Chapter 33
Bronc
The pack barbecue raged bright and festive against the Texas sky, a wild feast of smoke and chatter as my mind spun miles from the celebration.
Everything weighed heavily after Juliet’s rescue—tangled shifter knowledge, threats from her past, fires we’d lit to keep our people safe.
I needed to huddle with the officers, map out the dangers crowding us, so I jerked my head toward the compound where church met, and they followed me inside.
Wrecker dove right into our latest intel.
“Hastings Pharma lab data’s gone. Wiped from every system after the accident,” he said, the word slick with irony.
We all knew it was no accident. My hands fisted, but my heart eased some.
Harrison was dead, the rest of them as well.
Juliet was free. Still, my gut churned remembering all that had happened.
Big Papa rose from the rolling chair and stepped over to the huge wood table where Wrecker sat. “That fire took out all of their shifter research?” His calm eyes found mine. “Everything?”
Wrecker nodded. “Lila Chen was their lead shifter researcher, and she bought it with the rest of them. So did their guards. We made sure there was nothing left to pick up. No trace of anything for anyone to find.” The tightness in his gravelly voice showed the weight of what we’d done, how dangerous those few weeks in Central America had been.
But there was still a bigger danger waiting in the wings. “We didn’t plan on Charles Hastings,” I said. “Him bein’ on his deathbed makes it more and less complicated, though.”
“Couldn’t risk a hit on him at this stage. We can make it look like natural causes,” Wrecker said.
“If his ramblings ever turn into more, we may need to. Took us too long to find Harrison. He clearly had too much time to further his plans.” Menace leaned back, tapping his fingers on the table.
His face was unreadable, but I could tell he wanted this behind him.
“We won’t make the same mistake with the old man. ”
“Juliet’s doing better?” Big Papa’s voice had the soothing tone of a lullaby.
“She’s tough,” I said, my words more of a growl.
“We all knew she could be feeling some PTSD, but fuck if that little wolf hasn’t been more resilient than any man I ever knew.
She’s a fighter through and through, and she’ll be damned if she lets that fucker stop her from thriving as Luna of this pack.
I know she’ll have some bad days, but she’s not gonna let anything get in her way.
And I’m gonna be right beside her making sure she’s okay. ”
Menace nodded. “You got yourself a good one there, Alpha. We’re all lucky to have her as our Luna. And we’ve all got her back.”
I cleared my throat and stood, my emotions raw. “I’d have never gotten her back if it weren’t for every one of y’all. You are exactly what brotherhood is all about.” I looked down and tapped my knuckles on the table, trying to keep myself in check.
Sitting back down, I got us back on to the business at hand. “So, there’s still a goddamn mess we need to deal with before it comes to bite us all.”
They all knew what I was talking about. They’d helped track the financial drain that had hit my business.
“I’m of course talking about the theft of funds from the motorcycle shop. What started out as small amounts seems to have grown to larger ones. This has been going on for well over a year. And until Juliet, it was happening without notice.”
Wrecker moved his tablet aside and leaned forward, clasping his massive hands together. “Juliet’s expertise is possibly going to draw out the mastermind of the entire operation. I honestly don’t believe it’s some lower level patched in guy.”
Arsenal shot me a concerned look. “So this could be more dangerous than we think.”
The stark truth of it carved itself into me. She’d walked right into another shitstorm. My chest tightened at the thought.
“We can handle this,” Big Papa said. “We’ve handled threats from other packs and other clubs before.
They aren’t targeting Juliet. They’re targeting us.
She just happened to be the one to take the lid off the pot of shit they’re stirring.
We’ll be meticulous as always and find out who’s got beef with us, and then we’ll take their fucking heads off. ”
The man had a way with words. I couldn’t help laughing. “Easy enough.”
“Then there’s Sawyer.” Menace’s voice broke through the quiet that settled after Big Papa’s statement.
My eyes shot to his. We’d pulled Sawyer out of the same hell as Juliet, but there was a nagging doubt in my mind, an uncertainty I couldn’t shake. “Is she adapting?” I asked.
Menace took a deep breath. “She’s doing okay. You know how these things are. Takes time.”
“You keeping her warm at night?” I shot back. There was an edge of humor in my voice, trying to lighten the mood that threatened to drown us.
