“For some reason, he must think he can gain her cooperation.” Merc sat stiffly in his chair and Taber could sense his impatience, his discomfort. Merc had been trained in almost complete isolation. There had been no Pride to sustain him, no friends, no confidants in the lab he had been found in. Being closed up in the office with the other men wasn’t easy for him.
“What makes you say that?” Taber asked him carefully. It was no more than he had sensed himself the night before.
“The man is pretty impatient to get to her. Keeps demanding to see his little girl.” The Breed sneered the last two words. “He’s not her father, by the way.”
Taber stared at him in surprise. “He told you this?”
“He didn’t have to tell me.” He snorted. “You can smell it if you take the time to try. There’s no relationship there. Scents are all off.”
Taber looked at Callan. His leader hadn’t mentioned this ability the newest member of their Pride had. Callan only lifted his shoulders in reply and gave a short shake of his head. Evidently, he hadn’t known either.
“How are the scents off?” Taber asked, watching him curiously. The other man leaned forward in his chair, a frown crossing his lion-like face. “Anyone born of the same blood shares a unique scented bond with their most immediate family. You just have to be able to detect and separate the varied smells to understand it.Reginald Andrews does not share this with the woman he claims as his daughter. He is no relation to her.”
It made sense. Suddenly, more pieces of Roni’s life were beginning to come together.
“So he’s no relation, which means there’s not a chance in hell of any bond keeping him from harming her,” Kane pointed out.
Taber snorted. “There never was.Reginald would sell his own mother to slavers if it would bring him enough money. His only bond is the one he has with his wallet and the bottom of a liquor bottle.”
He rose from his chair, pacing along the room. He was aware of Callan’s gaze following him and the concern from the other members of the meeting.
“How is your relationship with her working out?” Callan asked. Taber shook his head. He wasn’t about to discuss that with any of them. Hell, he wasn’t sure he understood it himself.
“She didn’t seem too pleased with him last night.” Tanner chuckled. “Sounds like he’s holding out on her. Let me guess, you didn’t tell her about the little buddy your c**k has.”
Taber shot his younger brother a withering glare.
Tanner wiped the smile quickly off his face but it lingered along the edges of his lips. Kane chuckled. The damned man was working quickly at getting on his bad side. He was finding too much amusement in this situation.
“Whoever has a leash on Andrews wouldn’t be far away,” Callan spoke up, bringing the conversation back on track. “They would have to be somewhere close.”
“And he’ll have to make contact pretty often without the little bugs that shirt of his carried.” Merc’s voice was hard, lethal. “Those buttons were state of the art, let me tell you. Too bad it got thrown in the wash. Guess he shouldn’t have left such expensive material laying around.”
“Yeah, shit like that happens.” Taber smiled coldly. He would have liked to seeReginald’s reaction to that one. “Keep a close eye on him. I want a report on everyone he talks to, on and off the estate
grounds. Let’s see if we can’t figure out who his handlers are.”
“I have some men on it,” Kane spoke up. “One of them we can possibly use to get close to him. Sometimes, my men can come off as real cat-haters.”
Taber sighed deeply. There were times a few of Kane’s men could have convinced him of it.
“Then we just sit back and wait,” he sighed. Waiting had never been difficult for him before—he was considered one of the most patient of the three males that made up his original pride—but he’d be damned if that patience wasn’t wearing thin now.
“Wait and see how far we can push him.” Kane shrugged as he came to his feet. “We have some contractors coming to the estate today to finish up that fence around the grounds. Keep the women in the house and the curtains closed until they’re gone. I don’t want to take any chances with them. I’ll post guards at all the entrances to be certain no one slips in. Other than that, it’s business as usual.”
Business as usual was becoming a fight to stay alive.
“What about our little gun toting friend?” Taber asked him, wondering about the assassin they were still holding. “Has he talked yet?”
“Not yet.” Kane shrugged. “Pretty soon it won’t matter. We’re running background checks on him now and should have answers soon. When the report comes in, I’ll know every dirty little secret he ever thought he could have hidden. He won’t be a problem for long.”
If Taber or Callan got their hands on him, he wouldn’t be alive long either.
“Okay, everyone knows their jobs today…”
Callan was interrupted when the door to the office was rudely jerked open. Taber turned in surprise to see Roni standing there, a short little sundress gracing her slender body, a frown etched on her brow as her eyes blazed furiously.
That dress was going to drive him insane, Taber thought. The soft cream color was a perfect foil for her skin, bringing out the blue in her eyes, the flush on her cheeks. He wanted to jerk it to her h*ps and take her there in the doorway, pounding into her pu**y until she screamed out her pleasure.