The Road to Redemption (25 page)

Sam stilled
the pen tapping before beginning again. Something about that small
pause had him narrowing his eyes and trying to read her body
language. She was hesitating, seeming to choose her words
carefully. “Grandfather is very selective in who he wants joining
the pack.”

“Selective?
How so?”

She shrugged.
“You’ve met my grandfather. Not many measure up to his standards.
He’s very demanding and set in his ways. It doesn’t make attracting
new members easy.” Grimacing, she stood up. “I have to tell him
about the message from OPATA. Wish me luck.”

Kane climbed
the stairs to his bedroom suite, humming under his breath. He’d
finally made his move against Chicago. It could have happened
sooner, but he’d wanted to make sure he had a sound case. Now that
he’d played his cards, all he had to do was wait and see what
response Sam Harper—Senior or Junior—came up with. It wouldn’t be
much. They didn’t have a leg to stand on and he had plenty of
ammunition to back his initial offensive, thanks to his own
research and the additional information Damien had given him.

Speaking of
which, he hadn’t heard from Damien in a few days though his silence
wasn’t a huge concern. The Chicago job was a safe assignment
compared to some of the others the man had taken on over the years.
Maybe he was actually relaxing a bit or, more likely, bickering
with Sam Harper’s granddaughter. He chuckled picturing the two
together. It would be good for Damien to have someone challenge
him.

“Elise!” He
called out his mate’s name as he entered the bedroom, eager to
share his news with her.

She was
crouched on the floor, Jacob seated on their bed in front of her.
“Kane? Showing up in time for dinner? I thought you’d be holed up
in your office for at least another three or four hours.” Her smile
was tight and there was an edge to her voice.

His step
faltered. “I said I was sorry for missing dinner last night.”

“And the night
before.”

“Yes, that,
too.”

“It was
Helen’s birthday, you know.”

“I realized
that later on and I apologized to her. Can you give it a rest?” He
took a deep breath and then moved to stand behind her. “Hey there,
buddy, what are you doing?” Reaching out over top of Elise’s head,
he ruffled Jacob’s hair.

Jacob looked
up at him with solemn eyes, his bottom lip pouted outward.

“Jacob? What’s
wrong?” Kane frowned, noting the tinge of pink on his son’s nose
and the faint tracks of dried tears staining his cheeks.

“He’s in
trouble and pouting about it, so don’t encourage him.” Elise pushed
to her feet and Kane finally had a clear view of Jacob’s knees.
Both sported large bandages.

“What
happened?”

Elise gathered
a bloody washcloth and headed into the bathroom, calling out her
explanation. “He was running in the house again, despite being told
not to and took a tumble down the stairs. Thankfully, he only ended
up with scraped knees. He could have broken an arm or hit his
head.”

“Jacob, you
know better than to run in the house.” He lightly scolded the boy.
Instead of looking repentant, Jacob tried to lower his little brows
into a scowl before averting his gaze and folding his arms. Kane
did his best to hide his surprise while murmuring to Elise. “I
think he’s going to take after his Uncle Ryne.”

Elise ignored
his comment, instead brushing past and taking Jacob by the hand.
She led him towards his room. “You’ll stay in your room until
you’re ready to apologize for your bad behaviour.

“Elise, I
don’t think—”

She cast him a
deadly look and Kane stopped speaking.

Once Jacob was
in his room and the door was shut, she turned to him, speaking in
hushed tones. “You don’t think what?”

“Putting him
in his room until he’s ready to apologize – it isn’t a good idea.
He’s stubborn and might not cave in.”

“Then I’ll
wait him out.” She folded her arms and jutted her chin, glaring at
him.

“Elise—”

“And don’t
criticize how I discipline the children. You can’t come waltzing in
here—”

“I didn’t
waltz
in—”

“And expect to
take over—”

“I wasn’t
trying to take over—”

“When you’re
never around!”

“I am not
‘never around’. I’m here at least as much as you are.”

“I mean here
with me and the children, not locked up in your office.”

“It’s not like
I’m hiding or having a good time, you know. I’m working.”

