CHAPTER 1
"You know. At one time, I… well, maybe not trusted since I haven't done that from the time I was born… but I had rose-colored glasses on about cops, doctors, hospitals, banks… I guess the world in general." Kenni Glazier aimed her raised arm and gestured grandly at the floor-to-ceiling bank of windows in front of her, her arm barely missing her friend's head in passing. She giggled uncontrollably, doubling over and clutching her stomach.
Rochester “Roc” Grover gave her stone-face, stepping a few feet away from her, not to avoid her arm but to distance himself from her antics. He turned away from her, stuffed hands in the pockets of his hoodie, and rocked heel to toe, back and forth, ignoring the chastising looks the people walking down the hallway shot toward Kenni.
He liked being in the background where he could study the people and happenings around him before committing to a course of action. He sighed aloud, shook his head at his current predicament.
It was always this way when he was with Kenni. People always assumed she didn't care about anyone's opinion, but they were wrong. They didn't take the time to see the real Kenni. She had survived so much. She was many times stronger than he was. Beneath the tough exterior was a sweet, loving, caring, sensitive person.
Alarm shot through Roc. He threw off his detachment and flew to Kenni's side, casting urgent glances around, searching for his partner's presence, as he dropped to the floor and wrapped her in his arms.
Relief replaced the distress in his eyes but not in his body at the sight of Scott Kerowyn's flopping blonde hair rising above the floor as Scott rested a hand on the rail of the ascending escalator. Roc locked eyes with Scott, who shoved past the two people in front of him and leaped over the last two treads to the hallway floor, ignoring the startled looks as he ran to the pair on the floor.
"He killed them, Roc, and they're going to let him get away with it." Hysterical laughter threatened to overwhelm her again. "I wasn't enough to get justice for Em and Michael, Martine and Joseph." Her voice fell to an almost unintelligible whisper. "What am I going to do without them?"
Kenni had to get her shit together. Creating a scene just down from the courtroom where the police gathered in support of the law enforcement bureau chief, Walter “Walt” Rosemont, on trial for the murder of the McLean family, was suicidal.
She patted Roc's arm, rubbed her dripping nose with a napkin she pulled from the pocket of her black hoodie and surged to her feet, staggering a step before Scott caught her in his arms, hauling her against his chest. Rosemont would be coming for her via his crew of police officers and/or Family members. She had to get the boys out of the building, out of harm's way and away from her. "We have to go."
Pushing away from Scott, she grabbed his arm then Roc's, tugging them down the hallway–away from the courtroom, away from the escalator, away from the media who hovered near the courtroom doorway, like vultures over carrion. She had memorized the building's exit points shown on the board at the kiosk on the first floor.
Shooting a glance over her shoulder, she trotted to an intersection and turned left. She released the boys' hands, grasped and turned the handle of the door below a red exit sign and shoved her shoulder against the metal. Checking to make sure Roc and Scott were with her, she caromed down the three flights of concrete stairs, whipping around the steps, before reaching the door to the rotunda and shooting down the side hall to the parking garage door.
Easing the door open enough to poke her head out, she swept her eyes left and right, jerked back, closed the door and stood with her back against the concrete wall. She closed her eyes and ran the images of the garage and surrounding area in her mind like a digital recording playing on a screen.
With a nod, she opened her eyes then the door and strode out, exuding calm, assurance, her right to be where she was. "The car is on the second floor."
Scott caught Kenni's arm, dragged her to a stop.
Kenni turned, hugged Scott, released him and hugged Roc. "Don't get excited now, but the both of you need to go get the car. I'll meet you two blocks from here in front of The Bakery. I’ll even get your favorite coffees.”
She had to get them to Marcus Stanhope and his Pack.
Reluctance making their bodies stiff, suspicion filling their eyes, they walked toward the nearby stairs to the upper floors, casting glances back over their shoulders.
Kenni waited, nodding each time they checked on her. When they rounded the corner, she walked forward, angling around several vehicles until she reached the corner. Hurrying along the tree-covered sidewalk, she pulled her cell phone from a pocket, swiped it active and pulled up her short contact list.
Tapping the screen, she listened to it ring, praying it would be answered rather than shunted to voicemail. She tossed a look over her shoulder, turned into the doorway of a restaurant and headed to the sign "Restrooms". Dodging several servers rushing to the main room, taking advantage in the lull of movement, she trotted to the back exit, eased through the door and into the alley.
"LeGrange." The female voice was professional, quick, polite.
"Damn it." It wasn't the deep, husky male voice Kenni had hoped for. The image of a female face drifted to the top of her mind. She stopped and dropped to huddle beside a stinky trash container.
Taking small, shallow breaths, Kenni considered the information flowing into her consciousness. Okay. Sometimes getting past Caro Stanhope to her father was an exercise in extreme patience and luck, neither of which Kenni had time for today.
"Excuse me?" The voice turned frigid.
