Chapter Nine
The emotional rollercoaster Kinley was riding spiraled up and down so rapidly it was making her head spin. Since she’d opened her eyes this morning, she’d hit the depths of despair and been swept away by passion. Now this.
“I should have expected this.” Uncle Duke had hired Cyrus. Yes, through a broker, but he had ways of getting whatever information he needed. Besides which, Holden would have reported back to him.
“Let Cyrus handle this.” Eli kept his voice low as they approached the house.
It went against the grain to let someone else handle her problem, but hadn’t that been what she’d been trying to do when she’d offered to hire Eli?
She’d let it play out. They were the experts at stuff like this, not her.
Until a week ago, she’d been living a relatively normal, if somewhat stressful, life in Alabama with her daddy.
Everything had been spinning out of control since she’d been given the news of his death.
It was time to stop reacting and start acting with purpose.
They hurried up the back porch stairs and inside with Levi leading the way.
Noah was making a pot of coffee in the kitchen.
There was no sign of Josiah, Zach, or Silas.
She listened, but heard no sign of them inside the house.
Eli had told her the rooms had soundproofing, so that didn’t mean they weren’t here, but it was more likely they were outside.
She hoped they were. It would be like her uncle to launch an ambush while he was on the phone ostensibly working to reach some kind of compromise.
Cyrus leaned back in his chair with the phone on the table in front of him. “You and I will have to agree to disagree on that.” They were in mid-conversation. She slipped into a chair and listened intently.
“You took the job.” A shiver snaked down her spine. Although he sounded reasonable, her uncle was furious. Having been around him her entire life, she was well aware of the signs.
She grabbed Eli’s hand and motioned for something to write on.
It was Noah who grabbed a pad of paper and pen from a kitchen drawer and set it in front of her.
She wrote “furious” and pushed the pad over so Cyrus could see it.
He glanced at it and gave a curt nod. Eli moved his chair closer so he could see.
It helped to have his solid presence beside her.
“I did, but I wasn’t given pertinent details. Now that’s on me for not investigating deeper like I normally do.” With his relaxed manner, Cyrus came across as good ol’ Southern boy. Some might mistake that as him being easygoing and easily led. Those people would be seriously mistaken.
Intelligent, determined, and focused described the Sin brothers.
“When you think about it,” he continued, “I fulfilled at least half the agreement. I lead your men straight to the bounty.” He made a tsking sound. “Not nice to track me. Shows a lack of trust.”
“Trust? You were the one who was supposed to find my niece and bring her home.” He paused and lowered his voice to a calm, reasonable tone.
“I’m worried sick about the girl. She hasn’t been the same since her daddy died.
It was sudden and the shock was too much for her.
I’m concerned about her mental health. She’s always been one for tall tales, seeing conspiracies and danger where none existed.
It’s not safe for her out in the world on her own.
Anyone could take advantage of her fragile emotional state.
I owe it to my brother to take care of her. ”
Kinley’s blood ran cold. She dragged the pen over the paper. LIAR was written in big bold letters. If they believed him, she was in deep trouble. Uncle Duke sounded totally convincing. If she didn’t know him, hadn’t witnessed how easily he slipped in and out of personas, she’d believe him.
“Your niece seemed fine to me when we met. Feisty gal.” Cyrus was intentionally baiting him. Question was why?
“She’s unwell.” His tone allowed no room for disagreement. As alpha he wasn’t used to anyone questioning him. It was small of her, but she was enjoying that part of the exchange.
“That’s your opinion on the matter, but she’s a grown woman. She’s perfectly capable of making her own decisions.” He paused. “Unless you want to bring the police into this?”
Bring the human police into a matter between wolves? Never going to happen. She tapped her fingers against the table until Eli covered her hand with his, silencing the noise.
“Let’s cut to the chase, Mr. Sin. I know what you are.”
“Good for you. I know what you are too. What’s your point?”
“You and your brothers are outliers, not part of any pack.” There was an underlying insult that no pack would have them. She wondered if any of them heard it. “You’re in a precarious position,” her uncle continued. The threat was implied but none of them missed it.
Cyrus didn’t even blink. “You think so? From my perspective, you’re the one who’s got problems. How long you gonna hold onto top spot if your boy Holden doesn’t get what he wants?