“And, of
course, that’s the most important thing.”

“Well, the
Chicago deal certainly is important. It’s what’s going to stop
this.” He waved his hand between them. They’d both acknowledged the
bickering between them was getting out of hand and that his plans
for expansion would solve the problem.

“But will it
really?”

“What do you
mean?”

“Will
splitting the pack really mean you’ll have more time? Or is it just
another way to look impressive for High Council?”

“Impressive?”

“That’s right.
Impressive. You started talking about the Chicago takeover right
after rumours began that High Council was mentioning your name.”
Elise straightened the bedspread, her movements brisk. “Ever since
then Chicago and High Council are all you talk about, all you think
about…”

“That’s not
so.”

“Yes it is.
Don’t forget, I’m privy to your thoughts and feelings, Kane
Sinclair. Work figures a lot more prominently than the children or
I ever do.”

“That’s only
because things are busy right now.”

“And, of
course, having two packs to watch over will push the children and
me to the top of your priority list.”

“Elise—”

“Kane, it will
be twice the work. Two sets of books, two pack meetings, you’ll
have to fly out there several times a year.”

“It won’t be
like that. I’ll appoint someone—”

“Who? Who do
you trust enough to handle all that authority? Certainly not John.
You hardly let the man do anything around here.”

“I trust
John.”

“Then you need
to show it. He spends half his time twiddling his thumbs.”

“That has
nothing to do with Chicago.”

“No, but it’s
something you need to consider. If you don’t start using him,
you’re going to lose a good man.

“All right.
Fine. I’ll talk to him.” He rubbed his neck wondering how the
conversation had become so off topic. “The point is, we both agreed
that Chicago—”

“No, we
didn’t.
I
never agreed. I said
maybe
Chicago was an
option we could look at, and you jumped on that as an excuse to do
what you wanted.” She stopped straightening the covers and looked
him in the eye. “I’ve gone along with it, but there’s this sinking
feeling in my stomach that it’s wrong. The wrong move, the wrong
time. Just…wrong.”

“It’s not the
wrong move. You’re worrying over nothing.” He stepped forward and
placed his hands on her shoulders. “I’ve contacted OPATA and
they’ve forwarded my official bid to take over the Chicago
pack.”

Elise twisted
away and moved to stare out the window. He tried to read her mind
but was surprised to find she’d locked him out.

“Elise, what’s
this really about?”

“It’s about
us. Or the lack of ‘us’. There’s you and there’s me, but we’re
separate from each other.”

“No we’re
not.” He scoffed at the idea. “We’re blood bonded—”

“But that
seems to be all we have. And it’s not even doing us much good.” She
turned to face him. “Do you know how long I’ve been blocking
you?”

“Well, right
now and—”

“Two days,
Kane. And you didn’t even notice, did you?”

“I don’t keep
constant tabs on you. That’s not what a blood bond is for.”

“I realize
that, but you should have noticed, at least once, that it was
missing.”

“I was
busy—”

“Exactly.
You’re busy. You have no idea what’s going on in my life.”

He folded his
arms. “You’re renovating the Grey Goose.”

She arched her
brow. “And what else?”

Kane searched
his memory, trying to recall anything else she’d said, but came up
blank.

“See?”

He rubbed his
forehead. “Elise, I’m tired. I came up here hoping to tell you
about Chicago and grab a nap before the pack meeting tonight.”

“Fine. Go take
a nap. Don’t let me and my petty concerns about our relationship
get in your way.”

“Elise—”

The sound of
crying interrupted him.

“Leah’s
awake.” Elise brushed past him and shut the door firmly behind
her.

Kane stared at
the closed panel and cursed softly. Why did Elise have to pick now
to be so difficult. He was trying his best, dammit.

Sam stared at her grandfather, wondering why he
didn’t speak. She’d told him about the message from OPATA and had
expected him to rant and bluster about Sinclair. Instead, he’d gone
silent, his eyes focused on something only he could see. The
clenching and unclenching of his hands on the arms of his chair
were the only indication as to how he was feeling.

