Ruling Fire (Bad Boys Of The Underworld Book 4)

by Crowe, Mallory

  “I’m a siren,” Elsie bit out. “I can’t just leave. We are connected in a way that can never be undone. He wouldn’t be able to function if I left.”

  “Find a way! Call your long-lost relatives or go on a journey of self-discovery to India or wherever the hell your people came from! Don’t just sit there and tell me there’s nothing you can do.”

  Elsie crumpled up her napkin and threw it on the table. Lunch obviously wasn’t happening. “Don’t come in here all high and mighty, as though you’re here to protect your family. Your great-granddaughter has been missing for days and we know for a fact she’s mixed up in some deep shit. Yet somehow everyone seems more concerned about Brock and me.”

  Lana sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. “That girl knew what she was getting into.”

  “Now who’s lying?” Elsie stood up and fished her wallet out of her purse. “I’m sorry this didn’t go the way I would’ve wanted. The food here really is good, so I hope you stay.” She set a folded fifty-dollar bill on the table. “Please enjoy your lunch and I hope next time we can make it through the whole meal together.”

  Lana narrowed her eyes but said nothing.

  Elsie strode from the restaurant, refusing to let herself turn back to see Lana’s reaction. She’d probably still be sitting there with a calm and cold expression. She knew better than to show her annoyance.

  The balmy spring air hit Elsie like a wall, but a soft breeze lessened the blow. She looked up and down the street, suddenly realizing she was stranded. Lana drove, and Elsie doubted she planned to take Elsie back to the office now.

  Not that Elsie would ever ask Lana for a ride anyway. Jackson would get her if she called him. He probably would’ve anyway, but he was especially motivated to prove himself to Brock now.

  With a sigh, she shuffled down the street and fished her phone out. Once again she found herself scrolling straight to Lucian’s number. She bit her lip as she stared at the glowing screen.

