“I’m following a lead,” I say evenly.
“Sounds interesting,” he comments, using a tone that sounds more suspecting that anything else. “What’s this lead?”
“It’s just something off-island.”
He pauses, and that silence is loaded enough to tell me he’s already connecting dots. “You went to Ashford?”
Sometimes, I wish the others weren’t so perceptive. Maybe then I’d actually get away with keeping things under wraps long enough for me to figure it out on my own.
I sigh. “Yeah.”
“What the hell, Zane?” Hunter mutters. “You just disappear without a word and expect us not to question it?”
“I didn’t disappear.”
“You didn’t exactly check in either.”
Fair…but still.
“I’ve got something,” I say, keeping my tone controlled. “It’s not enough yet, but it’s connected.”
“To Hayes?”
“Indirectly, maybe. I’m working out the details.”
Hunter pauses, then he takes a deep breath. “He’s stirring things up here. The other packs are getting restless, and there are concerns about the humans seeing more than they should.”
That’s not at all surprising, given how unclear his motives have been recently. He hasn’t done anything drastic to make his objectives clear, which means we’ve all just been waiting for that moment to inevitably arrive.
“And this thing you’re chasing,” he continues, “do you think it’s tied to that?”
“I think it’s bigger,” I admit, well aware of how inconvenient a notion that is.
He’s silent on the other end for a long while, then he mumbles, “Great.”
Part of me wants to smirk, but the moment doesn’t call for it, so I keep my expression neutral as I adjust my grip on the cell. “Yeah. I’m here trying to gather the details so that we have something substantial to work with.”
“That’s good, but we need you back here,” Hunter says after a moment. “And soon. Luke and Caleb are already pushing for a meeting. If something is moving under the surface, we need to get ahead of it, and that involves having you here.”
I glance at Naia again, and as expected, she’s still watching and listening. I imagine she’s trying to piece together what I’m not saying.
“I’ll be back,” I say finally, not wanting the conversation to drag on longer than it needs to. “Just give me a little more time.”
“How much time?”
“I’m hoping a few days,” I tell him, well aware that it could take much longer than that, given how I’ve been on guard duty more than anything.
“Just don’t go off the grid again, or else I’m sending Dom your way, and we both know you don’t want that. We’ve got enough problems without you freelancing.”
I huff at the thought. “For the love of god, keep him there. I’ve got it handled.”
Hunter chuckles to himself. “You better.”
A moment later, the line goes quiet, then the call ends. When it does, I lower the phone slowly, exhaling under my breath.
The pressure settles in immediately, both familiar and expected. It’s definitely nothing new, but with the guys keeping tabs on me, I can’t fumble this. That also means I need to figure out what the hell I’m doing with Naia.
Turning around, she’s exactly where I left her, arms crossed and expression sharp with expectation. She lifts an expectant brow.
