“And maybe if you hadn’t locked Brian’s brother and two of Abby’s out of their own cabin for the night, that secret might have kept for a while.”
“They’re already talking?”
He shrugged. “There’s no such thing as privacy for an Alpha. Or for a tabby, for that matter.”
Our situation was delicate, politically speaking. We’d have to make an official announcement at some point, and it would be the first of its kind. The US Prides had never seen an unmarried Alpha, which meant that even if Abby hadn’t just dumped her fiancé—the son of one of my allies and brother of one of my enforcers—our fledgling relationship would be under considerable scrutiny.
“What the hell am I doing?” I sank onto the end of Lucas’s bed. “This is crazy, isn’t it?”
Warner turned from the laptop to grin at me. “The Spanish poet Pedro Calderón de la Barca reportedly said, ‘When love is not madness, it is not love.’”
“So, that’s a yes?”
Warner laughed and clicked another key on the laptop, then turned it to face me more directly. “Okay, I’ve been up all night, going through Hargrove’s computer. Abby did a good job, but she doesn’t have the tools or the training to access password-protected files and emails. Including this.” He tapped a few more keys, then clicked the trackpad, and an email appeared on the monitor.
I frowned at the screen. “What am I looking at?”
“This is an email from someone named Darren. I’m not sure who that is yet…”
“Yeah, Abby said the same thing.”
“…but let all learned men be warned—the grammar is painful. According to this message, Darren was writing to Hargrove from some place they call the ‘lakeside cottage,’ where there’s evidently spotty Wi-Fi. I haven’t found any other property in Hargrove’s name or any other mentioned in his correspondence, so this cottage could very well be where he’s hiding out.”
“And that would be helpful, if we knew where this cottage is.” I stood and came closer to scan the email.
“I think we do.” Warner clicked on the trackpad again, opening an email attachment before I’d finished the first paragraph of text. “Darren sent this picture with the message. Look past all the carnage,” he said, when I scowled at the image of a stray I’d never met, stuffed and posed in cat form, like a grizzly bear at some redneck’s hunting lodge. “Through the window behind that poor bastard, you can see the ‘lake,’ but it’s really not much more than a big pond in the woods. Jace, I know that pond.” He glanced up at me, then turned back to the image. “It’s in Knox County. I used to run there. There are only three cabins within sight of the water, and only two of them face the western shore.” He looked up at me again, excitement gleaming in his brown eyes. “We can be there in two hours.”
“Be where in two hours?” Abby asked, and I looked up to see her standing in the threshold of her brothers’ bedroom, draped in a throw blanket my mother had crocheted. Her bare knees peeked from beneath the blanket, and I could tell from the flesh showing through small holes in the afghan that she wasn’t wearing much beneath it. If anything.
I hadn’t even heard her get off the couch.
“Warner thinks he’s found Darren’s lake house, and that Hargrove might be hiding out there.”
Abby’s eyes widened. “I’ll be ready in ten minutes.” She ran for the living room, the blanket flying out behind her. I groaned, then snatched her duffle from the end of Lucas’s bed and followed.
“Abby.”
“What?” she called from the floor beneath the sofa bed, where her legs stuck out.
I dropped her bag on the mattress, then squatted and ran one hand lightly down her thigh, wishing I had the time to linger. Then I pulled her out from under the couch by her ankles; her afghan cape slid easily against the wood floor.
Abby laughed and turned over to look up at me, clutching the shirts we’d discarded several hours before. “Here.” She shoved mine at me, then leapt to her feet. “I just have to brush my teeth.”
“Abby, wait. I need you to stay here.”
“No way! I’m an enforcer now, and this case affects me. It’s about me, at least in part.”
“Both of which are good reasons for you to stay here. Enforcers follow orders.”
Her copper brows dipped low over angry brown eyes. “Then give me a good one, and I’ll follow it.”
I growled, realizing for the first time that our relationship would be more complicated than I’d anticipated. Brian was no longer in the way, but I was still her boss, and that was one hell of a conflict of interest.
