Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 129756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 649(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 649(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
At Taryn’s invitation, the others all took a seat. “What happened to Rosemary?”
“She was arrested,” said Vinnie. “The police may not charge her for shooting you, Mila. Some will say it’s shifter business, since you’re Dominic’s mate. I told them you are also part of his pack. But others will claim that the human authorities should intervene since Rosemary didn’t just shoot you, she held two supposed humans—meaning Archie and Evander—at gunpoint in the barbershop. The cops won’t care about the bobcat or the hyena who were also present.”
Luke scratched his chin. “Looks like Rosemary got sick of waiting for an assassin to take you out, Mila. She took the matter into her own hands.”
Trey exchanged a look with Taryn and then cleared his throat. “I have news. Nick called me ten minutes ago. With the help of other hackers, his contact cracked the anonymity network.”
Dominic blinked. “Well, fuck.”
“It’s run by a polar bear shifter by the name of Dale Forester. I’ve personally never heard of him.” Trey looked at Vinnie, his brow raised in question.
The Olympus Alpha shook his head. “His name doesn’t ring any bells.”
“He’s a lone shifter with more money than sense,” said Trey. “Invents security systems for a living, and he’s damn good at it. His estate is well protected. Getting to him won’t be easy.”
“Leave the matter to my brothers,” Valentina told Trey. “They need only his address. They will get to this shifter and make him pay. No security system can keep them out.”
Taryn glanced at her mate and then nodded at Valentina. “If you think your brothers can reach him, tell them to have at it. I want the bastard to feel the pain he’s caused others.”
“My brothers will ensure that he does,” Valentina assured her.
“Nick’s contact collapsed the site, which means there is no longer a price on your head,” Trey told Mila. “It wasn’t John Norton who put the hit out on you. Nor was it Emmet Pierson or his daughter. Does the name Dean Simmons mean anything to you?”
Mila’s brow furrowed. “He’s one of my clients. He sometimes brings his nephew, Finley. In fact, Dean was at the barbershop when Rosemary barged in earlier and . . . Wait, you’re saying he put out the hit?”
Trey simply nodded.
Totally stunned, Mila gaped. Even her cat was taken aback. “But why would he do that? I barely know him, and I’ve never had any trouble with him.” She looked at Dominic. “This doesn’t make sense.”
Dominic squeezed her hand, anger building inside him. He’d been so close to the fucker responsible for the hit, and he hadn’t even known it. “How long has the bobcat been a client of yours?”
She frowned thoughtfully. “Since about a month before the jackal attacked me.”
“Am I the only one thinking it’s a hell of a coincidence that he was there when Rosemary shot Mila?” asked Dante, to which Ryan grunted in what was probably a “no,” but Dominic couldn’t be sure.
“Rosemary didn’t know him,” said Mila. “He tried to sneak up on her, and she warned him off. There was no flash of recognition on her face.” Mila shook her head, repeating, “This just doesn’t make sense. I never got the impression that he had any beef with me.”
“He watches you,” Dominic remembered. “Not with lust, though. Not with distaste. But something about you has his attention.”
Vinnie rubbed at his jaw. “I only spoke with him briefly earlier. He left the barbershop shortly after you did. Do you have his address, Mila?”
“All his information is in the client database,” she told him.
Tate whipped out his phone. “I’ll get the address from Archie.”
“Good,” said Vinnie as his son left the room to make the call. “Then I’ll pay the bobcat a visit.”
Mila straightened in her seat. “I’ll be with you.”
Dominic stiffened as everything in him rebelled against the idea of her being anywhere near the bastard who, for some unknown reason, wanted her dead. Especially while she wasn’t at 100 percent. “Baby, you’re still tired from blood loss. You haven’t had enough rest to recover.”
“I’m fine,” she insisted.
“No, you’re not. You’re pale and shaky. And don’t even lie and tell me you’re not drained—I can feel it.” Her exhaustion brushed at his mind somehow, and he knew it was a result of the imprinting process progressing.
She frowned. “Feel it?”
“You can’t feel what I’m feeling right now?”
Mila realized that, yes, she could feel the echo of an emotion that wasn’t hers. A soul-deep anxiety. She sighed. “Dominic—”
“You almost died today, Mila.” The reminder made his chest tighten and his wolf snarl. “No one can bounce back from something like that in a matter of hours. Rest. Get your strength back.”
Mila couldn’t deny that she needed that rest, but she also couldn’t sit back while others apprehended the person who’d put her life in danger. She lifted her chin. “I’ll stay if you stay.” Which she was positive he’d never agree to do.