dropped open.“Wait.You’re a mate, too?”He shook his head.“But… you have a Triad.You’re a complete set.”
“We know,” Marc pointed out wryly.“Shawn came as much of a surprise to us as he’s doing to you.”
Shawn just grimaced.Folding his arms across his chest, he plunked down on the armrest of the sofa and let his attention drift between the three of them in the room.
