“He came to battle with you?”
“He did. He killed everything in his path without shifting. He fulfilled his duty to me. I paid him. He left. We forged no further bond.”
I mulled this over in my brain. He must’ve been skilled with a sword or some weapon to go to war and not shift. James and my father were that strong, depending on who they were up against, but not relying on your true form to aid you in battle was almost unheard of these days.
My father added, “And you won’t be going anywhere near him this evening. Or any other evening after for that matter.”
Well … hell.
I’d heard of Connor Dade. In my profession, you came across notable stories about bounty hunters and mercs all the time. Connor Dade’s reputation was well known. The last thing you always heard after a recounting of one of his exploits was “Whatever you do, don’t fuck with Connor Dade.”
I was less familiar with his other aliases, but the one I knew was more than enough. “Let’s look at this logically for a moment, shall we?” I said, fighting to be heard. “If Colin Rourke used his real name, and he knows who I really am already, he’d most likely count on me finding out who he was.” If I was a smarter person to begin with. “He can’t be out to kill me if he told me his real name. Right? He dealt us a hand, and now he wants to play.” Sneaky sucker.
The noise level quieted as the wolves chewed on that.
“Listen, he deliberately told me who he was,” I pointed out again, not wanting to lose my audience. “He could’ve used any name on the planet, especially if he was trying to lure me away. Screw that, he could’ve jumped me himself instead of the rogue. And if what you’re telling me is true, he would’ve been successful, and all this would be a moot point right now because I’d be dead.”
My father grumbled but stayed silent. Tyler stopped pacing.
“This is reading like a go-to, not a jump,” I insisted. “Maybe he has something to share, or knows who’s after me. Who knows? But telling me who he was when he’s had known contact with my father doesn’t make any sense. And how did he know I wouldn’t recognize his name from the start? That you hadn’t shared it with me a long time ago?” I looked over at my father and raised an eyebrow. “Which may have been a good idea in retrospect, with me being a P.I. and all.”
Tyler reluctantly said, “Jessica has a point. There has to be some kind of angle here. Someone like Rourke doesn’t just pop in and announce himself to the world like that. He’s a threat to our Pack, and just being in our territory without permission is enough for us to go after him.”
Sly bastard. He knew I’d meet with him, even when I found out who he was. He was banking on it.
“He’s not stupid,” Elliot Murphy added. “He’d know without a doubt the Pack would recognize his name.” His pale, freckled skin now seemed a few shades lighter. “It also seems he knows who Jessica is already. It’s a ballsy move. I have to agree, he must have something to share, because calling to announce he’s here is not his standard M.O. He’s a brutal bastard. If he was hired for a kill, he would not give fair warning.” He finished with a little lingering awe in his tone.
“He honored our contract during the war,” James stated. “He showed up and fought hard for our side. He did not strike me as a man who would kill a female without provocation and I don’t have that impression now. He doesn’t take jobs because he has to; he takes them because he wants them. Killing Jessica doesn’t feel like something he would sign up for.”
“How do you know that?” Cliff Delano asked.
James shrugged. “Because that’s not what I would do.”
“The bloke doesn’t have to kill her,” Danny interjected. “He could be hired to kidnap her. That’s what I’d do if I wanted her. Pardon me, Jessica, but who better for a heist than a psycho killer with a penchant for playing mind games?”
“Yes, that’s exactly why he called her and announced to the world he was here,” Tyler scoffed. “If he was going to grab her, he wouldn’t go through the trouble of setting up a meet first. Hell, he most certainly wouldn’t have given her his real name. My bet is he’s hired to do a job, but doesn’t want to stir up trouble in Pack. He’s playing both sides. Smart bastard. If he arranges a meet, he can cover his ass if we catch on, claiming he was just here to chat. If we don’t catch on, he’s scot-free, back out of town before we even knew he was here.”
Most of the wolves agreed. Grady appeared deep in thought again, his brows drawn in a frown, eyes aimed at nothing in particular. Hank, of all people, stared blankly into his coffee cup. I couldn’t decide if he looked guilty or just defeated, but I was happy he kept his mouth shut.
My father listened to the back-and-forth, a vein throbbing in his temple. When he spoke again, the room quieted. “If Colin Rourke has legitimate business with my daughter, the protocol would’ve been to call me first. This is my territory and he knows that. He’s playing with us. If he had important news to share, aboveboard, he would’ve shared it with me first.”
“But maybe coming to you would’ve shown his hand,” I argued. “Maybe he had to contact me first because others are watching?” That made sense to me. If Rourke was playing both sides, contacting the Alpha when you’re hired to kidnap his daughter would be the wrong move.
The protocol for entry into this city was not dialing up the Alpha of the U.S. Northern Territories on your cell phone to chitty-chat, the protocol was to take your ass up the Compound and beg for permission to be seen and subsequently allowed to stay.
My father growled. “I still don’t like it.”
“I know it doesn’t make much sense,” Nick said, coming to my defense once again. “But I think I have to agree with Jessica. If Rourke is as lethal as you say, then calling Jessica and announcing his presence would negate a serious threat. At least right now. I think we should go ahead with the meeting as planned. It sounds like there’s too much at stake to pass it up.”
Tyler added, “We could put every available wolf on the outside once Jessica was on the inside. He won’t kill her in a public place. Not his style. If he tried to grab her, we’d be waiting.”
“Tracking me won’t be a problem,” I said, solidifying my part. “Not that I think he’s going to snatch me.” I glanced at my father to see if he was warming to the idea. His stony expression said otherwise. “Nick and I use small button vibrators to communicate when we work together.” The vibrators were actually called “panic buttons,” but who could take you seriously when you called it that? “If I sense any trouble, I’ll push it to ring the alarm. If we head in prepared, there’s very little chance he can follow through with an evil plot to snatch me.” I sighed. How many more targets were going to be on my back? Too fucking many.
My father’s features didn’t flicker with any emotion. He remained stony and unmoving in his seat.
I knew if I didn’t win this, I was on my way back to the Compound to be kept underground until the traitor was found and this mess with Rourke was resolved. Meeting with Colin Rourke and keeping our suspicions about a traitor quiet was the best chance I had to solve this quickly, without being kept under lock and key. No one was really speaking, so I continued, “Listen, we don’t really have much of a choice here. If Rourke is as good as you all say, he’s going to hunt me down eventually. Even if you try your best to squirrel me away. I don’t think Compound boundaries are going to keep him out. Going into this meet with him, and being as prepared as we can be, is our best shot at trying to gain the upper hand in this situation—and while we’re at it, figuring out why in the hell he’s here and who in the hell sent him. It can’t be a coincidence that he wants to meet with Molly Hannon to discuss a real case so soon after my change. He knows, and whoever hired him knows too. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I want to know who that is.”