Page 39 of Shadowed Radiance

Conflicting emotions battled across his face, but determination ultimately won. “Fuck yeah we will. But how?”

Connor sighed deeply. “Good question. We don’t even have solid proof of anything. Just our word against his.”

Shea’s shrewd gaze met mine, and I knew we were on the same page. “Just our word—and that hard evidence my sister thoughtfully left behind for us.”

Finn frowned slightly. “What hard evidence?”

I smiled and tugged him toward our waiting SUV, knowing his brothers would follow. “Tell you on the way.”

10

SHEA

Seeing how close Ava pressed herself to Finn in the back seat, seeking reassurance that he reallywasunharmed, both pleased and annoyed me. It pleased me that our future mate so obviously cared for my brother, in spite of the harsh words he’d thrown her way. But it annoyed my inner beast that we weren’t back therealsobeing fussed over.

The eternal struggle of man versus wolf.

I rolled my eyes at my own foolishness and listened to Ava catching Finn up on the Radiant Order her sister had hidden in that book of fairy tales. The irony that our cousin and his wife would never get to enjoy their own happily-ever-after—thanks to the twisted backstabbing of our uncle—didn’t escape me. All we could do now was honor their last wishes and protect their city.

And much more importantly, their daughters.

My thoughts turned toward Alexander. The fact he’d simply vanished after blowing up that limousine, knowing it would murder several more people, infuriated me. We had neither blood tie to him nor—thanks to that explosion—anything he had recently touched to magically track him, so we were left with more mundane forms of investigation. The reason I was now leading our small convoy to the St. Louis headquarters of the Circle-owned bank where our Pack conducted most of its financial affairs.

I knew the St. Louis streets like the back of my hand--or paw--so my overactive brain had plenty bandwidth to chew on the Alexander dilemma. Namely why the fuck was he doing this. He'd never struck me as an overly political or power-hungry person. I would've described him as a kind and loving husband, father, and uncle who seemed loyal to the San Francisco Pack first and the Circle of Dawn and Dusk second. Not a diabolical traitor capable of cold-blooded murder and the pursuit of greater…What? Riches? He had those already. Power? The San Francisco Pack may not have quite the prestige of Boston, DC, New York, LA, or even St. Louis, but it numbered among the top 15 Pack-run cities in the US.

No, surely this must be something more personal. Some unknown vendetta he must be pursuing. But what?

I normally did my best brainstorming at my favorite desk in my office. The exact same expensive desk I used in both my home and business offices in St. Louis and San Francisco, where I kept headquarters for my primary businesses. Connor always teased me for keeping it old-school with a yellow legal pad and ballpoint pen. Something about jotting down my ideas in ink helped prime my creative pump. Something that came more naturally to artistic Connor and instinctively to primal Finn. Maybe there'd be time for that later. I couldn't exactly put pen to paper when driving an unfamiliar SUV through the city streets.

I was no closer to an epiphany on Alexander's motives by the time we pulled into the public parking garage near--but not inside the same building as--the bank. I had no reason to suspect a trap might be waiting for us, but it seemed the better part of valor just to be prepared. Especially with the way this night had been going.

Those from the human world would have thought us strange for believing a bank would be open this late at night. But those among the magical community knew our world didn't stop spinning no matter the hour. Especially considering that some Shifters were more nocturnal than others.

My brothers fell in step to each side of Ava as I strode just ahead. Our Pack guardians and Spellbinders fell in around us, keeping their instincts and magical senses alert for any trouble. It should be easy to pick up on any threats, considering the predawn hour. Most civilized people had gone to bed hours ago. I wish I could say the same for us. Especially if the woman just behind me were there. For now, however, we had responsibilities to fulfill and murderers to stop. And, the more bloodthirsty wolf inside added, revenge to achieve.

Luckily, no enemies jumped out at us and no magic spells were flung our way. A few short minutes later, we stepped out of the elevator onto the 28th floor housing the Sterling Circle Bank and stopped at the security station. A perky brunette man with a megawatt smile and a name tag identifying him as Tom the receptionist greeted us while armed guards made their presence known without actually approaching.

Tom must have recognized Ava from previous transactions, because his gaze went straight to her. "Welcome to the Sterling Circle Bank. It's always a pleasure to see you Miss Sheridan.” He turned his brilliant smile to Finn, Connor, and then me. “And of course I’m familiar with the Misters Donnelly, although we’ve never met in person.” His overly enthusiastic demeanor suddenly sobered. "Please accept our condolences on the loss of your sister and cousin. We have a private room ready for you, assuming that you're here to view the contents of Box 8642."

Interesting. Kayleigh hadn't lied about us simply needing to show up at the Pack's bank to access the safety deposit box she and Maddox had prepared for us. I had thought it would be a little more complicated than this, and hadn't foreseen them actually expecting our arrival. Then again, they undoubtedly had Shadow Shifters on staff, some of whom would owe allegiance to the Pack. They would have known the moment that the tethers were severed. Giving them advance warning that there had been a change in leadership. I could only assume that Kayleigh had also told them to expect us soon after their deaths if the worst-case scenario came to pass.

Which it had.

Ava nodded with a much more subdued smile. "Thank you for your kind thoughts. And we are here to view Box 8642. Please, lead the way."

Tom gestured to the two guards who stepped up to the security station. Their scents marked them as a Shifter and an untethered Radiant. "Certainly. If you would be so kind as to surrender any weapons you might carry and step through the magical scanner."

That had me throwing a sardonic expression over my shoulder toward my brothers. Both Shifters and Radiants like Ava had no need to carry guns or knives or swords. We werelivingweapons.

But many of our guardians relied upon both steel and gunpowder to augment their fangs and claws. So once the four of us stepped through the scanner without incident, we had to wait a few moments for the rest of our party to be cleared. Some of them grumbled when forced to surrender their weapons, but the rules would be the same for any enemies seeking entrance to the bank. And any who found some other way into the building would set off the extensive security alarms and spells the Circle spared no expense in providing to help safeguard their investments here.

Once another bank employee and two security guards arrived to relieve them, Tom of the perky smile escorted us along with the first two guards to the private room he'd mentioned. It turned out to be a small but well-furnished conference room, with an antique mahogany table surrounded by six matching chairs cushioned in expensive-looking fabric. The room had no windows and only one door, something that might make it harder for enemies to secretly sneak into, but also meant it wouldn't hold everyone from our party at one time.

This meant allowing our guardians to secure for the four of us and then everyone else waiting in the hall. Meanwhile, good old Tom and the two security guards went off to retrieve Box 8642.

It didn't take long for them to return. The two guards waited in the doorway as Tom set a rather large metal box in the center of the table. His gaze once again went straight to Ava. “According to your sister's instructions, only the four of you together would be able to open this box. The bank had no part in whatever spell she cast upon it, so I trust you will be able to figure that out yourselves. You may use this room for however long you desire. Just use the phone on the wall if you require any refreshments or when you are ready for us to return the box to safekeeping.”

Ava nodded. "Thank you for your assistance. We’ll let you know if we need anything."

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