The dealer, a strong beta, replied, «I don't know, George. I like the ones who throw the money around, but those guys were a little too hardcore. We get enough big fish here; we don't need Russian mobsters or shit like that.»
«Dominic's an Italian name, isn't it?» said another player. «I never heard of Russians named Dominic.»
Taran feigned an interested frown, as if considering the ethnic origins of «Dominic». Mentally, he high-fived Nick, Petri the Lawyer, Tonio, and the wolf who'd just named Kuba.
Tonio chimed in, «Those guys weren't Russian, they were Czech.»
Bingo. Hallelujah. Where the fuck was Kuba?
«Russian, Czech, Italian, I don't give a rat's ass,» grunted the dealer. «My bosses like friendly little thousand dollar buy-ins where you get killed for normal reasons, not because some KGB type lost too much money.»
The dealer had a point, Taran reflected as he maintained his bored expression. If you put fifty wolves in a small space, gave them alcohol and pitted them against each other in a series of pissing contests, you didn't really need genuine psychos to make it dangerous.
«Don't matter anyway,» Tonio said flatly. «They were coming, now they're not. One of the first guys here tonight said he talked to a guy in the Czech's crew-something spooked him. He changed his mind.»
An unseen fist punched Taran in the gut.
The dealer halted mid-shuffle. «Spooked?» he barked. «What does spooked mean?»
It means someone tipped Kuba off; it means we have a leak, just like they did in Miami.
Tonio shrugged. «Fuck should I know? Something made the Czech guy not wanna come after all. Who cares?»
«Well, Tonio,» the dealer said with sarcastic solicitude, «we might care if we were about to get busted. There's a lot of money on the tables here.»
Conversation skidded and crashed in both rooms, the only remaining sound the muffled thump of bass-heavy music through the walls of the goth club.
The air thickened with the scent of stress, fear and anxiety. He didn't expect an imminent panic, but he shifted slightly in his seat so he'd have easy access to his gun.
An alpha in the next room-a dealer, probably-said firmly, «There's no reason to think we're getting uninvited guests tonight, gentlemen. We maintain excellent relations with the authorities.»
Taran assumed he meant someone on the force tipped them in advance. «Play will continue until four, as normal. Anyone who cares to cash out when the current hand is finished is free to do so.
But I'm sure everyone will remain calm, and I hope most of you choose to stay.»
Another second passed. The alphas dialed down their own tension. Conversation quietly resumed. A more restrained mood prevailed with slower play-no more boisterous joking and bragging, just serious poker.
The players at his table elected to take a break. He maintained his relaxed facade, professing not to care if they stopped for a while or not. Inside he seethed.
Who had tipped Kuba?
If he could've attended without telling anyone, finding and bringing Kuba in by himself, he would have done so. Investigations didn't work that way. A cop couldn't show up at an illegal poker game without a word to his superiors, not if he wanted to keep his badge. He'd had to tell his captain. The captain had to make sure Vice wouldn't raid this particular game on this particular night.
The wolves waiting at the bar down the street. Petri the Lawyer. Whomever Petri the Lawyer may have told. Fact was, the list of people who knew about Kuba being at this game, and about Taran attending tonight, was not short.
A big, black, dangerous funk hovered on the edge of his consciousness. Tomorrow it would turn into rage.
No reason to stick around for another hand now; he needed to release his backup. He got up to mix himself a scotch and soda-his first alcohol of the evening-and sat down in an easy chair to send the text and check his messages.
He had several missed calls, one of them from Lark.
He took a sip of scotch as he stared at her name and number on the screen. A wolf walking by said with a laugh, «Bro. You having a seizure?»
«Huh?» He didn't look up.
«You been staring at that phone like it's flashing strobe lights.»
«Oh. No. No, just a call I wasn't expecting.» He still didn't look up. The wolf took the hint and walked away.
He looked in his voicemail. One from Lark.
He forced himself to text his backup before he listened to the message, noting with disgust how his hands shook slightly. Once he'd sent the text («no kuba go home»), he returned to the voicemail list and stared at it some more. Took another sip of scotch. Considered walking outside to listen to the message. Stayed in his chair, unsure whether his legs would shake as badly as his hands.
Apparently, getting bonded to your mate made you act like a chick.
He hit Send and entered his code.
Beep.
«It's me, I, um-« Her voice paused, took a breath. Just one little breath, but it wafted through the phone and he sucked it in and closed his eyes, breathless at his body's immediate fierce response. His pulse throbbed in his throat, his gut churned, his dick ached. He growled softly.
«I got your message, and-I never-I didn't think I…» Her hesitancy, the shakiness of her voice, shredded his heart. «I didn't call you back sooner because I was scared. Not-not of you, I mean, but that you might be mad or-or hurt, really, cause I was such a bitch. I mean, you scared me. But I should've handled it better. Shit.» She paused, and he heard her swallow. «I've been thinking about this all week. I feel like a dog that finally caught a car, you know? I have no goddamned idea what to do with it now.»
He barked once in startled laughter, and every wolf in the room stared. Embarrassed, he turned his attention back to the message. «…a long, long time. God, for so long Taran, and it hurt so bad…» He could hear her trying not to cry. It killed him. «You were right,» she whispered hoarsely, «it was the best night of my life, and I acted like a spoiled brat. I'm not sorry we did it, and I'm not sorry I'm your mate, and I need a little time to get used it to but-« the words tumbled out in a rush now, «-I will get used to it, I want to, I-if you don't hate me, if you still want me, I love you. I just-I love you.»
Beep.
He played the message again.
He swallowed, took another sip of scotch, and played it again. Then again, then once more, forcing himself to breathe slowly and block out every sound around him till nothing existed but her voice in his ear, her sighs, her pauses, the unshed tears behind the words «if you don't hate me,» the way her breath caught before she said «I love you.»
The dealer touched him lightly on the shoulder. He jumped out of his skin.
«Sorry, Tom, but I've been calling the table back for five minutes. You never looked up.»
«Ah.» He shook his head. «I…I think I need to leave.»
The dealer smirked at him. «Yeah, I think you do too, wolf.»
When he stood, the room swam. Not like when he drank too much, because he hadn't. Not like when Nick's dad caught them in his porn stash and flung them into opposite corners of the room.
Not even like when he bled out two pints of blood after close quarters combat.
No. He reeled from nothing less than pure, euphoric, I-thought-the-rest-of-my-life-was-going-to-
suck-but-maybe-it-won't lightheaded wooziness.
He didn't worry about falling down; he worried about floating away.
He staggered out of the warehouse into the crisp night air with a goofy-assed grin plastered on his face. Catcalls followed him, accompanied by filthy suggestions from jealous wolves about what to do when he caught up to her.
His body screamed with need, urging him west, toward her, the pull of his bonded mate as accurate, and far more powerful, than the GPS locator he'd put in her car. The strain of resisting that pull threatened an involuntary change, but he couldn't afford to get four-footed right now. To keep from howling in the middle of the parking lot, he clenched his jaw till he heard his teeth grind.