"Carolyn, it's Kenni Glazier. Is Marcus around? Can I talk to him?”
“He’s busy with clients. You can leave your number and he’ll call you back.”
Kenni heard the “when pigs fly”, “when hell freezes over”, “not in this lifetime” in Caro’s voice. “Carolyn. I don’t have time to wind my way through your issues with me. Let me talk to him and I promise you I’ll be out of your lives forever.”
Caro held the phone handset away from her face, trepidation sending unwelcome tingles down her spine. She thought she heard fear, panic and resolution in the pesky girl’s voice. “Hold.”
After pressing the hold button on the console, Caro stood, smoothed her hands down the front of her dress pressing out any wrinkles. Her foot took an involuntary step away from the desk. The next step and the ones thereafter took her to the hallway. She walked faster and entered the main showroom, hesitating in the threshold of the room. Her father stood in a group of three employees and two customers, his head thrown back in a hearty laugh.
A sudden snap in the paranormal power grid surrounding the City and several hundred miles adjoining it slapped into Marcus Stanhope. He transformed the jerk of his body into a quick step back and small bow. Fear, sadness, helplessness blossomed to vengeance, affection, determination, all the emotions carrying the “flavor” of Kenni Glazier. That she could affect so much territory shocked him. The wide range of emotions was disturbing.
From the side of his eye, he saw his daughter standing at the edge of the hall doorway, indecision covering her face, her hands smoothing the front of her dress over and over, a tell-tale sign from her younger days after her mother left. “Gentlemen, I need to take care of something in the office. These men will be directly involved with your project. They can answer all your questions. Excuse me, please.”
Marcus sauntered across the room to his daughter’s side. “What’s wrong?”
“The girl is on the phone. I don’t… she sounds scared, Dad. You should take the call.”
“Thank you, darling.” He leaned over, pressed his lips against her forehead. He wanted to sigh but held back the temptation. Caro didn’t like Kenni Glazier. Caro thought Marcus loved Kenni more than he loved Caro.
No matter how many times he said the words. How many ways he tried to show her he loved her. Her early years of uncertainty as they built a life without her mother, with him spending long hours building the business and handling the Pack after his Challenge of the then Alpha, made her wary with her emotions… just like Kenni.
Marcus walked to the desk, picked up the handset and pressed the blinking button. “Kenni, it’s Marcus.”
Kenni had almost given up and was about to disconnect. She disguised the sob that almost escaped with a cough. Pushing her emotions into the box inside her focused her attention, gave her clarity and a modicum of control. “Marcus, Roc and Scott will be at The Bakery, two blocks down from the courthouse for a short time. Can you send some of the Pack to find them and escort them to the Ranch? You need to do it right now. Please?”
A frown formed deep wrinkles in Marcus’ forehead. He didn’t like what he was hearing, and paired with the emotions he felt before, it was ominous. She was withholding something that would put a different spin on what she was asking. “What’s going on, Kenni? Are you still at the courthouse? I’m sorry I couldn’t be there with you today. Where are you, baby?”
He shot a quick look up at Caro’s face as the diminutive slipped from his mouth before he searched the desk for paper and a pen. He wrote down “get Brick and Stone and their teams”, raised the pad and turned it toward Caro. With her nod and quick departure, he refocused his attention to the silence from the other end of the phone. “Talk to me, Kenni.”
She had been stationary too long. It was time to move. “Talk to Roc. I’ve got to go, Marcus. Keep them safe. Okay?”
Marcus heard the quaver in the last word before the transmission died. He threw the pen across the room. It clattered to the floor at Stone Bender’s feet. Turning his back, Marcus slammed the handset against the edge of the desk, the plastic breaking apart. He jammed his fingers through his hair, turned and eyed the men and his daughter standing just inside the door. “Sorry, Caro. Get Hank to pull one of the handsets from storage and replace this one.”
He often lost his temper and the phone handsets took the brunt of his anger. They always maintained a large supply of the things. He had destroyed too many smartphones before he reverted to the landline alternative for his office and home. When he was mobile, a member of the team of bodyguards surrounding him managed his smartphone.
He felt every one of his seventy-five years, although he had the appearance of a man in his mid-twenties since Shifters aged much more slowly than normal humans. “Stone, take your team to The Bakery near the courthouse and pick up Roc and Scott. Put them in the SUV with you and have someone drive their car.
“Brick, Kenni Glazier is somewhere in the neighborhood… maybe. Find her. Your team has the best sniffers. Track her. When you have her, take her to the Ranch. We’ll meet you there.
“Caro, honey, we need to close the business for the rest of the afternoon. Call the Garage and tell them to close down and head to the Ranch. You and I will head out there together.” With a determined nod, he moved to the door and led the exodus out of the room.
CHAPTER 2
Gram Sinclair studied the maps tacked to the three six-foot by four-foot doubled sided whiteboards. Satisfaction, with only a tiny bit of anxiety, flowed through his six-foot four body. He stepped to the left board, picked up a marker and added Darvin Family to the list below the survey showing the states along the western third of the country. The last part of the plan.
