“Connor! Evie!” Selena’s voice cut across the parking lot and made them pull apart. “Where’s Quinn?” Her voice was shaky, her blue-gray eyes filled with worry. “Evie, what happened?”
“Oh fuck,” Connor cursed. “Let’s go get him.”
The three of them walked to the alley, and Evie caught Selena up on what happened, at least about the fight with Booth. When they reached the spot where they left his brother, Selena rushed to Quinn, who was standing over the still knocked-out Booth.
“About time,” Quinn said with a huff.
“Quinn, why are you naked?” Selena asked as she launched herself at him.
“It’s nothing you haven’t seen before, Kitten,” he said with a laugh. “Ouch!”
“Are you hurt?” she asked when she pulled back and stared at his wounds. “Are those claw marks? Quinn, you idiot! I can’t believe you got into a fight with another Lycan.”
“Awww, baby, I had to,” he said. “C’mere … I’m fine, I promise. Besides, Wolf needed the exercise.”
“Next time, join a CrossFit class,” she said dryly but accepted his hug.
Quinn kissed the top of her head, then turned to Connor. “Are you going to tell us what this is about, bro?”
Connor huffed out a breath, but, before he could tell Quinn to fuck off, Evie put a hand on his arm. “I’ll take care of this,” she said, looking up at him with her soft, brown eyes. “Let us take care of you for once.”
Chapter Eight
Evie never thought of herself as a go-getter, take-charge kinda gal, so she surprised even herself when she came up with a plan.
A quick call confirmed that David Booth was living in New Jersey but was not properly registered with the clan nor did he ask permission from their Alpha, which was a clear violation of several Lycan laws. That meant they could bring him in for questioning and keep him locked up, maybe even get more information from him about The Facility. After getting permission from the Alphas of New Jersey and New York, Frankie and Grant Anderson, they tied up Booth and put him in the back of Connor’s Dodge Ram to bring him back to New York.
Fury blasted through her at what Connor had told her. She could hear the pain in his voice, so she didn’t press on, but she understood enough. Connor had grown up in that place where they trained him to fight for sport. She couldn’t imagine what he went through. In this case, she wondered if the reality was much worse than the horrors in her mind.
Evie rode with Connor in the front cab of the truck, while Selena and Quinn followed them in his Range Rover. The drive was silent and tense, and Evie sighed in relief when she saw the skyline of Manhattan up ahead.
When they arrived at the Fenrir Corporation Building on Madison Avenue, which was also the unofficial headquarters of the New York Clan, there were already several people waiting for them, including the Alpha himself and his Beta. As two of the Alpha’s Lycan security crew took the unconscious Booth to the basement detention levels, they were ushered into the Alpha’s office on the top floor. Killian, Meredith, and Daric were already inside.
Evie had never met Grant Anderson or his Beta, Nick Vrost, but she quickly realized why they held such high positions in the most powerful Lycan clan in the world. Though several of the other Lycans towered over him, Grant exuded a power and confidence like no one else. Nick Vrost, too, commanded respect with his mere presence and his ice-blue eyes that seemed to know and see everything.
“Frankie had to stay home with the twins, but she’s authorized formal charges against David Booth, and the Lycan High Council has been informed,” Grant said, referring to his wife and Alpha of New Jersey. He turned to Connor and Quinn. “Now, care to tell me what you were doing there?”
“It was personal business,” Connor said.
“When you beat up a rogue Lycan in my wife’s territory and then bring him to mine, that makes it my business,” Grant replied. “Now, want to try that again? Or am I going to have to ask you to leave New York?”
Evie tried to keep her mouth shut, but the words came spilling out of her mouth. “That man hurt children! Lycan children.” She gasped when all eyes in the room landed on her. “He deserves worse than what he got from Connor.”
“And you are?” Nick asked, a blond brow raised.
“Uh … E-Evie King,” she stuttered. “I work for Lone Wolf. As their administrative assistant.”
