RILEY
After that, Riley spent a few days going back to the new gallery and studio, making plans with Andrew and Troy about openings and show. She was so pumped. This was her future. She finished her first painting and they hung it over the TV, so she could look at while lying about on the couch.
Brenton started to loosen up through that week as they got more information from the state guys about plans and confessions of the hunters. They were finally getting real information instead of whatever theories they could come up with.
A shifter had sold them out to the Chapter. The Chapter had always wanted to go after the pride, but the other shifter purposefully played on their heartbreak over Caroline and their misconceptions about shifters.
It was that piece of information that Riley was most scared about. Gabe was right. They’d been betrayed by their own kind to their worst enemies.
“It's a pretty fucked up thing to do, even for us felines,” Zachary growled as they held court on the matter. They were in the condo’s dining room, eating dinner as they spoke. It said something that they liked speak about disturbing news or business while eating, but she wasn’t sure what that was.
“Yeah, I’ve never heard of it happening,” Troy took a bite of something and then spoke with his mouth full. “It’s smart though. Hard to trace it back to the shifter since they hunters don’t want to admit they worked with one.”
“I haven’t found anything in the hunters’ files, phone records, or forums that would tell me who this guy is.” Gabe looked exhausted, and she knew he was pulling long hours over this. She wanted him to get some sleep tonight. He couldn’t do this to himself, she knew that. So why didn’t he?
“Have you guys ever tried writing down a list of your enemies and trying process of elimination?” Riley looked at them and sighed. She ran to grab a sketchbook and a pen. When she was back, Brenton was frowning.
“Riley-”
“Seriously,” she waved him off. He might be Alpha, but she wanted them to try this. “Like me. When something weird happens in the house, like a noise or something new, I mentally check off each of you to remember what you’re doing so I can best identify what made the noise. If no one is home or nothing I can think of would make the noise, I investigate. But if you’re all accounted for, I ask about it later or not at all.”
She’d started doing that after Cameron and Isabella made it into their house. She’d grown a little paranoid and had to learn to channel it or it would have driven her mad.
She wrote down a single word on the empty page. Possibilities.
“This might not be perfect, but you can figure out each one of them. Brenton, you might remember a guy you fired where Gabe or Troy might not. So, it would be best to work in a group.” She looked between them and Gabe was just horrified at the idea of not knowing something. “Is this too pedestrian for you guys? Are you too pro for some good, old fashioned, handwritten work?”
“No, no,” Brenton growled and shook his head. “We’re not using your sketchbook though and this could get messy. I don’t want you to really hear all this.”
“Too bad,” Riley crossed her arms and leaned back. He would let her stay because they’d made a promise.
She was a member of the pride or she wasn’t. He couldn’t make her ride the fence of kind of knowing what’s going on like he had in the spring.
Troy darted out and came back with a notebook. He sighed and wrote a name.
“Cameron Slater’s son. He’s pretty upset with what we did to his dad… and him in collateral damage. That’s a newer one,” he tried to keep his eyes studiously on the pad. Yeah… the pride leaked that Cameron had covered up his son’s murder of a prostitute. That probably hadn’t gone well.
The names continued on and on. Riley’s eyes grew to be saucers at the list Troy had in front of him. The reasons were small to extreme, but they listed them all. Fired from Brenton’s company after a sex scandal? Check. Laundered money from the pride’s businesses and got caught? Check.
All their guardians from growing up? Check.
Didn’t get a several million-dollar military contract because Kingson, Inc did? Check.
Walker Customs refused to make you a bike? Check.
Wait, what?
“Why that guy?” She looked at Gabe, who’d added the man to the list.
“We knew he was into child sex tourism and that sort of illegal stuff.” Gabe locked eyes with her. “So we leaked it, along with a clear statement that we don’t take money from criminals.”
“Oh.” Riley blinked several times. Yeah. That would make him an enemy of the pride. Without a doubt.
Riley continued to think about it, then added her mother’s name to the list.
“Why?” Zachary narrowed his eyes at her and she shifted in the chair uncomfortably.
“Because I chose you guys over her,” she mumbled back. Zachary only nodded, and Troy wrote down Isabella Gordon. Riley was probably wrong, but it had to be stated.
Riley tapped her fork to her lips. She was missing something. The pride was incredibly wealthy but most of these people were only truly enemies of one or two members. Yeah, the pride treated all enemies equally and without mercy but not many on this list would want them all dead.
“Who gets inheritance if one of us dies, specifically Brenton, Troy, and Gabe?” Riley looked between them and Brenton gave a heavy sigh.
“I didn’t want to have this conversation yet,” he looked to the ceiling.
“Well, it looks like it’s time to have this conversation.” Zachary pointed at Brenton, who looked back to his second with a nod. Riley looked between both of them and the rest of the pride all ignored what was happening. They weren’t going to tell her anything.
“Riley, in the event of my death, everything I’m worth and everything I own goes to Zachary, unless he’s already dead. Then it looks for the next person in rank, which is currently Andrew,” Brenton mumbled. “And if there’s a major car accident, and, say, all but one of us dies, the last one around gets it all. Everything. No matter what. We have more of a reason to betray us for money than anyone outside of the pride.”
