My heart raced as I clutched Ty’s hands. It felt like hours had gone by, and I found myself half-expecting the entire bell tower to go up in flames, killing everyone inside.
After thirty minutes or so, Nico’s team emerged with the bomb squad. Nico held the detached bomb in the air to let us know it was safe.
The bomb squad, dressed in their full gear, dispersed the explosives, and we were given the okay to enter the building.
All of us let out a collective sigh of relief. We had narrowly avoided disaster, not to mention the surrounding buildings and the small neighborhood behind the tower.
Nico waved us over, a white envelope in his hands. “This was taped to the wall behind the bomb. I’m assuming it’s from Castro.”
Dominic moved forward, snatching the envelope from Nico. I couldn’t help but notice Dominic’s hands were shaking as he ripped the envelope open.
Alpha or not, this had been a highly stressful evening, and no one was immune to the anxiety-inducing charade we’d been forced to participate in.
As Dominic scanned the letter, his face fell.
Ty spoke up. “Aren’t you going to read it aloud?”
Dominic sighed and read from the beginning.
“‘Congratulations, you saved your town from a slight tragedy. I must admit, I’m a bit surprised you figured itout. Maybe you’re not as dumb as I expected and that… is concerning. But you can rest easy. I’m a man of my word. Your next clue will be arriving soon. Sleep well, you’re going to need it.’”
47
TY
The days following Castro’s bell tower fiasco were more than stressful. There was a lot going on at Keller Enterprises, and though I wanted to shut it all out and focus solely on Castro, I couldn’t.
Everyone looked to me for final decisions when it came to negotiating deals. In one of our board meetings, I’d found myself in the middle of a heated power struggle between Bryce and the owner of a company we were in talks with.
The owner was well past the age of retirement and had no children or grandchildren to whom he could leave his business. Instead, he’d reached out to Keller Enterprises, hoping we could come to some sort of agreement.
Every time we had a meeting and it looked like we’d come to an agreement where we were prepared to sign on the dotted line, the owner backpedaled and changed the terms of the contract.
Bryce’s hair was sticking up all over his head from running his hands through it so often. He looked awful. “If you don’t want to make the deal, then why are you wasting our damn time?”
I held up a hand to shut Bryce up before I had to ask him to leave the room.
“You don’t really want to sell your company, do you?” I said, calling the man’s bluff. “At our last meeting, you told me you were anxious to move forward with the next chapter of your life and enjoying the fruits of your labors on some private island.” I scoffed. “This doesn’t sound like the same man who swore he’d never sit in on another board meeting.”
He glared at me from across the table. “Tyson, you don’t know what it’s like to build something from the ground up. Not everyone in this world gets their fortune handed to them on a silver platter. We have to earn our keep.” He stood and walked to the window, leaning against the wall. To the casual observer, he appeared indifferent, but I knew he had a bad knee and couldn’t put his weight on it for long.
“Do you trust Keller Enterprises to continue your legacy?” I ignored the asshole’s rude comment about me not having to work hard for anything. If he only knew. “I’ve even offered for you to stay on the board of directors. What more could you ask for?”
Bryce, who’d sulked in the corner long enough, said, “I may be biased, but there’s no one else in Texas—the entire country, for that matter—that I’d trust handing my business over to than Ty Keller. He works his ass off day and night to ensure his companies not only stay afloat, but surpass everyone’s expectations.”
I nodded at Bryce, silently thanking him for his kind words and, more importantly, for taking the time to calm the fuck down before he lost his temper completely and said something that sunk the deal.
By the end of the day, we acquired the company, but it hadn’t come easily. We’d spent several hours going over every detail of the contract for what felt like the hundredth time.
As I drove to the estate, my mind went back to Castro, like it always did when I had a minute alone. The burden of work wasn’t the only thing that left me feeling drained. Castro was due to send us another clue at any second, yet he left us to wring our hands and jump at every unusual sound.
Liza seemed to sleep better now that she knew I wouldn’t leave her side. I hadn’t slept at the estate for several nights, and I was getting used to Liza’s warm, soft body, and her gentle breathing that lulled me to sleep.
All my pent-up nervous energy needed to be released. I had to run. Thank the gods it was a full moon and the pack would be gathering.
But first, food. The meeting to acquire that company had run through lunch. Now, though, my stomach growled, reminding me I needed sustenance to fuel me for the long night of running ahead.
My mother was in the kitchen, supervising the chefs preparing tonight’s feast. It was a long-standing tradition for the alpha’s family to provide food after a pack run, and it created a cohesive family feel.