“A human?” Grant said, looking at the two brothers. “You two shifted in front of a human?”
“No, Alpha.” Evie shook her head. “I mean, yes, I’m human. But my mother is Amelia White of the Kansas Clan. It’s why Killian hired me.”
“All right, Evie King.” Grant looked at her with his piercing green eyes. “Connor’s not fond of talking or explaining himself, so why don’t you tell me what happened.”
“No,” Connor interrupted before she could say anything. “Fuck you all; I don’t have to explain myself to any of you.”
“Please, Connor,” Evie said, rubbing her palm on his arm. “It’s all right. You can tell them what you told me.”
“Connor?” Meredith stepped forward. “What’s going on?”
Connor let out a frustrated grunt. His eyes went hard and his mouth set into a grim line. “David Booth … he trained me.”
“Go on,” Evie encouraged.
Connor told her what he told Evie about The Facility and The Cage. The tension was thick as molasses in the room, and even Evie could feel it choking her. Grant and Nick remained stoic, but she could sense the anger radiating from them like waves. Quinn placed a hand protectively over Selena’s belly, and tears rolled down Meredith’s face as she listened to what happened to her brother.
“Could this be connected to the mages?” Nick asked when Connor concluded.
“Maybe. It doesn’t matter,” Grant said. “There may be more Lycans out there who need our help. David Booth will be able to tell us more when he wakes up.”
“Booth is mine,” Connor said. “I’m going to take care of him.”
“You can’t kill him,” Grant replied. “Lycan law—”
“Fuck Lycan law,” Connor shouted, which made Nick stand protectively in front of Grant.
“Stand down, Connor,” Killian said, raising a hand. “Sorry, Alpha.” He nodded to Grant. “We will follow Lycan law.”
“Goddamn you all, I’m going to get—” Connor stopped short.
“You’re not after him, are you?” Nick said. “I mean, you want Booth dead, but you want something else, too.”
“Who else are you after?” Grant paused, then narrowed his eyes. “It’s their ringleader you want. Whoever ran the Facility and took you from your family.”
Connor said nothing, but his silence confirmed it.
Grant let out a sigh. “If The Facility was a training ground run by mages, then you may already be too late. Their leader may be dead or in prison.”
Connor shook his head. “No, he’s still out there.”
“How—You know who he is,” Grant guessed.
He nodded. “He wasn’t at the battle in Norway.”
Grant sighed. “I need you all to step outside while I talk to Nick,” he said.
Everyone filed out of the office and into the waiting room. Evie stayed by Connor’s side, even as he tried to distance himself by walking to the other side of the room. She swallowed the lump in her throat. Connor was probably mad at her. He wouldn’t even look at her.
“Connor,” Meredith called softly as she came closer. “I didn’t know. I’m so sorry.” Her mate, Daric, was behind her, and he and Connor exchanged knowing looks.
His shoulders sagged. “How could you? I never told you. Any of you. Only Archie knew the whole story.”
Meredith stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, her body wracking with sobs. Evie felt her own eyes fill with tears, and she turned away so no one would see her.
The door of the office opened, and Grant and Nick stepped out.
“David Booth will stay here unti
l his trial with the Lycan High Council,” Grant said. “If you can testify and gather evidence, I’m sure we can get him for more than breaking the Constanta Agreement.”
“I’ll testify.”
“And I’m sure we can find the evidence,” Quinn said.
“We’ll do what we can to find it,” Killian added.
“Good,” Grant said with a nod. “Now, their leader. Do you know him or where he is?”
Connor shook his head. “No. He was the one guy who wasn’t on Archie’s list.”
“I bet Booth knows,” Meredith said as she wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. “We can make him talk.”
“We can leverage whatever evidence we find against him,” Killian said. “We’ll get him, Connor.”
“I told you, I don’t need your help.”
“Well, you’ll get it anyway,” Meredith said. “Because we’re family.”
Connor grunted. “Fine. But, if I find him, I want to be the one to bring him in.” Without another word, he stomped away and headed to the elevators.
