know I’m going to ask what this is about,” Jenner said, jerking his head toward Kenyon. It wasn’t exactly a friendly introduction, but Kenyon seemed unfazed. He simply waited, as Jenner did, for Bane’s answer. If there had been any doubt in Mia’s mind that Bane was as powerful as Jenner among the Blackpaw, those were dispelled right then. Just because the power sat easily on Bane didn’t mean it wasn’t there...and she could see now that it was, in spades.
Bane took a pull from his soda, then set it on the rough-hewn coffee table in front of him. When he spoke, he surprised Mia by addressing her.
“Should be pretty obvious. I need to know everything you know about Jeff Gaines, Mia. How you met, who he is—or pretended to be. Why he might want to hurt you.”
She went cold, but there was no hint of malice in Bane’s expression. This was what she’d been waiting for, turning over what to say in her mind since last night. Maybe it would be a relief to have it done.
“I—”
“The Silverback don’t need to be involved in this,” Jenner interrupted. “Whatever she’s got to say doesn’t concern them. You could have mentioned you were bringing company.”
Bane’s eyes narrowed as he turned his attention to Jenner, who didn’t look the least bit fazed.
“The Silverback have a right to be involved,” Bane said. “Looks like the feral may have been one of theirs.” When Jenner started to reply, Bane held up a hand in silent warning.
“After, Jenner. Let Mia talk. Then Chase can explain.”
Jenner went very still, and Mia noted the way his expression went carefully blank. There was an order to things here, and she’d just been reminded of it. So had Jenner, whether he liked it or not. And whatever he was to the pack, he wasn’t Alpha. Still, he took his time complying. Mia watched him stretch his legs out in front of him as he leaned back in the chair, appearing to mull this over. Finally, he looked at Mia.
“Go ahead.”
As gruff as he was, there was something about the tone of his voice that bolstered her. She took a deep breath, then began.
“I met Jeff about a month ago.”
Bane tilted his head, an action she’d seen from Jenner when he was interested in something.
“Work?” he asked. Mia shook her head.
“No. Bookstore. It was just one of those things. I was thumbing through the new Stephen King, and he struck up a conversation. He was a fan, too, so we started talking...”
“Go figure,” Jenner muttered. Mia ignored him, though she supposed it was fitting. Just as she knew she had to sound very naive. The chances that their meeting had just been “one of those things” were slim to none. She knew that now. How long had Jeff been stalking her, waiting to make a move? How had he known about her at all?
“It really isn’t very interesting,” Mia continued. “We exchanged numbers. Went out a few times. He said he came from money but was trying to make his own. He has a financial consulting firm. At least...that’s what he said. I believed him. He was comfortable throwing money around, but he...seemed to have some issues with it too.”
“Issues?” Bane murmured.
Mia nodded, suddenly embarrassed. Her cheeks flushed despite her best efforts to stop it. “He depended on the family money, but he talked a lot about wanting to prove himself. About not being thought good enough to take over the company one day. There had been problems between him and his father before he died, and Jeff wanted to build something great on his own. He wanted...” She trailed off and sighed, remembering those conversations. Jeff had been more than determined. He’d been angry. She’d chalked it up to being raised indifferently and with far too much, but she knew now that at least some of the problem had been within Jeff himself.
“He wanted lots of things. He could be charming. He could also be moody.”
Jenner was looking at her strangely. “You liked that? Charming and moody?”
Mia shrugged while Jenner ignored Bane’s glare. “Everyone has baggage. I liked him. Obviously, I didn’t really know him. This weekend would have been the most time we’d spent together at once. Maybe I would have noticed more was wrong if it had worked out that way, but he saved me the trouble.” She looked away, remembering. “He surprised me with this. I thought the whole whirlwind getaway thing was kind of romantic.