Page 102 of Big Bad Bully
The gasps from the humans tell me they weren’t expecting this.
The one closest to me swallows, his pupils growing wider. “Whoa. You’re super ripped.”
The foosball players have stopped their game. One of them frowns. “Hey man, what’s this all about?” They probably think I’m about to propose an orgy.
“After tonight, your company will cease to exist.” The guys blink, surprised, but I don’t let them speak. “You’re going to have a change of heart. You’ll be shutting down your company and offering compensation to all the artists you stole from.”
The guys look at each other, their heads jerking in an automatic rejection to what I’m saying. A few of them are growing angry. “What the fuck–”
“Stop talking,” I say. I use a mild tone, but it’s an order. I don’t bother to use alpha command on these guys. They recognize our dominance. “You’re going to do what I say and release a public apology. Your board will be surprised, but they’ll come around.” If not, we’ll have the vampire king glamour them.
While I’m talking, Jake and Nickel take a little stroll on opposite sides of the room. They head to the back half of the C-suite, to make sure there aren’t any witnesses lurking in an office. The humans unconsciously huddle together for safety when they pass.
I kick off my shoes. Beside me, Brick does the same. We’re both undressing, so we can let out our wolves. By the time we’re chasing these idiots around their C-suite, they won’t be fit to leave their house, much less run a company. Then, to be sure of their cooperation, Thaddeus will compel them all to do our bidding.
By morning, Sentience will be no more.
But first, I want answers.
Jake and Nickel return from checking the offices and use sign language to tell us the coast is clear. I signal back to wait a moment.
“You tried to take the life of someone very precious to me. And now you’re going to answer to me.” I let my wolf out, and the humans recoil at the bright glow that lights my eyes. “Tell me why you hired the hitman to kill Aubrey Cook.”
“What?” the CEO gasps. He’s gone pale and looks a little green around the edges.
One of the foosball players steps forward, his fists clenched. “Dude, we didn’t hire anyone to kill anyone. We don’t even know who the fuck–”
The guy next to him elbows him. “Aubrey Cook. Wasn’t she the one who did our mural?”
“Oh yeah, she was sneaking around at the gala,” another guy says.
“You tried to have her killed,” I snarl. They all recoil, holding up their hands like they’re fending off an attack.
“No, no,” they shout.
“We just sent someone to scare her. No one should’ve been killed,” one says.
“She was trying to steal secrets from us,” another guy adds. “Along with a disgruntled employee. We sent someone to toss her and Jamie’s apartments and find our stolen files. That’s all.”
I don’t smell a lie.
I glance at Brick. He’s frowning. “So no hitman?” he asks.
“What? No!” They all protest. “Why would you think that?”
“A hitman came after her. In Monaco,” I say. “She almost was shot. The bullet came inches away.” My own vertebrae stopped it from exiting my body and killing her. She’s lucky she had a shifter shield.
The CEO’s eyes roll back in his head. He keels over, slumping to the floor.
“Somebody help him,” Brick orders, and two guys rush to obey. They prop him up and give him water when he rouses.
We shifters go into a huddle. “They’re telling the truth,” Jake says. We can smell when someone is lying.
“Could someone else in the company have hired the hitman?” Nickel asks. “Someone from the board?”
“They probably wouldn’t want the board getting wind of intellectual theft. They said it themselves, they hired people to toss the apartments. I don’t think they hired the hitman at all.” Brick turns to me and asks the question that’s going to keep me up at night. “If Sentience didn’t try to kill Aubrey, who did?”
My stomach roils. I don’t know, and I need to. It’s the only way to ensure that Aubrey will be safe. “We’re sure it wasn’t Luka’s pack?”
