Taze (Rise of the Pride #11) - Theresa Hissong Page 0,64

off the keys from her friend. “I’m so tired. You can drive.”

She looked out the window on the drive back to the pride and daydreamed about Taze. She’d caught herself getting lost in visions of them together all damned day. At that rate, she wasn’t getting any work done.

During the morning appointments, she had searched for Holden Manzelli and still couldn’t find anything worth reporting on. It stumped her as to who the male really was, and given he’d used an alias with the rogues told her that his real name could be something easily found. What could the male possibly be hiding in his background? His real name had to mean he was linked into something, or someone, that could get him into a lot of trouble.

The Amburos were pretty much off her radar. There’d been no more links between the agent and the sister that she knew. Agent Murdock wasn’t listed on any of the papers the brother and sister had come to sign, either. So, she didn’t think Murdock was going to do anything crazy like marry the female. To Calla, it sounded like a marriage of convenience if there had been some sort of prenup involved, but there just wasn’t anything tying them all together.

Unless…

“Holy shit!” she gasped, causing Hope to jerk in her seat.

“What the hell, Calla?” Hope scolded. “You scared me to death.”

“I’ve got it!” she cheered, but along with the excitement of putting it together, she felt fear roll down her spine. “What does Agent Murdock scent like?”

“I don’t know,” Hope frowned. “Like nothing, really. Other than some bad cologne. What are you going on about?”

“I have to call Talon,” she said as she scrambled to dig her phone out of her purse. She’d call him and give him a heads up that she was on her way with information. He probably needed to gather everyone and get the sheriff involved. “Stop at the house as soon as we get there. I think I finally found Holden Manzelli.”

Chapter Sixteen

Every Guardian and Protector was at the alpha’s home by the time they arrived. Sheriff Lynch was at Talon’s side as she entered the office. Taze was to her left, and she fought the lust she felt when his mating scent crossed her senses. She couldn’t think of him right now, because she had a more pressing issue to announce.

“What did you find out today?” Talon stood from his seat and nodded toward Savage to close the office door.

“Holden Manzelli is a fake name,” she began, standing tall. “We all know that, but what I couldn’t figure out was why the fake name? Wolf alphas have an ego, and they’d want their real name spread to show their enemies who to fear.”

“Understood.” Talon nodded for her to continue.

“Looking at the actions of the Amburo family, I dug through the paperwork to see if maybe Murdock was planning on marrying the sister. You’d think they would have made him sign a prenuptial agreement or something, right?”

“That family has a lot of money,” Talon agreed.

“There wasn’t a thing. Only a power of attorney for the sister to act on her brother’s behalf if he wasn’t around to sign a document.” She ran her hands through her hair and paced a little, finally looking into the eyes of every single Guardian and Protector. Those males and females were her family. She wanted them safe, and they needed to stop the war.

“What are you saying, Calla?” Talon pressed.

“Okay.” She paused to take a deep breath. “Agent Murdock is seeing Magan Amburo. The brother is a known drug lord. He’s made a few trips to the states in a short amount of time. During that time, your capture of Gadaí netted a lot of the drug, Khat. The more I thought about the alias and the Amburo brother, the more I felt the dots connecting.”

She held out her hands as the males surged. They felt her panic, but this time it wasn’t because of her own issues. This was huge news.

“Talon, I have reason to believe that Agent Murdock is Holden Manzelli,” she announced, waiting for the room to calm down when everyone exploded into a volley of curses and heated growls coming from their panthers. “It makes a lot of sense.”

“But he’s human,” Talon reminded her.

“Is he?” she asked with a raised brow. “Hope said he scented of nothing except his expensive cologne. Everyone, even humans, have a specific scent. He doesn’t, and I assure you the oils they