Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
K aine didn’t like how quiet his house was now that his mate wasn’t in it.
Lucky had been gone less than three days and his tiger was whining.
Going into work today was out of the question with the animal sulking.
It was at its meanest, and Kaine didn’t want his staff to pay the price for his attitude.
Staying home allowed him to bask in the last of Lucky’s scent.
That and the candle he had lit on his desk were all that was left of his mate’s visit.
Besides, what he was working on today had nothing to do with HB Inc. He was still getting stalled regarding his grandfather’s murder. Josiah sent him over the information he’d found on the detective in charge of the case as well as the notes the male had been keeping.
He’d been skimming them all morning and he frowned when he realized that the detective was looking into his grandmother’s death along with Henry’s. Kaine didn’t understand what one had to do with the other, so instead of trying to puzzle it out, he pulled up the detective’s information.
The male answered on the first ring. “Saint.”
“Detective St. Claire, this is Kaine. You were assigned to my grandfather’s case, Henry Browne. I’m calling to see if I can get an update from you.” Kaine used the voice he used for all of his business deals, hoping the cajoling tone would avoid any more stalling.
Saint was silent for a long moment. “I was told to back off that case.”
“By who?”
“Upper brass. Your family owns a lot of shit in this town; I was told that further inquiries would be unwelcome.”
Kaine sat back in his chair, a frown creasing his forehead. “Is that right? Why are you looking into my grandmother’s death?”
The detective cursed. “Now, how would you know that?”
“That’s irrelevant to the question.”
There was another long pause and Kaine didn’t think that the cop would answer. But then Saint sighed.
“I was doing background and found out that the files around the…accident were missing as well. Couple that with pressure for me to drop the case and I find that odd.”
Kaine grunted, his tiger getting restless as an unwanted thought popped into his head. Could the two things be related?
“Keep looking,” Kaine ordered the detective. “No need in telling your boss if they don’t want to know.”
Saint chuckled sardonically. “Into your grandfather?”
“Into both.”
“I’m new to this department, hell, this town. You got pull like that?”
“Keep digging and keep me apprised if there is any further resistance.” Kaine ignored his question because once Saint started asking around, he would find out the answer for himself.
The detective hummed. “Interesting. Perhaps we should meet in person.”
“We can meet when you have something to tell me, Detective St. Claire. If there are any resources you need, or specific obstacles, feel free to reach out,” Kaine told him.
Saint grunted. “Saint is fine. And understood.”
The male hung up and Kaine wrestled down his animal and the temper that had his temples throbbing.
Were the two deaths connected? And was it connected to the attempt on his life?
Was someone in the guild trying to replace him?
He thought back to the day before his grandfather had died.
He’d been out of town on a job and had only talked to Henry for a few minutes.
Nothing about the call had been strange, but now he wished he’d given him more time.
The door to his office opened and his sister sauntered in. She was in a yoga set, the natural sway of her lithe body evidence of the many years of ballet their mother made her take.
“It smells amazing in here!” Eve announced.
Kaine looked over at the candle he had lit. It smelled like his mate, a floral scent that reminded him of her perfume. His tiger had calmed the moment he lit it.
“Big brother, why are you frowning?”
He debated lying to her, but his sister was nothing if not persistent.
“Working,” was the answer he settled on.
“On what?” Eve asked as she perched on the edge of his desk. She peered at the files and her eyes widened before he was able to close the folder. “You’re looking into grandfather’s death?”
“You expected differently?”
She studied him for a moment, grief in her eyes before she shook her head. “What have you found out?”
“Not enough to kill anyone.”
She growled and narrowed her eyes. “There’s something else…” she muttered, waving a finger at him.
Instead of telling her that there was reason to believe someone had also killed their grandmother, he hedged.
“Someone tried to kill me.”
Eve gasped and Kaine realized that probably wasn’t a better subject. His sister was bloodthirsty, and from the way her tiger shone through her gaze, she’d been activated.
“Are they dead?”
He sucked his teeth at that silly question.
“Well, did you get any information from them before you let your tiger kill them?”
“Not anything we can use,” he admitted.
