Chapter 12
“Let’s go, guys,” Zane said, after they landed in New York. “I just got a message from the owner of the cab company wanting to know where we are.”
Grabbing his overnight bag, Dylon said, “Tell him we’ll be there in thirty minutes.”
“Are you sure?” Zane asked, dubiously. “It’s rush hour and even on a good day, it’s supposed to take at least an hour.”
“But not if we fly,” Cody said, grinning. “There’s a helicopter waiting for us.”
“Cool,” Zane said, sending off a reply before picking up his backpack.
After thanking the steward, he followed Dylon and Cody down the plane’s steps onto the tarmac and then over to a black SUV waiting for them.
Getting in the rear seat, Zane set his backpack between him and Cody.
Hearing a message ding, he slipped his phone out of his jacket pocket and read it.
“Hey, everything’s cool with the owner.”
“Good,” Dylon said, sliding into the front passenger seat next to the driver. “The heliport, please.”
“Yes, sir.”
Less than five minutes later, the driver stopped in front of a building. “Here you are. Have a good flight.”
“Thanks,” Dylon replied, as he slid out the door, waiting for his mate and Zane to join him before saying, “helicopter’s on the roof.
” Taking Cody’s hand, he led them into the building and to the elevator.
Once in, he punched the top button, then turned to Zane.
“I think you should be the one to ask the owner for permission to access the GPS. ”
“Me?” Zane’s voice squeaked in surprised.
“Yes, you. Do you have a problem with it?”
“Other than ‘why me’?”
“You come off as a friendly guy, non-threatening and…”
“What my mate is trying to say,” said Cody, chuckling, “is he has trouble dialing back his aggressive demeanor…so as not to appear intimidating.”
“Gotcha,” Zane smirked. “Okay, I’ll do it…but you do know I don’t usually do stuff like this…I’m a behind-the-scenes guy.”
“You’ll be fine. C’mon, times-a-wastin’,” Dylon said, as the elevator doors opened, revealing a man waiting for them.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Royd, I’m Tom. Everything is ready for you,” he said, handing Dylon a thick envelope. “The keys are inside, along with your hotel reservations and my contact information.”
“Thanks, Tom. I’ll let you know when we’re ready to check out.”
Nodding, Tom opened the door to the roof. “Call at any time, sir.”
Zane followed his brother out onto the roof to the waiting helicopter.
Climbing onboard, he picked a seat by the window so he could have a birds-eye view of the city.
Lifting off, he heard Cody speak. Tearing his eyes away from the tall buildings they were skimming over, he looked over at his brother and mouthed, “What did you say?”
“I said ‘Isn’t it amazing’?”
Nodding in response, Zane turned back to the window, looking down at the sidewalks filled with ant-sized people, scurrying about.
Someday, I’ll bring my mate here so he can see this.
He’ll love it. Chuckling, he pulled out his phone, snapping a picture, then added a message, before sending it to David.
Within ten minutes, Zane felt the helicopter descending.
After the blades stopped rotating, Zane jumped onto the roof.
Looking at Dylon, he asked, “How far are we from the cab company?”
“Two minutes,” Dylon replied, “tell him, we’re five minutes out.”
“Gotcha,” Zane said, typing as he followed his brother and Dylon into the building. Within a minute, his phone dinged. After reading the message, he announced, “He’s waiting for us. We’re supposed to go to the side gate and tell the guard Mr. Vaschel is expecting us.”
“Great,” Dylon replied, ushering Cody and Zane into the elevator. Pushing the first-floor button, he waited until the door closed and they were alone. “I’ll stay in the car while you go in to talk to him.”
“What about Cody?” asked Zane.
“He’ll go with you, but will be invisible.”
“Why? Do you think there’ll be trouble?”
“No…”
“I’m going because Dylon is using me,” Cody said. “It’s our link…whatever I see or hear, my mate does also.”
“Ohhh, I get it,” Zane replied, as the elevator door opened.
“Good,” Dylon said, leading Cody and Zane out of the elevator and toward a waiting rental car. Sliding into the driver’s seat, Dylon started the car after the brothers were seated in the back.
~/~/~/~/ ~
Dialing Hunter’s number again, Jackson stared out his study window.
Worry was setting in since his cousin hadn’t returned his calls nor had Carson.
Up until now, he’d come up with a number of possible reasons, but no longer.
Dinner was over, time to get acquainted with everyone at the chateau had passed and, by Jackson’s calculations, Hunter was getting ready for bed.