“Grandfather?
Is there something else you think I should have done?”

“What?” He
looked at her, appearing almost surprised that she was there. “No.
No, you did what you could. Now we need to see what his next move
will be. Sinclair’s a sly one. He’ll have more complaints against
us.”

“Like what?”
Sam shoved her hands in her pocket and widened her stance. “I’ve
done everything by the book, just as you trained me.”

“That won’t
matter. He’ll twist and turn facts, use the Book of the Law against
us. Dig up the past…” He shook his head.

“What do you
mean, ‘dig up the past’? If you mean the bootleggers, that was over
half a century ago and—”

He waved his
hand as if to brush her words away. “I need to think. Be on your
way.”

“I—”

“On your way,
girl!” He growled the order and Sam snapped her mouth shut in
surprise.

It had been
years since he’d used quite that tone with her and she was taken
aback by it. Part of her wanted to snap at him in return, but she
could see he was agitated. She left the room without a word and
pulled the door shut behind her.

Standing
outside his room, she frowned. He’d been frail, physically, for
some time, but mentally he’d always seemed sharp. Was that mental
acuity fading? Were his moods more extreme than before and she
hadn’t noticed until now? Her stomach clenched at the idea that her
grandfather’s mind could be failing as well. For all that it irked
to be an acting Alpha, it had also been comforting knowing he was
there to bounce ideas off of, to turn to for confirmation now and
then.

There was a
rustling sound coming from her grandfather’s room and she cocked
her head trying to hear better. He was moving some papers about,
perhaps opening a book. The old journals she’d given him?

He cursed
softly and she wondered what he was reading and if it had something
to do with his concern that Sinclair would ‘dig up the past’.

Perhaps she
should have demanded that her grandfather explain…and perhaps it
was nothing. Perhaps he was merely an old man confusing events. She
hated being indecisive, but she wasn’t sure if pushing was the
right move. Her wolf was puzzled, too, sensing the concern of the
aging beast that dwelled within her grandfather.

Giving her
head a shake, she headed towards the cellar. Exercise often helped
her clarify her thoughts, and it might also help with the knot of
tension that was growing between her shoulder blades.

Damien sat on
the edge of his bed, staring at the phone in his hand. He hadn’t
checked in with Kane for a few days but knew his friend would be
expecting a call. Kane had made his move and would be wondering
what the reaction was at this end.

He pressed the
required sequence of numbers and brought the device to his ear.
Stalling was for cowards and he’d always tried to face his problems
head on.

“Damien? About
time you checked in.”

“And hello to
you, too.” Damien leaned back against the headboard. “Your phone
manners are almost as good as Ryne’s.”

“Insults? Is
that why you called?”

“No.” He
laughed softly remembering how the three of them had enjoyed taking
jibes at each other. “I wanted to let you know that OPATA delivered
your message to Sam Harper.”

“And?” The
teasing quality immediately left Kane’s voice.

“She was
royally pissed off. Sent in a duty roster outlining how all
required jobs are being covered.”

Kane
snorted.

“And…yours
truly is now officially on the pack membership list.”

“You are? What
name did you give?”

“My own. No
point in hiding.” He got up and moved to stare out the window. “I
heard that I’ve been pardoned. Lycan Link isn’t about to throw me
in detention anymore.”

There was beat
before Kane replied. “I only received that news two days ago and
was waiting for confirmation before forwarding it to you. Who’s
your informant?”

“No one you
know.” There was no need for Kane to know about Dante. Smythston
was a quiet, quaint corner of the world; slime balls like Dante had
no place there. Damien intended to keep it that way.

“He must have
some inside connections.”

Kane was
pressing for information, but Damien didn’t bite. How Dante got his
information had always been a mystery, but his abilities in that
area had been one of the reasons Deirdre had kept the man in her
stable.

After a
moment, Kane cleared his throat, wisely realizing he was at a dead
end. “Well, it’s still good news. You won’t have to be looking over
your shoulder all the time.”

“At least not
for Lycan Link’s Trackers.”