“What?” Abby cocked her head and gave me a smile. “You didn’t think this was going to be all kissing and cuddling, did you?”
I groaned, and Warner burst into laughter from the bedroom.
“Okay, we’re going to have to draw a couple of boundary lines,” I said. “When I’m the Alpha and you’re the enforcer, there will be no kissing, and you will follow orders.” Which would not in any way be affected by the fact that I could still taste her on my lips. Really. “When we’re off duty, there will be plenty of kissing, and whatever else you want to do, and you won’t have to follow any orders.”
“But an Alpha is never off duty,” she pointed out. “We’ve been over this.”
“Fine, then, when you’re off duty, there will be all the kissing and none of the orders. Okay?”
Abby propped both hands on her hips, and when her afghan fell to the floor, it took every bit of self-control I had to keep my focus on her face. “Let me draw a boundary line for you. If I don’t go, you don’t go, because you swore to spend every single second at my side. So, which is it going to be? We stay here and do off-duty things, or we go catch this son of a bitch—together?”
Warner laughed again, then pretended not to hear my growl of warning.
“Damn it, Abby,” I grumbled, but she only shrugged.
“I don’t make the rules. Yet. So what’s it gonna be, Alpha?”
I exhaled slowly, clinging to patience. “Get dressed. We’re going to the lake.”
“If I could make a suggestion…” Warner’s nearly silent footsteps came toward us from the hall. “Take a shower. No, take separate showers. Unless you’re both ready to confirm the rumors buzzing in the main house.”
Abby raced across the back yard in faux-fur-trimmed white winter boots, with little leather tassels hanging from the shoestrings. We were going to have to talk about her work wardrobe. Enforcers do not wear tassels. But then, none of my other enforcers had ever sat on my lap, nearly naked, and asked me to slide my fingers…
Focus, Jace. There’s still a job to do. And a good deal of the upcoming work would involve defining the line between Abby-the-enforcer and Abby-the…girlfriend? I wasn’t really sure what to call her other than the woman whose very scent provoked an X-rated Pavlovian response in me.
She clomped up the back steps, red curls bouncing against her roommate’s white down jacket, highlighted by what little moonlight remained. A cat’s eyes don’t need much light, even in human form, and Abby practically glowed. My right hand and I would have liked to claim at least partial credit for that, but the truth was that she wore her most recent victory well, and something told me I wouldn’t be winning many arguments in the near future.
That wasn’t a problem many Alphas faced, but I could not give less of a shit.
None of the other Alphas had Abby.
I caught up with her as she turned the doorknob, but the door didn’t open. “We’re locked out.” She turned and stared over my shoulder to where Warner was crossing the lawn from the west cabin, with Hargrove’s laptop under his arm. “Do you have your keys?”
He shook his head. “Left them in the cabin.”
Before I could tell him to go get them, the doorknob rattled, and I looked up to see Chase Taylor opening the door. “You locked us out.” Abby stepped past him into the kitchen, rubbing her hands together for warmth.
“Turnabout’s fa
ir play,” Chase returned, as Warner and I followed her in. “Did you really need the whole cabin? All night?”
Abby flushed, humiliated by the insinuation, and my temper sparked into an instant blaze in defense of her. My vicious growl surprised even me, and Chase and Warner instinctively backed away, eyes wide.
Abby slid her arm around my waist as mine curled protectively around her shoulder. I’d never in my life felt such a powerful protective instinct, and the strength of my unexpected reaction triggered memories of Marc’s fury anytime anyone had threatened Faythe. Ever. What had seemed irrational and excessive when the shoe had been on his foot suddenly felt perfectly appropriate. The last thing Abby needed was to feel guilty or insecure about her sex life, and I wouldn’t tolerate a single insult hurled at her.
I turned back to Chase. “You ever take that tone with her again, and I’ll consider it a personal challenge to my authority.”
“Whoa.” He took another step back and bowed his head in respect for a second—the strongest submissive gesture a werecat could give in human form. He was surprised but clearly not confused by my reaction. “I meant no offense,” Chase insisted, and I nodded, acknowledging the apology.
