“Depends how far that particular person would go to have the thing they want most.” Tao would have done whatever it took to get Riley, just as he’d do whatever it took to keep her. “From everything you’ve told me, all Cynthia ever wanted was to be Beta.”
“Yeah, it was all she ever talked about. While the other girls were imagining what their mates would be like, she was imagining what it would be like to be Beta.” Still, Riley wasn’t convinced Cynthia would go that far.
“Was she ever an enforcer?”
“No. She never even applied to be one.”
“So unless she mated the flock’s Beta, she didn’t have a prayer of getting that position.” Tao looped an arm around Riley and drew her close. “Were any of the females who died in the shooting enforcers?”
“Some were training to be enforcers.”
“So they’d have been much better suited to the position of Beta. Cynthia would have known that. And since Sawyer had never succumbed to her charms, he would have chosen them over her . . . unless she was the only highly dominant female left. So just maybe she made sure she was the only one.”
“It still seems a little extreme to me. But not impossible.” Riley slid her hands up his chest. “I do think it is indeed possible that she’s the one who shot at me, Lucy, and Sawyer. She could be punishing us all for what part we played in the petition. I didn’t sign it, but she thinks I’m behind it.”
“If Duncan signed it, he’ll probably be next.”
“I don’t know if she’d ever hurt him. She cares for him in her way.”
“I’m sure she cares for Lucy in her way too.” But the female had still ended up with a bullet close to her heart. He smoothed his hand up Riley’s back. “You don’t want it to be Cynthia, do you? Why?”
“Nine people died that night, Tao. We lost Wade too. So many deaths, so much pain and misery . . . I’d just hate to think that all this was about nothing more than power.” Surely Cynthia, bitch though she might be, wasn’t really that cold. “What’s so great about the position of Beta anyway?”
“It’s probably not about being Beta. It’s probably about having control over everyone. Sleeping with all the males was a form of domination to her, remember. Being Beta female would have given her domination over the females.”
Riley tilted her head, conceding his point.
Tao nipped Riley’s lower lip and then laved it with his tongue to soothe the sting. “Someone should tell her that being Beta isn’t as great as she imagines.”
“Haven’t you ever wanted to be Beta?”
“No. You can lose yourself in a position like that until it becomes your life. It had been that way for Dante until Jaime showed up and changed everything for him.”
“You already live for your pack,” Riley pointed out.
Tao pulled her closer, drew her scent into his lungs. “I did. Now I live for you, for us.”
Smiling, Riley slid her hands around his neck and lightly fisted a hand in the back of his hair. “You know, you can say the sweetest stuff—and yeah, I know you’re not being complimentary, you’re just being direct, but it’s still sweet. Then other times you come out with utter tripe and make me wish I had more middle fingers.”
Tao shrugged, mouth curving. “I could tell you that will change, but it won’t.” He rubbed his nose against hers. “One thing I’ve never been is tactful. But you love me anyway.”
“Yeah, I do.”
“So all is good.”
“I guess it is.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
While her mate lay next to her on his side, Riley was flat on her back, staring up at the ceiling. It was two thirty in the morning, and her brain was working a mile a minute. A kaleidoscope of images and thoughts seemed to be swirling around her mind.
The shootings, past and present.
Dexter almost being kidnapped.
Ethan lying in his bed, injured and sleeping.
Lucy taking a bullet right in front of her eyes.
So much had happened, and Riley was able to do so very little about it. She felt powerless. Useless, even. Those feelings rubbed her raw and pricked at her raven’s pride.
It had been three days since the pack had the video conference with the Mercury Alphas. Harley’s margay cousins had happily taken on the job of spooking Ramón. They also hadn’t wasted any time in acting. Just yesterday they had broken into his home and wrecked his bedroom with claws and teeth—creating a mess that could only have been made by animals or shifters.
