Page 33 of Bonded By Blood
Chapter Nine
“I can’t believe you cut a deal with—”
Tobias cut his brother off with a hard slap across the face. “Just shut up and be grateful, you goddamn idiot.” He leveled a sincere glare at his sibling for a long second before shaking his hand out and turning away. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter who he is. I got you out, didn’t I?”
Troy had the presence of mind to drop his gaze to the dirty carpet beneath their feet. “Yeah. I know I fucked up. I’m sorry.”
“You just better not have said anything.”
“’Course not.”
Tobias studied his moronic brother for a minute in silence. But he didn’t actually think Troy had betrayed him. He wouldn’t have made the effort to orchestrate a rescue if he’d been worried about that in the first place. So he blew out a breath, glanced toward the cheap curtain over the motel window, and said, “Then there’re some things I need to catch you up on, brother.” He waited until Troy met his stare again. “We’ve got a new and improved plan.”
Troy arched a brow with obvious curiosity. “And the boss?”
Tobias fought the juvenile urge to roll his eyes. “I’m not dumb enough to change the script in the middle of the game without clearing it.” That’s your job. “You want to hear the plan or just follow along like a lost puppy?”
“Sorry,” Troy said quickly, holing up a hand as if to defend himself. “I’m listening.”
****
“You’re at least out of lockdown, right?” The concern in Kendall’s voice added a level of guilt to Brianna’s heart. She knew her human daughter wanted to come and be beside her, to offer her support.
“We are, finally,” Brianna replied. But she didn’t want Kendall to get the wrong idea. “Not that you’d know it from the frazzled state of most of the house staff. And I can’t blame them.” It’d been a long time, in fact, since the house had been so panicked.
On the other end of the phone, Kendall drew a deep breath. “But you still don’t want me coming over?”
Brianna glanced reflexively around the sitting room she and Joe had moved to once Jasen had lifted the property-wide lockdown. Less than half the size of her mother’s preferred formal meeting room, and lacking any suspicious witnesses, she allowed herself to be honest. A little. “It’s still not safe, Kendall. We don’t know who helped release Troy from his cell.”
“Then why are you there?”
What was it with her and her strangely practical questions? Brianna felt her lips twitch and she moved to sit on the sofa beside Joe. “We can’t catch the traitor if we’re not around to see them mess up.”
“Isn’t that Jasen’s job? And Seth’s now, too?”
Brianna closed her eyes. “Kendall, I’m fine. I’ve lived through a lot worse than this. We’ll figure it out.”
“You probably have,” Kendall said. “But you know how this could’ve been prevented?” She didn’t pause long enough for Brianna to ask the probative question. “Cameras. You know, security monitoring system, that kinda thing. I know it’s a crazy-new invention, but I’m telling you, Bri, it’s gonna catch on.”
To her right, Brianna heard a muffled male snort of laughter. Apparently, Joe found Kendall funny. Brianna rolled her eyes—at both of them, though only Joe could see her—and said, “I’ll be sure to suggest the upgrade. In the meantime, please be careful, Kendall. Call me if anythi—”
“I know, I know,” Kendall interrupted. “If I see anything suspicious, if I get creeped out, et cetera, et cetera. I will call, I promise. I’m not stupid.”
Brianna let out a sigh and set her phone on the side table once the call was over. Whoever the traitor was, she hoped they weren’t on the list of staff who had Kendall’s in-city address. She hadn’t suggested Kendall go to a fancy hotel, or take a spontaneous trip to Disney World, but she’d been tempted. It was probably selfish of her to be more worried about a girl not even on the premises than most of the people who were. But most of those people were, by default, suspects.
Joe folded a hand around one of hers in her lap. “There’s only so much you can do,” he said. “Try not to worry.”
Brianna offered him a smile. “Sorry.” She turned a bit to face him and threaded her fingers with his. “Kendall is… She’s like a daughter to me. I’ve never been responsible for someone else that way. Sometimes, I don’t know how to handle it.”
“I’m no expert,” Joe said, stroking his thumb over her skin, “but, from what I’ve witnessed, I think that’s called parenting. Totally normal.”
A smile tipped her lips. “Normal, huh?” Brianna scooted properly up against Joe’s side and rested her head on his shoulder. She wished she had the energy for banter.
Joe drew a breath and she suspected she wasn’t the only one not really in a state of mind for lighthearted conversation. “This is probably none of my business,” he said, “but, I’ve been curious for a while, what’s the real story with the Wilsons? I know they’re trouble, but for the most part I only have my experience and Whitney’s story to go on.”
Brianna frowned faintly. “Whitney?”
“Whitney Jefferies. She’s the Luna of the pack of werewolves north of here.”