Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 120031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
“The parking lot outside the little row of shops near the new movie theater,” said Eli. He looked at his sister. “Casey said she called you; said you told her that Cassidy had a knowing.”
“We couldn’t make any sense of it,” Roni told him.
Shaya rubbed her temple. “Cassidy said she just knew you shouldn’t buy a smoothie. That you’d be hurt if you did. We called and called but your phone just kept ringing.”
“I must have already stopped at the smoothie bar by then—I left my phone in my jacket pocket, so I wouldn’t have known you were calling.” Eli sat up a little straighter. “The falcons were clear that someone hired them. I’m guessing it was Ignacio. I think he did this to hurt Casey—that’s what he does, he retaliates by going after the people you care for. He wants to punish her, so he did it through me. But as he did it using the falcons, we can’t prove he had anything to do with it.”
Nick dug his cell out of his pocket and tapped the screen a few times with his thumbs. Everyone heard the phone ring clearly, since his brother had placed the call on speakerphone.
“Ah, Nick,” Ignacio greeted. “What a surprise.”
Still furious, Eli’s wolf snarled at the sound of the cat’s voice and lashed out with his claws.
Nick’s face hardened. “Tell me, Ignacio, why has my brother just been attacked by a group of falcons?”
There was a pause. “I’ll take it by your tone that you think I had something to do with it,” said Ignacio. “Now why would I send falcons after Eli—or anyone, for that matter—when I have cats to do my bidding for me?”
Nick’s hand tightened around the phone. “Because you know damn well that sending your cats would lead to my pack and hundreds of minks seeking revenge on you. A strike at Eli is a strike at Casey—her pack wouldn’t let that go.”
“Well, I suppose that would be a good reason to operate under the radar. But I can assure you, Axton, I am not behind this attack.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Truth be told, I don’t care what you do or don’t believe. I can only respond to your questions, which I have done. Pin the blame on me if you must. But be careful—if you don’t take the time to consider other culprits, the true one will escape your notice.”
Nick ended the call with a muffled curse. “It has to be him. Has to be.”
Shaya frowned as he began furiously tapping the screen of his phone. “Who are you texting?”
“Donovan,” said Nick. “I want him to call his contact within Ignacio’s pride and see if said contact knows anything. All I need is confirmation of Ignacio’s involvement.”
Bracken looked at Eli. “If we can talk to the falcons that attacked you, we can make them tell us who sent them. I don’t suppose you let any live.”
“One. He shifted and flew away.” Eli gestured at the phones on the sofa beside him. “I got them from the falcons. There were four males in total. Three came at me. The fourth was recording the whole thing—apparently, they’d been paid to do it.”
Roni hissed, clearly coming to the same conclusion that Eli had. “That motherfucking cat needs to choke on his own motherfucking dick.”
Marcus soothingly rubbed her back. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”
Derren examined the damaged cell phone. “This is probably a goner, but there might be something saved into the memory card.” He pulled open the cell, and his lips flattened. “There’s no SIM. Looks like he removed it just in case you managed to wrestle the phone from him, or this could be something he uses purely for ‘business.’”
“No personal info or call log on this burner either,” said Bracken, holding up the leader’s cheap cell. “There is, however, a text message.”
“Saying what?” asked Shaya.
“‘Don’t disappoint me.’” Bracken placed the phone in Nick’s outstretched hand, adding, “If there was an exchange of messages before that, they’ve been erased. The number hasn’t been saved into the phone as a contact.”
“We’ll give the number to Donovan, see if he can find out who it belongs to,” said Nick. “But I wouldn’t be surprised to find out it’s the number of yet another burner phone.”
Eli pushed up from the sofa. “Need to clean myself up a little.” Lethargic from the adrenaline crash, he headed to the bathroom at the end of the hall and wiped the blood from his exposed skin, but there was no ridding the stains from his clothes. He would have gone to his lodge and changed before Casey arrived, but he suspected she was almost at his territory.
Whipping out his cell, he called her and asked, “Where are you?”
“Nearly there,” she replied. “Does my pack mate have permission to cross the border of your territory when we reach it?”