Evie watched him go with a heavy heart. Each step he took away made her chest feel heavier and heavier, and, when the elevator door closed, she flinched. The last thing she saw was Connor’s face, harder than steel and colder than ice.
An arm landing on her shoulder made her turn her head. Meredith stared at her, her whisky-brown eyes still wet with tears.
“Thank you,” Meredith whispered. “For everything you’ve done.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Evie replied, then her shoulders sagged. “If anything, I made him even more angry.”
The Lycan shook her head. “No, you’ve done more than you know. If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have known what was hurting him.”
Evie swallowed the lump in her throat. She wasn’t sure she agreed with Meredith. The look on his face when he walked away would always be etched in her mind.
Chapter Nine
Evie dragged herself out of bed the next day to head to the theater. She was grateful to be working on the stage and for the distraction. Theater was her life and the one place she could forget about her worries. But, still, she was exhausted because she couldn’t sleep last night, thinking about what had happened with Booth. What happened to Connor when he was a kid. What he had planned to do when he hunted Booth down. And the cold, dead look in his eyes. Despite growing up Catholic, Evie wasn’t religious, but she did fear for Connor’s soul.
“What the heck?” Her brows furrowed as she walked up to the backstage entrance of the theater. There was a crowd building by the door. What was going on? “Excuse me,” she said as she pushed her way to the front. “Hey! Get out of my way; I need to get in!”
“Watch it!” A guy with a professional camera blocked her way.
“I’m a cast member; I have to get in.”
A woman with blond hair turned around and then shoved a phone at her. “You’re a cast member? I’m a blogger from Broadway World Daily. We heard that someone’s been threatening Janelle Edwards and there have been a number of accidents. Care to comment on that?”
“What?” A flash blinded her. “Um … Sorry, I just need to get to work.”
“Evie!” Aiden James’ head popped out from the stage door. He pushed back some of the people and grabbed her hand.
Evie let Aiden pull her in as the crowd descended on her. The door shut with a thud, and she put her hand over her chest. “What’s going on?”
Aiden’s face was drawn into a serious expression. “Someone leaked to the press about the accident and the threats that Janelle’s been getting. Damn sharks came here, smelling blood in the water.”
“Jesus.”
“Yeah, it’s made my life extra hard.” He puffed out a breath. “You okay? I’m gonna have barriers put up outside the door. Janelle’s fans are also gathering in front, in support of their star.” He shook his head. “Damn thing’s turning into a circus. Sebastian’s not going to be happy since MacAllister wants extra security now.”
“I’m sorry.”
He shrugged. “All part of the job. Janelle isn’t even here yet. I’ll have to ask Connor for help with crowd control when she finally arrives.”
She gave him a tight smile. “Yeah, good thing. I should go …”
“Sure,” he said, giving her a bright look. “I’ll talk to you later.”
After dropping off her stuff in the dressing room, she joined the rest of the cast onstage. They were all chatting and waiting for Steven and the writers to arrive. By the time thirty minutes had passed, it was clear there was something major causing the delay. Did the insurance company hear about the accident? Were they being shut down? No one said it out loud, though there were whispers and mumbles among the cast.
Finally, Steven walked onto the stage, the look on his face unreadable. Behind him, Jane and Annie followed, wearing similar expressions. “All right everyone, our star is feeling under the weather this morning but assures us she’s on the way.”
“Yeah, I’m sure that bottle of champagne did a number on her,” someone snickered.
“No!”
“I saw it on her Instagram. She was out partying all night with her celebutard friends.”
Steven shushed them, but, with the way his eyes rolled, he clearly knew Janelle’s excuses were bullshit. “Anyway, we need to work around her, so let’s see what we can accomplish.” A young PA scrambled up the stage and approached Steven, then whispered something in his ear. “Fine,” he said with a shrug. “Tech wants to practice the Act One finale.”
“But we need Janelle for that,” Jane pointed out.
