Page 97 of His Rejected Mate

Before Kira could answer, a loud pounding came at the bedroom door.

My face fell. “You’ve got to be kidding me. This place is as bad as that damn mansion.”

“Maybe it’s Von Thornton with a camera crew, ready to catch us in the act like last time.”

I snorted a laugh. “At this point? I’d let them. The whole world can eat their hearts out while I have you for everyone to see.”

The knock came again, more insistently this time.

“As great as it sounds to be a porn star,” Kira said, “I think we need to see who that is. They’re obviously not going to stop.”

I grumbled and cursed under my breath as we dried off and put on robes. A third flurry of knocks came as I tied the belt at my waist. By the time we opened the door, I was ready to punch whoever was on the other side. That feeling vanished as soon as I saw it was Eli.

“What the hell is so important?” I asked.

Eli crossed her arms. “Where have you guys been? You missed breakfast.”

“What time is it?” Kira asked. “We, uh, didn’t check the clock.”

“It’s almost noon.” The fallen angel scanned our faces, then grinned ruefully. “Been busy, I take it?”

Heat crept up my neck. I wanted to change the subject. “What’s up? Do you have news or something?”

“Lots. Can I come in?”

Kira and I moved aside so she could enter, then closed the door.

“I can tell things between you and your dad are a little tense, to say the least,” Eli said to me. “But having one of the richest and most powerful shifters on earth helping you has paid off. Do you want the good news first or the bad news?”

“There’s both?” Kira asked. “I don’t like that.”

“Good news first,” I said.

“We figured out where Simon Shingleman is.”

Kira and I gaped at her. “What?” I asked.

“Your dad isn’t on the board, but he’s got stock in the company that runs the show,” Eli said to me. “He receivedan email this morning, informing all shareholders that a replacement has been found for Garth Sheen’s spot. That’s the bad news. Guess who it is?”

“Simon?” I asked dumbly. “That psycho?”

“I don’t understand why they’re even worrying about replacing a board member,” Kira said. “Do they not realize a war is happening? No one gives a shit about this show anymore.” I could sense her incredulous rage.

“I agree,” Eli said. “Your father was confused, too, Wyatt. Apparently, all the other shareholders he knew had discussed it with him. They all thought the show and the board would be dissolved. Maybe they could try a revival or reboot a couple of years after this war was over. They can’t figure out why they added a board member now.”

“Too dumb to realize their cash cow has been hacked up into hamburger,” Kira muttered.

“There’s more,” Eli said.

“It gets worse?” I asked gingerly.

“A courier dropped off a message for you two about five minutes ago,” Eli began. “It’s a formal invite from Von Thronton for you guys to be on a live broadcast. They want you there within two hours if we want the whole world to know you’re alive.”

“Holy hell,” I mumbled. “We can never get away from this guy.”

“How did he know we were here?” Kira asked.

Eli gave Kira an incredulous look. “Dozens of people, including Callista Oborin, saw those Second Pack shifters hustling us into that limo. They know who Wyatt Rivers and his father are. Not difficult to connect the dots.”

---