“Fuck you,” Menace said, but there was a smile in it. “It’s a process.” He rubbed the back of his neck and leaned back in the chair.
Big Papa laughed. “More of a process for some than others.” He fixed Menace with a look. “She planning on staying?”
“Hell if I know.” Menace shook his head. “I didn’t think I would care.”
Damn, he doesn’t want her to go. “Why isn’t she reaching out to her pack?”
He looked at me, then down at the table. “She’s a little like Juliet in that way. Might not be telling me everything.”
It confirmed what I’d been afraid of. Her past could come back to bite us in the ass, and it could be as dangerous as what we were already facing. “That girl has secrets. Could be trouble.”
“She’s okay,” Menace repeated, more to himself than to us.
“Juliet should befriend her. We need to know what’s up,” I said, watching for his reaction. “Last thing we need is trouble with renegade packs. I know you don’t like it, but Wrecker’s gonna need to do a full background.”
“She’s gonna stick around, so maybe you’ll see how wrong you are.” Menace looked annoyed by the prospect of us digging. “She’s not a risk.”
“That’d be a goddamn change,” I replied. It was his turn to scowl, and I fought the grin that wanted to spread across my face.
The topic shifted again, this time back to business. Back to the gnawing concern that twisted my gut. “Let’s focus on this mess at the motorcycle shop. We need a plan,” I said, leaning over the table. “What if this hits us harder than we think?”
Wrecker’s eyes met mine, cold and sharp. “We’ve got some theories. Leads to follow.”
“I want more than theories,” I said. My voice was sharper than I intended.
“We need time to figure it out.” Menace was all business again, arms crossed over his chest.
“How much time?” I asked, knowing it was a dangerous question.
“Give me two weeks. We’ll know more by then. We can give a full report when it’s locked down,” Wrecker said. “I’ll keep on it. You know I will.”
“Two weeks. Then we take action, whether we know or not.” I needed this resolved, needed the weight off my shoulders and Juliet safe again. I dismissed the others, gave them their assignments, my mind still running with the possibilities.
They left one by one, leaving me alone in the church room. I sat at the table for a long minute, my eyes staring at nothing, my thoughts lost in the chaos of it all. We’d survived so much, had so many successes, but this felt different.
My head was still spinning when Menace walked back in. I hadn’t expected him to come back. “Sawyer really worth the trouble?” I asked, as he sat down again.
“She’s worth more than you think,” he said, his voice low, intense. “I’m not gonna screw it up.”
“Never thought you would,” I replied, and this time there was no bite in my words.
“She’s stickin’ with us,” Menace murmured, almost to himself. His words told me he believed it, that maybe I should, too.
I sat in the silence, knowing we didn’t have much of it left. “We need to get a handle on all this. Before it’s too late.”
“Gonna find out a lot in two weeks.” He stood and moved toward the door. “Let’s hope we’re ready.”
“Goddamn, let’s hope.” I felt a strange mix of relief and tension as I stood and followed him.
I stepped out of the quiet church meeting, leaving behind my whirling thoughts and a crisp agenda for the pack’s survival.
Returning to the backyard barbecue was like stepping into a Texas Indian summer, full of life and heat and something wild I’d tried to keep at bay.
Juliet’s laugh caught on the breeze before I saw her, burning away the doubts I’d fought with all week.
This woman who chose me and our mad world—my reckless girl who’d seen too many dangers at her heels.
I found her near the crowd, under strings of twinkling lights.
She looked up at me, radiant, and all my defenses cracked like the sound of the first shot in a war.
Her small wave and adorable smile shattered me.
Pack women and children surrounded her, and she lovingly gave them her time.
She’d handled becoming a part of this world with amazing resilience.
I’d explained to her that the supernatural world was vast well beyond shifters.
Mapping out that the governing structure of the Supreme Council of Supernaturals consisted of representatives of Shifter Kings, Vampire Kings, Witch Queens, and even a Demon King and Angel King, almost knocked her for a loop.
But yet again, she took it all in stride.
I hadn’t yet informed her that her best friend from college was a vampire princess, but I couldn’t keep that from her much longer.
I had a feeling Lucia would be on our doorstep any day now.