  Before she could chicken out, Elsie pressed the Send button.

  ~~~~~

  Brock gazed out the window of his corner office, wishing he had a better view. Stupid of him. Most New Yorkers would kill for his view overlooking Central Park, and normally he loved it.

  But not today. Today he wished he could see the shipyards of Jersey. All the way to Elsie’s office.

  Was she thinking about him? He’d been texting her periodically throughout the day, but she’d never text him first. Not that he’d given her the chance.

  He turned away from the window and cursed himself. He wasn’t a fucking teenager. He was over a hundred years old. Besides that, he knew Elsie liked him. She certainly liked being with him enough.

  Sex might not mean much to most of the women he knew, but he was Elsie’s first. She hadn’t touched anyone else until him. That had to mean something.

  Once again, he looked down at his phone, but there were no calls or texts for him. Growling at his own impatience, Brock sunk into his chair and stared blankly at the computer screen. He had so much work to catch up on, but all he could think of was his mate being alone and out of his reach.

  He only got about ten minutes’ worth of work done before his cell phone finally went off. Before the second ring started, the phone was to his ear. “Brock here.” Of course, in his rush, he didn’t even look at who was calling.

  “It’s Seth.”

  Brock straightened in his chair. “What’s wrong?” He’d agreed to let Elsie catch up on her work without him to watch her, but he wasn’t about to let her go without protection. Seth was not only one of Brock’s best men, but he had also never met Elsie so, hopefully, she would never know he stuck her with a babysitter.

  Elsie was one of the strongest and most capable women he’d ever met. She was also his mate. He’d already lost one mate and fielded two assassination attempts on Elsie’s life. She needed to be protected, and Jackson could barely protect himself.

  “Nothing’s wrong,” said Seth. “I just thought you’d want an update.”

  “I sent you there to protect her, not spy on her,” ground out Brock. Elsie would already be pissed enough at him if she found out about Seth.

  “I still thought you’d be interested in her coffee date this morning,” said a smug-sounding Seth.

  Brock took a calming breath. “What are you talking about?”

  “Your girl met a guy for coffee this morning.”

  “Are you implying it was romantic?” Brock started to second-guess his faith in Seth’s abilities. Elsie told Brock he was the first man she’d ever kissed, and he was damn sure he was the first she’d ever slept with. Even if she was the cheating type, she wouldn’t be meeting with the bastard this soon.

  “I didn’t get a romantic vibe. She seemed kind of spooked by the guy at first, but she still sat with him for a few minutes. She seemed to get annoyed and left, but he gave her a phone as she was leaving.”

  Fuck. “You think Cullen is giving her trouble again?”

  “I don’t know who this guy was, but he wasn’t a wolf. I didn’t really get a human vibe either but I couldn’t get too close. I decided to stick with Elsie when they parted and I couldn’t see which way he went.”

  Brock’s faith in Seth was going back up. “It was a good choice. Elsie is the priority.”

  “I did get a pic of our mystery guy. I’m emailing it to you now,” said Seth.

  Brock clicked to his email and opened the attachments to Seth’s email. Fuck. “You didn’t say the dick was a fucking supermodel,” growled Brock.

  Seth’s confusion was audible. “It didn’t seem like necessary information. I didn’t sense any romantic element to the meeting.”

  Brock flipped through the two pictures sent. One showed Elsie sitting at a table with the man who looked as if he just stepped out of some romantic comedy that women went all gooey eyed over, and the other showed them standing and facing each other as he handed her a nondescript black phone.

  Seth was right about the tone of the meeting. Elsie didn’t seem to be interested in the other man at all. In each picture, her posture was super poised, as though she was holding herself as far away from him as possible, and her eyes seemed to be calculating the threat.

  Why wouldn’t she call him if she was afraid? She didn’t have all the damn pride Jackson had. It wasn’t as if she would be embarrassed to ask for help. She was too smart for that shit.

  Brock wouldn’t know anything until he found out who the mystery man having coffee with his mate was. “I’m going to send the picture around and see what I can find out about this guy. You start circulating it and let me know if you hear anything.”

  “Some of my guys already have it. I made sure your mate wasn’t visible in the pic, so no one will know this concerns you.” Brock let out a sigh of relief at Seth’s foresight. Good help really was hard to find. “One more thing,” Seth added.

  “What now?”

  “I know I’m not supposed to be spying on her for you, but I thought you might want to know this. Your grandmother met Elsie for lunch and they didn’t seem to part on good terms.”

  Brock clenched his jaw and fists as he forced himself to keep his anger under control. “Thanks for the update. I’ll be sure to give Lana a call.”

  “I’ll let you know if I find out anything else.” Seth hung up.

