“You mean, gethim off your land before the Boulders arrived and realized your connection tohim.”
When her gaze grinded into mine, I realized I’d struck a nerve. Well, I was about to strike a whole bunch more, because I wasn’t done withher.
“Whose idea was the escort agency,Sandra?” My voice was as tight as my spine. “Everest’s oryours?”
She cocked her head to the side, lips pursed. She was older than I’d assumed. Fifty, sixty perhaps. Tiny wrinkles ringed her mouth. What held my attention, though, was the odd bluish tinge to her lips—a recent bruise or a strange birthmark? Or maybe she was chilly. The nippiness in the air definitely made me regret not having taken ajacket.
“It was my idea,” shesaid.
I blew out a relieved breath. “Why?”
“To get insight into otherpacks.”
“To spy,then?”
She wrinkled her pert nose. “I’m not a fan of the wordspy.”
“Would you rather I saysnoop?” My voice crackled withanimosity.
She snapped her head straight. “Aren’t you a littlespitfire?”
“How did you reel Everest into your opportunisticscheme?”
“I didn’t. Becca did. The silly girl fell in love.” She took the glass of water someone tendered her way—Lori.
I gave the tall woman beside Cassandra a cursory once-over. All of her was thin and narrow, from her face to herbody.
“Thank you, sweet thing.” Cassandra wrapped fingers topped with lacquered burgundy nails filed to a dull point around the glass and tipped it to her bluish lips. “Where wasI?”
“Becca and Everest fell in love,” I suppliedcurtly.
“Right. Becca convinced me Everest was unhappy with the Boulders.” She slanted her eyes to Liam. “That he could be an asset. So we talked, and I brought himon.”
Liam’s body had hardened next to mine as though he were made entirely ofbones.
“Everest wanted to have Heath demoted and asked if I had anythin’ on him he could use. Even though Aidan had supplied me with somethin’ your cousin could’ve used”—her gaze slid back to me—“my goal wasn’t to instigate a war between the packs. I told him I’d let him use the girls to dig up his owndirt.”
Even though Liam didn’t react verbally or physically, I sensed the frenzied beat of his heart inside of mine. All of the pack seemed to sense it, because suddenly Frank was wrapping his fingers around Liam’s wrist, and Lucas had squeezed in between Liam andme.
Lori handed Cassandra a plate laden with food and took away her glass ofwater.
“And whose idea was it to use me as an escort?” Iasked.
Cassandra devoured a pig-in-a-blanket in a single bite, then made another vanish just as swiftly. “His. But I seconded it. You were vengeful and desirous of closure. I believed meetin’ with Heath would bring youclosure.”
In a way, it had, but I would never ever admit this. I kept my expression blank. The air was so rife with tension that I expected some of the Boulders to shift, but everyone remained inskin.
“Why did you send me to meet Aidan?” He wasn’t by her side and he wasn’t in the crowd. “So I could get closure for my father’sdeath?”
“No. I did that so thathecould get closure. Killing your father was a mistake. A terrible one. He’d been aimin’ for Heath, but I believe you already knowthat.”
“Doesn’t erase what hedid.”
“No, it doesn’t. Except he was tryin’ to help your father,Ness.”
“What are you talkingabout?”
“I’m talkin’ about something your Alpha shouldexplain.”
