Page 47 of Clash of Kings

“A detective with the Atlanta Police Department showed up asking for you. I told him you were in West Virginia looking at property.”

“Did he mention why he was looking for me?”

Grace sniffled. “Yes. He said he has a warrant for your arrest, and if I was lying about your whereabouts, I would be detained for obstruction. What’s going on?”

Dakota cursed under her breath, and Bas reached for her hand. He was also livid, but he had to remain calm, at least until he got off the call. “First off, you did nothing wrong. Second, and this is a long story, but the short of it is I met my mate. Her pack refused to let her go, so I helped her escape. They probably notified the police that I kidnapped her. Was Travis in the office when the detective stopped by?”

“No. He and Brynna flew out for Norway this morning. I came in to finish a proposal. What if the detective comes back?”

“Go home, and stay there until this is resolved. Better yet, call Dane and give him a heads-up. Your dad might not be chief any longer, but he can protect you. As a matter of fact, have him come get you.”

“I will. Are you safe?”

“I am. I have Anthony and Lydia with me, as well as Dakota. Between the four of us, we can handle whatever’s thrown our way.” Sebastian said goodbye, then blew out a breath.

“I guess we know what your father meant when he said you’d been warned.”

“I will gut him,” Dakota seethed.

“Don’t worry,Cucciolina,he’ll get what’s coming to him,” Bas promised.

Chapter 19

After the callwith Grace, they retreated to their room where Sebastian got on the phone with the Trio, and he also called his attorney. Anthony and Lydia sat quietly, and Dakota? She paced the living area of the suite while plotting both her father’s and King’s deaths. How fucking dare they call the cops on Sebastian?

Sebastian hung up, but his phone pinged with another notification. Dakota stopped pacing, hoping it was good news.

“The video conference is a go with everyone on the list. I’ll introduce you as my mate and Queen before I get to the reason for the call.”

“I need to go shopping. I can’t greet the Clan wearing a flannel shirt, and that’s all I packed.” Dakota tugged at the collar of her shirt.

“You can borrow something of mine,” Lydia offered. “Come on. Let’s go to my room and see what we can find.” Dakota followed the female down the hall to her room. Nothing she tried on fit. Everything was too big. Not that Lydia was overweight; she was just built larger. When Dakota’s eyes filled with tears, Lydia grabbed her hand and squeezed. “Hey, it’s okay. We can go shopping in the morning. Or you can wear whatever you want. You’re the Queen.”

“I just don’t understand why my father is being such a dick.” Dakota angrily brushed the tears from her face. She hated crying, especially in front of someone else.

“I wish I knew, but we will get answers at the meeting.”

“How can you be sure?” Dakota hated sounding like a whiny brat, but she was pissed.

“Because we’ll have at least one Gryphon with us, and they have the ability to ‘voice’ others. It’s scary as shit, when you think about it, but they can make someone tell the truth, or they can convince someone to think whatever they instruct them to. Say a human discovers their secret, the Gryphon can convince them otherwise.”

“You’re right; that is scary.” Dakota stepped back and blew out a breath.

“Come on. Bas is probably freaking out.”

“Why would he be?”

“Because you’re upset, and he can sense it. If I know my cousin…” Lydia angled her head to the side and grinned, pointing to the door. “He’s waiting in the hallway.”

Dakota smiled for the first time in an hour. Knowing Sebastian worried about her was a good feeling. She strode to the door, and when she opened it, her mate was leaning against the opposite wall. Dakota walked straight up to him and set her forehead on his chest, needing his arms around her. He didn’t disappoint.

“I’ve got work to do, so if you would, ask Tony to grab me something for dinner,” Lydia said.

“Will do,” Bas responded. He kissed Dakota on top of her head before escorting her back to their room. Bas relayed Lydia’s request for food.

“I can go grab something for all of us if you don’t feel like going out,” Anthony offered.

Sebastian raised his eyebrows, and Dakota nodded. “Yeah, that’d be great. A sandwich is fine with me.”

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