Page 96 of Corbin
“Leszek has assigned a bodyguard to stay with her twenty-four-seven.”
Corbin argued, “She’s gone from being a free shifter celebrated by humans and shifters to a prisoner with no hope of freedom.” Corbin’s voice broke. “I destroyed her life.”
“Does that mean you’re giving up?”
Lifting his gaze to Adrian, he said, “Not a chance in hell. I do need some help. I don’t know where to start.”
“That’s the way to think.” Leaning forward, Adrian’s eyebrows lifted. “The injured guard, Archie, woke up this morning. My boss sent an attorney to be present when the police questioned Archie. We still had a guard outside his hospital room door. I requested that right after you left the theater to tail Givenchy ... uh, I mean Eirene.”
“Thank you.” Corbin meant that for the guard and in respect for his mate.
“Archie said while Eirene was in her dressing room, Brody knocked him down, then must have had the steel structure set to fall easily, because that crashed down next.”
“Damn! That clears Eirene from being a suspect.”
“Exactly. Our people grabbed Brody before the cops could get him. We pulled information out of him.”
Chills rushed up Corbin’s arms at what that might mean. He hoped they waterboarded Brody before the cops got to him. “Did he give us anything we can use to save Eirene from Leszek?”
“That will depend upon Eirene. We could release what we found out from Archie and Brody, but there is no legal chain of possession. My boss is all about following human laws, but when it comes to humans harming shifters, my boss has his own rules. In the interest of gaining the truth, we had to act fast. However, if Leszek has SCIS and some law enforcement in his pocket, he may have judges on his side as well. He could argue that as a sticking point. If he dragged out the investigation for a long time, he could still possibly skate free. The only way this ends now is if Eirene can trap Leszek into confessing. But if that attempt goes awry, she’ll lose any battle in court about his trustee position.”
Corbin considered the risk to her. He wanted to be the one to step between her and danger, but he’d told Ares that their mates were strong. With no other option, he had to respect their strength no matter how sick to his stomach he felt about her stepping into a battle alone.
Nodding at Adrian, he asked, “How do we get this rolling?”
“The first hurdle is the most difficult. We have to get a message to her without Leszek’s bodyguard finding out. Leszek is sending her out on tour in a week. It will be virtually impossible to get to her once she’s on the road with more security.”
Everything raced around in his mind. None of it sounded possible, but Corbin refused to let despair kill a plan before getting started.
He and Ares had no life without Eirene and Pixie. He said to Ares,We’re going after our mates.
Yes. Kill anyone in the way.
For once, Corbin said,Agreed.
Chapter 30
Eirene stepped out of the ride-share car wearing khaki slacks, a long-sleeved peach-colored T-shirt, and comfortable walking shoes, all purchased from local retailers who served middle-income patrons.
Ivarson no longer had a front row seat to her every move. She’d terminated him after Leszek had shared details during an argument only her driver would have known. No wonder Ivarson hadn’t taken time off in recent years.
He made too much money by sticking to Eirene like glue and feeding information to Leszek.
She justified ridding herself of Ivarson to Leszek by saying her bodyguard could drive her. Leszek had liked that idea and acted as if she were finally coming around.
Funny how the bodyguard had gotten held up trying to get her sedan to start for the trip here.
Gremlins could be found in any engine if a person knew what they were doing. She’d been ready to ask the nice man at the front door of her apartment building to call a car for her the minute her bodyguard lifted the hood to see if he could fix the problem. She had given the bodyguard no trouble and acted meekly around him so he would not expect her to slip away.
She might not be a black ops ninja, but she had plenty of experience sneaking around.
Corbin would be proud of her.
She paused at the elevator inside Leszek’s building and breathed slowly to calm her nerves. Every minute of the past five days had been hell, first waiting to see if Corbin had escaped, then signing the agreement that gave Leszek free rein over her forever to make SCIS leave Corbin alone, and now ... today.
Five days of no Ares and no freedom, Pixie griped loudly inside her.
This whole thing had taken a toll on Eirene’s wolf. Her sweet Pixie had never been crabby, but she hadn’t shifted since escaping that Romanian. The bodyguard said Leszek would not allow her to shift every day. He expected her to act more like the humans whose world she lived in.