“Who do you think hired them?” He didn’t want to say it aloud, but Eve could always read her brothers. “The guild? Someone is trying to take you out?”
He shrugged because he couldn’t confirm it yet.
“If they’re trying to take you out for your position, then it means they could’ve killed grandfather. You think someone in the guild is that bold?”
“Ain’t nothing but bold motherfuckers in the guild, baby girl.”
Eve sighed. “That’s why you put my security on alert?”
He nodded and she nibbled her bottom lip with her teeth. “Do I need to be worried?”
“I’m confident that you can take care of yourself, it’s just a precaution. Let’s change the subject.”
She nodded and was quiet, but then… “I smell the panther all over the house. Was she here while we were out on assignment?” Eve’s smile was mischievous.
“Never mind, let’s talk about someone trying to murder me.”
She laughed and leaned closer to him. “Tell me about her.”
“Her name is Lucky. She’s gorgeous, you’ll like her.”
“I’m sure I will. When do we get to meet her?”
He shrugged. “We’ll see. You and Easy both have been busy.”
Eve stood from his desk. “Just let me know next time she’s coming this way and I’ll make sure to clear my schedule to meet my new sister.” She came around the desk and kissed him on the top of his head, nuzzling her cheek against his hair. “I’m happy for you, big brother.”
He nodded his thanks. Once his sister left his office, he locked the file up in his desk and tried to get his mind off Lucky and back onto work, but a mere two minutes after Eve walked out, his little brother busted through the door without knocking.
Ezekial and Kaine shared the same build, though his brother worked out more than he did.
They both stood at six foot four, their faces just shy of identical.
They shared the same full lips, Nubian nose, and heavy dark brows.
Easy’s eyes were slightly bigger than his, turned up on the ends, appearing more catlike.
Their matching dark skin was also where they varied.
As a tattoo artist, Easy’s skin was covered in ink, and Kaine only had a few on his arms that stopped right before his wrists.
His brother also kept his hair longer, the cornrows neat and maintained.
“Fuck Eve talking ‘bout, someone tried to kill you?” Easy snapped.
Kaine sighed before explaining to his brother the same thing he’d told their sister a few minutes ago. Easy stood with a scowl on his face and his hands crossed over his chest. His eyes were blue, a growl sounding off every few minutes as Kaine recounted the details.
“I trust you to handle all that shit,” Easy said, settling into the chair in front of Kaine’s desk. “Now, what’s this about a mate? When that happened? Is it the panther that has this whole place smelling like her?”
He nodded and his brother finally smirked.
“Your mom finna nut up.”
Kaine sighed. He didn’t even want to consider how their mother would react to him not mating with a tiger shifter.
“Rah bucking the system. That’s what’s up. When do we get to meet her?”
He was no closer to the answer than he had been when Eve had asked, so all he could do was lift and drop his shoulders. He didn’t like not having an answer to that, so he would make it his mission to change that when he pulled up on Lucky.
Easy sucked his teeth, leaning forward on his desk. “What you finna do about this hit?”
In lieu of more information on his new mate, his brother circled back to the attempt on his life.
“I got Josiah looking into it to make sure it ain’t on our official channels.”
“Wouldn’t that be some shit? Your hit going out on the system we built.” Easy shook his head. “We clearly ain’t acting ignorant enough. We might have to start acting like your sister and randomly showing our ass so people won’t forget who we are.”
Kaine chuckled. “Man, gone.”
Their sister’s temper was legendary and everyone in the Aces knew better than to cross her. As the guild’s cleaner, she could kill a person and make sure there was nothing on Earth left of their presence.
Ezekial stood. “We should go out this weekend.”
Kaine shook his head. “Going to see my baby tomorrow.”
Easy’s smile already had Kaine dreading what his brother was about to say. “I may tag along. It’s been a minute since we’ve hung out.”
“We can hang out when I get back,” Kaine told him.
“Nah, I want to meet my new sister. How you already being stingy with her?” Easy joked.
“No.”
His brother laughed and left his office and Kaine could only sigh because he knew his siblings, and his no never went far with either of them.