The Finding (41 page)

“Right.” She
shifted on the bed and looked away, a slight blush staining her
cheeks.

Bryan decided
not to press the topic further, though it was one that weighed
heavily on his mind. He and Cassie as mates... Now that he was over
the initial shock, he found the idea more and more intriguing.
Exploring a relationship with her might be fun, but now was not the
time. Instead he stood up and tugged her to her feet. “Come on. The
others are probably wondering what we’re doing.”

Chapter
18

Bryan knocked
on the door to Ryne’s room and then let himself in. The Alpha had
taken a small suite of rooms. This particular one featured a table
and chairs, a small couch, TV and bar fridge. Two doors led off the
one wall, probably to a bathroom and bedroom. There was no sign of
Mel or Elise, but Kane and Ryne looked up from the laptop they were
gathered around. Pulling Cassie in after him, he shut the door and
then gestured towards the computer screen where a map was
displayed. “What’s that?”

Ryne answered.
“Daniel just sent us a blueprint of Aldrich’s penthouse.”

“And the
security schemata.” Kane added.

The two
brothers were almost identical. Equal in height, Kane was a bit
more heavily muscled with glowing amber eyes while Ryne was on the
leaner side, with obvious whipcord strength and bright, piercing
blue eyes. Little wonder, Cassie confused one for the other. Unless
they were side by side looking at you, it was hard to tell them
apart. Bryan drew her forward to his side from where she’d been
standing behind him.

“Ryne, Kane.
This is Cassandra Greyson.” Bryan could feel her slight tremors and
squeezed her hand in assurance before stepping away. It was
important that she meet her Alpha on her own.

Cassie cast a
‘why did you just abandon me look’ at Bryan then visibly swallowed
before giving a ghost of a smile and quietly offering an
unenthusiastic greeting. “Hi.”

“Cassandra.”
Kane nodded his head, but seemed to be more concerned with Bryan
than the new comer. The fact that the Alpha was still jealous after
all these years, amused Bryan, and if he hadn’t been concerned with
Cassie, he might have teased Kane by mentioning Elise. As it was,
he ignored the man’s steady stare and focussed on the other two
occupants of the room.

Ryne was
circling around Cassie; as the Alpha of the pack, it was instinct
for him to check out the newest member. With narrowed eyes, he took
her measure, inhaling deeply, learning her scent. His body brushed
against Cassie’s as he moved around her, invading her personal
space and testing her nerve. She trembled, but held her ground.

After a moment
of studying her, Ryne lifted one corner of his mouth and spoke
teasingly, a twinkle in his eye. “So this is the one who’s causing
all the problems?”

Bryan watched
as Cassie visibly cringed and took a half step back. He winced. Bad
move. Up until then, she’d been doing so well, too. While wolves
were subservient to the Alpha, they needed to show some spine or
they’d end up in the Omega position.

Ryne stilled at
her retreat and stared down at her, no doubt assessing her level of
fear. Cassie seemed to wilt even further. Bryan was sure he could
almost hear her knees knocking together. Her hands were clenched
tight at her side and her lower lip trembled. He was sure she was
reliving the night she’d seen Ryne for the first time. Poor kid;
that was no way to feel on your first presentation to the
Alpha.

Even though it
broke all protocol, his protective instincts sprang to life in the
face of her obvious discomfort. He stepped in front of her,
blocking her from Ryne’s view. “Yes, this is Cassie, but she’s
hardly causing a problem.”

“No?” Ryne
quirked an eyebrow at him, a slight smirk on his face as if he knew
something Bryan didn’t and found it extremely amusing. “She’s got a
Beta and two Alphas all converging illegally in the Chicago pack’s
territory. I’d say that’s stirring up trouble.”

“Hardly her
fault. You and Kane are here because of Marla and Aldrich, not
because of her friend. If anything, she’s done us a favour since
the situation unexpectedly revealed where Marla’s been hiding and
gives us a reason to go after Aldrich ourselves.”

“True.” Ryne
folded his arms and cocked his head. “Bryan, if I didn’t know
better, I’d say you were overly attached to Miss Greyson. I don’t
think I’ve ever seen you leap to the defence of someone quite that
quickly.”

