“Thanks. Everything’s almost ready. Tora and Marcus should be along soon but until then we’re just waiting. Can I get you something to drink? A beer? Coffee? Soda?”
“Have a beer with me, James.” Raja came strolling into the kitchen freshly showered and dressed. His hair still damp from the shower hung loose, giving him an angelic look.
Wow. I thought he looked killer in jeans. It’s nothing compared to how he fills out those dress slacks and pullover green sweater. Wonder if anyone would notice if we slipped away? What am I saying—they would hear us.
“Sure, I’ll have a beer.”
“I’ll get them,” Raja told Bethany as she set down the plates and turned toward the refrigerator.
Her gaze followed him as she set the table. I want to run my hands over his body. She took a deep breath, trying to push the lust from her thoughts. “You’re having a beer?” She looked at him, shocked he was drinking something other than coffee.
“Once in a while it’s okay to enjoy a cold beer.” He ran his hand down her arm and kissed her cheek as he walked past. “Tora texted while I was in the shower. She’ll be here shortly. Scarlet spilled her apple juice down the front of her dress. Marcus is giving her a quick bath, to clean up the sticky mess I call my niece.” A tap on the door interrupted him. “Ahh, that must be her.” Raja passed a beer to James and went to answer the door.
“I hope you won’t be uncomfortable tonight,” she whispered to her uncle as she neared him, placing the last plate at the end of the table. It might have been years since they were together, but he was still her family. Her only living family.
“It’s fine. They’re part of your family now. Tora did a beautiful job on the service.”
He’s right, they’re my family now. Then why am I so anxious? Deep breaths, you can do this.
“How’s my Scarlet?” Raja took his niece from Tora, tossing her slightly in the air to make the toddler giggle.
“If you make her sick, Raja, you’ll be cleaning it,” his sister scolded.
“She loves it.”
Bethany stood close to the kitchen counter, watching them. When Tora rolled her eyes, she couldn’t help but laugh. “Thank you for coming.”
“It’s our pleasure. I wish you would have let me bring something. Can I do anything in the kitchen?”
“I told you she’s used to being in control when it comes to family dinners.” Raja glanced her way.
“Thank you, Tora, but I have it covered. Everything’s in the oven and should be ready in fifteen minutes. Until then, please make yourself at home.”
“Have a seat. Marcus, want a beer? Tora, that revolting root beer that you prefer?” Raja asked as Scarlet tugged on his hair. When they nodded, he placed Scarlet on the floor and headed to the kitchen. “Where’s Daniella?”
“Tonight’s the night for the monthly chat for her online college class. She’ll be over after that to take Scarlet home. I brought her a few toys that should keep her occupied.”
Bethany watched as Scarlet came wobbling toward her. Her pudgy little legs looked unsteady as she made her way across the room. When she came close, she tugged on Bethany’s jeans with her little chubby fists.
“Seems as if she likes you.” Tora laughed. “She wants you to lift her. She’s our cuddling kitty.”
Bethany leaned down and picked up Scarlet as if she were fine china.
“She won’t break,” Tora teased.
“I haven’t been around children this young in a long time. Jamie was the last toddler I had any real contact with, she’s…umm…was…seventeen.” Scarlet wrapped her arms around Bethany’s neck, bringing her closer, and gave her a slobbery kiss.
“You were always so caring with Jamie. You were like a little mother to her,” James recalled. “You’ll make a wonderful mother when your time comes.” He leaned against the wall, drinking his beer and watching Bethany closely.
“She’ll have you wrapped around her fingers before long. She’s had Uncle Raja there since she was an infant.” Tora unloaded the bag of toys she had, putting them on the living room floor for Scarlet to play with. “Look on the bright side—she’s the perfect introduction to your own.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
The table was cluttered with documents and pictures. Two different groups were at work. Connor and Lukas sat at the far end, their eyes boring into the laptops in front of them. Behind them, there was a board with a map of the United States, with different colored pins poking out. Each pin represented a place Robin was seen and her trail zigzagging across the U.S.A. At the other end of the conference table Marcus, Thomas, Shadow, and Felix worked feverishly, trying to gather information on Victor and the Russian tiger who would meet in less than twenty-four hours.