Counting the unanswered rings, he decided if his cousin didn’t answer this time, he’d have Steel get on it.
“Hello?” Hunter said, his voice thick with sleep.
“Hunter? It’s Jackson.”
Sitting up on the edge of the bed, Hunter rubbed his eyes, trying to wake up. If Jackson was calling, something must have happened to one of his brothers. “What happened? Quin? Is he okay?”
“Quin’s fine. Listen, I found out today your uncle has a meeting with Josiah. According to the email, your uncle has something very important to tell him,” Jackson said. “Two guesses as to what that might be.”
“Fucking sonofabitch!” Hunter growled. “Do you know when it is?”
“Only that it will occur in the next two days.”
“Thank the Fates for small favors,” Hunter muttered under his breath. “Okay, I’ll handle this tomorrow.”
“How? You’re in France?”
“Do you really want to know?”
“Yeah, I kinda do,” Jackson said. “I need to know if I have to put my pack on high alert, because I’m pretty sure when Josiah finds out our mom’s alive and watched him kill our family, his goons will be heading here to make sure she never testifies against him. ”
Exhaling, Hunter knew Jackson had a good point.
From everything he read in the complaint on file at the High Council, Josiah wouldn’t have any problems killing anyone who got in his way.
“My uncle is a greedy bastard, so I’m sure he won’t be giving information away for free.
However, there’s one thing he loves more than money and that’s power.
I found this out after my father died. Since this is my uncle’s Achilles heel, tomorrow I’ll issue a challenge for leadership of the Rolling Hills Pack. ”
“Why would that stop him?” asked Jackson. “And more importantly, can you defeat your uncle?”
Snorting, Hunter replied, “With one hand tied behind my back. My uncle knows if I ever decided to reclaim my birthright, he’d lose…
not only in the fighting arena, but also the support of the pack members who didn’t want him as their Alpha to begin with, after my father died.
The last thing my uncle wants is word to get out that I’m challenging him. ”
“I get that, but how will this stop your uncle from meeting with Josiah?”
“Simple, initially my challenge will be made to him privately. That way, I can withdraw it if he drops the idea of a meeting with Josiah. However, if he goes through with it, I will file the challenge with the High Council, making it public.”
“Are you ready to become the Alpha of the Rolling Hills Pack? The reason I ask is I learned a long time ago never to issue an ultimatum unless I was prepared to accept the outcome.”
“If I have to, I will. Aunt Hope is my family, too, and I’ve had enough of my uncle’s shit. ”
“Yeah, I certainly know that feeling,” Jackson said. “Okay, let me know what his response is.”
“I will.” After assuring Jackson that Carson was fine, they exchanged good-byes before hanging up.
Setting his phone down on his nightstand, Hunter felt his long-buried rage surface again.
Fucking asshole! I should have killed him that night…
the night he wanted to sell Quin to a sadistic, fucking monster.
Sitting up, Fionn placed his hand on his mate’s back, rubbing it in soothing circles, attempting to calm Hunter. “If it helps any, I can fry your uncle to death with my dragon fire.”
Picturing that, Hunter turned and smiled at his mate. “I daresay that would definitely be something I’d love to see.”
“Then consider it done. Besides, your uncle deserves it for trying to hurt Quin.”
“He does, indeed,” Hunter said, thoughtfully. “C’mon, let’s go back to bed. We have a busy day ahead of us.” Sliding back under the covers, he pulled Fionn tight to him, inhaling his mate’s scent. “Love you, pet,” Hunter murmured, just before sleep reclaimed him.
Fionn listened to his mate’s steady breathing but was unable to join him; his mind was whirling with the new threat his mate was facing.
There was no way he was going to let Hunter fight his uncle because he knew what it felt like to kill a relative, so it only made sense for him to do it instead.
And if that meant barbecuing the asshole who wanted to destroy Quin, then so be it.
Protecting a mate applied to both of them.
This was his chance to step up and show Hunter he could.
Once the matter was settled in his mind, sleep came easily.
~/~/~/~/ ~
After showering and dressing, Glenn entered the cabin, sat down, opened his computer, and clicked on his email program.
The sleep he got was not only enough to make up for what he’d missed, it was also enough to help him develop a plan.
He began to type out questions to the head agent of his mother’s surveillance team so he could hit the ground running when they landed—without wasting time ferreting out information that should have been included in his briefing from the Hare.
