Chapter 48 #2
I head straight back and hate that he’s already in the seat with his back to the wall, because it means my back’s now to the door.
He has gorgeous, deep fern green eyes, dark blond hair, and he’s slender, but 6’0” and deceptively built. I know he likely could give me a run for my money in a fair fight. Today he’s wearing khakis, a button-up with a tie, but his long sleeves are rolled up past his elbows.
I’d do him in a heartbeat if he were a wolf in our pack.
He looks like a lawyer—which he is—but he definitely doesn’t look like he’s 327 years old.
Which he also is.
He looks younger than I do, and I look like I’m in my 30s or so.
Lucky bastard.
He stands, and we shake. I wait until the waitress leaves before asking.
“Not gonna lie, your cryptic message has me a little unnerved.”
Morning nods. “I don’t want any of this in writing. I’m reasonably certain our communications are secure, but I can’t take chances considering what we’re dealing with.”
“Are the transport plans okay?”
“Well, perhaps. The rumor mill says Randolph Sterling is on the warpath, and I don’t even mean about the fuckery we already suspect him of.”
Okay, hackles up time. If he were a wolf, I could easily fool him, but he’s not.
“Warpath how?” I ask.
“He’s got lots of people quietly asking lots of questions all over Georgia, and even into the Carolinas and Alabama.”
“What kind of questions?”
Oooh, I already know the answer to this one, I’m pretty sure.
“Well, he has three Alpha sons. They’re always up his asscrack at the office, strutting around, that kind of bullshit.” He pours himself more coffee and makes me wait while he stirs creamer into it. He glances at me. “Did you know he has another son?”
Fuuuuuuuck me.
I slowly nod. “I am aware.”
He picks up his coffee mug with both hands and slowly sips, staring across it at me. I’m trying to maintain my cool because he might not know.
I hope.
“From what my sources tell me, apparently this other son is an omega,” he continues. “And he has a habit of running off, just for his father to drag him back. This time, it seems the son’s done a better job of hiding. Not that I can blame him with an asshole like that for a father.”
I sit back and sip my coffee. “Yeah.”
“And now we have other factions, even within our coalition, with their ears to the ground and hoping to find him, too.”
Shit. “Why?”
“Well, depends on who it is. There are some who want him to ransom him back, some who want him to see what kind of intel they can get from him, and some who want him because they’re convinced Sterling is behind everything and they likely want to kill the son in revenge.”
Fuck.
I think he might say something else about Mal but he moves on. “So we’re obviously being very careful with our arrangements,” he continues. “Because any unusual movements or behavior, that’ll draw interest we can’t afford.”
I nod again. “What can I do?”
“Mike and Pavin have been a huge help. They’re coordinating with Dahlia as we speak for the first part leg.
I’m working on security for the final leg—through Alabama and then east across the Florida panhandle and down the coast. Avoiding Atlanta, obviously.
We’ll transport several groups at different times… ”
I relax as he outlines his reasoning for splitting them up, how they’ll allot security, and their tactics to avoid detection. We’re thirty minutes into our discussion when he sits back and studies me, cocking his head.
“So what has you shitting bricks right now? You don’t strike me as a guy who rattles easily.”
Fuuuck.
I sit forward, leaning in so I can drop my voice. “We’re giving your group—every faction in it—sanctuary because of this.” I tap my finger on the table. “And we will lend mutual aid once plans come together to put a stop to this.”
Yep, he’s an attorney, because he slowly nods but doesn’t speak.
So I continue. “Our agreement is that we’re providing sanctuary with the understanding that not only will we do everything in our power to protect the refugees in our care, but that people from the coalition won’t harm any of our pack.”
He nods again, still not speaking.
I realize perhaps he’s just using the ancient technique of letting me talk and not interjecting to see if I’ll start nervously running off at the mouth.
Which is why I carefully pick and choose my next words. “I take giving people sanctuary very seriously. And we’ve made a habit of giving people sanctuary, some who join our pack and some who move on. It’s one of the foundations of why Father and Dad founded our pack.”
