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“Does Kyra know?” asked Ash.
“Colby?” screeched Kyra from down the hall.
“I suspect she does now,” laughed Colby. “I asked Scott’s brother Graeme to reach out for me.”
The door burst open, and Kyra entered his office. She most likely would have come over the desk to get to him if Scott hadn’t caught up with her.
“Kyra, enough,” said Scott.
“Don’t you Kyra, enough me. He lied to me. For years and years, he lied.”
“I would point out he lied to just about everybody, but he did it to keep us all safe. My guess is he probably manipulated you into applying for the job as my deputy,” said Jax.
Colby held up his hands. “I’m pleading the Fifth.”
Kyra was struggling to break free of Scott’s hold. Then as if she was a balloon that had been stuck with a sharp pin, all the air seemed to go out of her as her knees buckled. Later there would be a debate as to who kept her from hitting the ground: Scott or Colby.
“You lied to me,” she accused him softly. “All the terrible things I said and thought about you. I said so many terrible things…”
“It’s okay, Kyra. I had to make you believe. If you hadn’t believed, you wouldn’t have helped me sell the cover.”
“Winter knew?”
Colby nodded. “She didn’t like it any more than I did, but she agreed with me. You were safer not knowing.”
“But Brie knew…”
“Not at first. She reluctantly accepted my help because I had money, and Windsong was a safe refuge. For what it’s worth, once we formed the Resistance, I started trying to reach you.”
She grinned. “We were backpacking in the Himalayas.”
“One more thing off your bucket list. Look, I know I have a lot to make up for, but I fear we have a more immediate problem on our hands.”
“Adriana Mulroney?” said Ash.
“Who?” asked Jax.
“Adriana Mulroney. She’s a witch/wolf-shifter hybrid. Apparently Strode has set his sights on her,” answered Colby.
“What the fuck does he want with her?” asked Jax.
“Not sure. I suspect he’s going to try to use her to fulfill the prophecy he wanted to use Cullen Manchester’s mate for. I only found out about Adriana when I returned from the Lower Forty-Eight. I will trust you all to keep her presence here at Windsong a secret. From what I gathered from Hamish, the Shadow Sisters got her out of a tight spot and brought her here.” Brie joined what was now becoming a crowd in his office. “I need to meet with Brie to get brought up-to-speed. Once we come up with a plan, we’ll let those who need to know, know.”
“Why don’t we just kill him?” asked Kyra. “Strode, I mean.”
“That’s not as easy as you might think,” drawled Colby, “but it doesn’t mean it isn’t on the table. Now, I need you all to leave me. I need to talk to Brie about our most recent guest.”
Brie stood aside as the others left.
“Tell me about Adriana Mulroney. Hamish didn’t know much.”
Brie nodded. “Caye wanted me to express her gratitude. The whole thing unfolded far more rapidly than any of us would have liked, and Hamish took us in with pretty much no notice. I suppose that’s as much yours and my fault as anyone’s.”
“Probably, but even superheroes take the occasional night off.”
Brie smiled. She was truly beautiful.
“The short version is that Strode found out about her. Her people are witches and are said to have descended from the banshees…”
