Page 288 of Secret Shifters Next Door

Dad nodded. “I do. All I know is that you all are different…um…creatures, though. Am I right?”

Tate nodded and gestured to Jared. “Jared and I are dragons. Blayne’s a panther, like his brother. Steff over there is a bear, and Miles is a wolf. We’re a pack. There’s a very powerful businessman named Antonio Lowry who has a vendetta againstus. He’s not going to stop until we and all of our kind are dead. His militia—who from all reports are highly trained—will be coming for us sooner rather than later.”

My father stiffened and cocked his head as though he hadn’t heard correctly. “Did you sayAntonioLowry?TheAntonio Lowry?”

Tate nodded. “Yeah. Big-time billionaire. Have you heard of him?”

Dad chuffed a humorless laugh. “Heard of him? I know him.”

Everyone, including me, turned to look at my dad in surprise. Miles sat forward. “You know this guy? Personally? Explain.”

I wasn’t used to having people command my father, but if he was irritated with Miles, he didn’t show it. Instead, he crossed his arms and said, “Known him for a long time. You see, way back in the day, late eighties or early nineties, Antonio was an up-and-comer. Now he’s got all these companies, corporations, and businesses that are on the up-and-up. But the seed money he used to get to where he is now? Wasn’t clean money. He was into some shady shit. Tried to push into my territory once. We made sure he knew he needed to go on down the road.

“I’m glad he did, because not long after he became…more ruthless. Lots of rumors came out of the Wisconsin and Illinois areas he was in. Typical gangland shit. Enemies with their brains blown out, families killed in car bombs. Worst was when I heard about one of his lieutenants killing a rival’s five-year-old daughter to send a message. Antonio is a sadistic piece of shit. He’s only increased his power since turningmainstream. I can’t even imagine the amount of money he must have spent in bribes to get his past erased. If he’s the man who’s after you, you’re in serious trouble.”

“Tell us something we don’t know,” Steff said.

“I’ll tell you that you need allies if you’re gonna take on Antonio. You need allies in high places.” Dad gave Miles aknowing grin. “Good thing you have one sitting in your office right now.”

A deafening silence fell over the room as we all stared, dumbfounded, at my father. Was he really offering my family’s help? I couldn’t remember Dad ever doing something like this. He’d always been careful with the family business and had stayed out of issues like this.

Blayne leaped up from his chair, standing up fast enough to send the seat sliding back against the wall. “No fucking way.” Blayne leveled a shaking finger at Dad. “We don’t want or need anything from you.”

“Blayne!” Tate snapped in annoyance. “I know you and Mr. Francis have history. I know you have a grudge against him. But that’s in the past. This is the present. This isn’t only about you. Miles, Steff, and I have mates and families to protect.” He pointed a thumb at me. “Would you be okay if Ava got hurt because one of us couldn’t look past old wounds and protect the people who are here now?”

I figured Blayne would tell them he couldn’t care less about what happened to me. He’d made it pretty evident that he wanted nothing to do with me since he’d seen me at Liam’s grave. Instead of saying he didn’t care, the fire in his eyes and face faded as he slowly slid back into his chair.

“No,” he mumbled. “I guess I wouldn’t be okay with that.”

What?

THIRTEEN

BLAYNE

I kept my mouth clamped such as I cursed Tate in my mind. He’d pulled that shit out and tossed it in my face. The logic of it was, of course, infallible. There was no way I could actually be angry at him. Every word he’d said was true. My panther had recoiled when Tate had talked about Ava getting hurt. Even if I’d had the strength, I couldn’t have put my panther in pain again by denying I cared about Ava’s safety.

My feud with the Francis family was warranted, but Tate was also right on that account. Liam was gone. Had been gone for a long time. Ramming my head into the wall and refusing Gio’s help wouldn’t bring my brother back. Tate had a family to protect. Steff had April, and Miles had Celina and a baby on the way. I’d be the most selfish piece of shit in the world if I refused the help Gio was offering. If I pushed the issue, the others would go with me on it, but what would happen if someone we cared about got hurt?

Images flashed through my mind.Celina, eyes sightless lying in a puddle of her own blood. Harley, screaming as she held the dead bodies of her children. April, lying broken on the side of the road. It was too much. I shut my eyes tight, trying to force the images away. If any of that happened, the guys wouldnever forgive me. I’d be shunned and cast out of the pack. If something happened to Ava, my panther would be even more devastated than when she’d rejected me. I’d be at risk of going feral.

I couldn’t do that. Any of it. No. I had to let Gio help us. He was powerful and had the money and manpower we didn’t. This was a deal with the devil, but sometimes the devil you knew was better than the devil you didn’t.

“What can you do to help us?” Miles asked.

Gio turned to look at Ava, then back to Miles. He looked a little uncomfortable when he spoke. “I’m battling cancer. Doctors say they caught it soon enough, and if everything goes well, I should be okay in a few months. As for actual physical assistance, I won’t be very good to you. What I do have are the resources to help you all go after Antonio. Information-gathering and whatnot. We can help you paint him into a corner.

“My resources aren’t technically legal. Does that matter to you all when your lives and the lives of your loved ones are on the line?”

Even I couldn’t say it did. What did laws matter when there were people rich enough to circumvent them? Our pack was more important than any law. We all knew that, and none of us gave any indication that we would say otherwise.

Gio pointed at me. I stiffened, wondering what he was going to say. “Blayne, I know how you feel about my family. That doesn’t change the fact that we all promised Liam we’d look out for you. Whether you like it or not, we are going to stand by that.”

I stared back at the man and held his gaze. I hoped he saw what I wanted him to see. I would work with him to save the people I loved, but forgiveness was not on the table.

After a few seconds, an understanding passed between us, and I finally nodded. “Fair enough.”

“All right then,” Gio said. “Where do we go from here?”

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