Ty, Raja, and Jinx sat in the middle of the conference table going over the information that had already accumulated. “I spoke with Adam this morning. Victor checked into the hotel. They’re standing down to see if the Russian makes an appearance. No information has been found as to why they’re meeting. Unless Victor flees, they’re going to observe.” Raja tossed aside another folder.
Ty leaned forward, catching everyone’s attention. “We’ve got less than twenty-four hours to find out whatever we can about this Russian. Otherwise, Adam and the team will have to take down Victor. Taking down Victor will upset the balance of Pierce’s gang and hopefully make him think twice about future attacks.”
“Now this is interesting.” Raja passed a fresh folder to Ty. “It would seem as though Victor’s mother is Russian. His financials show he’s receiving money quarterly from an account in Russia. Connor, can you trace the money, find out where it’s coming from?”
“If there’s another laptop around here, I can start the process to narrow it down as I continue with Robin’s trail. When it’s finished narrowing down the points of origin, I’ll give Lukas what I have on Robin and attend to that.” Connor didn’t look up from the laptop. “I don’t mean to sound demanding, but if we could set up a computer station, I’d be able to run multiple searches simultaneously.”
“Start the search. Then find whatever you need online and order it. Rush the shipping if you have to. We’ll turn one of the smaller conference rooms into a central hub.” Ty scanned the papers Raja handed him. “Felix, I have an extra laptop in the top drawer of my desk. Would you please get it? I also want you to find out whatever you can on Victor’s mother. Who’s his father? Siblings? Who was Victor before he became Pierce’s right-hand man?”
“It will take some time to find what you’ve requested.”
“Time is one thing we don’t have. Lukas, can you handle tracking Robin’s course?”
“Sure. Right now we’re a few weeks behind her.” Lukas stabbed another colored pin into the map then grabbed a marker to input the date she was seen there.
“Good. Connor, focus on Victor, see what you can find, and quickly. I know you’re both working around the clock, and we appreciate it. No one else here are computer experts like you two are. Maybe we can recruit or train others to help you in the future, as of right now this is a need-to-know only situation.” Felix returned with the laptop, handing it to Connor as Ty spoke. “Ahh, here you go. When you find something let us know. In the meantime, Raja and I have some other things we need to attend to. Shadow, Felix, with us. The rest of you keep working.”
Bethany and Tabitha were in Ty’s quarters hunkered down in front of a laptop, shopping, with Styx standing guard.
“Are you two spending all our money?” Ty teased, gracefully taking a seat on the opposite sofa. “We were gone over two hours, and you’re still at it?”
“We could spend an entire day shopping. You make our task harder having to do it online. We can’t see how it will look on us, or how it feels,” Tabitha told him before pointing to something on the screen. “This would look great on you, Bethany.”
“I can’t believe you’re the same woman I took shopping in Pennsylvania who barely bought anything.”
“So you’re not buying then?” Ty questioned.
“I didn’t say that.”
“We left our women with our credit cards. Did you really expect they’d be finished?” Raja leaned against the arm of the sofa. “I know you both prefer jeans and sweaters. Nevertheless, make sure you order a couple dressy outfits. It’s possible you’ll need them as things progress.”
“See, and I told you this would look great on you.”
“Okay, but that’s it. I bought enough clothes,” Bethany said, adding the dress to her shopping cart.
“You don’t get off that easy. You need shoes to go with these and the other outfits.”
“While the women finish their shopping spree, why don’t we take this to my office?” Ty rose and stretched before strolling out of the room.
Inside the office, Raja grabbed four water bottles from the mini fridge, handing them to Shadow, Felix, Ty, and keeping one for himself. “What’s up, Ty?”
