“Who are you calling?” Savannah asked him.
“The nearest Truthmaker.”
He was still on the phone making arrangements when they saw a car screeching towards them. Austin tensed up until he realized that it was Grant.
He pulled up next to the truck, parked, and climbed out.
“What are you doing here?” Savannah demanded just as Austin hung up and hurried over to them.
“Excuse me. You seem to be short one psychopath,” Grant said. He looked at the empty truck with alarm, then back at Austin and Savannah. “One, two…yep, definitely short one psychopath. There should be three.” He glanced at Laurel, who was still scowling. “And you I don’t know, but you look just like Austin’s mate, so I’m guessing you’re her mother. Hello, I’m Cliff’s brother Grant. And where the hell is Roy? Is there a reason nobody’s panicking?”
When Austin explained their new arrangement, Grant looked over at the rest stop as if expecting it to burst into flames at any moment. “He’s a psycho. I don’t like it.”
“He could have killed us,” Savannah pointed out.
Austin glanced at her. “There’s something you need to prepare yourself for. If it turns out that Roy is innocent, then there’s no bounty.”
A look of weariness and resignation settled on her face. “I know. I accept that. But if he’s innocent, and I think he is, then I wouldn’t take the money from turning him in, and we can’t let him take the fall while Jason walks free.”
Admiration swelled inside him. That was his girl. She’d give up everything she had to do the right thing.
Austin glanced at the rest stop. He could see Roy through the window, calmly talking to the man at the cash register.
“I agree,” he said to Savannah. “I don’t think he’s guilty. And I know Jason’s setting me up. We’re going to meet with Mason, the Truthmaker from the Idaho Pack, and his Alpha, Shelby, in Idaho. Shelby’s going to bring a whole squad of men with him, armed with AR-15s with silver-coated bullets. If Roy’s guilty, even he won’t be able to survive that. If he’s innocent, which I think he is, then Jason will have a death order put out on his head. And he won’t have the authority to order anyone to hurt Tully’s pack; he’ll be running for his life.”
“I’m still coming with you,” Grant said firmly.
Austin felt a swell of gratitude rising in his chest, but he shook his head. “Grant. No. I can’t allow it. I can’t let you give up your inheritance and your place in the pack for me. Also, you smell funny, so I don’t really want you in my truck.”
Grant punched him in the shoulder, grinning fiercely. “I smell delightful. My mate told me so. She says I taste even better. Stop making that retching noise. Cliff and I talked about it, and agreed that one of us has to go with you, and it’s better if it’s me. First of all, technically, we don’t know for sure that you are Christopher’s son, because nobody’s done a DNA test. And the charter was written hundreds of years ago, so there’s no specific provision for that. All we have is Jason’s claim, and Jessica’s not alive anymore, so we can’t compel her to tell the truth. The Elders are going to demand a DNA test, and if it shows that you’re not Lloyd’s son, then at that point, they can forbid me from associating with you. Not before then.”
“But they might still be able to argue that you lose your place in the pack,” Austin protested. “They’ll put it to a vote.”
Grant’s gaze drifted off to the distance. “I think I was on my way out of the pack anyway,” he said. “Cliff and I are too alike. Too dominant. He’s already firmly established running the company, and I guess he doesn’t suck at it, so he needs to be the one to stay. We fight too much – I can’t even work with him anymore, much less live with him. I need to find my own pack. Make my own way.” He glanced across the parking lot. Roy, holding a paper bag, was heading towards them. “Heads up. Your own personal psycho is headed our way.”
