“He’s with Noah,” he tells me cryptically. “Shall we go?”
“I’m not going anywhere with you until you tell me what’s going on.”
He cants his head, the motion sending his dark hair over the rim of his black glasses to hide one crystal-blue eye. Ihatehow attractive he looks like this. All rumpled and delicious. Intelligent.Sexy.
Ugh.
The alpha even has dimples.
Which he displays now as his lips curl up on one side. “We’re going to the Ferraro estate in the Hamptons, just like Laz said.”
“And they’re not with us because…?” I prompt.
“Because Laz and Noah have business to attend to.”
“What kind of business?”
“The kind we’re not going to discuss,” he replies, pushing off the chair. “Let’s go.”
This time, it’s not worded as a question but as a statement. Acommand.
However, I have no interest inbehavingwhen my family is likely being threatened or hunted or worse. “No.”
Johan’s eyebrow lifts. “No?”
“No,” I repeat. “I’ve already said I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on.”
His gaze narrows. “You might be our scent match, sweetheart, but you’re not family yet. Once you claim us, we’ll talk.”
“I’m not claiming any of you,” I bite off through my clenched teeth. “Whereis my father? Does Lazarus have him? My brother? Are they all fighting outside?”
Johan’s brow smooths out, a hint of understanding flashing across his features. “Ah, I see.” He turns around to dig in a bag on the chair behind him. “Here.” He walks over to me, holding out his hand. “I was going to give it to you in the car, but now seems like a more appropriate time.”
I take the phone from his palm and frown at the familiar hardware. “What model is this?” I ask, confused. “This… this can’t be what I think it is, right?” I slip my other device into my pocket, then power up the one he just handed me. “Holy shit, it is.”
This brand and model isn’t available yet.
It’s supposed to be released next year.
“How…?” I trail off, deciding it’s a moot question.
He’s linked to the Ferraros. They own a technology empire as one of their legitimate businesses. Of course he got his hands on a future release.
“It’s actually a prototype,” he tells me. “Well,theprototype. With a few alterations.” He shrugs. “I figured I owed you a new phone, so I wiped this one, copied over your contacts and a few other things from the cloud, and put a location blocker in it. Otherwise, it’s clean.”
I scroll through some of the apps, recognizing everything I use on my compromised device. “You expect me to believe this isn’t layered with listening malware and hasn’t already been cloned?” I deadpan, trying to pass it back to him. “Yeah, no, thanks.”
He ignores the gesture and reaches down to grab his bag, then pulls the strap over one shoulder. “You can check it out in the car. Call your brother. Hell, I won’t even stop you from throwing it out the window. Although, I will be a little heartbroken. But it’s yours to do with whatever you want.”
“I can call Gio?” I ask slowly, surprised by that.
“Of course.” He considers me for a moment. “Actually, I kind of insist on it. He needs to know you’re safe. And he’s about to be really disappointed when he realizes the jet Uriah’s tracking isn’t ours.” His expression turns a bit boyish in nature. “I may have played with the air traffic control logs.”
I gape at him. “What?”
He shrugs. “Uriah was stalking the inbound flights. I had to give him something to chase to ensure a smooth landing and transport. So I sent them to New Jersey.” The boyish glint returns. “They’re tracking a jet full of rescue animals. Maybe they’ll adopt one?”
My lashes flutter. “You… you tricked Uriah?” That feels unlikely. Uriah is the one who introduced me to my first computer. He’s my father’s main technology guru. The alpha who taught me how to hack. “That’s impossible.”