Another slow nod.
“There are others in our compound who have been granted sanctuary.”
His gaze narrows, but he doesn’t speak right away and I force myself not to continue.
“We have agreed,” Morning finally says, “to not harm anyone in your pack.” He lightly taps the table with his left index finger, his gaze still on me. “And to me? Anyone you’ve given sanctuary to? That’s the same thing. But.”
He idly traces a design on the table with his finger as he gathers his thoughts. I don’t interrupt.
“Considering the crimes against our coalition,” he says, “there are some who—understandably—might not be able to control themselves were they to find someone who isn’t of your pack, who appears to be the enemy.
” That green gaze meets mine. “But they have all pledged that your pack is off-limits, and that they will protect them just like you’re protecting the refugees, no matter who they are. ”
He’s an attorney, and he’s damned good, because I immediately grok what he’s saying. “Regardless of who the person is, if they’re pack, they will not be harmed?”
He slowly nods. “Exactly.”
I sit back, thinking. But he speaks first, holding out his hand. “Give me a dollar, or a five, or something.”
“What?”
“ Whatever you’ve got. Just do it.”
Confused, I pull out my wallet and hand him a one.
He takes it, smiling, and tucks it into his shirt pocket.
“Congratulations, Mr. Crowe, you’ve just hired yourself an attorney.
Yes, I am licensed to practice in Florida as well as Georgia.
” His smile fades. “Meaning our conversations that you bring to me for…advice that you don’t specifically tell me are exempt from privilege? I automatically keep my mouth shut.”
I stare at him for a moment, reminding myself Father trusts him. “No matter what it is?”
“Pretty much, yup. If a child or an innocent is in danger, that is a hard line, but I suspect you’re not about to tell me anything like that, are you?”
“No, I’m not.” I take a deep breath. “What if I happen to know where Sterling’s son is?”
“I have no interest in harming that kid,” he says.
“Malcolm, I believe his name is. He’s done his best to escape that psychopath several times, and kudos to him for apparently doing a better job of it this time.
But I strongly suspect if Sterling gets his paws on that kid that he’ll immediately have him killed.
” His smile fades. “My brother is dead because of Randolph Sterling, but every fiber of my being tells me that kid is as much a victim as any of the others Sterling has harmed throughout the years.”
He taps the table again. “However, there are others who are not as…introspective and discerning as I am. They want revenge at any cost. I get it, believe me. Sterling’s gone after kids and mates and familiars and people who in no way are a threat to him.
But pain does a number on people’s minds, especially grief.
” He sighs, staring right into my eyes. “The only way that kid will be safe from people who aren’t Sterling is if he’s fully a part of your pack. ”
“How do I know that even if he is officially pack that he won’t be a target?”
“He won’t be. Not from our coalition. Because every last one of them will know if he’s of your pack that he’s not guilty of what’s happened.”
I suck my teeth, thinking. “Does it have to be a mate bond?”
He shakes his head, smirking. “I know how your pack initiates people. I’ve had…
interesting talks with Mike and Pavin over the years.
I admire them for forming a pack and protecting people.
Especially since it hasn’t eaten itself alive from the inside out due to infighting and politics like many of them. ”
His smile fades. “As your attorney, I’m telling you there are only two options—get that kid far away so no one scents him, or get him initiated ASAP. And if you want my opinion, I say initiate him. Like, now.”
“It’s not that easy.”
“You have probably seven days, eight at the outside, before the first refugees arrive in your compound. I don’t care what you have to do, get him not smelling so much like Sterling and get him smelling like your pack.
Because if you move him, there’s a reasonably good chance that, no matter how or where you hide him, either Sterling’s people or someone else will find him.
And his fate will not be good if that happens. ”
“And you’re certain initiating him will protect him?”
“From our coalition, absolutely. From Sterling?” He shrugs. “Better he’s part of your pack and safely embedded there where he can be protected by yours and by the coalition.”
Well, this day certainly isn’t getting any better, and it was shitty to start with.