I snicker.
“In the days that followed, I was furious. My wolf was ready to rampage. Of course, I didn’t expect her to get me senselessly hammered and storm up to that club just to throw my arms around that repulsive?—"
“No,” I gasp. “No, Nell, you didn’t.”
Gritting her teeth, the Beta clutches onto the railing for support.
My hand drops from my mouth. “But . . . you and Dominik . . . That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It was only once,” she snaps. “And as drunk as I was, I think my wolf knew it was convenient. At the time, he was also being strung along by someone. We both needed to blow off steam.”
I find myself struggling to picture the two of them mashing their faces together. Even more baffling is the thought of someone so smooth and calculated on the receiving end of heartbreak. But perhaps Dom wasn’t always a womanizer. Perhaps whoever drove him towards the Beta for a night of passion is to blame.
“Was it . . . good?”
Nell averts her eyes. “Yes. Disgustingly good.”
She continues. “Across the province, there is a saying between females. The Alpha Commander was born for battle, and his brother . . . his brother was born to please.”
Gulping involuntarily, I mumble, “I see.”
Nell grips my shoulders. “Please,pleasedon’t ever bring it up in front of Axe. He would probably castrate him.”
“Does Jabir know?”
“No. But I think a small part of him suspects. I don’t even want to ponder the idea of how he’d react if it ever came out.”
As the stairs bottom out to the main floor, I give her hand a squeeze. “Your secret is safe in the vault. I promise.”
Axe
For the first time in years, I allow myself the indulgence of sleeping past the sunrise. My first waking thought drifts to that damned kiss. That incandescent glow that rippled across Vessa’s skin. In that bloody state, it must’ve been a hallucination. With her mouth on mine, I could’ve sworn the aurora felt closer. To think I could’ve died without experiencing what she tastes like . . . it makes me want to kill those bastards all over again.
Had I not been weakened by my injuries, my wolf likely would have slipped through its cage. By some miracle, he yielded. Except now that I know what it’s like to feel her melt beneath my touch, there’s not a chance in hell that I’ll be able to stay away.
I don’t know what’s more irritating: my body’s slower healing rate or the coddling hens who refuse to let me return to work. I haven’t been able to get five godsdamned minutes alone with Vessa since she stormed out of my office back at the shop.
After Cora makes her nightly visit, I insist on moving to the common room downstairs to finish reviewing my paperwork over dinner and a glass of bourbon. I certainly need one after listening to Nell bitch for over an hour about the mayor’s press release. She continues to ramble about the sloppy media response as she reaches for wine glasses for my mate and for herself.
Nell has taken on the brunt of my desk duties over the last several days. Responding to emails, organizing reports, putting off my nosy sister’s inquiries, and updating the task force on the shooting. Meanwhile, Jabir pulled the photograph of the clientfrom the arms dealing database and a license from his guard’s wallet to share with them and investigate any possible motives as to why they were sent to dispatch me.
Flashbacks to the attack have me pinching the bridge of my nose. More than anything, I wish that I could be covered up to my elbows in motor oil right now instead of writing a bullshit excuse of an incident report that is already overdue to the Council.
Bunching my fists, I address my Betas. “This doesn’t make any sense. Jabir and I run a background check on each client two weeks prior to their appointment. I knew the man who referred the Mongassi mercenary well. An old army buddy of mine. Good guys, both of them. They don’t have any lycan connections in the southern continent. They don’t even know that I am one. No chance would Tim ever set me up.”
Jabir shuffles across the lounge with a lump in his throat. “That’s because he didn’t. This afternoon, I stumbled across an enforcer report out of Hichano last night. The mercenary—youractualclient—was killed a week ago. Carjacked on the interstate. Seems like he was making his way here.”
Vessa gasps, a hand clamping over her mouth.
“How did they intercept him?” I growl.
Jabir scratches his beard. “It’s likely that whoever sent them hacked into his profile on our system and stumbled across the correspondence. My best guess is those men likely reported to someone else, who then tipped them off. Those men were sent to kill you, Axe. By someone you must already know. Whoever it is, he knows all about our operation now.”
Fuck. We’ve never had a breech like this before.
“I don’t believe that. If they were after me, they would’ve made the hit immediately, without Solmuk there to back me up. Think about it. They were lycans. Why attack in broad daylight on human turf?”
My wolf stirs as I silently recall the shift in the atmosphere. The excitement that rolled off them when a particular scent wafted into the room. Of course. Those men were never there for the limited-edition M1. And if they wanted silver, they wouldn’t have brought their own.
