AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Not that simple,” Levi said as he shuffled the scrolls we had. “He left to buy us time. We need more information before we can proceed safely. He took off to avoid the pull…you know, the one that had you tackling Charlie in the den, in full out beast mode last night?”
Johnny’s eyes went wide and his cheeks turned ruddy. “Okay, that shit was intense. Don’t tell me you had it under control.”
“I didn’t take Charlie out like a maniac.”
“It’s my fault, really,” I said, pulling both men away from their rising anger toward each other to me. “I should have had some restraint before I bit you both. I acted on instinct, but that doesn’t mean I did the right thing.”
Johnny closed the distance between us in two steps then swept me up into his arms. “You did the right thing by me.” His height forced me to tilt my head way back just to look into his eyes. “I wouldn’t change anything that happened.”
“Neither would I, but you get what Charlie’s saying,” Levi said with a huff.
“I don’t live with regrets, never have.” Or at least, I try not to. I pushed Johnny back gently, disentangling myself from his embrace. “But some caution would have avoided where we are now.”
Johnny threw his arms up. “Kane took off to delay the third bite, which means Charlie can’t reach her full power.” He looked from me to Levi. “And Charlie reaching her full power is bad?”
“It’s what Sal wants. He’s got something written in the contract that will ignite as soon as she gets and gives that third bite.” Levi picked up the contract copy we had. “At least that’s what we think. We won’t know until we get the original.”
“And we think Vincent Del Marr has the copy we want,” I said. “So we need to get it without starting a war.”
“Vincent Del Marr is Sal’s accountant?” A wicked smile broke on Johnny’s face. “Why didn’t you say so? I know exactly how we’ll do this.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Johnny
Vincent wasn’t someone I knew personally, but I did know his nephew well, so well in fact that I’d consider him a brother—a pack brother, to be exact.
“Hey, Lex, thanks for doing this, man.” We’d met Lex outside of Vincent’s side gig, an underground werewolf fighting ring that catered to humans’ insatiable need for gambling. They thought they were betting on wolf dogs when the reality was much more sinister.
“No need to thank me, Johnny.” Lex had his own trauma linked to this place, and I didn’t blame him for the nervous twitch he had on his face. “If this is a way to put my uncle out of business, I’m in.”
“That’s the plan.” Eventually at least. Lex knew we were after his uncle’s allegiance. We all knew the guy was greedy as fuck and not really one of the most loyal werewolves out there. “You tell him what I told you to?”
“Yeah, I did.” Lex shook his head. “He thinks this is about Kane taking off.”
It was a calculated risk to let Vincent think that I was coming with a chip on my shoulder because what we told him was that Kane had left the pack. We all knew that if Vincent smelled blood, he’d want a taste.
He’d agreed to the meeting within minutes of Lex texting him from the club with an invite to his private estate.
“You’ll stay out here until I signal?” I knew Charlie was itching to rip a strip off of Vincent. “No impulsive shit until I’m ready, okay?” I sounded like Kane, and Charlie gave me a fuck off and die expression. “Sorry. I’m just worried.”
We were sitting in Lex’s SUV, Charlie and Levi in the backseat, hidden by blackout windows.
“Don’t worry about me, Johnny,” Charlie said, no snark in her tone, as she reached forward, across the console to touch my arm. “I’ll wait for your signal.”
I started to turn, satisfied that Charlie would let me handle things to start.
“Unless you take too damn long,” she said, teasing me.
“I can be fast as fuck.” I flashed her a grin. “You know that.”
She swatted me, and I trapped her hand before bringing her fingers to my lips. No words necessary. Her gaze softened, and warmth pulsed through our bond.
“See you soon,” I said then exited the SUV.
Lex was a few steps ahead. “He has humans on the gate, some of Sal’s minions, but inside there’s a half dozen guys who are under his command.”
“Sal allows his goons to have their own crew?” I might have acted like Kane had no idea about my own team, but my guys had been in and out of pack missions for years, my own right-hand men, and Kane had let it slide. Normally, it was taboo to bite alliance outside of the clan without express permission from the alpha.