You’d be better off cleaning house and solidifying your position than splitting your defenses and chasing after a woman who doesn’t want anything to do with you or your pack. ”
“That’s not your decision.” The thread of steel she heard made her stomach clench. He’d never give up. She took a deep breath and started to speak. Before she could utter a word, Eli covered her mouth with his hand and shook his head.
“See, that’s where you’re wrong.” Cyrus sat forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Your boys threatened my brother. I don’t know how things are done where you come from, but here we take a dim view of such things.”
“They had no way of knowing he was your brother. And I only have your word she wasn’t being held under duress.”
Enough was enough. She tugged at his hand, ready to set the record straight.
“Kinley is under my protection.” Eli’s proclamation stunned her uncle into momentary silence, but he rallied quickly.
“I take it you’re the brother. Whatever she’s paying you, I’ll double it.”
It hurt that Uncle Duke’s pride, solidifying his power, was more important to him than her safety and well-being.
Her only value was as a commodity to be bartered.
She’d wondered if he’d had her daddy killed but couldn’t figure out any way that benefited him.
And her uncle was all about doing things that benefited him.
“It’s not about money.”
“You want to fuck her? Go ahead. Get it out of your system and then send her home. No need for blood to be shed over the girl.”
Tears burned her eyes. She blinked them back, refusing to let them fall. She’d always known he’d thought little of her, but to hear it put so bluntly was like a knife to the heart.
A long, deep growl rolled out of Eli. He leaned both hands on the table, claws extending from the tips of his fingers and embedding in the wood. “You call yourself her uncle, an alpha. You’re not fit to lead. I’ll see you dead before you put one finger on her.”
Shooting them both a glare, Cyrus snatched the phone from the table and took it off speaker. Not that it mattered. Not with their superior hearing. “What my brother is saying is Kinley will be a guest here for the foreseeable future.”
“I thought to handle this peaceably. Holden mentioned you were stubborn, but I thought to appeal to you as a businessman. I do have contacts. I could cause a lot of trouble, ensure you lost contracts.”
To keep from screaming at him, she bit down on her bottom lip hard enough to draw blood.
The man was a monster, concerned only with his wants and needs, not caring who he had to hurt to achieve his own ends.
Eli rubbed his thumb over her lip, easing the sting.
A little sizzle of heat shot through her.
“You go right ahead and do your worst,” Cyrus told him. “I’d pit my reputation against yours any day of the week.”
A growl rumbled over the line. “You’ll pay for that insult. Now you listen to me.”
“No,” Cyrus interrupted, his easygoing manner vanishing in a heartbeat.
“You listen to me. You stay where you are and run your little kingdom how you see fit. I honestly couldn’t care less.
You come here, you won’t leave. If you looked into me at all, you know my reputation.
” He ended the call, cutting her uncle off before he could respond.
“You don’t even like me.” His actions left her stunned and confused.
If anything, Cyrus should be trying to talk Eli into letting her go.
“Why would you risk your business?” She looked to Eli.
“Why would you risk your family? My uncle doesn’t make empty threats.
They’ll come. Knowing him, if they’re not already here, they’re on the way. ”
Sweat broke out on her body. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “You should have let me talk to him. Let me call him back. Maybe I can reason with him.” She had to try.
Eli stood and loomed over her. “Reason with a man who told me I could fuck you until you were out of my system?” A muscle flexed in his jaw. Black fire burned in his eyes.
She rocked slightly back and forth, her mind furiously searching for a solution, a way out for all of them. “I don’t know.”
Eli grabbed her by the upper arms, plucked her out of her seat, and lifted her until they were eye-to-eye. “He doesn’t get to hurt you. No one gets to hurt you.”
“Ease up, little brother.” But Cyrus’s quiet warning went unheeded.
She didn’t think Eli heard him. His entire focus was on her, and he wasn’t done. His fury was outwardly icy but inwardly it bubbled with the intensity of a volcano ready to erupt. “You’re mine. Do you understand?”
She shook her head, not understanding anything. How could he risk everything for her when not even her own daddy had stood up for her, when it came to her Uncle Duke? He’d always made excuses or told her that was simply the way things were.