Ramón wouldn’t know margays had caused the damage, but he would know the Phoenix wolves had retaliated. He hadn’t called to complain or threaten the pack, but it was too early to tell if their plan would pay off or if Ramón would seek—
Tao gently tapped her temple. “What’s going on up here that woke you?” His eyes were closed and his voice was deep and throaty with sleep. As always, it made her tingle in lots of interesting places.
“Nothing in particular.” She kissed him, feeling bad that she’d disturbed him. “Go back to sleep.” She started to slip out of bed, but he splayed his hand on her stomach.
“Stay,” he coaxed.
“There’s no point. I’m wide awake.”
“Just lie here with me.” He grazed her earlobe with his teeth and turned her on her side to face him. “I like having you next to me.”
“But then I’ll be bored and fidget and keep you awake.” Which never seemed to bother him but eventually would, the longer they were mated. “If you’re not getting enough sleep, you won’t be completely alert and you’ll tire quickly when you’re working.”
“Just stay.”
“God, you’re stubborn.”
“Are you only learning this now?”
She snorted. “No, I learned that when I first arrived on your territory and you argued with the Alphas to have me removed, no matter how many times they said no.”
Tao smiled. “You just had to bring that up, didn’t you?” He traced the length of her spine with his finger. “If it makes you feel any better, the whole time I was working to make Taryn and Trey change their minds, all I wanted was to be buried balls deep in you.”
“Even though you didn’t trust me as far as you could throw me?”
“Even though.” He licked over his claiming mark. “I love looking at this. I love that our scents are mixed.” He raked his teeth over the bite as he closed a hand around her breast. “I love that you’re all mine.”
“I don’t think you’re going to be able to fuck me back to sleep this time,” she warned him. She was simply too wired.
“I do love a challenge.” He was just about to roll her onto her back when his cell phone beeped. Grabbing it from the nightstand, he tapped the screen. As he read the text message from Gabe, every muscle in his body tensed.
Sensing the change in him, Riley frowned. “What’s going on?”
“Someone’s at the gate.” He jumped out of bed and began pulling on some clothes.
“Who?”
“I’m about to find out. I shouldn’t be long; I just have to—why are you getting dressed?”
Dragging on a T-shirt, Riley flicked her hair out of her collar. “You’re going to the security room to check out the cameras, right? I want to know who’s here.”
Yeah, well, Tao didn’t want to drag her into the matter in case she insisted on getting involved in something dangerous. “You’re better staying here.”
“Should I remind you that I’m Guardian? I need to know if there’s a risk to the children so I can get them to safety.”
Tao swore, unable to deny that. “Fine. Let’s go.”
A minute later they were entering the security room, located near Trey’s office. Rhett was there, his fingers tapping crazily on the keyboard of his computer. Trey, Jaime, Dante, Makenna, and the other enforcers were also present. They’d undoubtedly all received the same warning from Gabe, who was manning the perimeter gate.
Riley glanced around. “No Taryn???
?
“Kye had a nightmare, so he ended up in our bed,” said Trey. “She’s staying with him while I find out what’s happening.”
Tao went straight to the wall where all the monitors were positioned and homed in on the screen that displayed footage of the gate. Gabe was standing just outside the security shack, his eyes locked on the visitors standing behind the locked gates. “Is that . . . ? That’s a police car.”
Rhett nodded. “Yep. They got here a few minutes ago.”
Tao looked at Trey. “What do they want?” His stomach dropped when his Alpha turned to Riley.
“They’ve asked to speak with you,” Trey told her.
Riley pointed to herself. “Me? Are you sure?”
“The cameras have audio,” said Rhett. “We heard them ask for you.”
His wolf growled, and Tao slashed a hand in the air. “No fucking way is she going out there.”
“Definitely no fucking way,” agreed Jaime. “This could be someone trying to get Riley out into the open so she’s an easier target.”
Trey rolled back his shoulders. “I’ll speak with the humans and, basically, tell them to fuck off.” He ran his eyes along Tao, Dante, Ryan, and Trick. “Follow me.”
