one. York knew that the deal he had struck with Agent Porath had given them the space they needed to take care of this his way. Now they just needed to get everyone on board, and maybe rehearse a few things, before they set the final steps of the plan into motion.
He needed to eat, shove some carbs into his face, to get back some brainpower to make sure that whatever he’d concocted was the best course of action. Thankfully, when Johanna showed up an hour late—because let’s face it, she knew shifters and how they were with their mates in the morning—she had brought with her a bag full of assorted bagels and a few different kinds of schmears. He went for his two favorites: sesame bagel with strawberry cream cheese and a poppy seed bagel with jalapeno cream cheese.
A little something sweet.
A little something spicy.
Just like his Josie.
“You think of everything,” he told his mother between mouthfuls.
“You eat like a monster,” Josie teased.
“Oh, you better get used to the eating habits of shifters. We eat like it’s going out of style. Just wait until you have little ones, you’ll surely feel the need to buy a dairy farm just to keep them in milk.”
York’s bite froze on the way to his mouth. They hadn’t discussed kids, but they sure hadn’t used any condoms. He hadn’t even thought to ask if Josie wanted kids, or if she was on any contraceptives. Not that those were effective against shifter sperm.
Josie patted her still flat stomach. “Well, so long as they get a little bit of my magical blood, I won’t mind. Though, I don’t think I’d be very good on a dairy farm. I bet I could grow a mean crop, though.”
At her words, York felt his heart expand to about three times its normal size. She winked at him before taking a bite from his bagel.
“Right,” Johanna said finally, “well, I know we can absolutely trust two people in the bank. Jordyn and Vern. We could use them if we need to. I know they’re loyal, and we can definitely make it worth their while. Besides, they will never be in harm’s way.”
“I like that,” Josie agreed. “That they won’t be in harm’s way. They’re both so sweet, I wouldn’t want them to be hurt at all.”
“But, we have to be careful,” York cut in. “Josie mentioned that Steiner had jaguar guards.
Johanna’s face darkened. “Does he now.” Her tone was clipped, indicating that his mother had the same suspicions he did.
Josie’s eyes went to him, then to Johanna, then back again. “Wait. What? What does that mean? What did I miss?”
“You didn’t miss anything, love. You’re just new to our world, so you don’t have all of the information that you would need to make the connection we did.”
“We could be wrong,” Johanna argued with no real feeling.
York sent her a disbelieving frown. “Right. But we aren’t, are we?” He could feel the nervous energy rolling off of Josie, so he turned toward her to explain. “Lewis Nolan, one of our board members, is a jaguar shifter. He is a difficult man to please, and he doesn’t like us much. He has a lot of resentment against the family. He never liked that Dad had so much luck with numbers. Nolan’s own bank and financial firm went under during the Great Depression. He never forgave the Warwicks for not meeting the same fate.”
“Never mind that we gave the entire pack good jobs,” Johanna shrugged like it didn’t sting. It did. They had tried to keep the Nolans afloat, but instead of being grateful, they were irate and combative.
“So, you think that Nolan is Steiner’s man on the inside?” Josie asked.
York shook his head. “Maybe. But we have a lot of jaguars on the payroll, from executives to security guards. Maybe Steiner is blackmailing the whole pack, or maybe he has told the Nolans that he’ll help them set up their own firm. Who knows? All I do know is that I don’t like coincidences. This feels connected.”
“Oh!” Josie gasped. “You said that this could be a test job Steiner has me doing, right? What if the end game is to steal enough from you that you go under, and then the Nolans come out on top?”
York nodded, crossing his arms. “That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking.”
“Then let’s keep Nolan in mind as we go through the plan,” Johanna cut in. “We need to make sure he doesn’t spot anything.