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“Looks like the cops found the trail of evidence we left them,” Gideon announced. “Very handy that the Red Shark’s people fled town so they’re not around to speak up for themselves—the perfect scapegoats. The Nobles have been cleared of all charges relating to the drug activity at the waterfront property.”
Rowan breathed a sigh of relief. “Then we’ll be able to resume construction.”
“Too bad we couldn’t pin it all on the Storm’s pricks,” Kaige grumbled.
Gideon frowned at his phone. “I’m still waiting to see if that tracking device I managed to get on Xavier’s boot takes us anywhere interesting. It seems active, but he’s only been going around the places we already know the Storm’s people are active so far.”
“One thing at a time,” Wylder said, clapping Kaige on the back and then glancing at me. “Let’s get the hell out of this place.”
I smiled. “Yeah.”
We climbed back to the first floor, and I stopped there to look around the kitchen and into the dining room beyond. “I’m thinking I might take this place back over for myself. Make it the new Claws headquarters. I’ll need to set up security, obviously… I’ll have to talk to Jenner and the others and see how they want to go forward from here.”
“You’re their queen,” Wylder said, nudging me. “They’ve got to listen to you. And I’m sure it’ll be more comfortable for you to have your own place without my dad lurking around.”
He paused, a shadow crossing his face. A question had been itching at me ever since the night when that mysterious package had been delivered to the Noble mansion, and now it rose up again. It’d clearly shaken up both Wylder and his father. I hadn’t totally understood the comments Wylder had made about heirs. But it’d seemed so painful that I hadn’t wanted to bring it up, giving him room to do so.
But it’d been two days, and he hadn’t said a peep to me. I hadn’t heard anything other than a few comments between the Nobles about a funeral being set up late this afternoon. Maybe Wylder was waiting for me to show I wanted to know.
“Wylder,” I said carefully, “who was it Xavier sent to your father? I know you might not want to talk about it, but you don’t have to shut me out.”
Wylder’s mouth twisted. He ran his hand over his face and seemed to gather himself. The other guys stood around us silently, and I got the sense from their awkwardness that they already knew what he was going to say.
“That was my older brother,” he said finally, his voice gone a little raw. “Roland. He was meant to take over the Nobles from my father. Dad trained him for it since he was a little kid. But when I was thirteen—Roland was eighteen—he decided he didn’t want this life. He took a bunch of money out of the Noble accounts and ran for it. I haven’t even known where he’s been.”
My heart sank. That was even worse than I’d imagined. To lose his only brother, without even having had the chance to talk to him in so long. “I’m sorry,” I murmured.
Wylder grimaced. “You don’t need to feel sorry for me. I don’t even know… He’s basically a stranger now. And—all these years, I kept waiting for him to show up and say he wanted to rule the Nobles after all, and my father would have shoved me aside for him in an instant, even after everything…” He shook himself. “I gave in to more of Dad’s demands than I should have trying to prove myself. I let him get away with what he did to Laurel. Never again.”
I squeezed his hand. “You did the best you could.”
“Maybe. Funny that when I finally got the guts to really stand up to him, Roland was already dead and gone, I just didn’t know it yet.” He raised his head, his tone darkening. “And no matter how I felt about Roland then or now, he didn’t deserve to die like that. Xavier’s added one more item to the list of things he needs to pay for.”
“And we’re going to make him regret every one,” Kaige promised, baring his teeth.
“So let’s get on with that.” Wylder swung his arm to the door. “Pack up. We’re grabbing an early lunch for a massive planning session.”
We stepped out into the morning sunlight. I locked the door behind me, and I turned back around just in time to see something small and glinting whip through the air and sink into Kaige’s neck.
“Kaige!” I yelped. It was some kind of dart. What the hell?
Kaige staggered, snatching at the thing. I was springing to help him when my ears caught several faint popping sounds in the distance. The next instant, pain jabbed into my own neck.
A rush of dizziness swept over me. I pawed at the dart, spinning around and nearly tripping over my feet. The other guys were stumbling too. My vision rippled and dimmed, and then the entire world faded to black.
