Chapter 88 Liza
LIZA
The mysterious envelope felt heavier than it should have. It had become a symbol of all the unanswered questions that hovered between us.
Ty took one look at it and sighed heavily. “It’ll have to wait a bit longer, Liza.”
He plopped down into the large leather chair behind his desk, his shoulders weighed down by some invisible burden. Tension radiated off him. Something was eating him alive.
“What’s going on? You seem stressed.” What was I saying? Of course, he was fucking stressed. One look around and anyone could see that the world was burning around us. “Well, more stressed than usual.”
“Castro called me,” he revealed, pinching the bridge of his nose as if trying to ward off an impending headache.
I walked over to his side and gently took a seat in his lap, rubbing his back with one hand, silently showing my support. At least he was telling me. I could only hope he wouldn’t keep anything from me. Again. “What did he have to say?”
“Apparently, he’s pissed because I allowed Maximus to advertise you to fucking shifter traffickers.
” Ty growled low, his arms wrapping around my waist in a protective gesture.
“As if I had any clue Maximus would stoop so low. If it weren’t for Hiram, I’d still be in the dark.
I’ll never understand how Castro has his finger on the pulse of every damn thing happening not only in our lives, but in the whole of fucking Texas. ”
I nodded. “You’re right. And for the record, I know you would’ve stopped Maximus had you known what his plans were.”
“Of course I would have.” Ty stared at me with eyes that pleaded for me to believe him, to know beyond all certainty that he’d never let anything happen to me. “Castro said he’s going to take matters into his own hands. He said he’d take care of Maximus.”
I bit back my anger. It wasn’t directed at Ty, just the whole situation we’d found ourselves in. “So, what are you going to do about it?”
“Nothing more than I have to,” Ty said, resting his head on my chest. “Maximus and I aren’t allies, so I have no obligation to help him. I warned him, but he chose to ignore it. If anything happens to him, it’s because he didn’t want to listen.”
I couldn’t argue with that logic, but it still left me uneasy. Before I could voice my concerns, though, there was a knock on the door.
Ty loosened his hold on me, lifting his head. “Come in.”
Dominic walked into the room, his eyes scanning our intertwined forms. “Am I interrupting?”
“Not at all. Join the pity party, Dad.” Ty shook his head. “We were just discussing Castro’s threats to Maximus.”
Dominic took a seat across from us, his eyebrows knitted together.
In my opinion, Ty had done the right thing by warning Maximus, even though I wasn’t a fan of the guy for wanting to sell me off to the highest bidder. And yet, I couldn’t shake my concerns.
“If Castro is targeting Maximus, it could mean he’s finally planning on coming out of the shadows. Wouldn’t this be a good opportunity for us to catch him?”
“Good point, Liza,” Dominic said, nodding thoughtfully.
“How else would Castro get to Maximus? He’d have to come out of hiding, unless he has someone else working for him, and considering the amount of money he seems to have access to, we can’t discount that.
Might be a good idea to send someone into Maximus’s territory to scope things out and see if they can spot Castro. ”
Ty cracked his knuckles. “I agree. This would be the type of thing to bring Castro out of hiding, especially since he’s obviously still obsessed with Liza.
This is his chance to prove to her that he’s the superior mate.
If he’s as cocky as I think he is, he’ll want all the glory and praise for taking down the man who didn’t give two fucks about selling her.
I’ll send some guys over to scout the area.
If there’s any sign of Castro, I’ll go and handle the bastard myself. ”
“Sounds like a plan.” Dominic leaned back in his chair.
Some type of scuffle outside caught my attention. “Ty,” I said. “Do you hear that?”
His head jerked up, and he turned to face the window. The three of us exchanged a confused glance before hustling over to the wall of windows at the back of Ty’s office. We stared out at the scene unfolding below us.
Ty rapped his knuckle against the glass. “What the fuck is going on down there?”
Several guards sprinted toward the front gate. The chaos outside was jarring, especially considering how calmly we’d been talking.
My heart pounded as I tried to comprehend what might be happening.
Had Sabrina been wrong about the tourists leaving town?
Were they back to try and catch a glimpse of me, to shimmy up the gate and storm the estate?
I shook my head as I imagined them with pitchforks and torches, their goal to harm me to see if I can miraculously heal myself.
Ty’s phone rang, the piercing tone slicing through the tension in the room. He grabbed it, saw that it was Isaiah calling, and immediately put it on speakerphone. “Isaiah, what’s going on out there?”