“Once Adam and the team detain Victor, we’re going to need a place to take him. Raja and I decided we don’t want him here at the compound. Remember Taber, the Kodiak bear shifter from Nome? His family has a few cabins about an hour’s drive from here, less in the helicopter. I’ve already contacted him, and he agreed to meet us there.” Ty took a sip of water before setting it on his desk, and plopping down on the office chair.
“Are you suggesting taking your mates?” Felix sat in front of Ty’s desk, water bottle untouched in his hands.
“It’s something Ty and I have gone back and forth on. Pierce knows the location of the compound, making it more dangerous here. In addition we would have to leave some of the key people behind to protect the mates. Whereas if they were with us, kept safely in a farther cabin, we would still be able to protect them while having the key group together to interrogate Victor.” Raja set the half–empty bottle of water aside. He didn’t want it. Instead he wanted coffee. Soon, he promised himself.
“There would be no perimeter set up. No guards on perimeter duty,” Felix warned.
“Good point. I’m sure Taber could bring a couple of his family members to patrol the grounds, or…” Raja’s attention was diverted from Felix when Shadow let out a soft moan, grabbing her temple. “Shadow? What is it?” Raja stood quickly, catching her as her knees buckled.
“Ahh,” she moaned as Raja gently placed her on the chair he’d vacated.
“Should we get Doc?”
“No. I just need a moment.” She let her eyes close while everyone else stood around watching her. “No cabin. It’d be worse there.”
“Are you sure, Shadow?” Raja kneeled in front of her.
“Yes. Someone Taber knows, I’m not sure who, owes Pierce a favor. He’ll squeal that something’s going on at the cabins. There will be an attack if you go there. Have Taber come here without telling anyone. The cabin on the edge of the compound. It needs work but it would do for this. Put Victor there.”
“Having him here might raise the chance for attack.” Ty looked out the window. “It puts more lives on the line. Not only the guards but mates, women, and children.”
“It does, but there are more guards here to protect everyone,” Raja reminded him. “We’ll raise the security level and keep everyone on call. It’s the best chance to keep everyone safe if Shadow’s vision is true. Splitting our guards between two places will make us weaker.”
“Okay, Felix, Shadow, I want you to take the guest rooms. I want you in the main building with us. Even with other guards on our mates, I want you seconds away from them. If there’s an attack, I want the women guarded together if it’s safe enough to move one of them. This will allow for more guards on them.” Ty closed the curtain before facing them again. “Tabitha and Bethany’s training starts tonight. I want them well-versed in shooting a gun. I have started Tabitha’s hand to hand training but if there’s an attack, their best chance is weapons that allow them to keep their distances.”
“Give us about an hour to debrief the others then meet us back here to go to the firing range.” Raja rose from his kneeling position in front of Shadow but still eyed her cautiously. “Are you okay now?”
“I’m fine.” Shadow stood and followed Felix out, leaving Raja and Ty alone.
“I’ll let you have the honor of telling Tabitha and Bethany. After all, you’re Alpha here.” Raja winked.
Chapter Thirty-Four
The shooting range turned out better than Raja could’ve expected. Bethany’s father had already taught her how to shoot a gun, and she proved to be a decent shot. Tabitha wasn’t too bad either for someone who’d only held a gun once before, and that was since becoming Ty’s mate.
“You’ve both done very well. I want you both to keep the guns with you.” Raja grabbed a box of bullets off the shelf. “If you want shoulder and thigh holsters, we can get them for you. Even with your guards, I want you armed in case something happens. Once Victor arrives, Pierce might decide to attack.”
“Raja, Connor found something,” Felix called. “He’s requesting you join them in the conference room.”
“I’ll tend to it. Bethany, go with Ty, Tabitha, and the guards. I’ll come for you at Ty’s when I can.” He slid his reloaded gun back into his holster, kissed Bethany, and jogged toward the main compound.
Let this be a break we need. I hate feeling Bethany’s panic.
