forward in Judd’s lap. He focused on putting down his drink, because he was suddenly afraid that he’d spill it. His fingers felt numb.
Kevin didn’t trust him.
Judd, reactive, put both hands to Colin’s hips to keep him there, in his lap. For his own comfort or Colin’s? Colin couldn’t be certain. But either way it was… nice.
“I’m not leaving,” he reassured the enforcer.
But I don’t want to see her again, he wanted to cry to his Alpha. I just got away from her. And now I have to go, not only because my Alpha asks it of me, but because I must prove I can, to my dumb brother.
“Alpha, that’s not fair.” Judd’s voice was a grumble of defense, enforcer challenge.
Alec shook his head. “That’s why I’m sending Isaac as well. Tank’s too submissive to be useful when there’s no actual fighting involved. No offense, Tank.”
The biggest wolf of their pack looked up from his station at the front. He was far enough away by human standards to make his reaction seem odd, but werewolves had supernatural hearing. “None taken,” he rumbled back. They heard him just as easily.
“And why not you?” Judd was not backing down.
Alec shook his head. “If the SBI is still with her, that’s way too many Alphas in one place. Even without Agent Lenis, if it’s just me and Lexi Blanc, we won’t share territory well. I can tell you that for certain. It would be better if I never met her face-to-face.”
Colin had a revelation at that. Even though he’d never talked to Alec about what it had been like for him as a child, Kevin probably had. Before Kevin left for college, his eyes used to look at Colin with nothing but sibling affection mixed with elder brother annoyance. Afterwards, there was always guilt in Kevin’s gaze. So, of course, Kevin would have talked to Alec about it. About what he feared. About how damaged Colin had become.
And Alec was Alpha. The Mangnall brothers were his pack. So if Alec had to confront their mother, knowing what she’d done to them? If Alec had to witness one moment of her behavior towards them? There’d be teeth and blood and mess. Because Alec was civilized and sweet, a young geeky biologist, but he was still Alpha. They were his, and she’d hurt them, and he couldn’t breathe the same air as her under those circumstances.
But this was still a political situation, especially with the SBI around, Trick’s safety on the line, and Heavy Lifting’s reputation in play. So Alec, who fought smart all the way up until he couldn’t anymore, refused to put himself in a position of having to muffle his instincts to protect – unless it was utterly necessary.
Colin realized he was staring at his Alpha, mouth open. “You can’t go, can you?” Alec would try to kill his mother. Lexi Blanc would open her mouth and he’d just hate her too much.
Alec’s smile was brief and pained. “Not yet. We need to know more, we need to know everything. But if necessary, I’ll take her out of play. Right now, it’s not necessary. I’m not necessary.”
“I am,” said Isaac.
Colin wanted to cry out that he himself wasn’t necessary either. That he’d already done his part! Except that in figuring out why Alec couldn’t go, he understood why he had to.
“With Isaac there, having both Kevin and me will help.”
Isaac nodded. “You’ll throw her off balance. She obviously wanted to keep you two separate. Otherwise, why approach you individually, and hire Kevin separately? We need all her sins thrown at her at once. I want to see how she is around you as brothers. Plus you’re stronger together. You always have been. That’s when it all went wrong, no?”
Kevin nodded. “When I left for college.”
A small part of Colin suspected that Alec was sending him back, so that he, Colin, learned he could be strong in the face of his mother. “Okay, but Kevin I need to talk to you first. It’s not pack business. I don’t wanna do this in front of everybody.”
Alec’s hazel eyes were soft. “Whatever you need, Col, we’re here for it, or not here, as the case may be.”
“What about me?” wondered Trick.
“You stay working, like you have been doing. Tank, Max, and Bryan will keep you safe. Couldn’t ask for better protection, I promise.”
Colin said, “I’m sorry, Trick, it can’t be easy for you. The SBI basically admitted they were using you as bait.”