by Roxy Wilson
Keran didn’t want any harm to come to his son, and for that it was important to make the deal as soon as possible. And as for Devyn…She’d been left to her own devices upstairs in her room. Until they got something out of her, she wasn’t allowed to leave the premises.
As he sat in the study, Keran outlined a strategy. “Any news on the man who contacted Simon and Devyn at the concert hall?”
“We’ve received some initial reports about him.” Martin rubbed his jaw. “He left his hometown before the theft that got him into the prison. He hasn’t been seen since then.” He cleared his throat. “His name is John White. He was an accountant, swindled a close to a quarter million dollars from the company and did some time in jail. He was let off a bit early for good behavior.”
“How the hell did he get involved with the Wolverines and the Connors?” Keran demanded.
“That’s what we don’t know as yet. It’s possible he serves as a front man for illegal activities and makes his money doing such odd jobs. People like him aren’t accepted back in the society. No reputable company would hire him. My men are out there looking for him. He has to stay somewhere, eat somewhere. He was in this town for some time, and we’ll get some information. Soon.”
“What about her?” Keran couldn’t help but feel the tension in his muscles. This situation was testing him beyond limits.
Martin raised a brow. “I’ve already told you that my initial assessment was wrong. I don’t think she’s involved with the kidnapping. The plane ticket was the only lead we have but her explanation was good enough. She did get it done the day you left.”
“That doesn’t prove her innocence,” Keran growled.
“It doesn’t provide much evidence against her either.”
When Martin told him about Devyn’s possible involvement in Justin’s kidnapping, Keran didn’t want to believe and now, he didn’t want to let go of the notion that she was guilty. As far as Keran was concerned, she had to be, or else they basically didn’t have any leads.
“If she really wanted to leave the city,” Martin continued. “She would have done so immediately after Justin was kidnapped. That would have served her better, and I don’t think she’s stupid enough to make such a mistake. No. If she stayed behind then it must be because she didn’t do anything wrong.” Martin cleared his throat. “I’m sorry about pointing my finger at her in the first place. Eager as I was to get some clues, after my conversation with her, I’m convinced she’s innocent.”
Keran didn’t like what he heard. He stomped over to the window and stared out. Had he accused her without reason? Keran wasn’t as sure of her innocence. Maybe she managed to convince Martin but he was still skeptical. There had to be some link between her appearance in their lives and Justin’s subsequent kidnapping. The woman managed to trap him with her beauty and intelligence. Justin also fell in love with her easily enough. It had to prove she was actually working to gain their trust. This was her scheme. They played right along, and she was still making fools of them.
He didn’t like that she managed to convince Martin of her innocence so soon. “Keep digging,” he said. “I don’t think she’s as guiltless as she claims to be.”
Martin rubbed his eye. “Okay, sure…” He hesitated and then leaned forward. “We have to consider the possibility that they may demand you hand yourself over right now. So far, they haven’t given a time frame when they want you to come over, but if we receive such a demand, we need to have a game plan in place.”
“Why haven’t they asked me to go to them as yet? If they wanted, I could have been over there today and then this would be over.”
“That’s a good question. I can only assume they are waiting for something.”
“What could it be? If we knew that, it might provide some valuable information.”
Martin rubbed his jaw as he thought hard.
Keran respected the man’s intelligence and judgment. They worked together for the past eight years and nothing bad ever happened to his family. The moment he got Devyn into his house, something terrible took place. There was just no way she was free from all the blame. There was a connection she shared with the kidnappers and he had to find it. Even if Martin gave up on this issue, Keran was determined to not do so.
“They might be waiting for some information that would give them quick access to the funds that you keep for our pack,” Martin suggested.
Keran dragged his fingers through his hair as he thought hard. “It’s possible of course, but it won’t be that easy. They would need my signature to transfer everything, and that would be easy as long as they have Justin. If they asked me to sign today, I would do it. Why haven’t they approached me?”
“Could it be they have more in mind than just those funds? What if they want to control your businesses?”
“That’s not possible. A business isn’t something they can take over. If I’m dead, everything goes to Justin. But if he’s…” Keran took a deep breath to steady his nerves as he thought about his son’s safety. “…If Justin isn’t there, it all goes to charitable organizations. My will is pretty cut and dry and not many people know about it.”
“What if they’re working to change it?”
“Impossible. They would have to get access to a copy of it to know about it in the first place. Then they have to get a lawyer to make a new one.”
“But if they had all that and they asked you to sign, you would do so in exchange for Justin’s life. We can’t discount the possibility that they have something bigger in mind. It has to be of course, related to gaining control over the pack but also it has to do with money. They want access to whatever you own, and I think they’re secretly working on that which is why we haven’t heard from them yet.”
“If what you say is true, then there has to be someone within our organization who is giving them all this information.”
“There’s a traitor among us.” Martin nodded. “We have to start delving deeper now.”
