four guys in there, one in each corner, and the one he signaled walked around the outer edge of the floor to take his place.
Outside, Lucas rounded on me angrily, grabbing my arm to hold me still. “The fuck are you doing here?”
“I told you, we came to talk to––”
“You should be more careful,” he barked, squeezing my bicep to help make his point. “You put yourself up for grabs by walking in here. Omegas have even fewer rights than usual when they come to these kinds of parties.”
“Why the hell’re you manhandling him?” Wade snapped at Lucas. “You need to get your––”
“He’s safe,” Graeme announced to Lucas, and I could feel the pulse of power from him, rolling over me, through me, and saw when it hit Lucas. Hard.
He jolted, and when he turned to face Graeme, he looked scared. From the slight shivering to the wariness in his eyes, Lucas Grant seemed poised to run. It was unnerving to witness.
“Do you know why he’s safe? Would you care to guess?”
Lucas cleared his throat. “Your mate, sir. I apologize. Of course he’s safe, both in your company and as he carries your mark.”
“Holy shit,” Wade gasped beside me.
Lucas Grant was a big man, covered in hard, heavy muscle, and he was tall as well, even taller than Graeme’s own six feet four inches, but still, I knew if they fought, it would be no contest. If my mate wanted to, his innate power being so much greater than Lucas’s, he could snap the bigger man in half.
After a long moment, Graeme gave Lucas the slightest tip of his head, and the relief on Lucas’s face and in his posture was immediate. He trembled for a moment, as though shaking off the paralyzing fear, and then leaned back against the wall, like it was the only thing keeping him vertical. Then he turned to me, looking wrung out.
“I always considered us…maybe not friends, but not just acquaintances, and I know you were sincerely worried about me until you recognized my mate, so can we talk now?”
He nodded.
“We need to know if you saw Imogen Lowell when you grabbed Saoirse from Remy Talmadge’s front porch.”
“Who?” he asked, taking a breath and pushing away from the wall, having recovered from his fright, looking more like the confident beta I knew him to be.
“This girl,” Wade chimed in, holding up his phone to show him a picture of Imogen from the society page.
Lucas took the phone, made the picture bigger, and I saw it on his face when recognition hit. “Yeah, I saw her with…what’s his name, the alpha who was killed in that robbery?”
“What robbery?”
“I dunno. It was downtown, I guess. The only reason I know about it is because it was in the news this morning, and Bridget was reading about it on her tablet. She was surprised because he was one of the alphas who was in negotiations with Linden’s father over his contract.”
“Do you remember his name?”
“Of course, Colby Richter.”
“Why do I know that name?” I asked Lucas.
“Probably because he was at your folks’ party on Friday. He was there, courtin’ Lin like regular. All those guys just need to cough up the cash already. If I wanted an omega, I wouldn’t haggle; I’d pay whatever dowry the family was asking.”
“As would I,” Graeme agreed. “We’re of the same mind.”
Lucas gave him a slight smile.
“Your cousin doesn’t have a gambling debt, does he?” Graeme pronounced. “You need money for something else altogether, do you not?”
I glanced from Lucas to Graeme and then back to Lucas.
He let his head fall back until it hit the wall. “Yes, sir, I do.”
Reaching inside his coat, Graeme pulled out his gold business card holder, took out a card and handed it to Lucas. “I’m always in need of good people to assist with various business pursuits. Do give me a call, and we can discuss your situation.”
Lucas hesitated, then took the card, stared at it, and slowly lifted his head to meet Graeme’s gaze. “I don’t know that I have any skills you would––”
“I’m a cyne, Mr. Grant,” Graeme informed him, his voice deceptively mild. “I suspect you’re not privy to the extent of the various skill sets I might make use of.”
“Yes, sir,” he said, and his smile was wide and real. “Thank you, sir.”
“Now, would you be so kind,” Graeme directed him, “as to give us a timeline of your evening on Friday.”
“Sure,” Lucas replied quickly. “Uhm, Bridget got a call