Page 80 of Wolf's Mark

“Yes. As far as why you could never find anything about our kind, that’s on purpose. Imagine if the world knew of our existence. Chaos.”

“Yes, imagine.”

The light knock on the door was followed by Riker sticking his head in. “We have the meeting with the clients.”

“Are they here?”

“Not yet but should be any time. We should have a last minute huddle.”

Parker groaned. “He’s right. You know the Italians.”

“Why are they here again?” I snapped. The answer was clear, but I still didn’t want to waste my time with them.

“To build a bridge or extend an olive branch. Pick one.” Parker grabbed his laptop and headed for the door. He’d put together a colorful presentation on the global markets. It succinctly highlighted the fact that two could play together in the sandbox and still remain extremely wealthy.

Riker glanced in my direction, waiting until Parker left. “I heard you went to see Daphne.”

“News travels fast. I heard she smelled you covered in blood.”

“Yeah, she’s staying for a week in between apartments. She followed me around the house for thirty minutes.”

“What did you tell her?”

“As little as possible,” Riker admitted. “She’s tenacious.”

“I know. We need to be careful.”

“I’m aware of that. No sign of Sedona?”

“Not yet. Let’s get going so we can get this over with,” I clapped him on the back, wishing this meeting was already finished. Then I would hunt the woman down.

We walked into the large conference room, the well-lit area perfect for making guests and perspective clients feel like our worth meant something. I immediately moved to the bar, grabbing a bottle of water while Riker closed the door.

Mother wasn’t usually interested in being involved with these types of meetings and right now, I was glad she wouldn’t be attending. I wasn’t ready to hear another gothic warning about our future.

“We need to maintain our composure,” Parker started off as he was busy setting up the visual display.

“That’s right,” Chase huffed. “The Italians are hotheads and never believe in anything even when the truth is shoved right in front of them.”

“Sounds like someone we know,” Riker chided.

Chase puffed up and I moved toward them. “We’re not getting into it right now. Period. This is a business meeting about our billion-dollar company. Understood? We’ll talk later.”

We all heard commotion outside and I grimaced. If the Italians were going to start out fighting, then they could kiss my ass.

The door was thrown open, one of our assistants struggling and berating whoever was trying to get inside.

“You can’t just go in there!” Gina barked. “They are in a meeting.”

“I don’t care.”

Sedona.

What the hell was she doing here?

She waltzed in and Gina followed, talking loudly as she continued to try to explain. “I’m sorry, gentlemen. This… woman refused to obey the rules. Do you want me to contact security?”

“That won’t be necessary,” I told her.

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