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Aden stirs, and Kade glances back into the room. “Go make your call before you miss your opportunity. He’ll be awake soon.”
He doesn’t say what we both know: hurry.
Kade can stop Aden from getting out of the room or hurting himself in the attempt, but he can’t control Aden’s wolf the way I can.
I nod, then head for Kade’s room to grab his cell phone. I dial Leandro’s cell phone number from memory as I make my way down the stairs, needing to be somewhere private for this call.
As I pass the kitchen, I push the door open and peek inside. Saige is sleeping with her head pillowed on her folded arms at the kitchen table. A black blanket that smells like Kade is thrown over her shoulders, and her face is mostly covered by her long, dark hair. Beside her is a half-eaten sandwich and a glass of orange juice.
Who’d have thought Kade would be the type to make a woman a sandwich and cover her with a blanket?I mentally snort.
I’m turning toward the backyard door when the phone stops ringing.
“If this is a sales call, there’s nothing you’re selling that I would want to buy,” Leandro drawls.
I silence the motion sensor using the coded box beside the door, grip the handle and shove it open. “How about your life? Would that be of value to you?”
A surprised silence. “You’re still alive.”
I push the back door open, step out, and pull it closed behind me before leaning my back on it.
The faded scent of old sweat and something metallic lingers in the air. The contractors must have left a tool behind. As I scan the overgrown shrub-like garden—I should do something about it after I kill Rylan—I say, “You need to stay at home until we’ve dealt with this mess.”
Leandro scoffs. “A mess? Oh, I see…Nowyou’re ready to acknowledge the trouble you’ve created for yourself is a mess.” In the background, a door snicks open, then footsteps click smartly across marble. The entryway of the Desidario mansion? Seconds later, another door swings open. “You should have listened to me before you ripped open the shark’s mouth that is Rylan Trevailer and decided to climb in. That might’ve been a better time to use your head, little brother.”
I straighten from the door at my back. “Did you just leave the house?”
“Stop eavesdropping. I’m just going for a walk. Or am I under house arrest now?”
I strain and listen hard, but the crunch of small pebbles instead of the click of Leandro opening his sports car reassures me he isn’t on his way into the city.
“You’re the weak link, Leandro. Stay home.”
“Weak link?” I can almost picture him, a five-years older, longer-haired version of myself with an overfondness for Italian leather shoes, puffing up his chest. “You’re speaking to the heir apparent.”
“Only because I left the position open,” I snap, letting my frustration get the better of me.
I regret it instantly. Right now, I need Leandro to listen. Reminding him he has the position he has because the younger prodigal brother stepped out of the hot seat isn’t the way to get him to do that. I change tactics and soften my tone, because he may have fucked me over twice, but he is family.
“Look, Rylan is going to lash out at the first person he sees, and if that happens to be you, then—”
“You forget I’m the heir apparent now,” Leandro interrupts, his voice harder now. “He isn’t going to fuck with me for fear of what the rest of the pack will do. Though, I have to tell you, brother, being the golden boy isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. It’s positively stifling. No wonder you ran away.”
I glower at the overgrown garden, grinding my teeth as I choke back my first response. “Andyouforget I know how easily distracted you get when something with an Italian designer label catches your eye. Stayhome.No shopping. No trendy restaurants. When I’ve dealt with Rylan, then you can continue to bleed the trust fund dry and party to your heart’s content at your members’ only clubs.”
I hang up before the conversation can go on for a second longer. It already lasted far, far too long.
I stuff the phone into my pocket, do a quick sweep of the backyard, and when nothing catches my eye, head back inside, aiming right for the stairs.
When a door creaks open behind me, I ignore it because I’m in no fit state to talk to anyone after Leandro, least of all Saige. I owe her an apology, but right now, all I want is to punch my stupid brother in the head.
“You think Rylan is going for your brother?” Her soft question makes me halt before I can place one step on the bottom step of the staircase.
“I think it doesn’t hurt to be prepared,” I say without turning around. “I’ll get—”
“Kade refuses to tell me how you got me away from Rylan after he kidnapped me,” she interrupts. “I wondered why none of you seemed concerned about his pack coming after us, so it must be something you don’t want me to know. Did you tell him not to? You’re the alpha here, so he would have to listen. Wouldn’t he?”
Yes. Because we wiped out most of Rylan’s pack while you were dying from a wound turning septic, and you’ll try to involve yourself when we need to keep you safe.
