10. Eli
I t felt odd to be back at my parents’ house where I’d lived until two weeks ago. However, Jonathan and I both agreed it would be the best place for us to meet. The media was still following our every move, but the gated community I’d grown up in would keep the jackals at bay. Not to mention the added assurance that no one who wasn’t trusted would overhear anything being said.
When I walked into the main living room, I found Crew stretched out on the couch with headphones on and a tablet in hand. It was clear he hadn’t heard me enter as he frowned at whatever was on the screen, chewing on the butt of his stylus. Once I was close enough, I waved a hand in front of his face, which caused my younger brother to jerk back, almost falling off the couch.
“Fucking shit,” Crew swore as he yanked off his headphones. “What the hell, Eli.”
I smirked as I slid my hands into the pockets of my slacks. “Is that how I should expect to be greeted now when I come to visit? People might think you’re happy to finally have the house all to yourself.”
Crew rolled his green eyes which were identical to our father, Rawlins’. “Bro, it’s only been a week. You’re gonna need to be gone longer than that for me to miss you. Right now, it feels like you’ve been on a business trip or something.”
“You must be lost in a project not to notice it’s actually been two weeks,” I corrected.
My brother sat up, frowning. He grabbed his phone and pulled up his calendar. “Well, would you look at that? My, how time flies. So, what brings you back here in the middle of the afternoon?”
“I’m meeting with Jonathan and his investigator,” I shared. “With the press still following our every move, I thought it would be best to keep a low profile. Mira Chambers decided to counter-sue.”
Rage flashed in my younger brother’s eyes. “Fucking bitch,” he growled out, shoving to his feet. “Tell me what grounds exactly she could have to sue you? There is no disputing the facts of what she did, her own fucking son turned his back on her to get a better deal.”
“Mrs. Chambers is alleging harassment,” I answered as the doorbell chimed through the house.
Our housekeeper, Margret, headed for the door, but I motioned for her to wait. “I’ve got it, Margret. No need to trouble yourself when they’re here to see me.”
The middle-aged woman paused and smiled upon seeing me. “It’s good to see you, Mr. Eli. The house has been so quiet now that you and Miss Bailey-Rose have moved out. Will you be needing any refreshments for your meeting?”
“I haven’t had lunch and I’m guessing neither have my guests. Would you mind putting something simple together for us?” I requested as I opened the door to find Jonathan and another man waiting. “Good afternoon. Please come on in.”
“Eli,” Jonathan greeted with a grin and a nod. The other man followed without saying a word, his face unreadable.
“Margret was just asking me if we needed anything, and I suggested lunch. I haven’t had the chance to eat yet, so feel free to let her know if you’d like a meal as well,” I offered as I scanned the driveway and road beyond, ensuring they hadn’t been followed in before shutting the door.
“Lunch for myself and my associate would be wonderful. Thank you, Margret,” Jonathan said, clasping the woman’s hand in both of his.
Margret blushed as she mumbled something, then scurried off toward the kitchen.
“Honestly, Jon, why must you flirt with everyone when you know it makes me want to punish you?” the man questioned, his voice clipped with irritation.
Jonathan winked at the man but didn’t answer. Instead, he clapped his hands together and focused on me. “Shall we get down to business?”
“I want in on this meeting,” Crew announced as he joined us. “Don’t even try to tell me it’s not any of my business because we both know that’s a load of bullshit.”
Unwilling to argue with Crew, I let out a sigh and combed my fingers through my hair. “Fine, let’s head to my office.”
When my father Adrian was alive he’d used this office, so it seemed only right for me to take it over. I’d purposely left everything here when I moved out, knowing there might be times I needed to conduct business outside the office. One thing this whole situation taught me was to do everything possible to keep my personal life and business as separate as possible. No one would be allowed into my pack’s home unless they were family or close friends.
“Eli, allow me to introduce Leo, the final member of my pack,” Jonathan said, gesturing to the man. “He is one of the best freelance investigators I’ve ever worked with. Even our Sandy reaches out to him when she needs help with a case for the attorney general’s office.”
I reached out a hand to the man, relaxing slightly once I knew he was part of Jonathan’s family. I’d known there was an Alpha I hadn’t met yet. This was due to him disliking the limelight, so he was never at any of the public events while Sandy campaigned for her position.
“Nice to finally meet you,” I greeted. “It makes more sense now why you chose to stay in the background with your line of work.”
