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As he returned to the living room, Ryland pulled out his phone and called his mother. She answered on the first ring. “Who died?”
“What?” he asked.
“Who died? Surely, someone must’ve died for my son to call me. Your older brother is the only one who calls, and even then, it’s usually to give me an order.”
“Wilder is good at giving orders.”
“His orders are usually about keeping you in hand.”
Ryland grinned. “I’m not that bad.”
“Then why are you calling me?”
“I need to get into the art museum. Are you on that board?”
“Of course. But why do you need to get into the museum?”
“Someone is after an important artifact. I’ve got to make sure the place is secured.”
“Oh, all right. You can call Arabella Price. She’ll tell you what to do. Don’t forget to ask about her mother. The poor woman’s health has taken a turn again.”
“Yeah.” His mother was always up on the newest gossip, but it wasn’t news that Mrs. Price’s health was failing her. She’d been sick for as long as Ryland had known Arabella.
“Thanks for the information, Mom.”
“Before you go, you are joining me for dinner tomorrow night.”
He groaned. “I don’t have time.”
“Ryland Wolverton, you will make time for your mother. You’re my only son in the city, and that means you have to make up for your brothers’ absences.”
“Fine. Send me the details.”
“Kisses, darling.” She hung up the phone before he could say anything else. Wilder got his terrible phone etiquette from their mother.
Ryland scrolled through the lists of properties his family owned. Any one of them had to be a fine safe house for Caroline.
Yet, he remembered a flaw every time he decided on one location.
The ancestral home would put Caroline in contact with his mother. That was an unholy alliance he didn’t want to make. With his luck, his mother would guess Caroline was his mate.
He could send her off to his twin sister Rylee, but she’d just announced her first pregnancy, and since then, she’d turned into a bigger, scarier version of herself.
Canaan’s compound was another good choice, but his little brother was newly mated, and that would only put Caroline in an awkward position of hearing wild sex twenty-four-seven.
There were other options, of course, but none fit.
That’s because you want to keep her close to you. Because she’s your mate. Why fight it?
Ryland hated it when his wolf talked to him like that.
EIGHT
RYLAND
The museum was quiet. Only a few groups of tourists walked around, staring at some old paintings worth more than Ryland could comprehend for canvas and colorful liquid. In his position with BMA, he’d seen more than one life ruined over paintings and pieces of art.
He had never understood their appeal.