“The number of people who have this information can be counted on one hand. You didn’t know about my will until today, so you can well imagine the small circle of close confidants who are privy to it.”
“Your lawyer knows…And I’m assuming Roger knows.”
“Roger was chief witness,” Keran replied. “But he’s beyond reproach. I wouldn’t worry about him. We’ve grown up together and he’s like my brother. He wasn’t even here when Justin was kidnapped.”
Martin ran his hand over the edge of the table. “Who else?”
“My chief financial advisor knows, as well as an old friend of my father who served as the other witness.”
“I’ll start digging on all of them. In the meantime, I suggest you start working on a plan to keep the funds and your business out of their reach. I’m sure you can put some contingency plans in place that would stop them from taking over—even if you were dead.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” Keran didn’t think it was possible for him to stop their plan. These men apparently worked on this scheme for a long, long time. They would have prepared for every eventuality. Right now, they were finalizing the details and that meant they were fairly confident of success. After Martin left, a heavy sigh escaped his lips. The longer he was kept away from his son, the more frustrated he became. All he wanted was for Justin to come back. Keran didn’t mind paying any price as long as it was personal, but if these men were after his business and the pack’s funds then any decision he made would affect a lot more people. He couldn’t just allow those men to wreak havoc with the lives of all those pack members and the employees who were associated with his businesses.
As Martin said, he needed a counter plan, but it wouldn’t be that easy to put it in place. Right now, his mind wasn’t working. He needed some time to think, to plan.
What could he do?
Keran strode out of the house. Once he was outside, he shifted and leapt off. A good run might help clear his mind a bit. As he sprinted across the acres of l
and that surrounded his property, he refined his thoughts. Sure, he was in a bind but until his last, dying breath, he would give those men a good fight. He wasn’t going to surrender. That wasn’t his style, and it wasn’t the legacy he wanted to leave for his only child.
Would Justin live through this?
He hoped so. After about two hours, deep in his thoughts, Keran shifted back to his human form when he headed for the back door.
Devyn stood right on the patio.
He’d sensed her presence long ago, and although Keran considered changing directions, he wasn’t a coward. If she wanted a confrontation, he would give her one.
Her hand clenched the post as she stared at him.
Her beauty, as always, hit him like a force to reckon with. Her blackberry colored hair was left loose and surrounded a face that he once thought was innocent. Her dark eyes gleamed. His blood boiled at the sight of her. Even though he was mad at her, Keran was annoyed to discover that desire wasn’t far behind.
Would he ever be free from the spell she ensnared him in?
“What do you want?”
“Has there been any news of Justin?”
“They haven’t contacted us again.” He sneered. “Stop pretending like you care. If you had an ounce of feelings for him, you would have told us something so we could get him back.”
“I’m sure you haven’t unearthed any evidence to link me to the crime. If that was the case, you would have been all over me but instead, you’re accusing me without any proof. What will it take for you to realize I had nothing to do with this?”
“I will never believe that. My son was safe until I brought you into our home. That was my mistake, and you took advantage of it. I know you’re in this thing with them and sooner or later, I’ll prove it.” Striding forward, he stood directly in front of her. Their gazes clashed. “When I do, you’ll regret the day you met me.”
Devyn laughed without humor. “Too late. I’m already regretting it,” she admitted without an ounce of fear. “But Justin wasn’t a mistake. I love that child, and if there’s anything I can do to bring him back, then I’ll do it without hesitation.”
“Lies,” he spat out the word. “It was all an act to make me lose my head over you, so I would give you access to my child and like a fool, I played into your hand.”
Again, the laugh without any humor. “You’re right; you’re a damn fool,” she said.
He could tell that she was getting angry but her voice remained strong, steady.
“But it’s not for the reasons you think. It’s because you fail to take into account the fact that there’s someone out there who’s plotting against you.”
“What the hell do you mean?”
“Someone knew you would be out of town. Someone was aware that Justin would be with me…that we had planned to go backstage. The person used all that information to get Justin.”
“You. It was you.”
She bit her bottom lip.
He could have sworn there were tears in her eyes, but she didn’t let them slide down.
“You’re so hell-bent on accusing me that you’re not looking for the person who did all this. He or she would get off scot free and…” She looked away for a moment as if she was trying to control her emotions.
He had to give her credit; she was the consummate actor.
“…Justin could get hurt. You could be hurt.”
“Don’t worry about me, darling. I know how to take care of myself.” He strode towards the door in a bid to get away from her. There was no way he could listen to anymore of her lies.
“Listen, Keran.”
He turned to look at her. There was a forlorn look on her face. If he didn’t know her well by now, he would have assumed she was actually hurting.
“Don’t take risks with your life. If something happened to you, Justin would be without both parents.”
The possibility of that event was quite high. He bit his lip in an attempt to control the tirade that threatened to escape from his lips. Was that her plan? Did she intend to get him killed and then use Justin to access his wealth? Now, he was even more determined to not let this happen. Once he thought he cared about this woman. What a fool he was. She was the devil guised in a sexy, alluring package, and he didn’t have any intention of becoming ensnared with her sweet talk anymore.