“No, Evie can substitute,” Annie said. “Right Steven?”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Steven answered. “At least we can actually get some practice in, and the tech guys don’t need Janelle. They just need to make sure the lighting’s correct. Evie, are you ready?”
Evie felt all eyes on her. Sing the last song of Act One? She loved that song. It was about love and heartbreak, and the melody was incredibly moving. But her heart sank because she would never get to sing that song for the show and in front of an audience. “Sure,” she said, swallowing the bitterness building in her.
Steven gave her a few directions, and she took her position on stage. The music began. She took a deep breath and began to sing. The main character, Colleen, was singing about finding someone who accepted her as she was. During the workshop, she thought of her own life and experiences, trying to capture the feeling in that song. Back then, when she sang it, she thought about Richard. But, as she sang it now, another face popped in her head. A pain pricked in her heart, thinking about what happened to Connor. After last night, she finally knew what he had been hiding all this time, but none of it scared her. Instead, it made her admire him more, that he went through all that and came out the other side stronger and better.
After she finished the last note of the song, Evie took a breath, feeling drained. When the orchestra stopped, there was silence. She blinked and opened her eyes. Annie and Jane were sitting in the front row; both of them had astonished looks on their faces. Behind her, there was a slow clap, which then broke out into full applause. She turned, and her cast mates were smiling and cheering. A blush crept up her neck, and she gave a little bow.
“What’s going on here?” A sharp voice cut through the cheer and there was silence again. Janelle made her way to the front of the crowd.
“Janelle, nice of you to join us,” Steven said. “Feeling better?”
Janelle’s lips curled up into a sweet smile. “Why yes, I am, thanks for asking.” She turned to Evie, her eyes hateful. “And thanks for warming up the musicians for me, Stevie.”
“It’s Evie,” she corrected.
“Right.” She flipped her hair and motioned at Evie. “Well, scooch over, I’m here now.” Evie’s shoulders sagged, and she stepped aside. “Don’t go too far, though, Stevie,” Janelle instructed. “You are my helper, right? I might need a water or something.�
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“C’mon, let’s get on with it,” Steven said. “Let’s pick up where we left off yesterday.”
Evie stuck close to Janelle, feeding her lines and the blocking. However, when it came to the dance number, it was obvious the pop star needed much more work.
“Janelle, you’re supposed to walk upstage, not downstage,” Steven said.
“I am going up front,” she answered, her hands on her hips.
“No, darling,” Steven sneered. “Upstage means the back, not the front.”
“That’s stupid,” she whined.
“It was from the olden days when the stage used to slope down,” Evie pointed out.
“I know that,” Janelle retorted. “I was just saying how stupid it is.”
“Let’s get on with it,” Steven said in an exasperated voice. “Opening day isn’t getting any farther away, people! Let’s take it from the top of the scene.”
There was a collective groan from the cast, but they all trudged back to their opening positions. As they continued with the rehearsal, Evie was beginning to lose her patience. Janelle simply didn’t have proper stage training, and it was draining to have to correct her all the time.
“Stop bumping into me,” Janelle snapped.
“Then remember which way you’re supposed to go,” Evie replied, her temper flaring. “You start stage left, not house left.”
Janelle’s face twisted into an ugly mask, her eyes narrowing into slits. “You watch where you’re going, you clumsy cow.”
There was a collective gasp, followed by a deafening silence that settled over the stage. Evie’s face went completely red, and she froze on the spot.
“Janelle, that’s utterly inappropriate,” Steven finally said, throwing his script down. “Apologize to Evie now.”
“I will not,” Janelle said, stomping her foot. “She keeps breathing down my neck, and I can’t concentrate. It’s her fault! Andrew!” she screamed. “Where is Andrew? I demand to speak to him. I’m going to my dressing room,” she said with a flip of her blond locks. She stomped off. Everyone was speechless and looking around as if to say, “Did that really happen?”
All for Connor: The Lone Wolf Defenders Book 3 Page 9