  Brock hit the Forward button and sent the picture on to his security department. He didn’t bother with a message in the email. He was already standing up and striding down to the forty-second floor to discuss the matter privately with his head of security, Russell.

  Holt Automated was large enough that most of the employees were the standard variety human, but it was still the top employer of werewolves in the continental United States. Working with family was never easy, but at least he had the added benefit of being king, giving the weight of his authority extra heft.

  Brock strode into Russell’s office, where the picture of Elsie and the mystery guy was already on
Russell’s computer screen. Russell stood at Brock’s entrance.

  “Already feeling the jealousy of having a mate in the modern world?” Russell grinned.

  Just seventy years ago, it would’ve been perfectly reasonable for Brock to order Elsie to stay indoors and away from windows anytime he was gone. Now it was expected that he allow her to be in danger every day for the sake of her independence. Theoretically, Brock had never had a problem with independent women. Now that he was going out of his head with worry, he was starting to see the appeal of feminine oppression.

  “Not jealousy. At least not this time. Seth snapped these this morning. He thinks this guy spooked Elsie, but she still sat with him a few minutes and he transferred a cell phone to her as she left. I want to know everything about him. Where he was born, what his favorite color is, and why the hell he is scaring my mate.”

  Russell raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue. “Understood. I will edit Elsie out of the picture and distribute it around until we find out what was going on.” He paused a beat before he added, “Have you tried asking her who he is?”

  Brock looked to the gray and blue speckled carpeting.

  “Ahh,” said Russell with understanding. “You are afraid she’s going to lie about it?”

  Brock hated how well his brother knew him. It was obvious Elsie was spooked in the pictures, but he never got a phone call from her to discuss it. He was her mate. If she was upset, frightened, or even a little hungrier than normal, she should be sharing it with him.

  But this wasn’t a blushing bride he’d wooed and courted. This was a coworker who never even knew he thought about her in any sexual way until very recently. Why would she call him under stress?

  “I’ll talk to her as soon as I can and you’ll be updated,” he insisted. “Take care of this.”

  Russell nodded. “Will do.”

  Brock made his way back to the elevator and punched the button for the forty-fourth floor. Without letting himself overthink anything, he snatched his phone from his pocket and hit the speed dial for Elsie.

  It went straight to voicemail.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Elsie stared down at the vibrating phone. She couldn’t hit the End button too soon or Brock would know she was avoiding his calls. Instead, she walked out of her office and ignored the buzzing.

  If she stayed in her office and didn’t answer, Brock would call Jackson and Jackson would know something was up. To keep suspicions down, she pulled her favorite office girl, Shannon, into a conference room and told her about the shifting job responsibilities. Shannon would be taking over the various reconciliations Elsie currently did, but Elsie would be carefully reviewing them every month.

  For the rest of the day, the two of them stayed in the conference room as Elsie walked Shannon through all her new responsibilities. At least the closed door meeting was a good excuse to ignore Brock’s calls. Jackson had already popped in a few times to bitch about Brock blowing up his phone too.

  Considering Jackson could verify she was still alive and in one piece, she didn’t feel one ounce of guilt over ignoring Brock’s constant calls. She was supposed to be helping him run his company, not taking calls from her new boyfriend/mate/whatever-the-hell-he-was.

  As five o’clock rolled around, Jackson interrupted her more and more frequently, trying to get some type of assurance she didn’t want to work too late. After all, because he was her babysitter, he would have to work just as late. However, if she wanted tonight to go off as planned, she would have to lose the sitter.

  Shannon never once asked how late Elsie planned to make her work. One more mark in her favor.

  For all his faults, Jackson was loyal to his family. He might not like it, but if Brock asked him to watch Elsie, he would do it even if he had to complain the entire time. As far as bodyguards went, he wasn’t half bad. He was well built, and being able to grow fangs and claws on command was always a plus in a fight.

  But he was horrible at reading people. His whole blackmail debacle just proved how bad he was at reading situations and working out strategies. It was one of the things she hated most about working for him, but in this case, it might actually help.

  Assigning Shannon some busywork, Elsie slipped from the room and to her office. Sure enough, there were twenty missed calls from Brock. Taking a steadying breath, she dialed his number.

  He answered before the phone could ring a second time. “Where the hell have you been all day?”

  Great. He was going to yell at her first thing. “Hasn’t your spy told you already?”

  There was a pause. “How did you know I was getting reports?”

  Elsie rolled her eyes. Did he think she was an idiot? “I know Jackson told you where I’ve been. Otherwise you’d be yelling at me in person.”