While Makenna and the other enforcers argued to go along, Tao gave Riley a quick kiss and said, “Don’t bother insisting on coming with us. I genuinely think the police are just bait to flush you out.”
“I wasn’t going to ask to go with you,” said Riley honestly. “I need to call my uncles and find out who’s missing from the flock. Someone sent the police here. I want to know who it was.” And she wanted to throttle the fucker for daring to bring danger to her home.
“Text me when you know.”
“Okay. Be careful.”
“Always.” Tao gave her one last kiss and then followed Trey and the others out of the room.
Keeping her eyes on the monitor, Riley pulled out her cell and called Ethan. “Hi, I know this isn’t a great hour to call, but we think there’s a good chance that someone from the flock is missing.”
“Somebody’s on your territory?” asked Ethan, both worry and anger in his tone.
“Not yet, but they’re close, and we think they’re trying to draw me out.”
“I’ll call you back in a minute.”
Riley bit down on her thumb as she waited for the Phoenix wolves to appear at the gate. Makenna, Jaime, Roni, Marcus, and Dominic gathered around her, all completely focused on the monitor.
“I’m pissed that I have to hang behind,” grumbled Marcus.
Dominic folded his arms. “Trey was right in what he said. If he takes too many wolves with him, it’ll look confrontational. It’s better to just get rid of the humans than to antagonize them.”
Roni nodded in agreement, briefly leaning into Marcus. “They’re just pawns anyway.”
Riley shifted from foot to foot. It was possible that someone was hovering around those gates with a freaking rifle, waiting for her. She doubted that they would shoot at one of the wolves in lieu of her. If hurting someone else to hurt her were enough for them, they would have gone after Max or Ethan. They wouldn’t have followed her all the way here just to settle on shooting someone else. Still, she got more and more nervous with each minute that went by. Her raven was just as uneasy; she wanted the freedom to explore the territory for the threat.
Taryn strode into the room. “What the hell is hap—where’s Flintstone?”
“He went to talk to the police and get rid of them.” Rhett gestured to the monitor. “They want to talk to Riley.”
Taryn swore. “The asshole should have taken me with him. We’re the Alphas, we should always present a united front.”
“I suppose he thought it wasn’t worth dragging you away from Kye just to go send the humans away,” said Makenna. “Where is Kye?”
“Still asleep in my bed. I had to know what was happening.”
As the monitor showed Trey, Tao, and the others finally nearing the security shack, Riley blew out a breath. She couldn’t quite shake off her apprehension. A bolt of reassurance shot up the mating bond and a half smile curved her mouth.
They’d be fine, Riley told herself. They’d all be fine. And if something did happen to anyone, Riley would raise fresh fucking hell on the trigger-happy fucker.
Tao and the enforcers flanked Trey as they strolled to the security shack. Despite the darkness, Tao could clearly see the two humans behind the iron gates, standing beside a police car. One was tall and lean, the other was balding fast and had a thick, old-fashioned mustache.
Trey spoke to Gabe at a volume that wouldn’t meet the humans’ ears. “Have they said anything else since we left the caves a few minutes ago?”
“Not to me,” replied Gabe. “But they keep talking into their radios. They obviously know how acute a shifter’s hearing can be, though, because they’ve kept their voices quiet.”
Trey nodded. “Wait here, Gabe.”
Again Tao and the enforcers flanked the Alpha as they approached the closed gate. Both officers strode toward them, their gaits casual and easy, their perceptive eyes scanning each and every wolf. Tao’s wolf sniffed in annoyance as the wind carried the scents of fast food and cigarette smoke that clung to the humans.
The taller of the two studied Trey carefully. “You’re the Alpha?”
“I am,” said Trey.
“I’m Officer Brown. This is Officer Taylor.” His tone was as casual as his stance. Apparently the guy was trying to put them at ease and pretend to be their friend or something.
Taylor, chewing gum, simply inclined his head.
Brown looked at Trey expectantly, as if waiting for him to introduce each of the wolves. He didn’t.