She opened her mouth but wasn’t sure what she should say.
“This includes you, Riley,” Zachary told her from his end of the table. She turned to him slowly and felt the food in her stomach begin to disagree with the rest of her. “If all of us die, you would become the richest shifter on the planet. Maybe the richest person on the planet.”
“Oh.” Riley used her fork to push food around her plate. She didn’t say anything.
“If we all die, everything is sold off and proceeds go to charities all over the world. If all six of us died tomorrow, by the end of the week we would be some of the greatest benefactors in the world to things like Doctors Without Borders.” Brenton rubbed her shoulder. “It’s okay.”
“So… our money really isn’t a factor,” she mumbled.
“No, but good thinking. It means you're in the right… and worst head space for this kind of thing,” Troy pointed the pen at her. “You’re smart, pretty girl. Keep thinking. Together, the six of us can figure this out.”
“Was there anyone you guys wrote out of the will or businesses who felt like they deserved something?” Riley looked around again. She was on a roll.
“Several. My entire family, certainly. I wrote my father’s siblings out of my will immediately, against my then-lawyer’s wishes. My current lawyer doesn’t give a fuck who I write out,” Brenton chuckled, and Zachary laughed.
“I figured, ‘I’m a soulless bastard, why not be a lawyer?’” Zachary smirked at her, showing off that dimple, and she chuckled. His fall back lawyer joke strikes again.
“So, write all of them down. I guess. And same goes for you two,” she pointed to Troy and Gabe, who both nodded. “I could… call Haley? Maybe she-”
“No,” Zachary cut her off, a stormy expression on his face. “She decided to let you die. She knew what was happening. Plu
s, she’s being looked at by the state right now, too, for illegal activities, and us talking to her would be seen as taking the law into our own hands. Or messing with their investigation. Take your pick.”
She nodded, and after another twenty minutes, she had nothing. They were discussing specific reasons why and how each person would go about selling them out to hunters, so she wasn’t the most helpful.
“I think I’m going to go watch some television guys,” she stood from the table and watched them all stand with her. She’d gotten used to that over their time together. When she left, she heard them all sit back down in their seats and the talking continued.
She fell onto the main couch in the living room and turned it on. Star jumped up and eased into Riley’s lap, claiming Riley’s legs for her own.
“What are we going to do, girl?” She scratched behind Star’s ears where she liked it best. “What are we going to do?”
RILEY
“Guys, I’m going for a run! I need the exercise.” Riley pulled on her tennis shoes and tied them up. They had been in Denver two weeks, now, and still weren’t going home yet. Fantastic.
“You mean as a human, right?” Andrew walked into the room, eyeing her. They could only shift in the condo and then only in the bedrooms where there weren’t large ass windows looking down on Denver.
“No, Andrew. I thought a cheetah walking around the city would be a great idea,” Riley raised an eyebrow at him.
“Good point,” he chuckled. “Let one of us go with so you have someone keeping an eye out for trouble while you’re blasting music.”
“Alright!” She stretched her legs in the living room of the condo. Brenton walked out to her in his work out gear and smiled.
“Ready to go?” He offered her an arm and she took it. They went down the elevator together but once they were out the door to the building, she took off. Her headphones were in and she was feeling it. She could run for hours if she wanted to, and she did. It was wonderful.
Brenton had to catch up to her and was shaking his head, laughing. She just kept going, trying to mentally run from it all for a little while. It was a nice day and she needed the break. It was already November and the chill was setting in on Colorado, making it great for running until the snow came.
She hit a mile, then two before slowing and pulling her headphones out.
“Keeping up, Brenton?” She laughed, and he elbowed her.
“I’ve been doing this longer than you. You’re quick, but you have short legs.”
“True,” she nodded. “So, what’s going on with everything? Have we learned anything new?”
“No, but they are about to cut a deal with the hunters to keep them out of our hair. I’ll tell you more when I know more about it.”
“Ah,” she frowned. She didn’t want them to cut a deal, even if it was better for them. She wanted those mother fuckers to burn for what they did and what they thought they could do, but it wasn’t her call.
“And the house is still being worked on, so we’re just stuck here.” He groaned as they continued at a light jog. “And I’m getting calls from the board who have heard… rumors about our relationship.”
She stumbled a little and looked at him, stopping her jog.
“Really?” She raised an eyebrow. “What gave it away? Us all making out in front of the cops or the party?”
He threw his head back and laughed.
“Yeah, I knew they would figure it out. They think it is not appropriate for a CEO of a billion-dollar company to share a girlfriend,” he pulled her close. “Not like I care what they think, but there it is.”
She bit her bottom lip and smiled at him. He grinned and leaned down to plant a kiss on her.
“How are Troy and Gabe?” She asked quietly. They’d both been a little distant again, and she was worried they were slipping away. She hadn’t really spent a lot of time with them in Denver, since they were wrapped up in trying to find who’d done this to them.
