7. Paul #4
With that, she returned her attention to the assassin while my brother dealt with the bewildered and hyped-up shifters who were ready to throw down. The energy was incongruous, but I didn’t let it distract me as Cherry continued.
“Do you know of anyone else who’s taking the contract?”
“Not definitively, but I did hear a few contemplating it. It’s one of the reasons I rushed into it. Figured I could get a drop on the party boy.”
“I understand, but right now, I think it would be best if you get treatment. I believe you might be heading into shock. So, once you’re treated, you’ll most likely be sent to booking.
We will discuss bailing you out once we’re on more solid ground, but I will likely need to come in and ask you other questions. ”
“I understand.”
Cherry nodded. “All right, I’m good for now.”
She stood and crossed to me, an incredibly serious expression on her pretty face. “Can I talk to you somewhere a bit more private? I’m not used to being surrounded by so many peeps with shifter hearing.”
“My room is soundproof,” Jackson said casually as he got to his feet and strolled over to the bar against the wall. That and the couch he’d been sitting on were the only things that hadn’t been demolished.
Yet another thing I didn’t need to know about my little brother.
“Thanks,” I said. I had no idea what possessed me, but instead of just leading the way, I offered Cherry my hand, like I was an escort to a noble lady, or even her security guard. “This way.”
Surprisingly enough, she put her hand in mine, and I felt that same simmer of energy go through me. Was she reading me again? Or was I just sensing the sheer aura of her presence?
So many questions. As confounding as it was, it fascinated me. Who would have thought there was a part of the magical world I was so divorced from?
When we were in my brother’s bedroom, I shut the door. However, we didn’t start speaking right away. If Cherry wanted privacy, I was going to make sure she got it. I went to the attached bathroom and turned on the shower at full blast.
“That should suffice for now,” I said, trying not to think about how there were potentially dozens of different ne’er-do-wells trying to hunt down my brother for profit. It wasn’t exactly a comforting idea. “What did you want to say?”
“So, that bounty is super recent.”
“Yes, I did hear the assassin say that.” What was she getting at?
“Meaning that whoever sabotaged that beam did it before there was a bounty. Whoever set it tried to be more hands-on. The real question is, did they do it after what happened with your father and Luther? Or before? At the same time? Why would they choose a seemingly banal method when they went so balls to the wall with killing your alpha and his heir?”
“I...” Those were all good questions. And I had answers to none of them. “How do we find any of that out?”
“I’m not entirely sure. I’m asking the fates, but they are being… tight-lipped on that. Or perhaps I’ve just exhausted my abilities for today.”
That was fair. We’d arrived at the manor about three hours earlier, which wasn’t really all that long, but also seemed like quite the extended time to read so many people and commune with psychic energy nobody else could see.
“Tell you what,” I murmured, somewhat reluctant to let her go, but a gift like hers probably required special care to recover.
“How about I have one of our drivers take you home and pick up dinner from anywhere you want, while Chris and I get Jackson somewhere safe? I believe the farther you are from us tonight, the better for your own security.”
“But—”
I held up a finger, shocked that it worked to get her to stop talking. “Once my brother is safe, I’ll call all the contacts my family has, so we can figure out who put out this bounty. And if you have any insight after a solid night’s rest, that would be most welcome.”
“I… actually, yeah. That’s a good idea.”
Despite the situation, I smiled. There was something about the way the strange woman in front of me could wildly vacillate between intimidating, mystifying, and flippant that I liked—probably more than I should.
Very little about her was peaceful or serene, but she had shown a flair for taking control when the need arose.
“Meanwhile, if you could email me your per diem, I’ll make sure you’re properly compensated while working this case for my family.”
“Per die—Oh, I don’t need your money. I’m doing this because I want to figure out what’s going on. I want to stop whoever is doing this from hurting anyone else. I can see all these threads, but they’re all separate, and I’ve gotta know what’s tying them together.”