After clicking ‘send,’ Glenn glanced up as a shadow fell over him.
“Good morning, Paul…maybe I should say good afternoon.”
“Probably,” Paul grinned. “We’ll be landing in an hour…”
“That soon?” asked Glenn, surprised.
“Yes. According to the Captain, he was told to put the pedal to the metal to get you to New York as fast as he could.”
“I owe someone a big thank you.”
“I’ll pass it along,” Paul said, chuckling when he heard Glenn’s stomach growl. “What would you like me to serve you…breakfast, lunch or dinner?”
“You better make it lunch,” Glenn replied, “that way at least one part of me will be in sync with the current time.”
Giving a short nod, Paul said, “Lunch, it is.”
~/~/~/~/~
Zane peered out through the front windshield at the squat, dirty building surrounded by rows of shiny, yellow taxicabs, all parked behind a tall, iron fence.
Hopefully, one of them would give him the location of Willow Thatcher.
Turning to the guard who was approaching Dylon’s car window, he took a discrete sniff, surprised to find a shifter, one that smelled like the pigeons he once fed peanuts to in a park.
Holy shit! A pigeon shifter! He’s the first one I ever met.
“Hello sir,” the guard said respectfully, his nose twitching as he tried to pick up their scents.
“Hi, Mr. Vaschel is expecting us,” Dylon said, keeping his voice low.
“Names, please.”
“Dylon Royd and Cody and Zane Blackwood.”
Looking down at his clipboard, the guard found the names, crossing them off. Then, he studied Dylon. “You guys aren’t here to cause any problems, are you?”
“No, sir. We just need some information. That’s all,” Dylon replied.
Giving a short nod, the guard walked over to the gate and entered a code into a keypad.
Stepping out of the way, he waited until Dylon drew even with him before leaning into his window.
“You should know, we are very protective of Mr. Vaschel. Don’t try any shit, and you won’t have any problems with us.
” Then straightening up, he added, “Have a good day, gentlemen.”
Inclining his head in acknowledgement, Dylon slowly drove on until he reached an empty spot near a door marked entrance. After parking, he looked at Zane in the rearview mirror and asked, “Did any of your research indicate shifters worked here?”
“No,” Zane replied, “but only because I didn’t have time to research their employees’ files. Was that a pigeon shifter?”
“Yeah,” Dylon smirked, “a pigeon shifter with big balls.” Looking over his shoulder at his mate, he asked, “Ready babe? ”
“Yup,” Cody said.
Hearing his brother murmur a few words, Zane watched as Cody disappeared. “You know, that is pretty cool.”
“It comes in handy,” Cody said, his voice the only evidence that he was sitting next to Zane.
“Okay, showtime. Zane, get out, drop something, and while you’re bending down to get it, Cody will climb out. Once he’s safely outside, he will touch your arm to let you know it’s okay to shut the door. When you return, reverse the process. Any questions?”
“Nope,” Zane replied, grabbing the door handle.
“One other thing,” Cody said, “remember to give me time to get through any doors before you shut them.”
“Will do. Touch me once you’re okay,” Zane said, and after hearing an affirmative from his brother, opened the car door and slid out.
Moving slightly away from the car, he bent over, appearing to retie his shoelace and when he felt his brother tap him, rose and shut the car door.
Walking over to the office door, Zane opened it and paused a moment for his brother to go in before following him.
Smiling at the girl behind the counter, Zane announced himself and after getting directions to the owner’s office, walked down a long hallway until he reached a door at the end of it.
After knocking, he heard a gruff voice summoning him in.
Opening the door, Zane entered, moving aside until receiving Cody’s tap, after which he shut the door.
“Mr. Vaschel, I’m Zane Blackwood. Thank you for agreeing to meet me on such short notice. ”
“Have a seat,” Vaschel said, waving a hand toward the chair in front of his desk. “What can I do for you? You said you needed some information.”
“Ahh…yeah...I mean, yes, I do. I believe the person who attacked your driver and stole your cab has also kidnapped a friend.”
“I don’t know anything about that,” Vaschel said, “my driver told the police he doesn’t remember what the guy who hit him looked like.”
“That’s okay…well, not really okay, but that isn’t the information I need.”
“Then, what?”
“I’d like to access the GPS tracker to find out where the cab went after your driver was attacked. If I’m right, it’ll give me an address where I can find my friend,” Zane said, holding his breath as he waited to see if his request would be granted.