Never again, would he listen to anything she said.
Never.
Chapter Three
She’d failed in one of the most important jobs in her life. If she’d been more careful at the concert hall, Justin would be at home and none of this would have happened. Although she was pissed off with Keran for suspecting her, she was also angry with herself for allowing this mess to occur in the first place. After her conversation with Keran, she didn’t know what to do. At this point, he wouldn’t believe anything she said.
It was sad he thought that way about her, but she needed to stop letting herself get hurt because of his callous behavior. He would soon learn the truth…she had nothing to do with his son’s kidnapping. If he handed himself over to the kidnappers, they would kill him. Even though she was mad at him for not trusting her, she didn’t want him to die.
Keran and his team were up to something. For the last two days, she was fairly isolated. Keran, of course, didn’t talk to her, and Martin was too busy. Even Simon and the rest of the security personnel kept their distance, and she was eager to keep hers. But right now, something big was happening. She felt the excitement as men scurried back and forth out of the basement. It was an area hardly ever used, but now they had all moved out of Keran’s study and were spending most of the time there.
What was going on?
She longed to ask someone, but Devyn knew Keran wouldn’t tell her anything. On the morning of the fourth day, she went down to the kitchen early to grab some breakfast. She hadn’t been able to sleep well at all. No matter how hard she tried to deny it, the truth was it was difficult for her to forgive Keran for his baseless accusations.
Martin stood at the counter. He was reading something on his phone and eating toast. “Hi.”
“Hi. Been up all night?” She hovered at the door. Since he was the only one who was actually friendly with her at the moment, she ventured inside.
“Yes.” He looked happy about it. “Big breakthrough.”
“Ah!” She wasn’t sure if she should ask. After all, Keran had pretty much labeled her as a spy, and she didn’t want to make it look as if she was digging for some information. “Anything that might lead to Justin?” She couldn’t help but ask. With each passing day, her worry about the boy was mounting. How was he faring in the hands of his kidnappers? Did they treat him right?
“We hope so. We caught the guy who summoned you to the backstage area.”
“What? That’s great news. But don’t you think you should hand him over to the police?”
“We’ll do that but first, we’re trying to get some information from him. If we hand him over to the police, we won’t hear from them. They’ll take over the investigation. The thing is…it’s a pack matter now, and we generally don’t involve the police.”
She poured some cereal in the bowl as she pondered over his words. “What has he said so far?”
“He is refusing to speak, of course. We’re working on him. He has to hand over locations, names, and plans. We’ll get it out of him.”
“I’m sure you will.” Too excited by what she heard, Devyn ate the cereal as she stood next to him. “Perhaps he doesn’t know anything.”
“He knows something. At the very least, he saw some of them. They gave him money for that job. We’re hopeful he’ll reveal something important soon. Actually, I’m not supposed to discuss this with you.” He paused. “Don’t tell Keran I told you so. He won’t be happy.”
“He’s never going to believe that I’m telling the truth.”
“I believe you. Don’t worry. This matter will sort itself out in a few days.”
“The import
ant thing is to get Justin back.”
“Of course. I have the same goal,” he confessed. “I should be off now. Take care, Devyn. It was nice to talk to you.”
“Yeah, same here.” It felt as if she had a real conversation after a real long time. Devyn finished her breakfast. Now what? Go back to her room and mope? Do some snooping around to find out what Keran and his team were up to? Eat another bowl of cereal—or perhaps a banana? Devyn shook her head. Nah. She made her way to the library, pulled out a book at random and began to read. Now that Justin wasn’t around, she was at a loose ends. She didn’t know what to do with her time.
~* * * *~
The next day, she ran into Martin again, just as he was leaving the house. She stopped him. “Hi. Anything else?” she whispered.
“We’ve got some names and a location. I’m making arrangements to go there.” He glanced around to see if anyone was watching them. Luckily, there wasn’t anyone else in the foyer or on the stairs. Walking over to her, he hugged her.
She was a little astounded by his display of emotion but still a bit grateful. Here was someone who believed her.
“Keep your fingers crossed.”
“I will.” Devyn returned to her room. She was happy something was finally happening. While she sat on her bed, her mind whirred with thoughts. Keran must be ecstatic over this new development. Perhaps they might find Justin at this location. It would be great to see him again. She missed him. The boy had a permanent place in her heart and now, it would be hard to say goodbye. All she wanted before she left was to know he was safe and back home with his father.
Her door banged open and she shot up. “What?”
Keran stood at the door. He looked pissed off. “Pack your bags. You’re leaving right now.”
“What? Why?” She could barely think coherently.
“This is my house, and I decide who stays and who goes,” he said in a rude voice. “And I want you out. There’s no point keeping you here. Whatever we need to know, we have other ways to get that information.”