“What brings you officers to my territory?” Trey asked.
Brown glanced past him to where Gabe stood. “As I told your pack mate, we’d like to speak with the raven you have staying with you.”
“Riley Porter isn’t staying with us. She’s part of my pack. That’s different.”
The officers exchanged a brief look, and Tao got the feeling they hadn’t actually known that. Maybe they’d assumed that each breed of shifter stuck with their own kind.
“In any case, we’d like to speak with her,” said Brown.
Trey raised a brow. “Regarding?”
“A complaint was made against her by Ramón Veloz. He believes Miss Porter broke into his home and vandalized it yesterday afternoon.”
Motherfucker. Tao should have considered that the bastard would do something like this. Ramón would have many people in his pocket. He probably thought Riley had flown into his home and let the wolves inside since, as an avian, she had the best chance of entering undetected. He had no reason to believe that the pack had any connection to a group of crazy-ass margays.
“Does he now?” Trey’s tone was bored.
Brown widened his stance. “We’d just like to have a quick chat with her so we can get all this straightened out.” As if he were on their side and believed it was one big, terrible misunderstanding.
“You don’t need to chat with Riley,” said Trey. “I can tell you myself that Ramón’s wrong.”
“You can verify Miss Porter’s whereabouts?” asked Brown.
“She was here,” said Trey.
Taylor lifted his chin. “Mr. Veloz strongly believes that Miss Porter was to blame.”
“And many believe that Bigfoot walks the earth. Doesn’t make it true or really mean anything—it’s just a belief.”
Taylor licked his front teeth. “Still, we’d just like to speak to Miss Porter and hear the story from her.”
Tao gave a slow shake of the head. “Not happening.”
Taylor’s eyes narrowed on Tao. “Is she fine with you all speaking for her?”
Tao ignored the taunt, though it made his wolf bare his teeth. “You won’t pass through this gate. You’re wasting your time here.”
Straightening to his full height, Brown sighed at Trey. “M
r. Coleman, my job is to—”
“I know what your job is,” said Trey. “I know about your laws. And both of us know that shifters don’t answer to your laws. We have our own. That means you don’t have any authority whatsoever here.”
A flicker of movement caught Tao’s eyes. A black SUV with blackened windows was creeping up toward the gate. The hair on his nape and arms lifted. In the distance a flock of birds squawked, as if spooked by something. Alarm shot through Tao and his wolf. He wasn’t completely sure what exactly was happening or where the real threat was coming from, but he knew it was there. “It’s a setup, Trey. Move.”
Just as the wolves all dived aside, the officers opened fire. Bullets pinged as they bounced off the security shack. A screech of tires was followed by a crash as two black SUVs burst through the gates and sped up the rocky path toward the mountain.
Tao’s stomach knotted. The humans would follow the tracks in the path, and that would take them straight to the rest of the pack . . . to his mate. His wolf shoved to the surface, demanding freedom.
The last thought Tao had before shifting was that he hoped the pack remembered what to do in the event of a breach.
Listening as Trey spoke to the police, Riley put a hand to her stomach. Something about the whole scenario didn’t feel right. In fact, it felt . . . off. She told herself she was being paranoid, something that was perfectly understandable given how often she’d been targeted of late. Nonetheless, unease crept up her spine—both hers and Tao’s, she quickly realized. Her raven was just as on edge, though Riley wondered if it was her own feelings rubbing off on the avian.
She heard her cell phone ring and dug it out of her pocket. Ethan. “Hello.”
“Cynthia’s missing.”
“Shit.” Not that Riley was all that surprised. “I can’t really talk right now, I’ll call you back later.” She ended the call and leaned toward the screen as she noticed Tao’s focus shift to something past the police. Something that caused his body to tense and—
The squawking and flapping of wings outside the mountain made her heart jump and her raven’s head snap up. Fuck. A mere moment later, the wolves sought cover and two SUVs surged past the gates while the police opened fire.