“Chase, listen,” Abby began as Warner closed the door behind us.
When she didn’t seem to know how to finish the thought, Chase laid a hand on her shoulder, with a quick glance in my direction to make sure I had no plans to rip it off. “No worries, kid. Brian told me the wedding’s off. But he didn’t mention this.” He glanced cautiously from her to me.
“He doesn’t know,” I growled.
“Chase, Jace didn’t… He’s not the reason…” She let go of me, as if downplaying our connection would help. “I broke up with Brian before we…”
“It’s okay, Ab,” I said. She was nervous and upset, and that made me want to kill someone. “What’s between us is none of anyone else’s business.” But we all knew that was wishful thinking on my part. Warner was right—there was no such thing as privacy for an Alpha. Or for a tabby.
Abby nodded but looked unconvinced as she turned back to Chase. “How is Brian?”
Chase shrugged. “More embarrassed than anything, I think.”
Having been dumped by the world’s most powerful tabby, I knew how he felt, but the truth was that in a way, Brian had lost much more than I had. Along with Abby, he’d lost his chance to be Alpha of her territory, and he’d almost certainly lost his chance to be a father. Toms were forbidden from procreating with humans, in order to keep our existence secret from humanity at large. Logan was a happy accident and one hell of a cute kid. But if Ethan were still alive, he would have been sanctioned for breaking a very serious rule.
Michael, Faythe’s oldest brother, had married a human, but he’d had the good sense to fall in love a woman who didn’t want children.
As both my past and my present illustrated, I had much less control over my heart and what—or who—it wanted.
“Will you give him this and tell him I’m sorry?” Abby pulled something from the front right pocket of her jeans. Her engagement ring glittered in light from the back hallway as she placed it in Chase’s palm.
He nodded. “So, what’s with the predawn invasion?” He slid the ring into his pocket and turned to pull open the refrigerator, signaling his willingness to dismiss the subject.
“Warner thinks he’s found Hargrove,” Abby said. “We’re going to take him out.”
“We’re going to bring him in,” I corrected, and she frowned at me. “The council wants to question him, and our job is to make sure they get that chance.” But she still seemed to be having trouble with the idea that we wouldn’t be killing him on the spot.
“We?” Chase pulled a soda from the fridge and popped the tab with a pointed glance at Abby. “Are we sure that’s a good idea?” He looked more hesitant than usual to question my judgment, so I made a conscious effort to relax, because my mood influenced all of theirs. No Pride was a democracy, but any good Alpha would listen to advice from a respectful and knowledgeable source, and my enforcers needed to feel free to advise.
Though so far, my newest hire had had no problem voicing her opinion.
“No, taking Abby along is a horrible idea,” I admitted. “But we’re going to make the best of it, because I’m not letting her out of my sight until every one of those bastards is in the ground.”
“She won their first fight,” Warner translated as Chase tossed him a soda.
Abby caught the next one. “It wasn’t our first.”
“And no doubt it won’t be our last. Let’s round everyone up. I’m taking Teo, Warner, Lucas, and Abby. Chase, you, Isaac, and the others will stay here, and I want at least two of you in the lodge with my mother and sister at all times.” My half brothers would be there as well, but they were untrained because neither of them wanted to serve as my employee. “Respect their privacy, but keep them safe. Got it?”
“Loud and clear.”
“And double the patrol. If there’s a foreign scent in the woods, I want to know about it. Abby?” I turned to give her instructions, but she was gone. Based on the echo of her boots in the hall, she was headed for the great room, where the displaced west cabin residents had probably camped after their patrol. “Damn it, Abby, you can’t just walk out when I’m…”
Chase and Warren laughed as I stomped after her.
I got to the great room just in time to see her launch herself across the room like a cat in human form. She landed on the couch on all fours, and Lucas made a pained oof sound beneath her. “Damn it, Abby!” He pushed her over and sat up. “That was only funny when you were four.”