“Quite telling,
isn’t it?” Kane looked smug and seemed to relax as if a weight had
been lifted from his shoulders. “I think Miss Greyson is getting
some preferential treatment from your Beta, Ryne.”

Bryan shrugged
feeling a bit embarrassed and struggling not to show it. There’d
been no need to defend Cassie from Ryne, he should have known that,
but something had come over him. “Yeah, well she’s new to the whole
werewolf thing and didn’t realize you were teasing.” He tried to
bluff his way out of the situation.

“Hmm.” Ryne
stared at Bryan a moment longer before turning his attention back
to Cassie, holding out his hand. “I apologize. I didn’t intend to
upset you at our first meeting. Instincts take over sometimes. I’m
Ryne Taylor and this is my brother, Kane Sinclair. Welcome to the
pack.”

Kane must have
noticed how she furrowed her brow at the different last names.
“Half brothers. Same mother, different fathers.”

Cassie nodded
in understanding as she shook hands before shoving them in her back
pockets. She looked at the two men, then dropped her gaze in
obvious discomfort at still being the centre of attention. Bryan
cleared his throat and everyone looked at him.

“So where are
Elise and Mel?”

“Melody’s
having a nap.” Ryne supplied with a bit of a grin. “She’s tired
from the long trip.

“And Elise is
on the phone talking to Helen and checking on the children.”

Bryan nodded.
“Okay, then I’ll fill you two in on what Cassie and I found out so
far.” They all sat down and he began. “Daniel found the address
where they’re holding Kellen Anderson, Cassie’s...er...friend. It’s
Aldrich’s place; a high rise. We checked the building out before
coming here. The front door has a controlled entry plus a security
guard and the underground parking is only accessible with a key
card.”

“So we can’t
just walk in.” Kane folded his arms and leaned back in his
chair.

“Nope. And we
need proof that Anderson is actually in the building. Just because
Hugh—he’s the goon—said he’d there, doesn’t mean the information is
good.”

“Or that he’s
even still alive.” Ryne added.

Cassie gave a
gasp, her gaze flying to Bryan’s. Bryan grimaced at Ryne’s lack of
tact, but knew it was a fact they had to face.” He nodded slowly.
“So we need some proof.”

“Have them send
a picture via cell phone. It has to show Anderson and today’s
paper.” Ryne smirked. “Isn’t that how they do it in the
movies?”

“Good idea.”
Bryan pulled out his cell phone.

Cassie grabbed
his arm. “Let me call. I’m the one they want.”

He hesitated,
but then nodded knowing she probably needed to feel as if she were
doing something for her friend. As he watched her dial the number,
he wondered yet again exactly what her relationship with Kellen
was.

*****

“See Leon? It
was no trouble at all.” Sylvia smiled warmly as she patted his
hand. Aldrich smiled back and adjusted the silk scarf that covered
his breathing tube. He closed his eyes briefly as she laid her hand
on his brow.

“You’re a
trifle warm, Leon. Are you feeling well?” She inquired, a look of
concern in her eyes.

“Yes, just
excited about a certain business project that is finally coming
together. No need to fuss.” The chastisement was delivered gently
and he boldly reached out and patted her hand.

“That’s why I’m
here. To fuss over you.” Sylvia put away her equipment, then slowly
wiped the counter down with a disinfectant.

Aldrich watched
her work, not rushing off as he usually did. There was something
soothing about being with Sylvia.

“Leon, have you
thought any more about going for a walk with me one day? The
weather’s quite lovely, but the forecast says it won’t last.” She
stared at the counter she was wiping as if too shy to actually look
at him. Aldrich found it refreshing after the bold advances of Miss
Matthews.

“Ah, Sylvia.”
He sighed and responded regretfully. “It’s not that I don’t want to
go for a walk with you...”

She turned to
face him, the cloth clutched in her hands. “Leon, I know I’m
probably out of line talking to you like this, but it isn’t good
for you to be inside all the time. You’re pale and look stressed.
Some fresh air and sunshine would do wonders for you.”

“Sylvia, the
world isn’t a safe place—”

“Pshaw! That’s
just an excuse and you know it. Lots of handsome, wealthy men
stroll about freely. You need to realize that you’re letting your
wealth and position make you a prisoner. What good is it, if you
never get out to enjoy life?”

