Chapter 23
Pax heard the result of Pedro’s conversation with Hernandez later that morning when he and Ari went to the Alpha’s home to debrief on the morning’s action. According to Rodrigo, Hernandez had been a very calm prisoner, once he’d realized there was no escape for him.
They’d taken him out to the desert, on the edge of Clan lands, to an old mining shack that had been there for decades and was about ready to come apart.
Rodrigo had accompanied Pedro and been part of the interrogation.
The Alpha and several senior members of the Clan were there to protect the shaman should Hernandez somehow get the better of him.
It wasn’t likely, but Rodrigo took the Clan’s promise of protection to their shaman very seriously.
Rodrigo told Pax that Hernandez appeared to be a professional and seemed to understand that when everything else was gone, information was the only currency left.
He gave it up without objection once he realized he was defeated.
He gave Pedro details about his Venifucus contacts in the Southwest, what he knew of his partner Charity’s habits and current whereabouts, the cartel’s regional structure and who held what, and the specific Venifucus cell he’d been running his work through.
There was no remorse in any of it. Pax hadn’t expected any.
Hernandez wasn’t evil in the operatic sense.
He was simply a narcissist, who had all his energy calibrated entirely around his own advancement and survival.
Right now, he knew his survival even for the next few minutes meant his continued cooperation.
Pedro listened, and Rodrigo made detailed notes. He’d also set up his phone with a good angle to record the entire interrogation. Unlike Pedro, the Alpha was comfortable with modern technology and used it whenever it would make his life easier.
When Pedro was done two senior Clan members stepped up with Rodrigo and just watched Hernandez for a long moment. Then they looked at Pedro.
Pedro said one word in an ancient tongue.
He’d sentenced the mage to death for his crimes against the Clan and his use of blood magic.
What followed was the Clan’s justice. Pax hadn’t been there to witness it, but he knew it had been the righteous path.
It was their nature that the Alpha protected his people.
Ari rolled his shoulders and asked, “Did we get away clean in town?”
“We did,” Pax said.
“What about the cartel’s soldiers?” Rodrigo asked.
“Once we got their fingerprints and could positively I.D. them, we discovered every single one of them has federal warrants and bounties on their heads. All we need is a licensed bounty hunter to act as go-between. Our Wraith contact knows a guy who works out of Las Vegas, and he’s on his way here to pick up the bounties,” Ari reported.
“He’s a cougar shifter and part of the Redstone Clan, so we know he won’t cause problems for us. ”
“That’s good,” Rodrigo commented, nodding. “What about the town? Those cartel men were setting up a drug distribution point, weren’t they?”
Pax took that one. “The infrastructure they were trying to set up gets unwound. Nothing actually started here yet and we’re going to make it look like Hernandez turned on his masters in the cartel.
The soldiers didn’t see what actually happened and they’ll be in custody, so it’s likely the cartel will look elsewhere now that Hernandez is gone. ”
“How is your mate after all this?” Rodrigo asked Pax.
Pax thought about her face when she’d come out the back door. How she’d pressed against his neck and let herself be crushed in his arms, then stepped back and asked where Hernandez was.
“She’s good,” he said. “She’s a strong woman.”
“That’s good. She’s a good addition to the Clan,” Rodrigo said, communicating his approval once more. Pax felt that down to his toes. To have the Alpha’s blessing was an excellent start to their lives together.
Pax found Bree in the kitchen when he got back to the store.
Her father had been retrieved from Pax’s parents’ house, and he and Tomás were manning the shop while Bree was upstairs.
She’d made a pot of coffee and was standing at the counter with a cup, holding herself together.
Her eyes tracked his arrival and went over him head to toe when he came through the door.
“Sit down,” she said as he approached. “Let me look at your knee.”
“My knee is fine,” he protested gently.
“Sit down, Pax.”
Her tone brooked no argument, so he sat. She crouched in front of him and pressed her hands carefully along the outside of his knee.