“Get up!” She grinned in response to his scowl. “We’re going to ki—I mean, catch Hargrove. Warner found… Hey,” she said, with a glance at the three empty sleeping bags on the floor. Two of them belonged to Warner and Chase. “Where’s Isaac?”
Luke tossed back the blanket, which wasn’t long enough to cover his feet anyway. He always got the couch, because there wasn’t a sleeping bag invented that was long enough or broad enough to fit him. “Isaac?” he called, standing to stretch.
“He’s probably in the bathroom.” My sister Melody appeared in the doorway in a halter top and short sleeping shorts.
“Go put on some pants,” I snapped when she flopped into a chair and propped her bare feet on the coffee table. “It’s twenty degrees outside.”
“Well, it’s plenty warm in here,” she purred, stretching just to provoke me. Or to catch Lucas’s attention. She was successful on both counts.
I growled, and Lucas blinked, then looked away. They’d all seen her naked, of course, but this wasn’t nudity for the purpose of a shift or a run. This was flesh intentionally put on display because she lived for attention. “Go!” I shouted, and she jumped, startled.
Her eyes narrowed as she stood, moving as slowly as possible to obey my order, and as she passed Abby, Melody’s focus took on a riling gleam. “So,” she whispered, loud enough for the whole planet to hear, and I realized what she was going to say an instant before the words came out. “Are you sleeping with my brother?”
I was about to start shouting when Abby pulled herself up straight and propped both hands on her hips. “Would that make us even?” she asked softly. “Since you’re sleeping with my brother?”
“Whoa, what?” Lucas snapped.
A murderous growl rolled up my chest.
Abby slapped both hands over her mouth, as if she wished she could take the words back.
“You!” I glanced from Luke to my vindictive little sister. “She’s only nineteen years old!”
“Okay, wait, that’s not the point.” Abby stepped in front of me and turned my head by my chin until I looked down at her. “Only nineteen is nineteen enough,” she insisted gently, and I knew she was right, but I found it really hard to give a damn in that moment. Melody was nineteen in chronological years, but psychologically, she was as stunted as my remaining half brothers, who’d be
en raised by their psychotic father.
Calvin Malone had ordered Alex, his second-youngest son, to murder Brett, his oldest and the closest thing I’d had to a real brother. Four years under my leadership were nowhere near enough to mop up the mess Cal had made of their lives.
“Hold on.” Lucas held both his hands out, palms facing me, as if to show me he was unarmed. “Nobody’s sleeping with anybody. Right? I’ve been on the couch all night. Alone. And Abby would never…” He glanced at his sister, waiting for her to fill in the blank with the expected denial. “Because she’s engaged to…”
And that was when I realized he’d slept right through the rumors about me and his sister.
Abby frowned at Luke, and I read the impending subject change a second before she spoke. “Not you. Isaac. He’s in the bathroom, probably brushing his teeth in the shower. To wash off her scent,” she added, with another glance at Melody.
“Isaac? But that doesn’t—” Luke was the Wade brother Melody always flirted with, and he’d clearly spent the night on the couch. Abby was mistaken. Simple enough.
My temper began to cool as I turned to Lucas, trying to figure out the best way to tell him that I was, in fact, sleeping with his sister, even if he wasn’t sleeping with mine.
Abby rolled her eyes. “Your sister’s window lit up as soon as I knocked on the back door,” she said. “And the shower came on while we were in the kitchen. Melody’s still wearing yesterday’s makeup, and she just brushed her teeth. She hasn’t been to bed yet tonight.” Abby shrugged. “Well, she’s been to bed, but not to sleep.”
An angry pressure began to build up in my jaw until I realized I was clenching it. I turned from Abby to Melody, who suddenly looked terrified. “Mel?”
“Okay, Jace, don’t freak out.” She backed toward the staircase, and I realized that Abby was right—the shower was running. Specifically, Melody’s shower was running. Her bedroom and mine were the only ones on the second floor.
I turned and ran for the stairs.
TEN