She would do this for free? That spoke quite a bit about her character.
“I appreciate that, but I must insist. Here, give me your phone. I’ll put in my personal number so you can contact me directly.”
“O-okay. If you’re sure.”
“I am.” That same reluctance to let her leave arose, but it really would be better for her. “Now, let me call that driver for you.”
“Now that you mention it, I guess I am a bit hungry.”
“I thought as much.” I smiled at her, and for once, it didn’t feel like I was wearing a pleasant mask to be more diplomatic. “And thank you.”
“For what?” she asked like she wasn’t the most incredible person I’d ever met.
“For everything.”
I meant that with every fiber of my being.
Between our security untying the assassin and taking him to a healer, then rounding up our little brother, it took longer than I would have liked to get everything settled. Thankfully, Cherry was whisked away before that point, and I hoped she’d get all the rest she deserved.
As we drove Jackson to a safe location, Chris let out a truly heavy sigh. He looked so exhausted, so raw, that it was almost startling.
“You all right?” I asked.
“No, Paul, I’m not,” he snapped, but there was no heat to his words, none of that bite I was so used to.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Talk about—” He let out a frustrated sound.
“What’s to talk about? Our brother and father were violently murdered by someone with no psychic signature—whatever the hell that means—and someone else, or maybe the same person, is trying to kill our little brother with a whole bunch of assassins.
When you look at this logically, I’m the most likely suspect. ”
Oh.
I could see why that would bother him.
“Why do you think you’re the most likely suspect?
” I asked cautiously. I wasn’t used to hearing Chris sound so hurt, so vulnerable.
Hell, it sounded like he was on the verge of tears.
I knew why, especially after what Cherry had told him, but I figured if he was verbalizing it, there might be other things he wanted to say.
After all, I couldn’t remember when I last saw Chris shed a tear. Maybe when our mother died? Luther had been the one to help all of us through that, our father had been far too much of a wreck. But now Luther was the one who was gone…
“Because I’m the one who stands to gain the most!
Think about it, the alpha and the alpha-heir were killed, and I’m most likely to inherit the role now.
We have no real political rivals and have gotten along with the other three major families on the East Coast, so it’s not like another alpha did it to absorb us. ”
I opened my mouth to object, but he kept on going. “And you remember that meeting I told you about?”
I nodded.
“It was a presentation—with evidence, charts, and all sorts of things I thought were so important—to convince Father that I should be his heir because Luther wasn’t truly dedicated to the cause.”
Fuck.
I didn’t answer immediately, but only because my soul and mind were violently hurtling in opposite directions. “Why did you think Luther wasn’t dedicated to the cause?”
“I… Fuck. Jealousy, probably.”
Perhaps my exposure to a psychic had imbued me with some of her ability, or maybe I knew my taciturn brother better than most. “Chris,” I said cautiously.
“We shouldn’t speak ill of the dead. It’s not like it matters. Luther died fighting to save our father and was ripped to pieces for it.”
I blanched, my mind flashing back to that arm. Part of me tried to reason it could be someone else’s, but no, my brother was massive. Few would have such long limbs, and even covered in viscera, his scent had been there. “He did.”
Chris fell silent, and I was beyond grateful that Jackson had decided to nope out of reality by putting on his noise-canceling headphones and listening to some art podcast or another.
“We’ll figure this out, Chris,” I said finally, shoving my conflicting feelings aside. I’d unravel and examine them later. “First things first, we hide Jackson and keep him safe. Next, we figure out who’s hiring these assassins before anyone else decides to hunt the rest of us down.”
“You make it sound so simple.”
“It’s not, but we’ll figure it out anyway.”
“I hope you’re right.”
So did I. But I had a feeling we had a real ace in the pocket with Cherry, who suddenly seemed to be very dedicated to helping us. Surely with someone who had such powers, the truth would be revealed.
At least, I hoped it would.
Otherwise, the VanMarche dynasty wouldn’t be long for this world.