“Hey, boss. Don’t be alarmed. The guards are just following protocol,” Isaiah reassured us, his deep voice steady and calming.
“Protocol?” Ty scoffed. “What kind of damn protocol would cause them to go running like fucking chickens with their heads cut off?”
“Look, I can’t get into specifics right now, but we’ve got a situation that needs to be handled. Just stay put, continue your day as normal, and I’ll keep you updated.”
“Fine,” Ty said, clearly unhappy with the lack of information. “Just... keep us informed.” He hung up, staring at the phone in confusion.
Dominic scowled and sat down. “Well, that was odd.”
“Very,” Ty agreed, still watching the guards moving about frantically.
We stood in silence, all of us lost in thought and wondering if everything truly was under control.
“All right,” Ty finally said, pulling me out of my thoughts. He turned away from the window, his arms crossed beneath his chest. “Let’s not dwell on it for now. There’s nothing we can do but trust Isaiah to handle it.”
Dominic cleared his throat. “While we’re all gathered here, there’s something I’d like to discuss about Liza.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. This should be interesting.
“Your parents and I have been talking, and we’ve come up with an idea. Since you are exhibiting signs of an alpha, we think it might be a good idea for you to learn how to handle that power, especially considering how... profound yours seems to be.”
“Alpha training?” I asked hesitantly. What would that entail?
Dominic nodded and leaned forward. “Yes. It’ll just be the same lessons that young alphas learn when they’re coming into their power.”
“Ah, yes,” Ty interrupted with a grin. “I remember that training very well. So, Dad, does this mean Liza will get to play the same games I got to play during my training?”
Ty’s smirk brought a smile to my face, even as I wondered what sort of games he was referring to. It was a relief to see Ty in a better mood, despite the stressful situation we were facing.
Dominic rolled his eyes. “No, Tyson. Liza won’t be facing obstacle courses with chocolate at the end. Her training will be more geared toward an adult, not a child with attention and focus issues.”
“Hey,” Ty protested, feigning offense. But his eyes twinkled with mischief. He wasn’t truly upset.
“Anyway.” Dominic turned his attention back to me. “Liza, are you up for it?”
“Of course,” I said without hesitation. “I don’t want another repeat of the night before.”
Dominic gave me an approving smile. “Good.”
“Thank you, Dominic,” I told him sincerely. There was no guarantee it would work, but I appreciated the time and deliberation Dominic had obviously put toward my predicament.
Ty’s phone rang again, causing me to jump. He glanced at the screen. “It’s Isaiah again.” With a sigh, he answered and put the call on speaker.
“Sorry to bother you again, but I’m happy to say it was all just a false alarm.”
Ty raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What the hell does that mean?”
“One of the guards at the front gate thought a group of people were heading to the property to try and break in to see Liza.”
Ty scoffed, his gray eyes narrowing. “How the fuck could that be mistaken after what we dealt with the other day?”
“He’s a new guard still in training. Honestly, he meant well.” Isaiah paused. “I’d rather him be too on guard than for him to be lax and allow something, or someone, to slip through the cracks.”
“If it was a false alarm, then who were the people walking toward the gate?” Ty asked.
Isaiah hesitated before we heard him chuckle for the first time. I didn’t know he was even capable of laughing. I’d always thought of Isaiah as more of a robot than a human.
“It was a group of kids and their parents trying to sell fundraiser discount cards for their soccer team.”
Ty burst out laughing, a genuine smile crossing his handsome face. “Those kids probably got the scare of their lives.”
Isaiah caught his breath. “We won’t have to worry about them coming back, that much is sure.”
After Ty hung up, we all exchanged amused glances.
The tension in the room dissipated, replaced by a lighthearted atmosphere.
It was refreshing. “I’ll have to make a donation to their team by way of an apology.
Those kids must have been terrified,” Ty commented.
And that was why I loved him. Even though the people had ignored the warnings and signs not to come near the estate without an appointment, he still felt he should apologize.
“If you guys don’t mind, I’m going to get back to it.” Ty sat down in his office chair. “I’ve got some pack business to take care of.”
Dominic stood. “That’s perfect because I can use the afternoon to train Liza.”
I was eager to see if Dominic’s training would help me to better control my anger flares. “Sounds good to me.” I was determined to make it work, to finally be in charge of my own body.