  “Yeah, Jackson,” he muttered. “He isn’t my biggest fan right now.”

  “Well, neither am I at the moment. Why on earth were you calling so much? Especially if you knew I was fine?”

  “Someone telling me you’re okay and you saying it yourself are two different things. I just wanted to make sure everything was going well.”

  The words seemed sincere, but Elsie could sense he held something back. Then again, so was she, so who was she to judge? “Everything is fine here. Just a really busy day, as you can imagine. I’ve been locked up with Shannon for the past few hours, trying to teach her what it’s taken me years to learn.”

  There was another silence and Elsie knew Brock was trying to ask her something. If he was being this careful with word choice, it was because he was trying not to piss her off. “You’re sure nothing happened to spook you? None of Cullen’s men approached you? Nothing out of the ordinary?”

  He knows about Lucian. “You know if I were worried, you’d be the first person I’d call.” Great. Now he was lying to her and she was lying to him. The foundation for a wonderful bonding. Probably best to change the subject. “Have you found out anything about Dani? Jackson is saying there’s nothing you can do.”

  “There haven’t been any sightings of her. There are a couple of Cullen’s hideouts she could be at, but we can’t attack them all.”

  Just one more wall she was hitting. “You’re king. You can attack anyone you want to.”

  “I’m an unpopular king. If I flex muscle and Cullen wins, that’s it for me. We are already vulnerable with everything going on.”

  Elsie could hear the frustration in his voice, but it didn’t make her feel better. “You’re vulnerable because of me. Because I’m not one of you. I make you weak.”

  “No, you don’t. It will just take time for everyone else to see that. The fact that you survived one kidnapping attack already is a huge mark in your favor. And every day that goes by that you survive the queen’s curse will instill even more confidence in you.”

  “You’re saying the reason we have to leave Dani alone with those creeps is because of me.”

  Brock responded with an angry growl. “That’s not what I’m saying,” he bit out.

  “Whatever. We’ll have to talk about it later. I’m trying to get shit done here. Have you taken time out of your busy day of calling me to check on Riggs?” She knew she’d be working a long day, so they decided the dog would do better at Brock’s oversized Manhattan apartment where there was plenty of staff willing to bend over backward for the owner of the penthouse.

  “He’s already been out twice today. He’s doing fine,” he said quickly. “I want to talk about this. You need to know you aren’t a handicap.”

  Elsie was happy he was feeling bad, because she was sure he’d be pissed at her when she finally did see him again. A few sympathy points couldn’t hurt.

  Elsie pushed away from her desk and headed to Jackson’s office. “Like I said, we’ll talk about this later. I am going to be working pretty late, but then I’ll head over to your place. Traffic won’t let up ’til seven-ish anyway.” Without knocking, Elsie pushed open Jackson’s door. “Now I’m in Jackson’s office a
nd I’m about to put you on speakerphone.” She hit the button that would allow Jackson to hear Brock. “Now tell Jackson you’re satisfied that I am safe and that I am old enough to not need a babysitter.”

  Brock grunted on the other end of the phone. “What she said,” he grumbled.

  Jackson stifled laughter at Brock’s grumpy response, and Elsie left his office. Taking Brock off speakerphone, she said, “Thank you.”

  “He’s not babysitting you. He’s protecting you. There’s a difference. Paranoia is one thing, but we have plenty of reasons to believe you’re in danger.”

  “And I appreciate that you care. But there is a thin line here between you caring and you being a dick.”

  Brock laughed. “Luckily, I have you to tell me the second I cross that line.”

  “The second you even nudge it,” she promised. “Seriously though, I have a mountain of work and limited time. I’ll see you later tonight.”

  Brock said a quick good-bye and hung up.

  That wasn’t too bad. Now she just had to get rid of Jackson. Striding back to his office, she put on her most confident-looking face. “Brock said thanks for everything. I’m heading back to the conference room with Shannon, so have a great night if I don’t see you.”

  Jackson furrowed his brow. “I thought I was staying until you left.”

  Elsie widened her eyes. “Didn’t you hear Brock just now? He agreed I didn’t need a babysitter. It’s not like Cullen’s guys would try anything so soon after they failed anyway. You can take off whenever you want. I know you had a busy day.”

  She could see Jackson was trying hard to make sense of her lies. But Jackson did want to go home, and he would try his hardest to twist reality to fit what he wanted. “Well, I guess so,” he muttered.

  Before he could second-guess himself, Elsie cheerfully said, “Have a nice night,” before she turned back to the conference room. Phase one was completed. Unfortunately, that was the easy part.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Elsie pulled her car into the farthest spot from the door. Lucian was exactly where he’d promised he’d be, sitting in his black, nondescript Chevy outside the fast-food restaurant down the street from the plant.