“Yes. Ms. Reyes and I are engaged to be married. Our home is her permanent address. You can reach us there day or night. You also have my cell phone number. As you can see, Nina is stressed out and upset. May I take her home or is there anything else you need?”
“Nothing further for now. I’ll be in touch.” The way he said it made it sound like a threat and Nina sighed.
“Thank you.” Nina tiredly leaned into Lex as he led her back to the car. She let him help her inside and put her head back and closed her eyes.
“Beautiful…”
“Don’t. Just don’t, Lex, because you and I both know this is Carter and if I think about it any more right this moment I’m going to hunt him down and kill him.” She said this with her eyes still closed.
“Okay, I know why I think it’s Carter. Tell me why you do.”
“I don’t think Melissa is the shooter. She seemed quite genuine with me and while she showed interest in the laptop, her interest didn’t seem out of bounds for the situation. She seems happy with being ranked where she is, ambitious but not ruthless.”
“Okay.” Lex’s voice was noncommittal.
“Eric is a tricky one. He pretends to be the man about town with the ladies and yes, he’s a bit smarmy. But, he listened to every word that was said, even as he checked out my tits.”
Lex growled. “Don’t think I didn’t notice that. Pup. He’ll keep away from you in the future if he likes breathing.”
Nina opened her eyes and looked at him. “Uh, yeah, whatever. I’d rather have wolves checking my boobs than trying to kill me. Call me shallow that way.”
Lex gave a weary sigh and waved her on.
“But Carter, he’s a vicious bastard. You can smell the ruthless ambition dripping off him.”
“You don’t think Melissa is ruthless?” Lex asked, curious.
“Not in the same way that Eric and Carter are. That challenge? Come on! Yes, he was knocked over by a human but so what? He could have turned it around and made himself look benevolent for helping Lex’s crazy human mate. But instead he challenges me to the death for it? Overreact much? He wanted to kill me and be done with it. The way he did it was desperate and that’s what worries me the most. Because he’s at the bottom of the Pack now and he doesn’t have the access to the Pack that he used to. Whatever his game is, the people he’s working with are so not going to be down with that.”
Lex looked in the rearview at his sister. “Meg, what do you think?”
“I think she’s right. Carter is hiding something and he’s desperate. You can smell it on him. Melissa is comfortable as Fourth now, she isn’t hiding anything that is bad enough to stink of it. Eric? He’s smart and strong, but too lazy to be behind this.
“The question is—what do we do now as our next step? He’s busted down to the lowest echelon of the Pack. He has no ranking at all. We can’t watch to see what he’s doing with the accounts if he doesn’t have the access.”
“Desperate people make mistakes. I think it’ll be easier to figure him out now that he’s going to be taking more risks than before. These Rogues aren’t going to just take no for an answer.” Lex tapped his finger on the steering wheel as he processed the information.
“Yes. All we have to do is stand back and watch. He’ll f**k up and sooner rather than later, I think. The way the money was going in and then out? That’s the sign of someone who is living on the margins. That’s a dangerous existence. He’s bound to get himself out on a limb soon and he’ll do something stupid.”
Lex glanced at her with a smile. “I love it when you’re devious, beautiful.”
Nina laughed. “Well, then you’re clearly with the right woman.”
Instead of continuing east, Lex got off the freeway a few miles early. “Where are we going?”
“I know you’re upset and you’re tired but I’d like to take you to the range for a bit of practice. Do you know how to use a gun? I mean,” he gave her that raised brow before turning back to the road, “I know you can use a shotgun. But do you know how to use a handgun?”
“Uh, well. You do remember me shooting Carter? I believe you were there at the time?” Her voice was sarcastic and he raised a brow. “Yeah. I carried a really old Smith & Wesson back when I was on the streets. It probably wouldn’t have shot but it made me feel better. I go to the firing range from time to time but it’s not like I’m a big pro or anything.”
Lex pulled the car down a long drive. “This is a private range for wolves. We used to use the public one but humans tend to get really nervous when they see us shooting. As a member of the Pack you have access to it and any weapons and ammo you need. The wolf who runs it was one of my mentors when I was growing up.”
They parked and Megan got out first. She scanned the area then Lex got out. Nina, growing used to the whole process, waited for Lex to come around to her side.
At the doors to what appeared to be a very nice rambler they stopped and Lex keyed in a series of numbers that Nina surreptitiously watched and noted. Just because she could and it was a hard habit to break.
The door swung open and another, very large man, er, wolf was there, armed to the teeth, er, fangs. He inclined his head. “Enforcer, it’s good to have you here.”
