Finding composure, she continued. "So what was it about then? Just a Valentine's Day surprise?"
He pushed open the double doors that led to his office suites and locked them behind him. If a little thing like a lock could keep Malcolm out, Jana might be worried. But she was more than aware that her mate would scale the side of the building to get to her so she shrugged off the feeling of dread that threatened to overtake her. She was a wolf.
Even without Malcolm, she could destroy this little man.
Carl grabbed both her arms, his face showing no emotion. He looked like a robot or, she shuddered, a psychopath. He pulled her close like he wanted to hug or kiss her.
Turning her head away, she tried not to retch at the though. Pre-Malcolm she wouldn't have liked it; now she wanted to hurl the contents of her stomach.
"It was about eliminating Malcolm Denon who was sent here to interfere with what is between us."
She shook her head. "Are you insane? There is nothing between us, just a working relationship. I've made that clear over and over."
"Kendrick explained it to me."
Raising an eyebrow, she pushed down her inner wolf that wanted to push to the surface. This is what she'd been sent here to retrieve, information. Carl was obviously in the mood to share. "Kendrick Kane explained what to you, Carl?"
"That you are a wolf princess and that there are rules that have to be followed to woo a wolf princess."
This was going to be bad, she could just tell. In no way was she Westervelt royalty.
Carl had been sold a bill of goods by her psycho former Alpha and he was likely going to pay for all of that with his life. It was unfortunate but considering the ordeal she and Malcolm had endured on Valentine's Day, she just couldn't seem to bring herself to care all that much.
"What rules would those be?"
"I have to be a strong Alpha. I need my own army. He told me you would never settle for anything less than to be one of the Queens in his pack."
She cleared her throat. There was so much wrong with that, she couldn't even begin to pick it apart. The main point was that Kendrick was trying to create a pack and had obviously promised her to Carl. Kendrick was the key. Her goal was to gather as much information as she could gather about him and the sick wolves.
"So he gave you the wolves?"
Carl let go of her arms and walked to the window. She took a silent deep breath, grateful to be rid of his touch. "'Gave' would not exactly be correct considering that I'm paying a fortune or them." Aha. There was the money angle. Malcolm just got his proof that Carl was one of Kendrick's financial suppliers.
See if you can find out how they met. But be aware, I am in the building. I will have you out of there in moments with or without the information.
Smiling at Carl, she hoped she looked sexy. "You certainly are a man of means, Carl.
I wish I had known you were going to all of this trouble."
So I could have bit him.
Jana did her best to ignore her wolf. She wouldn't help anything at the moment.
"I've always been able to make one dollar turn into one hundred. You know this."
Sighing, she walked closer to him. "And Kendrick helped you turn the hundred into thousands, even millions, how? Is it one of his witches? One of those women he employs to turn those poor people into the doomed wolves he's creating? Is she conducting spells for you too?"
"It's a mutually comfortable relationship. I pay to keep the Institutes furnished with everything they need and he uses his witches to keep me very wealthy. That first witch that your wolf friends slaughtered did me a favor that I'll never be able to repay by cursing Westervelt. Kendrick was smart to find others who could do the same things, almost like he knew she would eventually be killed."
She traced her hand down his cheek and he shuddered. "Why doesn't he just have his witches make money for him?"
"He needs allies, darling."
The double doors burst open with a crash that caused three paintings to fall from the wall. Malcolm stood in the doorway like an avenging angel, his hair long around his shoulders, looking as though black fury fell from the sky. For a moment, he stood alone his eyes assaulting Carl as his hands clenched at his sides ready to fulfill the promises his glare had already made.
"We are not his allies and you picked the wrong side."
Carl's eyes got huge as he realized Malcolm meant to grab him. Jana pushed Carl forward, surprising him and Malcolm caught him in his arms. Immediately, her mate threw the other man to the floor.
"Couple of questions, and I'm not as nice as my Jana."
Carl's head banged on the ground with the force of Malcolm's elbow pushed against it. "I'll tell you whatever you want but you might want to be careful. All I do is make a small noise and I'll have fifty wolves on you and this time there won't be any dark field to hide you."
"Ha. I don't have to make a noise."
The door banged open again and Westervelt wolves plowed into the room. Jana had to smile. It had been too long since she'd seen them assembled like this. Standing at the front with his head tilted to the side was Gabriel Kane. With the absence of Kendrick, Gabriel seemed less intimidating than he had when she was a child. Not to mention, he was looking at Malcolm for direction. Things had obviously changed with the Kanes.
In what Jana assumed was his quick round up of the odds, Carl scanned the room.
Finally sighing, he looked up into the eyes of her mate and Jana saw terror in his brown gaze. She snorted. Had it just occurred to the man that it was a bad idea to taunt a bunch of wolves? It was highly likely you would get eaten.
She bent down. "Let's start with question number one, shall we? You lured Malcolm here on purpose. That much is obvious. How did you know to hire his security company?"
Carl's eyes darted left and right, as he tried to look anywhere but at her. She blinked twice and realized from the dry feeling that she wore her wolf in her eyes. It seemed to be disturbing the little man. Smiling, she tried not to laugh. So much for his wanting her sexually.
I still want you. Malcolm's voice filled her mind.
You'd better.
"Kendrick told me to."
Behind them, Gabriel Kane hissed a breath. "Damn it. He is still getting way too much information from us. What is the point of neutralizing a traitor if another one is just going to pop up?"
"You'll never stop him. He's a genius, he's a god. Kendrick creates life."
Jana rolled her eyes and looked back at Carl. "Are you on drugs? He creates monstrosities."
"All of our inside operations are going to have to be altered and once again we are going to have to ferret out a traitor." Gabriel looked tired and Malcolm moved to continue the interrogation.
"How did you know Jana was a wolf?"
"Kendrick told me." Jana dwelled on that for a moment. The devil incarnate had known who she was. How many other women were in precarious situations and didn't even know it? It wasn't bad enough they'd had to leave their homes, or never knew their wolf heritage, now they had to be on guard all the time from Kendrick?
"Where are the made-wolves and how many are running around New York City?"
"The wolves are here. You can't smell them anymore. You can't see them unless we want you to. It's really quite pathetic how completely clueless you are." Carl motioned with the top of his chin towards a full-length mirror that hung from the wall. Jana stared at the mirror. Wow. This place crawled with secrets.
Gabriel moved forward and ripped the mirror off the wall, revealing a hidden door.
The mirror hit the ground hard and shattered into a thousand pieces. Jana sucked in her breath at the noise. If they'd been human they would worry that mirror breaking was a sign of bad luck to come. By contrast, the wolves in the room were trying to hide their smiles at Gabriel's display. It was a clear 'fuck you' to both Carl and Kendrick. Breaking something that belonged to them was akin to peeing on their doorstep. It was insulting, plain and simple.