After pulling the conference room door open, he found the room brimming with anxiety and all eyes trained on him. “What’s going on?”
“We can’t let the meeting Victor has scheduled happen,” Connor announced, plugging the projector into the computer to allow whatever was on the screen to appear on the wall.
“Why? What did you find?”
“The Russian is Victor’s father. He heads a small terrorist group of shifters in Russia. That’s where the money is coming from. This meeting is to discuss joining their forces, making both of them more treacherous than before.” Connor displayed a table with numbers on the wall. “This tracks each transaction back to the organization Victor’s father heads. Victor Senior arrives tomorrow evening. My suggestion would be to have the team take down Victor tonight and get them out of San Francisco.”
“Great job. I’ll deal with Adam and the team. Marcus, gather any guard not on duty in the ballroom, meeting in thirty minutes. Either Ty or I will brief everyone. Anyone on duty will be notified following the briefing. From this moment on everyone is on high alert and on call at all times. Thomas, you help him. Connor and Lukas, I want you both working on Robin,” Raja added. “I’m concerned this will put her in more jeopardy.”
Raja spent the next fifteen minutes filling in Ty, Felix, Shadow, and Styx on what Connor found. “Adam and the team need to take Victor down tonight. We can’t leave this to chance any longer. If Victor Senior gets there before he’s detained, it could mean a full-on assault.”
“I agree. Contact Adam and I’ll brief the guards.” Ty turned to the women. “You’ll stay here with guards.”
“Ty, with Victor soon to be on the grounds, I’d like Tora’s family to take the final guest room here in the main building. If Marcus is called away, it leaves Tora and Scarlet easy targets.”
“Agreed. Deal with Adam then see to Tora. Inform her that if there’s an attack on the compound, and if it’s safe to move within the main building, she should find Tabitha and Bethany. She’ll be all right with them.” Ty had his hand on the door handle when he turned around to face Raja who already had his cell phone out and was dialing Adam’s number. “Tell Adam he’ll find a strong muscle relaxer that’s used on our kind in the medical kit Doc sent him. I want Victor sedated for transport.”
Raja nodded, hitting the call button. “Are you somewhere private?” he asked Adam as his voice filled the line. After a pause, he continu
ed. “Good. The Russian is his father, Victor Senior. He heads a shifter terrorist group in Russia. Victor needs to be detained tonight. We want him sedated and brought bound and blindfolded back to the compound. Do you need more men?” I pray not. There might not be enough time to get more men there. “Great. Contact me when the job’s done. Stay safe.”
He hit the end button before clipping the phone back on his jeans. “I need to go see Tora.”
Bethany watched Raja leave and closed her eyes. What was I thinking to get involved in all of this?
“Bethany, you okay?” Tabitha laid her hand on her leg.
“Okay? No, I’m not okay.” Tears filled her eyes. “How do you deal with this?”
“With our men running off? The guards? The danger?”
“All of it. Don’t you worry about, Ty? Aren’t you scared you’re going to be the next to die, that you’ll lose him?” Bethany snapped the ponytail holder off her wrist and pulled her hair back in a messy ponytail, to get it out of her face.
“I always worry about Ty, as well as Raja and the rest of the clan members. I don’t want to see anyone else die because of this. Pierce has taken too many lives as it is. I deal with it by realizing it has to be done. If not, Pierce is out there with a free killing pass. I can’t live with that. I’ll do whatever I can to see him pay for what happened to our parents, Jamie, and countless other victims. There’s danger but it’s everywhere. You could walk outside and a bus could hit you tomorrow. I’d rather live my life to the fullest with the man I love than cower in fear.”
“But we are cowering behind the guards.”
“I don’t see it as cowering. We have a job to do for the tigers. We have to be kept safe until the job is complete.” She sounded utterly reasonable.
“That might be fine enough for you. You’re their Queen. Me, on the other hand, I’m no one.” Bethany leaned her head back, resting it on the sofa.
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