They’d learned a lot about Randy Curtis in that time, though nothing to suggest his current location or his connection to the hunters. But they had discovered why he’d run off to LA. Turns out this was home for him and the entire Curtis family. Zane came from a large one himself, but the Curtis family tree put his to shame. There were dozens of brothers, sisters, cousins, nieces, nephews, and various in-laws who called this city home. And all of them worked for the same international conglomerate based in LA—Black Swan Enterprises. Eric Becker—the Pack’s resident hacker—had spent hours digging through the company’s computers and still had no idea how far their financial reach might be. But it was obvious that whoever ran Black Swan Enterprises was filthy rich and powerful as hell.
Zane wondered why Randy Curtis had become a cop in Dallas instead of working for Black Swan like the rest of his family. If Curtis had come back here asking his relatives to hide him from the authorities, they’d done a bloody good job of it. In fact, Zane had begun to think this whole trip to LA was a waste of time when they’d stumbled across Curtis’s nephew, Stefan.
While Stefan had gone to the same Ivy League college as the rest of the Curtis clan, he didn’t have a position on the Black Swan board. And while he had money, fancy cars, and high-priced security, he didn’t work for the company. As far as Zane could tell, the man wasn’t connected to Black Swan Enterprises at all.
Stefan also had a police record with multiple charges of assault, battery, attempted rape, larceny, and burglary. He’d never made it into a court of law because he had the best attorneys money could buy, but it was obvious he was the black sheep of the family. Like his uncle.
Who better than a black sheep to hide another black sheep?
Zane and his teammates had assumed Stefan would lead them to Curtis at some point, but he and his crew spent every evening out crawling around the city’s underbelly from nightclubs and backroom gambling dives to drug dens and strip joints. The funny thing was, Stefan didn’t partake of the entertainment in any of those places. Instead, he stared at people—and skeeved Rachel out, of course. If Stefan wasn’t here to hook up, why bother? And why did he always travel with security?
“We might have something,” Diego murmured in his earpiece, distracting Zane from his musings.
That’s when he realized Stefan had moved away from the bar and was now talking to two young women. They seemed a little nervous, but Stefan must have turned on the charm—or maybe gave them a compliment—because after a moment, they both smiled at him. Identical twins, they were tall, slim, and attractive, with big, expressive, blue eyes and long, straight, platinum hair. The girls looked like they couldn’t be more than eighteen. It made him wonder how the hell they’d gotten past the bouncers.
Over the radio in his earpiece, Zane heard Rachel curse as Stefan leaned in close to one of the girls and whispered something in her ear.
Zane moved closer, so he could step in if Stefan tried something. That’s when he caught the same familiar scent he’d picked up before and immediately realized it was coming from the twin girls. He stared at them for a few minutes, testing the air, unsure what he was picking up on. Then it hit him as he remembered where he’d smelled that unique scent before. Selena Rosa, his best friend’s mate, put off the same scent during the first few days of her change, when she’d still been more human than werewolf. Bloody hell, those two girls were brand-new werewolves, probably only days into their change.
Stefan caught a nearby waitress’s eye and lifted his hand. The waitress immediately walked past Zane and over to the trio, a tray with two mixed drinks in her hand.
Zane’s inner werewolf growled as a pungent odor wafted from the glasses to sting his nose. Shit. This was a damn setup, and it was getting worse by the second.
“Something’s going down,” Zane said into his mic as Stefan handed a glass to each girl. “He’s drugging them—andthose girls are brand new werewolves.”
“I knew that chucklefuck was up to no good,” Rachel muttered.
“Think he’s grabbing the girls for Curtis?” Diego asked. “Payback against werewolves or something?”
“There’s no way Stefan could know they’re werewolves,” Zane said. “I doubt they even know themselves yet. If he’s getting them for Curtis, it’s because they’re attractive women.”
The thought made Zane want to retch and he was heading for the table before he could take another breath. He couldn’t let Stefan slip those girls roofies—even if it meant blowing his cover.
Unfortunately, his planned rescue went to crap when the twin girls downed the drinks like they were lemonade. Biting back a snarl, he had no choice but to stop where he was and go with plan B—stand back and save the girls at the first opportunity that presented itself.
The twins started showing effects of the drug within minutes, which only made Zane more convinced they were brand-new werewolves. Drugs and alcohol didn’t affect werewolves. He watched their eyes getting glassy as they laughed at something Stefan said. Zane overheard him mention taking them to another party across town, one that’d have a lot of famous Hollywood movie stars and producers.
The twins exchanged looks, as if unsure whether to accept the invitation. But then one whispered in the other’s ear, and after a moment, they both nodded at Stefan. Instead of whisking them out of there, Stefan told them he needed to make a quick stop on the way and that his “personal security” would take them to the party.
The girls giggled and nodded, apparently thinking Stefan must be someone famous if he had bodyguards.
Stefan headed for the exit with one of his crew, leaving the other three guys there.
“Rachel and Diego, you stay with Stefan,” Zane said into his mic. “I’ll stick with the girls.”
“All three of those guys are big and packing heat,” Diego pointed out. “I’ll stay here with you.”
Zane ground his jaw. Before he’d gotten shot in the arm in that drive-by, Diego never would have suggested he needed backup. What Diego was subtly trying to say was that he didn’t think Zane could handle those three muscle heads on his own.
He resisted the urge to tell his pack mate to mind his own fucking business. They didn’t have time to argue. Besides, he knew Diego was only trying to have his back.
“Stefan is the whole damn reason we’re here,” Zane said. “He said he had to make a quick stop. Maybe he’s going to see Curtis. If there’s even a chance of that, we can’t let him out of our sight for a minute. You two go. I’m good here.”
There was a moment of silence over the radio, but then Diego grunted. “We’re on it. Be careful. And call us when you get the chance.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Zane saw his pack mates head for the exit, shadowing Stefan and his bodyguard. Zane breathed a sigh of relief. While everything he’d said about Rachel and Diego keeping an eye on Stefan was true, there was another reason he wanted them to stay together. He hated to even let his mind go there, but he wasn’t sure they could trust Rachel.
She’d shown up in Dallas right before the hunters attacked the SWAT compound. She’d immediately fit right in, but that night, she hadn’t taken a shot at one of the hunters when she’d had the chance, and the man had gotten away. Instead of telling SWAT commander Gage Dixon—their pack alpha—Zane figured he’d talk to her about it, then he, Rachel, and Diego had come out here and he hadn’t found a chance.
