Page 318 of Secret Shifters Next Door

Tate, looking pained, nodded. “Yes.ThatGio Francis.”

“Do we really want to work with someone like that?” an alpha from a Wyoming wolf pack chimed in. “Do we want to make a deal with the devil?”

Other men started speaking up, some in favor of the help, others shouting that they couldn’t trust Gio, or that he might ask for something in return for his help.

Tate put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly until the crowd quieted. “I know it’s unorthodox, but working with Gio has gotten us a ton of evidence that can topple Antonio’s entire fortune if used correctly. Having Gio as an ally is the best way to counteract Antonio's power. The evidence we have has been shown to Antonio. We’re hoping that it’ll be enough to blackmail him into forgetting all about shifters. The reason we’ve brought you all here is because we don’t truly believe it’ll stop him. We anticipate that he will retaliate. We need to plan for that. If we’re all on the same page, it’ll make us stronger as a whole.”

A man at the back of the room raised a hand. “What’s to stop this Antonio from exposing us? If we threaten him with releasing this info, why wouldn’t he turn around and do the same thing? We’ve spent thousands of years staying hidden. If he releases his evidence, then the whole world freaks out. We become public enemy number one.”

Those words sent a shot of adrenaline through me. None of us had thought about that. The sudden worry on Miles and Tate’s faces was easy to see. In all our planning and eagerness to throw something into Antonio’s face, we hadn’t considered the possibility.

Before any of us could come up with a response, the door burst open. Sam Francis stood there, looking surprised to find the room full of men he didn’t know.

“Sam?” Tate said. “What’s wrong?”

“Uh…sorry to interrupt. Gio sent me. We got a response from Antonio. He says no compromise. He’s not stopping until every shifter is dead. He does not sound like a man who cares if he loses everything. He’s coming. No matter what, he is coming.”

A murmur of unease rippled through the crowd. Miles and Tate had been hopeful that Antonio would see reason. It was partly because they had a lot to lose if this went south. Now that was out the window. There was no way to reason with the man. He was crazed and obsessed with ending the entire shifter race. The only thing he had was his dream of genocide.

Tate sighed and rested his hands on the table in front of him. “Okay, then. We need to get ready for war.”

TWENTY-FOUR

AVA

I’d hoped Blayne would return after his meeting with the guys, but he didn’t. I sat up waiting for him, peeking out the windows every ten or fifteen minutes to no avail. I picked at the dinner Marissa had cooked and ignored my family as they discussed various dealings. Uncle Sam was curiously absent. Dad had gone to bed early, so I couldn't wrangle him for information.

Eventually, I fell into a fitful sleep, tossing and turning throughout the night. Each time I woke, I went to the window to see if I could see Blayne’s truck, but I never did. When I woke up the next morning, it felt like I’d barely slept at all.

The second I stepped down the last stair, I immediately knew something was up. The tension in the house was so thick, I could cut it. My cousins were pacing, talking on their phones or texting God only knew who. I could see the worry and anxiety in their faces. Plus, Blayne still wasn’t back.

I went back upstairs where I heard my father talking in his office. Deciding I needed answers, I opened the door and found him sitting at his desk. Sam, Mike, and Luis were all sitting around him. They looked up in surprise as I entered unannounced.

“What the hell’s going on? Where’s Blayne?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

Dad patted the air with a hand. “Easy now. Everything’s fine. It’s good that you’re here because I wanted to tell you that your security detail will be increased for the duration.”

“Everything is fine, but you’re going to have more guys following me around for the duration? That doesn’t add up. Spill it, Dad. What happened?”

He sighed and glanced at his brothers. “Antonio didn’t take the deal. We all assumed that was the route he’d take, but he wasmuchangrier than anticipated. From what I understand, he was absolutely shocked that I could flip those guys. He must have thought he’d scared the shit out of them and they’d never spill. He thinks he understands people, but obviously he is out of touch.”

My heart sped up and my palms went clammy. That was bad news. If Antonio was furious and knew we had dirt on him, he would become unhinged.

Dad must have seen the look on my face. “Ava, it’s going to be okay. We all knew that this was a possibility. We sat here in this office and discussed it. We’re all going to be okay.”

“Well, where is Blayne? Shouldn’t he be here so our guys can protect him?”

“Blayne’s a big boy. He and his buddies can handle themselves. You need to let them do their job. Blayne needs to focus. He can’t afford to be distracted while they prepare.”

A sliver of ice slid into my heart, and I remembered the night I’d broken up with Liam. He’d gone off with his mind all over the place and hadn’t been mentally prepared for the job. Even the idea that I might cause the same thing to happen to Blayne kept me from calling or texting him.

I tried my best to follow my father’s instructions. I continued checking my phone every few hours, but there was nothing fromBlayne. The day seemed to drag on at a snail's pace. Most of my family left to work on whatever the plan was. Only Dad stayed behind, and not by choice. He was supremely annoyed that he couldn’t be out in the field with his guys.

Out front, more of the Francis soldiers and family associates showed up. Dad had called all the “family” in. The entire property swarmed with guys. Several patrolled the entrances and exits, others were out on the perimeter, and still others were probably in the woods around the house or in cars along the road. I’d never seen so much security around here before. Even if my father didn’t appear scared, this show of force told me he was worried.

After an entire day of hearing nothing from Blayne, I made my way up to my room and tried to read a book. As the sun vanished behind the mountains, I tossed the book aside and turned on a movie, watching it without watching. All I wanted was some background noise because it was too quiet. The only sound was the sporadic voice from downstairs or a snippet of conversation from the guards outside drifting up to my window.

Right before one in the morning, the white sweeping shimmer of headlights pulled around the house. Leaping up and running to the window, I saw it was Blayne’s truck. Before I could even think, I was out the door, down the steps, and running to the back door.

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