Aldrich stared
at her impassioned face. Her eyes sparkled and her cheeks glowed
becomingly. “Well, perhaps...”

A smile spread
across her face. “We could go for a walk together through the park.
There’s a lovely cafe I know that serves tea. Or perhaps you’d come
to my home to see my garden? I make a wonderful lemon loaf that we
could share on the back patio.”

He chuckled
over her enthusiastic response, but his laughter stopped at the
sound of a snort from behind him.

“Really,
Sylvia. Mr. Aldrich is much too busy to spend his time cavorting
through your garden and eating mediocre pastry out of doors. He has
several important meetings and a slew of paper work to deal with.”
Miss Matthews stood in the doorway looking down her nose at Sylvia,
a faint sneer twisting her blood red lips.

“Oh...” Sylvia
wilted under the condemning look. The sparkle left her eyes and her
shoulders slumped. “Of course. How foolish of me.” She twisted the
cloth in her hands and then turned back to the counter. “I’ll just
finish up here and let you get back to work then.”

“No!” Aldrich
reached out and touched Sylvia’s arm. “She’s wrong.” He glared at
his personal assistant. “Miss Matthews, I am well aware of my
schedule. If I choose to cancel a meeting and spend time otherwise
occupied, it is none of your concern. I will talk to you later.
You’re dismissed”

Miss Matthews'
mouth opened in surprise then snapped shut. She pivoted on her
stiletto heels and marched out of the room her whole bearing
betraying her disapproval.

Turning, he
addressed Sylvia who was looking at him with obvious confusion.
“Sylvia, there is nothing I’d like better than to go for a walk
with you. How about tomorrow morning around ten-thirty?”

“Really? Leon
that would be splendid!” She beamed up at him and he tentatively
reached out to take her hand.

“Perhaps I
could even take you out for lunch?”

*****

Marla stomped
into her office, barely resisting the urge to slam the door. How
could Aldrich even consider spending time with that woman? And he
was taking Sylvia out to lunch! In three years the man had never so
much as bought her, his very own personal assistant, a cup of
coffee!

She ran her
hands through her hair and gave a silent scream of fury. It was
ridiculous, preposterous even, that Aldrich was attracted to Sylvia
Robinson and not her. For three years she’d all but thrown herself
at the man and gotten nowhere. But Sylvia... All she had to do was
suction up some mucous and the man was almost salivating over
her.

Looking around
the room Marla wished she had something to throw or break to ease
the anger and frustration inside her. Of course, everything in the
room was too expensive to destroy so she resorted to dumping the
recycling bin and tossing balled up pieces of paper about the room.
It wasn’t nearly as satisfying as the crashing sound of breaking
glass, but it was all she dared allow herself.

Marla couldn’t
let Aldrich or Sylvia know how upset she really was. That would
never do. She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
Plopping down in her desk chair, she turned to pick up the phone,
then blinked in surprise as she noticed the shadowy reflection of
her wolf on the blank computer screen. It was pitiful creature, a
dull grey colour that she’d never liked. Snorting derisively, she
shook her head. It had been such a disappointment the first time
she’d transformed. Honestly, why couldn’t she at least have had a
wolf that suited her image.

A cold
heartless image
, her wolf reminded her.

“So?” She
snapped back at the wolf annoyed with its comment.

Is that how you
want to be seen? Little wonder you had few friends in the pack.

“I didn’t need
friends in the pack. Besides, they were all dull. Happy to be stuck
in a little hick town, living lives that went nowhere.”

You had a
few friends and you could have had
more,
if you’d
tried. Instead you pushed everyone away.

She shrugged.
“They weren’t worth the effort. Besides, I didn’t want to stay
there. I wanted to make something of my life.”

Make something
of your life? Like what? You work all alone in a luxurious
apartment with no friends. You go home to an empty apartment. The
man you’ve been trying to catch shows more interest in a middle
aged woman than he does in you...

“No! That’s not
true. I have a lovely apartment. I spend time with Jeffries—”

Who only wants
you for sex.

She ignored the
interjection and continued on. “And I’m getting rid of Sylvia. Then
Aldrich will notice me.”

I won’t be a
part of it this time
, the wolf warned.