Page 17 of An Uncertain Claim

I shook my head, half exasperated and half amused, as I made my way back to the bedroom.

Peyton had flipped over to lie on her stomach, showing off her slender back and toned ass. I pushed away the desire that rushed to the surface, determined to allow her to rest. The blankets had ended up on the floor at some point, so I bent down to pick up the sheet and covered my mate’s delectable body. It was an attempt to avoid temptation, but it had little effect because I knew exactly what she hid underneath the thin barrier. I took a deep breath—not the smartest move since the scent of honey and cloves filled my lungs, making my mouth water.Get your shit together, King, I snarled at myself—and at my wolf, who didn’t care about Peyton’s exhaustion. He was riding me hard to take her again.

I exhaled slowly as I moved over to my dresser and retrieved my phone, then forced myself to leave the room while I considered shifting my priorities. Once Peyton and I completed the mating process, the attraction would cool—not before it got much, much stronger, but one problem at a time—and we could settle into a calm routine. Then I could devote all my attention to the big-picture problems, like the splintering Councils. However, I’d never been one to hide my head in the sand, nor could I be described as stupid. I knew I had a long way to go before Peyton would come around to my way of thinking.

Taking a detour into the kitchen, I grabbed a cold beer and popped the cap off before ambling out to the back porch. I sat in my favorite rocking chair and took a pull from the long-neck bottle, then set it on the small wooden table beside me. I propped my feet on the railing and dialed Tanner’s office at KBO.

“Alpha.”

“Skip the crude jokes and get to why you interrupted my morning.”

Tanner chuckled. “You’re no fun.”

“Tell me the last time someone described me as fun, and I’ll let you tell one joke about my sex life.”

He sighed and grumbled, “I don’t have an instance off the top of my head, but I reserve the right to take you up on this when I prove that someone once called you fun.”

“Noted,” I replied drily. “What’s going on?”

Apparently, a mission had gone sideways, and our operatives had missed the window to snatch the target we’d been hired to apprehend—a mid-level drug pusher working out of Queens. We were after the big fish, but she brought us a step closer.

“I sent you the text as a heads up, but at the time, we thought we had a plan B.”

“Do we have another shot?”

“If the chatter is correct, she’ll be at a buy tomorrow. But no-one has been able to nail down the time or location.”

“Where’s Geoff?” Our undercover asset had been the one to pass along the information for the time and place of the last meet. Since the information he’d given us had been false, they’d probably discovered his identity and changed the details. Which meant he would be on the run or dead. The only other explanation could be that he’d betrayed us and if that was the case, he’d wish the drug lords had killed him once I found him.

“MIA.”

“Lisa still hasn’t been able to crack the page where they post the invitation?” We’d discovered that this drug ring used an encrypted website to alert buyers when a new shipment arrived. The “invitations”—which read like they were announcing a high-end auction—went up and those who knew what to look for clicked on a hidden link, then if they input the correct password it gave them a key to read the coded message. Geoff had earned the right to know the information, but even knowing it beforehand, he didn’t understand the code they used. Plus, the key changed with each new invite.

“No. I tried as well. Even Lucien’s guy couldn’t do it.”

I raised an eyebrow at the mention of Lucien de la Coeur, the king of the Monarchie du Sang—French vampire royalty. “How did Lucien get involved?”

“They caught wind of a pusher in their club. Lucien’s in town, so he’s handling that while Phillipé’s focusing on the other problems.” He was referring to the brewing war between supernatural species, made worse by the disappearing council members and discord between those who were still communicating openly with me as the head of the Interspecies Council. The Monarchie du Sang didn’t often involve themselves in anything that didn’t directly affect them, but if things with the Interspecies Council over the Americas went to shit, it would spread to Europe. And since they had their finger on the pulse of New York City, particularly with their club, the CrimsonCalice, Phillipé had already dug up some information for us.

I ran a hand over my beard, running scenarios in my mind. If Tanner hadn’t been able to crack it, it was unlikely I’d have any success with it either. Exactly the reason why we’d hired someone whose skills far surpassed ours to run the IT department—mostly composed of our hackers. But our best man had retired because he’d played the stock market (I didn’t want to know how legal it had been) and been smart with his money. So he’d decided not to work for an organization.What is it with my people going freelance?

Without anyone else in the bullpen, I needed to go in and at least try to break the site. Glancing at the window to my bedroom, I thought about Peyton asleep in my bed. My wolf wanted to go be with her and I didn’t blame him. Neither of us wanted to leave Peyton alone so soon after such a traumatic experience, and I wasn’t ready to have her out of my sight—figuratively speaking. However, KBO held the resources I needed to keep pushing forward with my investigations and search for Peyton’s attacker. I’d been spending most of my time there since she’d shown up at my door.

Feeling a little restless, I dropped my feet from the railing and stood. “I’ll come in, but Tanner, I’m going to have to pass off the responsibility of replacing the IT specialist solely to you. And I need you to do it ASAP because neither you nor I have the time to be doing that person’s job. I need to be focused on Peyton, the packs and the Councils. You’re going to have to take the reins at KBO at least until we catch the psycho hunting my mate.”

“Not a problem,” he responded without hesitation. I hadn’t taken Tanner on as my number two at KBO just because he carried that position within our pack. I trusted him implicitly—even without the ability to be inside his head—and he was more than capable of running the business in my stead. He’d taken on the responsibility more than a few times in the past when I had been called away (especially to another realm) and when pack and/or Council business had taken my whole focus, as it did now. “Have you talked to her about KBO?” Tanner asked unexpectedly.

“No. She only knows what Sam told her.” I’d kept Peyton away from the outside world quite successfully until her friend and his mate had come to visit. He hadn’t been aware that Peyton was mostly in the dark when it concerned KBO and had spilled the beans. He’d been vague, but it shared enough that I knew she’d demand to know more. Another conversation I’d been expecting when I came home the day before. But it had taken a backseat to everything else. “I’m sure she’ll be demanding answers soon enough.” I began pacing slowly, trying to expel some energy. Considering the amount of stress on my shoulders, my wolf and I were both in need of a run, but I’d been neglecting the urge to deal with everything else.

“You should bring her with you. Easier to show than tell.”

I paused my movements to consider Tanner’s suggestion. He had a point. It would be easier to answer her questions while showing her what we did there. Besides, we’d just agreed to be honest and try to be more open with each other. Trusting her with the sensitive inner workings of my company could work in my favor eventually. Particularly when it came time to make her the Silver Lake pack’s Alpha female.

“True,” I agreed.

“Well, shit,” Tanner said suddenly.

“Pardon?”

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