Page 61 of In Plain Sight

Guilt and relief simultaneously filled me. I pulled Ruby closer to me and kissed the top of her head. A part of me hoped Kelsey survived this, but a part of me really hoped she didn’t. I liked Kyle, and I would miss him if they died, but selfishly I’d choose my mate over his any day and I wanted—no I needed—more time with Ruby.

Ruby was exhausted from the stress of the evening and quickly fell asleep in my arms. I lay awake into the early morning hours going through all the various scenarios. Alpha had said he had others in Collier. He hadn’t mentioned any about spies in Westin, and why would they wait until today to act if they had that kind of access to Kelsey?

I thought through the people we’d brought with us. Me, Ruby, Wyatt, Austin, and Conlin. It didn’t make any sense. I would vouch for any one of them.

And they would vouch for you too,my inner conscience reminded me.

I needed background checks on all three of them, but I wasn’t sure how to go about it without giving myself away. It was too big of a risk.

While Ruby had been gone, I had gotten to know Liam Westin quite well, and damned, if I didn’t respect him, too. It was hard to imagine anyone hating the Westins, and yet I did. I had hated them for a very long time without even knowing them. And there were others like me out there. My Alpha had confessed that. That meant if I didn’t play my part right, there’d be a target on my head next.

As I laid there, I noticed a strange glow emanating from my bag in the corner. It wasn’t much brighter than a cell phone light. I found myself fixating on it until curiosity finally got the best of me and I got up to investigate it, careful not to wake Ruby.

I unzipped the front pocket the rest of the way and stumbled backwards as I dropped to my knees. Inside was the dagger that carried my blood oath. I took it out and examined it closely. The faint glow was coming off my blood as if it were calling to me.

Sharp pain ripped through my hand. The dagger fell to the ground and clinked across the hardwood floor, loud enough to wake my mate.

Ruby peered down from the bed above.

“It’s glowing,” she said in a sleepy voice. I wasn’t one hundred percent certain she was even fully awake yet. “It’s beautiful.”

“Sweetheart, why was this in my bag?”

“It’s your dagger,” she said, as if that was explanation enough.

“Yes, but it usually stays . . .”

“On the top shelf of your closet,” she interrupted to finish for me.

“Right,” I said.

She frowned. “Wyatt said you needed it and I should pack it for the trip.”

“Wyatt?” I asked, certain I had heard her wrong.

“Yes. Wyatt told me where to find it and that it was important to bring along.”

“You’re positive it was Wyatt?” I asked.

“Yes, he stopped by the apartment yesterday to tell me. What’s going on, Bran?”

I could tell she was starting to fully wake, so I picked up the dagger and shoved it back into the bag, zipped it closed, and climbed back into bed with her.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

I kissed the top of her head, sliding back into my position as her personal body pillow, and assured her everything was just fine. She sighed and drifted back to sleep.

Wyatt? He was my friend. My first real friend in Collier. I should have known better, yet I still had a hard time believing it. Wyatt? It just didn’t make sense. Maybe the Alpha was threatening his mate. That was the only reason I could think of for someone like Wyatt to get involved in this kind of mess.

I never fully slept as plans and ideas kept playing out in my head. I needed to act quickly. The moment the sun rose, I was out of bed and hitting the shower.

I guess I had Sara to thank for the fact that Liam was up early and already had coffee brewing. I was going to need a lot of it to get through the day.

The baby sat cooing in her high chair, playing with a pile of dry Cheerios while Liam sat next to her eating a bowl himself.

“Cereal?” he asked, nodding towards the kitchen counter for a full selection.

“Sure, thanks,” I said, finding what I needed and settling down at the table across from him.

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