“They are exhausted. It’s nothing to do with you.” Brenton shrugged but she saw the look of sadness in his eyes. “I have been working them really hard, trying to find out what we need to stay safe but it’s just not coming to them. It sucks but that’s life for us, sometimes. And they really want you to be safe and happy. Our pride has been… failing that, failing you.” Brenton looked away from her, getting distant as he thought about something. “They need some time off, but when I tell them to take the night off, they ignore me. I find them working at breakfast.”
“I would rather be in danger every day for the rest of my life than lose any of you.” She touched his cheek, pulling him to look at her. “You know that, right? Do they?”
“It’s still hard to see you hurt or in danger, Riley,” Brenton growled softly. He kept her flush to his body, and she nuzzled into the warmth. They were supposed to be running away from this for a moment, but it was following them.
“You’ve all given me everything I need to stay safe,” she told him, strong and a little defiant. “Trust that, and I promise you, I will always find a way to stay safe and come back to you all. No matter who stands between me and the pride, I will always come back. I belong with you guys.” She placed a hand on his chest and played with his shirt. His hand wrapped around her own and he kissed her knuckles softly.
He nodded slowly.
“Let’s finish our run,” he whispered. “Come on.”
They took off, just doing the two miles back to the condo. She knew what she had to do. The brothers needed time off and ignored Brenton? She was going to step in because she knew this was their past haunting them.
When they got in, she took her sweaty self to bother Gabe and Troy, locked away in the condo’s office. They needed her, and she was going to remind them that she was okay. If Brenton was having a hard time, then her sensitive wild boys would be a wreck even if they weren’t showing it.
Gabe was nearly asleep as different things happened on his computer screen. Troy was digging through papers and comparing different pages.
“Hey guys,” she called softly, making them both jump up. They should have noticed her scent long before she said anything. It was just another sign of their need for a good sleep. “How are you?”
“Hey pretty girl,” Troy smiled at her, but it wasn’t the full, bright smile she normally got.
“Hi gorgeous,” Gabe’s was a mumble.
“You both need to get some sleep. So, I’m coming to make you,” she walked in and began to close Gabe’s laptop slowly. He moved faster than she could see, holding it open.
“No,” Gabe growled, and she was stunned by the look in his eyes. “We have to finish this.”
“You might miss something if you don’t sleep sometime soon,” she hissed.
“We won’t miss anything, we’re going to keep you safe,” Troy growled softly to her side.
She shook her head. Of course, they wouldn’t listen. It was all about keeping her safe, saving her, making sure she was okay.
She had the right and responsibility to be there for them, and they still wanted to treat her like she couldn’t keep herself safe. Like she wasn’t allowed to worry about them.
“You. Are. Going. To. Sleep.” She snarled softly. “You can’t do this to yourselves. Yeah, hunters broke into the house. I defended myself. Hunters came into the diner. I defended myself. You both need to start treating me like I can do that! Did you work this hard when it was just you guys? Or did you trust everyone to stay safe while you tried to stay healthy while you worked? Because this is starting to feel like you can’t trust me.”
She watched that last point slap Gabe and Troy.
“Riley-”
“I outrank you, this is an order,” she shoved the laptop’s screen down. It wouldn’t screw with what Gabe was doing, some setting he had. “Damn it, I fucking care about you! I’m allowed to do that as your fucking girlfriend, as a member of this pride. If you can’t respect me on this, to at least get one night of sleep to sta
y healthy, then where will you respect me?”
Gabe’s mouth dropped open. Troy sank back from his paperwork.
“You guys have so much heart underneath everything. I know you are affected more deeply than someone like Brenton. So, you need to let me… be the person who looks out for you, sometimes. You guys look like you haven’t slept in days. I know you only eat dinner. You don’t leave this office.”
“Gorgeous, of course we respect you,” Gabe slowly stood and walked around the desk to her. “I’m sorry we made you feel like we didn’t. We just… we’re stressed and worried. We’re trying to handle this as best we can. And you’re right, we are treating this differently because you’re involved.”
“We’ll go get some sleep now,” Troy mumbled. “I’m sorry that we led you to think we don’t trust you to protect yourself,” He kissed her cheek.
“Remember that I’m an adult who can take of herself and we’ll be fine. I’ll shower in your room and stay with you tonight,” she smiled at them. “We can turn a movie on and cuddle. How’s that sound?”
“Like the best thing in my life,” Gabe whispered in her ear. “The very best thing.”
She tried to shower but Troy joining her in the shower made it difficult to get anything done. He called out while she was shampooing her hair for Gabe to come in, and she found herself in a soapy leopard sandwich.
“Now, wait a minute, you two,” she laughed as Troy gripped her hips and Gabe skimmed his hands up her ribs to fondle her breasts from behind.
“Make us,” Gabe growled softly, his fingers toying with her nipples. If there was one thing she could always count on, the leopard brothers were always down for a good time. Maybe they would be exhausted enough to actually sleep after this.
“Yeah, pretty girl,” Troy chuckled. “Pull rank on us.”
“Get on your knees, Troy,” she panted softly, already worked up. Troy grinned and lowered himself, licking a trail down from her bellybutton to her pussy. His tongue then flicked her clit and she bucked. She put her hands on his shoulders while Gabe just held her from behind. “You too, Gabe.”
Wild Fire (The Kingson Pride Book 2) Page 15
