Page 70 of Corbin
“Very true, but I’ve kept my power locked down. The minute I started asking questions, Brody got huffy and told me he ran security on site. He wanted to know why he had not been informed of my coming in. I told him my schedule was none of his business. He carried on that Ms. Givenchy was his responsibility and that everything about her was his business. I found that amusing since not one of those three had tried to follow Givenchy when she left the theater.”
Anger climbed up Corbin’s neck at whoever had been protecting her before him. “No shit. All three are worthless.”
“Archie is still in a deep coma,” Adrian continued. “The hospital staff told Beckham that Brody keeps trying to get in to visit Archie. They won’t allow anyone in while he’s in a coma. The police are first in line to talk to him. I wonder if he was behind the deaths of the first two team members. If so, was it ego-driven to reach the top, or does he have some other ulterior motive?”
“I don’t know, but too many details are starting to point at him.”
“Hold on.” Adrian spoke to someone who let him know two men were at the theater to repair the damage, and it would take three hours. Adrian gave him the okay and got back on the phone. “Well, damn. I spent last night on the roof watching in case someone showed up to go inside. No one came by. I haven’t seen Brody and his two people since they realized they couldn’t find Eirene yesterday. He stormed over to me this morning, demanding to know your name and where you were.”
Corbin thought about the overbearing guard. “I wondered if Brody had anything to do with the shot fired last night from the top of Eirene’s apartment building, but I don’t see the reason anyone would try to kill Eirene.”
“Was it meant for you?”
“I’m considering that. I’m causing a kink in someone’s dirty machinery. I wonder if the same person who ordered that shot sent the jackal shifters after me, but I haven’t figured out how they found us at her warehouse. From all I’ve learned, she’s been doing a good job keeping it secret. If I had not been tasked with keeping up with her, I wouldn’t have taken off on foot to follow her. I know I wasn’t tracked. Those jackals arrived in a car. They didn’t track us.”
“Shit fire!” Adrian grumbled. “If you’ve got a target on your back, we need to take you out of the field.”
Corbin sighed. Guess he had to disappoint Adrian again. “Please don’t ask me to leave her side. I can’t do it.”
Adrian cursed under his breath. “You do realize how unprofessional that sounds, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“What’s really going on with you two?”
Time to come clean. “She’s the woman I want as my mate.”
Adrian started saying, “Are you, uhm ...” Noises came through that sounded as if he banged the phone on something. Then he came back. “Are you sure or are you only saying she’s special?”
“I’m sure. She’s special, and sheisthe one for me. I believe she feels the same way, but we haven’t had a chance to discuss the future, plus with everything going on in each of our lives. I never expected to have a mate once I ended up with the Romanian, but now that I’ve found Eirene again, she’s all I want.”
Sighing loudly into the phone, Adrian said, “I’m starting to understand how much grief my Gallize brothers gave our boss. Okay, we’ll table that discussion for right now, but I understand your position. Can you follow orders that don’t conflict with Eirene being your potential mate?”
“Without question. What do you want me to do?”
“Stay put until I get back to you.”
He could do that. “I appreciate all you and Jaz have done for me, Adrian. I made it my mission to impress you on this job. Sorry I failed you.”
“Listen, Corbin. You’ve done a great job so far, but ...” Adrian paused for a few seconds. Was he going to admit he’d made a mistake with Corbin? Sounding bone tired, Adrian said, “I had no plans to separate us and leave you to watch our client alone, but I knew I could trust you to keep her safe even while she was a suspect in this operation.”
Corbin felt that compliment deep in his chest. “I intended to even when I thought she’d thrown me to the Romanian.”
“Jaz and I watched what you did for Badger. He’s a crazy loon and a misery to deal with most days, but he is salvageable. You stepped in and kept him from shifting and attacking me or Jaz. That might have ended in his death. We want to give everyone in the pack a chance at a real life. I’m good at sizing people up quickly. I knew when I brought you with me that you would have my back and follow orders. You have. We’ll take that into consideration when I debrief this operation with my boss. He’ll have the ultimate say on your future.”
Corbin had only wanted somewhere to hide until he came up with a new plan for how to evade the Romanian. That changed when Adrian showed faith in Corbin. At that point, he’d wanted a place in this world and that loony pack.
To have a home and others he could count on.
The eagle shifter boss was not Adrian.
All Corbin’s plans for him and Eirene had no more support right now than a house built with tissue.
“They’re calling me over for something to do with the repairs,” Adrian complained. “If Brody doesn’t show soon, I’mgoing out to hunt for him. Don’t leave where you are without letting me know.”
“Yes, sir.”
“If you can’t reach me, call the second number in your phone. That’s Cole.”
