Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Drake Donovan was responsible for a large lair, seven families of shifters. This was not a territory claimed by a crime lord—and God help them if someone tried it. Remy Boudreaux was a member of the lair along with his entire family. Saria Boudreaux was Drake’s wife and mother of his son, Elijah. Remy was a detective and a darned good one. Nearly every male member of the Boudreaux family was in law enforcement.
To expedite things, Drake did exactly what Joshua had done—called a mandatory meeting requiring every single member of the lair to be present. Saria and Drake owned the La Font Inn, a bed-and-breakfast that backed up to the canals and marsh. Because the lair was so large and the notice was short, there was quite a bit of grumbling. He held the meeting behind the inn. Chairs and tables had been set up, and as always, Saria had provided food for her guests.
She was nowhere in sight, and neither was Drake’s son. Gorya asked that Drake seat the family members together so they could examine each quickly and efficiently.
“This is bullshit, Drake,” someone called out. “We all have work to do.”
“I don’t see Remy Boudreaux here,” Armande Mercier added. “That’s favoritism.”
“You might call it that, but he was called away for work and asked to be excused. He received irrefutable evidence on a huge drug ring he’d been quietly investigating for some time. His people are in the process of taking it down now. Your sister, in case you’re worried about repercussions for her, called in asking to be excused. She’s on her retreat. Naturally, I didn’t ask her to return.”
“Well, let’s get this over with. What the hell is going on?” Mercier demanded. “I’m a busy man. I have commitments.”
“I have a charter today,” Gaston Mouton said. He sounded the way he always did. Cooperative and pleasant, but firm. “Jules is taking a second boat out into the gulf.”
“We should be done in an hour or so,” Drake said. “The names of your families are on the tables. I’d like you to go to those designated areas with your crews. We have guests. Some you know, some you don’t. The faster you cooperate, the faster you can leave.”
There were seven families making up the lair. Generations had lived in the swamp. The children would grow up and leave, but they always returned to make the swamp their home. Drake regarded most of them with affection now. He’d come to know them over the years, and it was going to be wrenching, especially for his wife, if there were others involved in the drug and trafficking ring. He could barely make himself look at Tonio Escabar Alba, who sat beside Armande, acting as his bodyguard. Drake had taken the kid under his wing and trained him. Tonio was the biggest traitor of all.
Maya and Gorya moved around the Pinet table, where the parents and their four grown children were seated. They had three sons, Leon, Charles, Philippe, and a daughter, Sabine. As they did so, Gedeon and Meiling circled the Jeanmard table, where the old leader, Amos Jeanmard, sat with his daughter, Danae, and his son, Elie.
“There’s been an unfortunate development that will affect our lair and many of our people in it as well as their livelihood,” Drake said. “We live by extremely strict rules for a reason. We aren’t human. We can’t be arrested and thrown in jail. All of us know the consequences when we choose to break the laws of the lair.”
A hush fell over the expansive lawn. For the first time, the men and women sitting at the tables seemed to notice not only that grim-faced shifters had been brought in from Donovan’s security company but also that many of the bratva security crews were openly armed and blocking access to the swamp and marsh.
Even Armande Mercier remained silent. Gorya and Maya moved away from the Pinet family table and circled the one labeled Tregre. This was not only Joshua’s immediate family; Evangeline, Fyodor’s beloved wife, was related to them as well. Two younger men, Ambroise and Christophe Tregre, sat together there. They couldn’t be any different if they tried, but the brothers were intensely loyal to each other. Drake liked them both and would detest it if Gorya gave an indication that either of them was in any way part of the trafficking ring.
“This lair will never at any time allow the selling of drugs. We don’t make arms deals. We don’t take any part in the enslaving or selling of men, women or children in any way. That is not our way. I thought that was made perfectly clear to everyone when it was found out that the Tregre brothers were using the Mercier business for their own purposes.”
Drake looked around the lawn at his people. The afternoon breeze had come up, alleviating some of the heat. Gedeon and Meiling had moved from the Jeanmard family table and were now circling the Lanoux family. They’d lost Robert to addiction and weakness.