Lex reached out and touched the man’s shoulder. “Grey, it’s nice to be here. This is my mate, Nina. She’s Rey’s sister. She’ll be coming in a few times a week to build up her skill level.”
“Nothing further for now. I’ll be in touch.” The way he said it made it sound like a threat and Nina sighed.
“Thank you.” Nina tiredly leaned into Lex as he led her back to the car. She let him help her inside and put her head back and closed her eyes.
“Beautiful…”
“Don’t. Just don’t, Lex, because you and I both know this is Carter and if I think about it any more right this moment I’m going to hunt him down and kill him.” She said this with her eyes still closed.
“Okay, I know why I think it’s Carter. Tell me why you do.”
“I don’t think Melissa is the shooter. She seemed quite genuine with me and while she showed interest in the laptop, her interest didn’t seem out of bounds for the situation. She seems happy with being ranked where she is, ambitious but not ruthless.”
“Okay.” Lex’s voice was noncommittal.
“Eric is a tricky one. He pretends to be the man about town with the ladies and yes, he’s a bit smarmy. But, he listened to every word that was said, even as he checked out my tits.”
Lex growled. “Don’t think I didn’t notice that. Pup. He’ll keep away from you in the future if he likes breathing.”
Nina opened her eyes and looked at him. “Uh, yeah, whatever. I’d rather have wolves checking my boobs than trying to kill me. Call me shallow that way.”
Lex gave a weary sigh and waved her on.
“But Carter, he’s a vicious bastard. You can smell the ruthless ambition dripping off him.”
“You don’t think Melissa is ruthless?” Lex asked, curious.
“Not in the same way that Eric and Carter are. That challenge? Come on! Yes, he was knocked over by a human but so what? He could have turned it around and made himself look benevolent for helping Lex’s crazy human mate. But instead he challenges me to the death for it? Overreact much? He wanted to kill me and be done with it. The way he did it was desperate and that’s what worries me the most. Because he’s at the bottom of the Pack now and he doesn’t have the access to the Pack that he used to. Whatever his game is, the people he’s working with are so not going to be down with that.”
Lex looked in the rearview at his sister. “Meg, what do you think?”
“I think she’s right. Carter is hiding something and he’s desperate. You can smell it on him. Melissa is comfortable as Fourth now, she isn’t hiding anything that is bad enough to stink of it. Eric? He’s smart and strong, but too lazy to be behind this.
“The question is—what do we do now as our next step? He’s busted down to the lowest echelon of the Pack. He has no ranking at all. We can’t watch to see what he’s doing with the accounts if he doesn’t have the access.”
“Desperate people make mistakes. I think it’ll be easier to figure him out now that he’s going to be taking more risks than before. These Rogues aren’t going to just take no for an answer.” Lex tapped his finger on the steering wheel as he processed the information.
“Yes. All we have to do is stand back and watch. He’ll f**k up and sooner rather than later, I think. The way the money was going in and then out? That’s the sign of someone who is living on the margins. That’s a dangerous existence. He’s bound to get himself out on a limb soon and he’ll do something stupid.”
Lex glanced at her with a smile. “I love it when you’re devious, beautiful.”
Nina laughed. “Well, then you’re clearly with the right woman.”
Instead of continuing east, Lex got off the freeway a few miles early. “Where are we going?”
“I know you’re upset and you’re tired but I’d like to take you to the range for a bit of practice. Do you know how to use a gun? I mean,” he gave her that raised brow before turning back to the road, “I know you can use a shotgun. But do you know how to use a handgun?”
“Uh, well. You do remember me shooting Carter? I believe you were there at the time?” Her voice was sarcastic and he raised a brow. “Yeah. I carried a really old Smith & Wesson back when I was on the streets. It probably wouldn’t have shot but it made me feel better. I go to the firing range from time to time but it’s not like I’m a big pro or anything.”
Lex pulled the car down a long drive. “This is a private range for wolves. We used to use the public one but humans tend to get really nervous when they see us shooting. As a member of the Pack you have access to it and any weapons and ammo you need. The wolf who runs it was one of my mentors when I was growing up.”
They parked and Megan got out first. She scanned the area then Lex got out. Nina, growing used to the whole process, waited for Lex to come around to her side.
At the doors to what appeared to be a very nice rambler they stopped and Lex keyed in a series of numbers that Nina surreptitiously watched and noted. Just because she could and it was a hard habit to break.
The door swung open and another, very large man, er, wolf was there, armed to the teeth, er, fangs. He inclined his head. “Enforcer, it’s good to have you here.”
Lex reached out and touched the man’s shoulder. “Grey, it’s nice to be here. This is my mate, Nina. She’s Rey’s sister. She’ll be coming in a few times a week to build up her skill level.”
