Page 61 of Bait Wolf
“It was Kai’s offer. Isn’t that right, Kai?”
I nudged him with my shoe, and he immediately nodded.
“I told them if they leave me alive, they can go. We won’t bother them again, right Alek?”
Alek’s jaw set even tighter.
“Youinvolved me for no reason,” I reminded him.
Finally, grudgingly, Alek nodded.
“Deal.”
“Don’t ever involve me or my fighters in any of your business again.”
The gangster nodded.
“You have my word.”
Finally satisfied, I nodded and hung up.
I tossed the phone onto the bed.
“We should leave before the whole mob shows up to check on this guy. I doubt they’ll keep their word if we’re still here.”
Kai shook his head.
“We may be a lot of things, but we have honor,” he said. “We never break a deal. That’s why we take it so personally when someone else does.”
He gave me an accusatory look, and I nearly lost it. I took a step toward Kai, but Everest’s hand on my shoulder stopped me.
“Let’s not throw that deal out the window by killing the bastard,” he said. Then, his gaze filled with worry, he added, “Go get Asha, quick. Seymour needs to get to the hospital. Now.”
I managed to hold myself back.
“Come on,” I said to the others, backing out of the room.
I sealed it shut behind me, Kai’s gun still in my hand.
Aurora shifted back first, going ahead, keeping watch on the front room while I went to Asha’s room. Behind me, Everest went back to Seymour’s side. The amount of bloodwasconcerning.
“As soon as I have her, you help Everest get him to the car,” I told Aspen.
He nodded, remaining in wolf form, his ears trained to the door that Kai hid behind.
I approached Asha’s designated bedroom, aware that she’d probably heard a lot of the commotion, the fighting and the door crashing. Still, I opened the door quietly.
When the hall light spilled into the room, I saw that Asha was sitting up in bed. The sight of her there nearly made me fall to the floor.
She gasped when she saw me and leaped from the bed. I met her halfway, dropping so that her small arms could reach my neck and then I stood, spinning her around, tears streaming from my eyes while she squealed with excitement. I didn’t think she’d ever held onto me so tight.
“Daddy! You’re here!”
“Surprise baby,” I managed to say. “I finally came to get you.”
“Now?” she demanded, pulling back. “Hang on.”
She wriggled free of my arms and ran to the light switch, turning it on. We didn’t have time to linger but he was helpless to stop her as she ran around the little room, collecting pictures she’d drawn and the stuffed animals that had gone missing with her.
