“Shawn will want to be there too,” Marc pointed out softly.
“I already extended the invitation to him.”
“I have no doubt El will want to be there as well,” Trip remarked.
Ryan grimaced.“That wouldn’t be ideal.Not if we have to discuss the Pantera’s involvement.”
“She’ll want to know,” Trip argued.
“I agree.I think it would be foolish to keep her out of the loop on this, Ryan.She’s smart, and she’s used to having a threat hanging over her.Though I wish that weren’t the case, I think it’s better for her to be fully informed rather than out in the dark.”
“I just want to keep her safe.”
“We all do, but we can’t do that if she doesn’t understand the risks involved.”
“Okay.I want to speak to her alone before I meet with Adam anyway.I’ll talk to her then.”
Trip murmured, “Where is Shawn, by the way?”
“I put him at the lodge with us.”
Marc’s eyes widened.“Seriously?”
Ryan grimaced.“Yeah.I don’t think he’s come out of his room much—it’s the one opposite El’s.He’s there for her protection.”
“I didn’t scent him there,” Marc argued.
“Bastard knows about Shifters… maybe he knows how to cloak his scent?”Trip asked.“He’s definitely quiet enough to hide out.Sneaking around the goddamn place.I didn’t even know someone else was in the house.”
“The other night, with the cops, he was throwing out major vibes.When I felt them, it stunned the shit out of me.”Then, ruefully, Ryan admitted, “Also, I had the feeling he wasn’t going anywhere El wasn’t.It was easier to put them closer together than argue over it.”
“Their bond is tight,” Marc remarked.
“Very,” Ryan gruffly whispered.He placed his papers on the table.“I’m going back to the lodge.I’ll leave you to handle things on your end, okay?”
Both brothers nodded as he got to his feet and left the study.
Technically, it was his alone.The place where the Pride came to consult with him, and where he dealt with most of the paperwork involved in managing a governmental body of over forty thousand people in California alone.
Though there was only the one desk, Trip had staked out a sofa and low coffee table in one corner of the room from the start.His crap was usually all over the floor too.Marc was neater, and he worked only electronically.From his armchair at the opposite corner to Trip, he was sandwiched by the door to the kitchen and a large dresser filled with antique silverware.
The antiques were an unusual inheritance that was passed down from leader to leader.
It did nothing for him, but it represented the mantel of power so he kept it in his office.
As he headed past said dresser, he eyed the hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of silver, shaking his head at the Pride’s folly, and continued out into the hall.
Nodding at the people he passed, then grimacing when Adam spied him on his way out the front door, he stated to his PA, “Walk with me until we hit the lodge, then make yourself lost.I don’t want to hear from you today.”
“I guess I should be offended by that.”
Ryan snorted.“You’ll be too busy to be offended.”
“I expected that, what with your mate here.”
“Good.”
“I trawled in two other admin from around the Pride, and they’re going to be setting up in HQ for the interim.”