“It’s swollen,” she decided.
“It’s manageable. The swelling will be gone by tomorrow. I promise.”
She sat back on her heels and looked up at him. “How bad were you hit?”
“Bad enough. I planned for it, I absorbed it, and I’m still standing. My plan worked,” he reminded her quietly.
“I know it worked but—” She stood abruptly, crossed to the counter, and stood with her back to him. He waited to see how she’d react.
She turned around suddenly. Her eyes were bright and her chin was up, and she was fighting back her emotions.
“I know you did what you had to do. I understand that. I’m not asking you to have done it differently.” She pressed her lips together. “I’m just…angry about it, I suppose. And still shaky from what I saw this morning.”
The brightness in her eyes touched him. The morning’s fear was finally finding its way out now that everyone was safe.
“Come here, babe,” he said, his voice rough with emotion.
She crossed the kitchen, and when he reached for her, she went into his arms easily.
He pulled her onto his lap and she let him, which told him exactly how much she needed it.
He held her there in the quiet of the apartment with his face against her hair, breathing in the delicate scent of her shampoo.
She held onto him tightly and they stayed that way for a good long while.
“Is it over?” she asked at last, her voice a whisper.
“Hernandez is gone and according to what he told Pedro, the Venifucus doesn’t even know this town exists.
Hernandez was hoping to keep all the power here for himself, so he didn’t tell his masters in the Order.
As far as the cartel operation goes, it’s been undone and won’t likely restart since we’re going to make it look like Hernandez turned on his cartel bosses.
The threat that followed me home has been neutralized.
” He ran his hand slowly up her back. “Yeah, babe. It’s over. ”
She breathed out a long sigh, and the last of her tension went with it.
“Rodrigo wants to come by. Formally, with some of the Clan. He wants to thank you and your father properly, in front of witnesses. And he wants to greet you as my mate.” He tipped her chin up so he could see her eyes.
Something warm kindled in her expression. “Your Alpha wants to welcome me to the family.”
“Something like that.”
“Then yes.” She kissed him, soft and brief. “Obviously, yes.”
After a minute, she drew back sharply to look at him. “But what about your knee?”
“It’s fine,” he tried to assure her.
“You say that, but I’m still going to wrap it. At least for today, while it’s swollen.” She jumped off his lap and made her way toward the kitchen door.
“Bree—” he called after her. She paused on the threshold.
“It’s either that or I call your mother.”
He recognized the terms of surrender and accepted them. She got the first aid kit from the bathroom and wrapped his knee with brisk, careful hands, and when she finished, she sat back, inspected her work, and looked up at him.
“I want the rest of today to be peaceful.” She looked at her hands. “I want to work in the store with Dad, make something good for dinner, and I want you to stay, and I want it all to just be calm. Is that too much to ask?”
“No, babe,” he said with soft affection. “After everything you’ve been through today, that’s not too much to ask.”
She gazed at him a moment longer. Then she stood and held out her hand, and he took it and let her pull him up, and they went downstairs to the store.
The rest of the day was uneventful. Just the way she wanted.
The usual people came, and the store rolled on, as always.
It provided what people needed and held its ground on Main Street, same as it had for decades.
Tomás was there, steadier than any young man his age had a right to be, and Pax made a mental note to tell Rodrigo exactly how well his young cousin had performed.
Mr. Leeland sat in his chair by the window, and Bree brought him coffee. He looked out at the street like absolutely nothing had altered. At three o’clock, Rodrigo arrived.
He brought four Clan members and Pedro, and they gathered in the open space by the counter. Pedro stood near Mr. Leeland’s spot at the window, and Rodrigo spoke for all to hear after making sure only Clan members and Bree’s dad were in the building.
He thanked the Leelands for their years of silent support.
He praised the workshops that were helping the younger generation find meaningful work.
He also thanked Bree for the information and contacts she had provided that had made this morning’s action possible.
