shook his head. “No, but it’s good to present a united front, so I just nod along as if in agreement with Valentina. What did my son have to say for himself anyway?”
Dominic quickly explained what Alex had told him about this Norton guy, adding that the wolverine didn’t believe the other male was responsible for putting out the hit. By the time Dominic was finished, both Valentina and Alex had quieted. “Alex thinks it could be one of Vinnie’s enemies.”
“It’s possible,” said James, pursing his lips. “He has quite a few of them.”
Valentina put her hands on her hips. “I will slit your brother’s throat if he is responsible, Alpha or not.”
Wincing, James turned to his mate and worked to calm her down.
Dominic nuzzled his cat, who’d relaxed enough to stop glaring at her sibling. “Mila, time to come back. We need you to give us your input.”
The cat shot him a truly disgruntled look before hopping off the sofa and leaving the room. When Mila walked in moments later dressed in shorts and a tee, she narrowed her eyes at Alex, who was once again relaxed in the chair and munching jerky.
“Your cat’s a vicious bitch,” Alex told her, approval coloring every syllable.
Mila snorted at what her cat took as a compliment even as she bared a fang at him. “And yet, you continue to invade her territory. But then, that’s what assholes do.”
“Easy there, Skindiana Jones—”
“I told you to drop that!”
“—I only just got back, my cupboards are virtually empty.” Alex shrugged. “Besides, it’s not like you eat anything. Or, at least, you don’t look like you do. Seriously, you could hula hoop with a Cheerio.”
Valentina clapped her hands. “No more of this! You have not seen each other in months, and this is how you behave? Why not greet each other with hugs?”
Mila snickered. “I’d rather remove my spleen with a rusty blade. Well, actually, his spleen would be my first choice.”
“See, she hates me,” said Alex.
“I don’t hate you. But if you were slipping off a cliff, I’d go get some popcorn.”
Dominic winced as Valentina yelled something in Russian that had both her children snapping their mouths shut. He had the feeling that it had been a threat of some sort.
“Fine,” said Mila. “We have a serious matter to discuss anyway.” She didn’t resist when Dominic curled an arm around her waist and tugged her onto his lap. “How sure are you that this John Norton person didn’t order the hit?” she asked her brother.
“I can’t be certain that it’s not him, but I strongly doubt that it is—really, it’s not the type of thing he does.” Alex’s gaze cut to Dominic. “Maybe it’s one of your enemies.”
“There’s Pierson,” James said to Dominic. “He wants to hurt you. Hurting Mila would hurt you. He might have even just wanted her out of the way to clear the path for his daughter.”
Valentina’s brows lifted. “It is possible. He is human, but he could have found some way to do it. Or even paid a lone shifter to arrange the hit for him.”
“Who’s Pierson?” asked Alex.
Dominic gave him a quick rundown of the situation. “It can’t be Pierson, though. The first attack on Mila happened before she and I got together.”
Alex crumpled up his empty bag of jerky and tossed it in the trash. “When did you first meet the guy?”
“The day after I met Mila, as it happens.” Dominic massaged her nape, wanting that last bit of tension to melt from her muscles. “I met him at a restaurant with some of my pack mates, which didn’t go so well. Then . . . Shit.”
“What?” asked Mila.
Dominic looked at her. “That same day, I drove to the barbershop to see you. He could have had someone follow me.”
Mila shrugged. “So? All they would have seen is you getting a haircut.”
“And writing my number on your palm. Like your dad said, Pierson could have just wanted you out of the way for his daughter’s sake. He’s demonstrated that there isn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her—and I think that’s mostly to keep her mental state as stable as possible.” Dominic silently swore, berating himself for not already considering it.
“Maybe the daughter did it,” James speculated. “If she was so obsessed with you, Dominic, it makes sense that she would have followed you around. She could have followed you to the restaurant that day, hoping to gauge your reaction to the meeting with her father. If she followed