Leo’s grip was firm and confident, but he didn’t offer any challenge as I feared he might. Some Alphas struggled when they met another Alpha who might be more dominant than they were, turning it into a pissing contest. I’d had to deal with my fair share of these over the years, but Leo appeared to be a man who highly valued control of himself.
“It was the best choice for all of us,” Leo stated, then took his seat in one of the armchairs. “I suggest we move on from talking about my pack and discuss what’s going on with yours. You’ve landed them in a rather precarious position.”
Crew nearly choked on the drink he’d just taken at Leo’s blunt change of topics. It wasn’t often people felt comfortable or confident enough to speak like that to me. Yet somehow, from Leo, I felt it was a sign of respect.
“Indeed,” I agreed, leaning casually on the front of my large wooden desk. “Jonathan mentioned you found the source leaking information about my pack.”
Leo grunted and motioned for Jonathan to give him something. Curious, I watched as Jonathan pulled out a file folder from his briefcase and handed it to me.
“It wasn’t hard to figure out once I knew where to look, but I’ll hand it to the lady. She knows how to walk the fine line between legal and illegal,” Leo commented as I looked through the file.
Crew came to stand beside me, peered down at the file, then snatched a picture and swore under his breath. “Fucking bitch .”
“You can say that again,” Jonathan agreed. “Mira Chambers has a set of brass ones that’s for damn sure. Not only has she been the one to dig shit up, but she also happily gave it all to the reporters.”
“Hold on, this has to be a violation of some kind, right?” Crew questioned. “Omegas are a highly protected class. Plus, I have a feeling the only reason she could dig this up is through her position with the Scent Matchers.”
“Oh, I know for a fact it’s how she got the information on your Omega Fawn. When he applied to the Scent Matchers system, they do a detailed background check and ask incredibly personal questions through their vetting process,” Leo explained. “Of course, those records are supposed to be sealed, and like medical records, a judge must grant access for them to be read. Mira broke a lot of goddamn rules to get back at you, Eli.”
“Thankfully, Leo found out it was her just in time to block the next attack on your pack,” Jonathan added as he pulled out a document-sized manila envelope.
I took it and pulled out a few documents and more pictures. The fury I’d been trying to hold back since I saw the proof it was Mira surged forward, breaking through my control. My hand shook, and my vision turned red as I saw records for a rehab facility with Tanner’s name on it. Five years ago, Tanner had admitted himself into a ninety-day program for opioid addiction. My heart broke from the pictures I saw of him right after his skateboarding accident, which I’m sure is the reason he found himself in this mess.
My gaze lifted to meet Jonathan’s. “Tell me we have enough to lock that cunt up and throw away the key.”
Even to my ears, I could hear how cold and cruel my voice sounded. Right now, it was all I could do to hold myself back from getting in my car, driving to her home, and forcing the woman to confess her sins as I strangled her. Not only had Mira dared to endanger my precious little sister, but she’d sealed her fate by coming after my pack . Forget taking the high road, fuck being the bigger man, all I wanted was for this bitch to know she’d fucked with the wrong Alpha.
“Say the word Eli and Mira Chambers will be in cuffs by tomorrow morning,” Jonathan assured me.
“What of her lawsuit against Eli?” Crew asked.
Jonathan shrugged. “She can try, but the moment I challenge her claims in court the judge will laugh right in her face. The only reason she bothered was to add to her smear campaign against Eli. If she could try the whole thing in the court of public opinion, making herself look like the victim, then even if Eli won, he’d look so awful that companies would pull their business. Guilt by association and all that.”
My fists clenched, crumpling the papers I held, but I didn’t give a flying fuck. The whole reason I pursued legal action was to prevent further abuse of power. However, it would seem Mira Chambers wasn’t going to take her medicine willingly, so now I’ll shove it down her fucking throat.
“Do it,” I growled, stalking to the wet bar and pouring myself a drink. “Oh, and find out if anyone in her pack helped with this or the Randall situation. I was willing to go easy as long as they learned from this, but it’s clear to me now that people like them only understand one language.”
I tossed back the amber liquid and felt its familiar heat as it settled in my stomach. “That’s fine by me. Maybe if the world sees how far I’m willing to go to protect what’s mine, others will think twice before testing me.”
Needing no other prompting, Jonathan stood with his cell to his ear and stepped out of the office as Margret arrived with our lunch. Gulping down another finger full of liquor, I settled at my desk to quickly eat. There were more matters for us to settle and some legal paperwork I refused to wait on, knowing it would add more protection for my pack.