He pointed out the dignity Mr. Leeland had shown when two men stood over him in his own store and tried to take it from him.
Then Rodrigo turned to Bree, and his posture became even more formal.
“And one thing more,” he said. “Paxton has declared you his mate before our council. So you should hear it from me directly. You are not just an ally of this Clan, Briana Leeland. You are family.” The faintest smile touched the Alpha’s face. “Welcome to the Clan.”
Bree’s hand found Pax’s and gripped hard. “Thank you, Alpha,” she said softly. “I’m truly honored.”
Mr. Leeland looked at his daughter, then at Pax, and if the mate business surprised him, he gave no sign of it. Knowing the old man, Pax suspected he’d worked most of it out weeks ago.
“I’ve known for years that this town had more in it than most people saw,” Mr. Leeland said to Rodrigo. “So, the workshops can continue?”
“Absolutely,” Rodrigo agreed with a broad smile.
“Then we’re square,” Mr. Leeland said, and that was that.
Bree was looking at her father with an incredulous expression Pax intended to remember for the rest of his life. He didn’t say anything. He just grinned and put his hand on the small of her back and left it there.
Dinner was carne asada with rice and handmade tortillas.
Bree and her father, Pax, and Ari, all sat around the table.
Ari had just turned up at dinnertime with a bottle of wine and had been welcomed into the gathering as if he’d always belonged there.
Which he had. He was Pax’s twin and would always have a place at his table.
They ate and talked of old times. They didn’t mention the morning’s activities at all.
After dinner, Bree cleared the table and Pax helped without being asked. Her dad retired to his bedroom soon after Ari left and when all was quiet, Bree turned to Pax.
“Stay,” she said simply.
“I hoped you’d say that.”
She took his hand and led him down the hall. What followed was slow and unhurried, and filled with relief, love and commitment. She said things she’d been holding onto. He answered them, though not always with words. Some things were better answered with actions.
Afterward, she lay with her back against his chest, his arm heavy across her, looking out the window at the stars, thick and close and brighter than any city ever allowed.
“I keep thinking about Diego,” she said.
“He’ll be fine. His ribs are almost healed already,” Pax reported.
“I know. I keep thinking about his mother, and all they’ve been through. She brought him here to keep him safe. And then this happened.”
“And then this happened, and the Clan handled it, and it won’t happen again.” He stroked her arm. “The cartel picked the wrong town.”
She considered that, then nodded with satisfaction. “They really did.”
“They really did,” he echoed.
They enjoyed a moment of stillness, then she asked, “What is Ari going to do now?”
Pax had been chewing on the same question.
“I don’t know yet. Neither does he. He needs to find something that’s truly his.
He’s talked about Jaguar Island, and going to see Mark Pepard’s setup so he can report back to Rodrigo.
We’ve been offered an alliance, but Rodrigo’s not sure and has been waiting for me and Ari to give him more details.
He’s in no rush, so we took other jobs first. Paying jobs, so we could send money back to the Clan, like always. ”
“You’re a good man,” she whispered, kissing his shoulder. “But Ari is a little lost. I hope he finds his happy.”
He looked down at her. “What does that mean?”
She tilted her head back. “You’ve been halves of a pair your entire life. It’s good. It’s right. But neither of you has ever been fully his own, separate thing. You both need that now.” She held his gaze. “This is yours. He needs to find his.”
For a moment, Pax had no words at all. It wasn’t gratitude, exactly, and it wasn’t love, exactly, though it was both of those things. It was being understood, completely, by someone who had been paying attention all along.
“You’re remarkable,” he said.
“I’m practical,” she said.
“You’re both.”
She turned back to the window. “You’re going to keep saying that until I believe you.”
“I am. Forever, if that’s what it takes. Mates have time.”
“Then I should probably start believing it now and save us both a few decades.”
“That would be efficient,” he agreed.
She laughed, and the sound of it drifted out into the desert dark, and he pulled his mate closer and let the night carry them the rest of the way home.