Adam walked up behind him and pulled up a chair, spinning it around so he could straddle the back. “Not so fast, my feline friend.”
Sebastian shifted, raising his chin slightly. “We are most definitely not friends, and you will never be able to keep her safe. A wolf does not deserve such a treasure.”
Adam took my hand. “You’re right, I don’t deserve Lana, but I will keep her safe.”
“So why did I find her alone, again?”
“Because we were looking for you,” I interrupted before I gagged on all the testosterone. “We figured the quickest way to flush you out was for Adam to leave me alone.” Sebastian snorted, but I went on before he could interject some smarmy, elitist comment. “We’re going to Las Vegas to meet with Sasha.”
Sebastian’s eyes widened. “You’re insane.”
“She has Adam’s brother.”
“He is expendable. You should go get a head start while she waits for you to arrive. This is your chance to disappear. I suggest you take it.”
“Are you nuts?” My brow furrowed. “He’s in danger because of me. I can’t just turn my back on him.”
Sebastian sighed and shook his head. “Then you will walk right into her trap. Sasha negotiated many hostage situations before she was transformed. She knows you will come to her. She will still kill the wolf’s brother, and she will also deliver you to the Nero Organization.”
“Not if you help us.”
He laughed. Not a good sign. Adam gripped my hand tighter, and I shot him a look. This was not the time to beat up our only hope of backup.
I leaned in closer to Sebastian and whispered, “We could just bring in a gun and shoot her before she knows we’re there.”
His laughter stopped instantly, and I could almost see his hackles rise. Apparently I hit the right nerve. What was it with him and that chick? I’d heard of love-hate relationships before, but this seemed twisted.
“If I did follow you, have you thought of a plan?”
“It’s obvious you don’t want Sasha killed,” Adam piped up. “Would she kill you?”
“That I do not know.” He shrugged. “She could have killed me in San Antonio, but she never drew her weapon. However, the next time we meet could have a different outcome.”
Adam nodded slowly. “Okay, so that’s an unknown, but what if you just shadow the exchange. Once we get Aren you can surprise Sasha and keep her busy so Lana can get away.”
Sebastian was quiet for a moment, then his gaze swept from me to Adam. “Going after your brother is noble, but this is a suicide mission. Sasha is an assassin with law enforcement weapons training. She will be anticipating a trap. Any plan that we make, she will counter.”
“Look, the only sure thing is that Aren will die if we don’t go,” I said as I stood up. “So I’m going with or without you two. I won’t have his blood on my hands.”
Adam got up beside me. “I’m going with you.”
Sebastian rolled his eyes and got up from his chair. “I suppose I will have to follow.” He lowered his voice and added, “There is one more thing we can count on. Sasha will not kill Lana. Lana is too precious to Nero. She needs her alive. Keep that in mind.”
He turned and walked out without another word. I looked up at Adam. “I still don’t know whose side he’s on, but that was a good tip.”
“Don’t get too excited. Just because she won’t kill you, doesn’t mean she won’t hurt you.”
The truth behind Adam’s words sank into me along with an icy dagger of fear. Tomorrow night the man I love could die and I could be abducted. My hands started shaking.
Adam pulled me into his arms and kissed my hair. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Lana.”
I wrapped my arms around him. “Don’t let anything happen to you. I couldn’t stand it.”
He pulled back and took my hand. “It’ll take more than a cat to bring me down.”
I watched the light sparkle on the silver bullet he wore around his neck and sighed. A cat with a gun could do it.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Adam
I left Lana back at her hotel alone. Knowing Sasha was in Las Vegas meant we could be a little less cautious. Plus, even though it pissed me off royally, I knew Sebastian was still lurking. He’d intervene if anyone threatened my mate.
I pulled into my driveway and frowned when I saw my father’s car parked in the driveway. I got out and jogged inside.
“Malcolm?”
He came out of the kitchen with an apple. “There you are. You and your brother have been scarce this week. I wanted to be sure everything was all right.”
“Aren had some business in Vegas.” Lying to my father sucked, but I couldn’t have the whole Pack running to Vegas now. “I’m actually going down to meet him there tomorrow.”
“Perfect.” He took a bite of the fruit. “I have a free day. I’ll go with you.”
I didn’t know how Malcolm knew something was up, but he did. My heart started pounding and all I could do was try to keep it from showing.
My father could catch the scent of fear in a second. If he figured out Aren was in trouble he’d want to bring in the Pack and my brother would be as good as dead.
“That’s not necessary. It’s nothing major.”
My father stepped closer, his eyes searching my own. I fought to maintain the eye contact. He finally shook his head and took another bite of the apple.
“It’s not like you to keep secrets from the Pack, Adam.”
I lowered my gaze and shrugged. “No secrets. Just working on a few things.”
“Does this have anything to do with hunting the jaguar who murdered Gabe?”
How did he sense these things? Could I ever be that good at being Alpha? Inwardly I begged him to drop it.
“I think we’re getting closer.”
“I caught the scent of cats on you.” He took one last bite of the apple and inspected the core. “I’ve been calling Aren, but his phone goes right to voice mail. It’s not like him.”
“I know, but we’ve got this handled. Really.”
He came closer and draped his arm around my shoulders. “I trust you and your brother, but something else is going on here. You know our Pack is family, and family is everything. Whatever is happening, we’ll understand, and we’ll come together to help you.”
If only that were true. Even if I told him about Lana and he believed she hadn’t attacked the Pack, Sebastian came into our territory because of her. And the pack would demand his death when they found out he killed Gabe. A week ago I would have too, but now I wasn’t so sure. He was a wildcard. If he really did help us tonight then I couldn’t turn him over to the Pack for justice.
“Look, if we get in too deep we’ll definitely call you for backup, okay?”
“It’s not just the jaguar I’m talking about.” His gaze landed squarely on my face.
“What?”
My Alpha raised a brow and tossed the apple core into the trash. “Luke tells me you haven’t been sleeping here in over a week.”
“Luke has a big mouth.”
Malcolm opened his hands, his all-knowing eyes were difficult to avoid. “Don’t blame the boy. You know how persuasive I can be.”
“I haven’t been around much.”
“Is there a woman behind your absence?”
“Jesus, I don’t have time for this.” It was killing me not to tell him about Lana.
“We don’t have time for you to keep playing the field, Adam. I thought you understood.”
I shook my head. “I have enough on my mind without the Pack-needs-babies talk.”
He took a step back. He looked hurt, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it right now. I promised myself I’d make it up to him later.