Page 49 of Stealing Sloane

Quinn shook his head. “Unfortunately, they didn’t.”

“What?” Sloane gritted her teeth. “They told me Ronan sent them.”

“Once they were well enough to talk, we interrogated them, but they insisted they didn’t know Forte. They activated the fire alarm and used the opportunity to try and rob you. Apparently you were just a random victim.”

“That’s a fucking lie,” Jacob said. “They were going to take Sloane, and they tried to kill me.”

“I believe you, son, we all do. But we couldn’t find any evidence that linked them to Forte. Lizzie checked their devices, tracked where they’d been, she even checked Ronan’s whereabouts for weeks before the attack. Those Lone Wolves and Ronan have never met, haven’t even communicated in any way.”

“He’s too smart for that,” Sloane said. “Ronan probably has something on them, which is why they won’t rat on him. What about the evidence into his other dealings? Did Lizzie find something? Is that why you’re here?”

Quinn folded his hands together. “I’m afraid not. Something else happened.” He took a deep breath. “Ronan approached the Lycan High Council himself and requested an audience, along with Lucas Anderson. He says he wants to ‘clear’ the air.”

“What?” Jacob couldn’t believe it. “Why?”

“It’s possible he knew that we were looking into him since we caught the Lone Wolves. Damn ballsy move. By coming forward himself, he can control the narrative.”

Sloane huffed. “He thinks he’s untouchable.”

“What did the council say?” Jacob asked.

“That’s another reason why we came here,” Quinn said. “They’ve scheduled a teleconference today.”

“Bastard,” Sloane spat. “He’s just going to manipulate them.”

“We don’t know what’s going to happen, but that’s why we insisted on being here. Lizzie’s going to hack into the teleconference. Killian thought you would want to watch it and maybe pick up some clues.”

Jacob turned to her. “Sloane? You don’t have to do this.”

“I want to,” she said firmly. “Thank you for coming all the way here, Mr. Martin, Mrs. Martin.”

“You’re welcome,” Selena said. “Please, dear. It’s Selena and Quinn.”

“They’re going to start in a few minutes.” Quinn retrieved his laptop from his backpack. “Let me get set up.”

“Are you sure you want to do this? To see him?” Jacob asked.

“I have to. I need to.”

And that was all he needed to know. Reaching out, he covered her hand with his. “All right.”

Quinn opened his laptop and called Lizzie so she could patch them into the conference. They were able to get in just in time as it seemed the proceedings had just started. Three windows floated on the screen and Jacob guessed that the large one on top where five Lycans sat around a conference room table were the members of the Lycan High Council. Lucas Anderson was on the bottom right window, which meant Ronan Forte was the man on the bottom left window. Jacob thought he’d look much older, but with his thick black hair and sharp eyes, he could pass forsomeone in his early forties. He wore a suit jacket and tie, and his beard was clean and trimmed neatly.

“…thank you for agreeing to see me, ladies and gentlemen.” Forte’s voice was smooth as silk and cool and crisp as snow. “I just wanted to clear the air, seeing as I’ve been hearing allegations about my clan and myself, particularly from New York.”

“What allegations are these?” Lucas asked. “I don’t know of any allegations.”

“Someone from your clan has been making inquiries about us,” Forte countered.

“And how do you know this, Ronan?” the man at the head of the table at the Lycan Council asked. He was an older man with a head of silver hair, dark skin like ebony, and piercing light brown eyes.

“It’s come to my attention that someone from one of the organizations related to New York—a company called Lone Wolf Investigations and Security—inquired if I had dealings with some Lone Wolves. These wolves caused some trouble in their territory, and New York seems to think I had something to do with them.”

“Is this true, Lucas?” the silver-haired man asked.

“I’m not quite sure what Forte is asking, Mr. Ngozi,” Lucas replied coolly. “Neither me nor my company have direct dealings with LWIS. They are a subsidiary of Creed Security and functions independently from the clan, so perhaps they are just doing due diligence for a private client? Did this company call you personally?”

“Not directly, no, but I have my sources.”

---