Chapter Four
brYCE
Bryce was walking back from the paddock when Tristan rushed over to him, out of breath and excited.
“He’s here,” he said eagerly. “Tom Barrington, Councilor Steadman’s aide.”
“My life is now complete,” Bryce muttered.
“Bryce. I know what you think about politicians, but Councilor Steadman’s different.”
“If you say so,” Bryce said, heading toward the house. “Is this guy another obnoxious twelve-year-old?”
Tristan smirked suddenly. “I’ll leave you to find that out for yourself,” he said, changing course across the yard to meet up with Colby. “If you want us to show Tom around later, we’ll be in the barn.”
“I already told you, no sex in front of the horses. I don’t want them traumatized,” Bryce called after him.
Tristan sighed loudly. “I’m teaching Colby to ride,” he yelled back reprovingly. “Horses! I meant riding horses!” he added hurriedly, and Bryce grinned. Tristan was so easy to tease that some days it felt like he was still fourteen years old.
He pushed open the door to meet this Tom Barrington, prepared for another snot-nosed intern like Taylor Cufflinks. Someone barely out of college with more ambition than spine.
What he wasn’t expecting was… this. His wolf stirred, quiet but alert. Not like it did when it smelled a threat, but like it was trying to remember something.
The man at the counter pouring himself a coffee wasn’t a teenager playing dress-up.
He gave the impression of control and awareness.
His hair was dark and just a little wavy, his cheekbones were sharply defined beneath flawless skin, and there was the suspicion of a five-o’clock shadow on his jaw, emphasizing just how strong that jawline was.
His crisp white shirt clung to a lean, muscled frame that said he spent time doing more than typing.
Soft, gray dress pants skimmed muscular thighs and a frankly spectacular ass, and when he turned and saw Bryce, he darted his tongue out to flick over his lower lip, lush and soft.
Bryce’s brain flatlined. All he could think of was taking that lip between his teeth and tugging it until Tom Barrington whimpered.
He was still staring when Tom raised a coffee mug in greeting.
“Hope you don’t mind,” he said, then paused.
Bryce straightened instinctively under his assessing gaze. Those rich brown eyes were intelligent, calm and capable.
Tom’s gaze lingered just a little too long. When he finally looked away, biting that irresistible lower lip like he’d caught himself doing something he shouldn’t, it sent a quiet pulse of heat through Bryce’s stomach. As his gaze flicked back again, Bryce grinned, just to see what it did.
It worked. Tom flushed. Looked away again. But not without sending a quick, sideways glance back. Caught.
Okay, then. This security check just got a whole lot more interesting.
“Sorry to have kept you,” Bryce said, and sat at the table. “I figured you’d be another twelve-year-old.”
Tom stared at him, and then he grinned. It was a really good look on him. “I forgot—you had Caddel visit, didn’t you?”
“I wondered if it was ‘take your kid to work day’ but mom or dad got lost en route,” Bryce said.
“He’s one of Cheung’s protégés,” Tom said, sitting down opposite Bryce. “He’s got potential, apparently.”
“Or a daddy with deep pockets to contribute to a re-election campaign,” Bryce said.
Tom raised his eyebrows slightly but kept silent. Possibly as if he didn’t disagree with Bryce’s conclusion but wasn’t going to be disloyal enough to admit it.
“So, what do you need to know?” Bryce asked, all business again.
It turned out to be pretty much what he’d expected. Tom broke out a tablet on which he already had a list of pack members’ names. Bryce caught a glimpse of the screen, with Colby’s name highlighted. His jaw tightened. Nope. Not happening.
Tom jotted down the brief additional details Bryce offered and asked some open-ended questions, which Bryce answered in a meandering way that sounded cooperative but gave away precisely nothing. Then Tom wanted to examine for himself the potential hostile zone.
“You mean the house and land?”
Tom’s lips curved again into that grin. It did something quite remarkable to what was otherwise a serious-looking face, and Bryce found he wanted to keep seeing it.
“Sorry,” Tom said. “Jargon’s an occupational hazard.”
“I hear you,” Bryce said. “Like when I exit the vehicle in the vicinity of the building, rather than get out of my car at home.”
The grin widened. “Is it okay if I take a look around?”
Even though Bryce found himself smiling back, he was aware that there was a lively intelligence in those brown eyes. They might be smiling, but Tom’s focus on what he was here for hadn’t faltered in the slightest. Given the secret the pack was guarding, that made him a little dangerous.
“I’ll come with you,” he said. “Show you the lay of the land.”
“Thanks,” Tom said, then hesitated. “I think Tristan said he might help with that. Him and Colby.”
Well, yeah, but Bryce had given in to Tristan’s begging before he’d found out just how sharp Tom’s brain was. And before he’d clocked Tom’s interest in Colby.
Someone this perceptive wasn’t getting near Colby.
There was no way he could answer questions about his recent past without making a connection between them and Cale’s pack—a connection that no one could ever know about.
If the person responsible for the slaughter found out they knew, that they could point fingers…
They’d be dead before they knew it, based on the ease with which Cale’s larger, violent pack had been murdered.
So Bryce leaned back in his chair and let his gaze sweep over Tom, slow and appreciative.
“Yeah, but I can show you things Tristan can’t,” he said, bouncing his eyebrows in a deliberately goofy way.
He knew exactly how it came across—corny, shameless, maybe even embarrassing. That was the point. Better to be the guy who made people roll their eyes than the one who pushed when he shouldn’t. He’d rather look ridiculous than make someone uncomfortable.
Tom certainly didn’t look uncomfortable. His smile broke loose, completely genuine with no hint of caution. As if he were actually amused. “Bet you say that to all the National Council aides.”
“I’m going to have to find out,” Bryce said. “You’re the first one I’ve met.”
Tom laughed, but it seemed he didn’t miss the way Bryce had subtly redirected the conversation from Colby and Tristan.
His eyes narrowed just slightly, like he was filing the change away for later.
Damn it. Bryce better give him a reason for the change in plans, so he didn’t realize what Bryce was up to.
“Also,” Bryce added, more seriously now, “Colby’s still settling. He came out of a really rough situation a few weeks back, then he met Tristan, found out they’re mates, and… let’s just say they could use the time alone.”
Something in Tom’s expression softened. That made two things Bryce liked about the guy—the looks, and the empathy. And the way he took up space without apologizing for it yet without arrogance, either. Then there was the ass. Okay, maybe there were a few things he liked.
“Appreciate the heads-up,” Tom said, and he sounded like he meant it.
“You want to look around shifted? Can cover more ground that way.”
Tom nodded once, businesslike. But as he stood, his eyes lingered a moment too long.
Bryce didn’t let himself react. Instead, he opened the back door, letting in the scent of sun-warmed earth, and stepped out into the sunshine.
When Tom shifted beside him, Bryce’s wolf didn’t respond with the usual flash of territorial instinct around a strange wolf. No raised hackles, no warning growl. If anything, there was a quiet recognition—wordless and ancient, settling in his chest, like this presence had always belonged.
Bryce shook off the odd feeling and started up the trail. But his wolf was still engrossed by Tom, trotting almost silently behind him. His coat was a glossy dark gray, and he was lithe, alert, and focused.
He was also potentially dangerous. Bryce hated the predictable way he found that knowledge even more enticing. It was the same thing that had always attracted him to Matt—the dangerous edge, the knowledge that he wasn’t entirely safe.
He shook his head impatiently, not willing to entertain those thoughts, and led the way toward the creek, with Tom close on his heels.