Jack Francis, head of Spec Ops teams for the security company, signed to the closest men to disperse into their Scenario Oscar. He tappped the icon for a direct connection to the head of the company. “Go for Gram.”
Gram stepped back from the boards, replacing the cap on the marker. Hearing Jack Francis’ voice, he tapped the button on the dark brown band on his wrist. “This is Gram. Go, Jack.”
“Jack. Prime Stanhope and his entourage are five miles out. At their current speed, they should arrive in seven minutes. Repeat, seven minutes.”
“Gram. Confirm, Jack. Seven minutes. Leave Cooter and Grain to watch the group and come in behind them. Make sure there aren’t any drop-offs. I want everyone where they can be watched.”
“Jack. This will be a good test run. We can deploy our teams. Maximillian and his team finished the last of the monitoring equipment last night and are on their way back. Hosteen, Coral, Piker and Johansen and their crews finished seeding their equipment two days ago and are due in within the next two hours. Your entire Territory is completely wired for sound and video.”
Gram grinned.
“Maximillian. I have confirmation our satellites were launched and are in position. We can manage the onboarding Packs. I have tentative plans and equipment lists to add them to our grids.”
“Gram. Good job, everyone. Do we have sufficient supplies on hand to cover the equipment lists?”
“Maxmillian. Most of the supplies are in the warehouses. Two caravans are expected tonight. One grouping of trucks are due in within a couple of hours. The trucks will be unloaded and head out to the airstrip around 6:00 a.m. tomorrow. Two of our refurbished C17s will land around midnight tonight with the remaining supplies. It will take the crews of both the trucks and planes at least two to three days to transfer everything into the empty warehouses.”
“Gram. Excellent. Everyone get food and sleep. Maxmillian, with Stanhope and his people coming in, I need for you to oversee the supplies. If anything comes up that needs my attention, contact me immediately, even if I’m in a meeting with Stanhope.”
“Maxmillian. We’ve got your back, Boss. Out.”
CHAPTER 3
Kenni Glazier fast walked through the crowd of tourists clogging the sidewalk. The growly sound of motorcycles boomed through the air like Taiko drummers banging their batons against the leather skin of their drums. She twisted around a group of five people, one holding the door of the restaurant open, with the others laughing and joking while walking through the doorway.
WHUMP!
“Oh! Oh, no, I am soooo sorry.” Laughter spilling out of her mouth, Kenni held onto the hard body she ran into. She looked up… into midnight blue eyes beneath a shock of blonde hair, eyes she hadn’t seen for five years. Her laughter died. Blood drained from her face. She glanced over her shoulder to the door of the restaurant.
“Hey, Scott, what are you doing? Should I be jealous, lover? … Fuck!” Roc spun away from the restaurant door and stomped across the sidewalk. “You shit!”
Roc continued marching forward until he ran into Kenni’s back. He wrapped his arms around her body, fisting his hands in the back of Scott’s shirt. He turned his head, resting it against the back of Kenni’s. “You shit.” The whispered words came out as a benediction.
A black SUV with dark tinted windows stopped in the street. Horns blared, cursing filled the air. Doors popped open, four men erupting from the vehicle. Chrome and brightly colored motorcycles parked in a tight circle around the vehicle. Several riders dismounted, joining the men from the SUV. With a nod of his head to Akron Mesa, Stone Bender walked toward the huddle on the sidewalk while Akron trod past him to open the middle door of the SUV.
Marcus Stanhope paused before exiting the vehicle. “Caro, honey, I want you to stay here. Pack politics appears to have arisen before we even check into the hotel. I’m going to ask one of the men to take you to where we’re staying. Check us in if you would. Okay, honey?”
“Dad.” Seeing the frown wrinkle his forehead, Carolyn Stanhope leaned forward and kissed her father’s cheek. “Fine, Dad. No need to send one of your guards with me. Zakariah can get me there in one piece. But if you need him here more, I’m sure our driver has the requisite skills to see to my safety.”
“You are the most precious thing in my life, Caro. Please don’t doubt that anymore. I know Zak will protect you. Where he goes, his pack will follow. They aren’t going to let their Alpha and his soon-to-be mate out of their sights.”
He glanced out the door, sighed deeply. “Hopefully, this is just some minor tussle and I’ll be along in an hour at the most. Your wedding is going to go off without a hitch. I promise.” He leaned over, pressed his lips against her forehead, turned and climbed out of the SUV. Standing in the doorway, he lifted a hand calling forward a six-foot, lanky man with short black hair.
“Zak, take Caro to the hotel. I’ll call if this is going to take more than an hour to resolve. If that happens… well, you know what to do.” He chuckled. “We’ll meet up for breakfast in the morning.” He laughed and slapped Zak’s shoulder. “Late morning, of course.” He laughed some more as a blush swept Zak’s face.
