“No reason.” He turns his back on me and heads toward the kitchen. “Want a cup?”
“No, I’m good.” I watch him go, and when he’s stepped through the door into the house, I snatch a magazine off the table next to me, load it into the gun in my hand, and set it down on the table pointed toward the door.
Something isn’t right. But I don’t know what it is.I try to soothe the angry wolf within me. Maybe I’m being paranoid. Uncle Neil has always been weird.
We’ll tell Valor anyway.My wolf urges me to grab my phone and text Valor right now. But with Kerrianne shopping with Antonella, he’s already stressed out about security. Adding worry about Uncle Neil would probably boil my older brother’s brain.
I give up taking stock of the munitions inventory and just grab the gear for the mercenary. Before Neil’s coffee is even done brewing, I’ve loaded the gear into the back of my SUV and am pulling out onto the road.
It’s not until I’m sure no one is following me that I even dare look at my phone.
Leticia:
I just got you the best gift ever. It’s so good that if you don’t want it, I’m stealing it. Not actually. I bought one for myself too.
What’shers is ours and ours is hers.My wolf is so possessively obsessed over her that he shrugs off the earlier rage and moves right into doting on her.
Royal:
I do believe that means we’ve crossed into another level of friendship.
#twinning
I’m earlywhen I pull up in front of Mom and Dad’s house. I was going to take a more thorough inventory to kill time, but it doesn’t matter. The merc is also early. He’s sitting in a work truck decked out as a plumber and septic services.
Pressing the button, I raise the garage door and pull into my usual parking spot. Mom and Dad’s house is too far from the road for anyone to see down the long, curvy driveway, so I don’t bother closing the garage door for privacy.
“You must be Royal?” the mercenary asks, leaning against his truck. “Is it true what they say about you?”
“They say a lot of things.” I shrug and open the back of my SUV.
“Fair enough.” He approaches and looks in at the weaponry. “You really don’t mess around when hiring new contractors, do you?”
“We’ve found it’s in our best interest to hire the best andbrightest and then make sure we’ve got the best tools for them to use.” I lean against the garage doorframe. “I take it this is to your standard?”
He picks up the rifle from where it lies in the back of the SUV and shoulders it, looking down the barrel. “What do you offer for scopes?”
“Check the black box on the left. I brought you four options. I’m not the most familiar with them, but those are our most popular requests.” I enjoy the way his eyes light up as he lifts the lid on the box.
He picks up the second most expensive one. “I had one of these when I served with the special forces. I didn’t know they made these anymore.”
“They don’t.” I fight back a yawn forced through from my wolf as he releases tension from the interaction with Uncle Neil. “We were able to obtain a large final shipment before they went out of business. It’s not an unlimited supply, so treat it kindly, but they’re available.”
“For a price.” He unnecessarily finishes for me while tucking the rifle into a case.
“Exactly.” I watch as he looks over the different rounds I’ve brought for him to sample.
“Valor said you’re the tech genius. They just let you meet with mercs alone?” He isn’t threatening me, but the confusion is genuine. “Most tech guys don’t know a butt from a barrel.”
“I may be of most service behind a keyboard, but don’t mistake me for nonthreatening. We’re all predators here.” I smile and then use the same line I’ve heard Valor use when talking to new mercenaries when they come to work for us. “As I said before, we hire the best and the brightest. You wouldn’t be smart to kill me over barely ten grand in equipment. Unless you’re admitting to not being all that smart.”
The genuine laugh that comes from him is a little shocking. He goes back to looking over the equipment. “What they say is true, then? You have enough weapons to take down a small government?”
“If there is something you want, there is always a way to get it.” I don’t entertain what our warehouses have to offer.
My phone vibrates in my pocket.
Leticia?My wolf demands I take it out to look.
