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 had no way to prove it, but he was suspicious that Fyodor may have killed Robert. There had been a rumor that Robert had accosted Evangeline at her bakery in San Antonio. If that rumor was true, then it would certainly explain his disappearance. Fyodor would never allow anyone to put their hands on Evangeline and live.
At the Lanoux table was Robert’s long-suffering mother, Jenna; her husband, Bruno; and their two youngest boys, Duc and Loic. The boys were just entering their early teens and already were a handful. Jenna had four boys to raise and her husband worked from sunup to sundown. The oldest son was in the rainforest, hopefully learning to become a decent shifter.
Gorya and Maya gave Drake a slight nod as they moved away from the Tregre table toward the Boudreaux family table. Technically, Saria, Drake’s wife, could have been seated there. Only two of her brothers were there, because most were with Remy raiding the Mercier properties. Drake’s remaining brothers-in-law were there more for backup than for any other reason. His security crew was here to back him up. He didn’t need Saria’s family to put themselves on the line, but at least Mercier couldn’t complain that none of them had to show up for a mandatory meeting.
Gorya and Maya barely slowed down as they moved past the Boudreaux family table and strolled in a circle around the Mercier table. Gedeon and Meiling had moved to circle the Mouton family table. Drake had known those two families would be left for last. He still held out a faint hope that Maya had been wrong and the information she’d acquired on the Mouton brothers was incorrect.
So far, five of the seven families had been cleared. Drake knew he should be grateful for that much. He didn’t want any member of his lair to be guilty of the heinous crimes that Mercier had been committing right under his nose. Not just Armande, but Tonio.
Drake sighed and shook his head, wishing for the comfort of his wife. Maybe he was getting too old for leadership. He looked across the lawn at Amos, the man who’d held the position before him for so many years. The old man met his eyes. He knew something huge was up, and those faded eyes held sympathy. The moment he saw the Amurov family entering La Font Inn he had been worried.
Drake knew Gorya, Maya, Gedeon and Meiling were gifted in a way most others weren’t. They could connect with other leopards, read their memories and record them. They were able to get evidence from a shifter’s leopard if the shifter was involved in any criminal activity. Drake was well versed in the lore of shifters. He was from Borneo and had grown up with the elders, hearing all the stories. He’d heard of such things, but never met any shifter who had such a gift until he came to the States.
For the first time, Armande Mercier, always arrogant and sure of himself, acted a little nervous. His gaze swept the ring of security surrounding them and jumped to Gorya and Maya as they wove in and out of the tables close to Mercier and Tonio Escabar Alba. Drake could actually see the tension gathering on his face. Armande leaned close to Tonio and whispered. Tonio nodded and slid his mirrored sunglasses onto his nose with a flick of his fingers, making Drake want to shake his head at the practiced move.
Gorya and Maya returned as Gedeon and Meiling came toward him from the other side of the lawn. Drake had no recourse but to finish this.
“There are certain leopards with the ability to read and record other leopards’ memories. Very few have this ability, but when the leader of a lair wants irrefutable proof before he passes the death sentence on any member of his lair, those leopards, if they are known to him, may be asked to come. We’ve worked hard to overcome the problems in this lair. We’ve been turning things around for our younger people, sending our men to train and giving them opportunities to find mates. We’ve been finding ways to bring more money legally into each of your family homes. What we have never condoned is turning our lair into a criminal operation.”
He moved two steps up the porch to better look at Armande and Tonio. “Tonio, I personally mentored you. I sent you to the places I thought you would get the best training. I gave you every opportunity, and yet you came here under false pretenses, at the bidding of your father, on a mission to draw others into your trafficking ring. There isn’t any denying it. Your family has been investigated thoroughly and your leopard has all the images in his memory bank. Your brother, Raul, was caught torturing and raping a fifteen-year-old girl. Even though he was caught outright, his leopard’s memory and that of the child’s were examined and proof taken. Those have been transferred to show evidence that there was reason to end both his life and yours.” Drake knew he sounded weary because he felt that way.