Alpha Ascending

by Alicia Montgomery

  The other man gave him a curt but respectful bow. “It is an honor to meet you.”

  “Darius Corvinus, right? Julianna’s told me all about you.” He waited to see if the man reacted, but he didn’t even flinch. “She said you were keeping a close eye on Adrianna,” he continued. “Thank you.”

  “It is my duty to serve my Alpha. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll give you some privacy. I shall be waiting right outside the door.” Darius bowed his head again, then strode out the door. But Lucas didn’t miss that flicker of wanting in his eyes as his gaze passed over Adrianna. It was like a spark; small, but strong enough to turn into a blaze.

  “Interesting guy.” Very interesting. He turned to his sister, raising a brow at her as if to ask, what is up with him?

  She ignored his non-verbal question. “Sit.”

  And so he did, taking his usual seat. “So, are we having greasy, cold burgers or soggy, salty fries?”

  She laughed. “How about the usual?”

  He called the waitress over and gave her their order—a vanilla milkshake for him, chocolate for Adrianna, and a plate of onion rings to share. When the waitress left, he turned back to his sister. “So, why did you want to meet me here?”

  “Why have you been ignoring my calls and my messages?”

  “I’m not ignoring you.” But he knew she would see right through that lie.

  “Yes, you have,” she insisted. “What’s wrong?” She was trying to look him in the eye, and he suddenly found the dried crust of ketchup on the edge of the table interesting. But Adrianna continued her assault. “Tell me. You know I’ll find out one way or another.”

  He couldn’t keep ignoring her, so he looked at her. Those eyes so much like his own were full of concern. “Lucas? Please. Tell me what’s the matter.”

  “It’s nothing.” He picked up the menu, pretending to peruse it, though the words just blurred on the page and made no sense.

  Adrianna’s gaze felt like a laser beam, zeroing in on him even as he tried to deflect her. He wasn’t sure if it was the twin bond they shared or if it was because no other person on the planet knew him as well as his sister. The words that came out of her mouth were almost prescient.

  “What’s her name?”

  His head snapped up, and he knew he couldn’t lie to her. So he decided to just not say it. “No one you would know.” Technically, the truth.

  “And why wouldn’t I know her?”

  “Because she’s human.”

  Her emotions were so transparent on her face. Shock. Surprise. “Oh.”

  “And she’s investigating me for a murder.”

  The same emotions on her face magnified. “Oh.” She collected herself. “What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know.” And that was the one truth he couldn’t deny. Sofia had gotten under his skin, and he didn’t know how to get her out. Or if he even wanted her out. He glanced toward the door and saw the shadow of Adrianna’s new bodyguard. “What about you? What’s the deal with that Darius guy?”

  Her face went all red. She too, couldn’t lie to him. “Huh? What about him?”

  She always answered a question with a question when she didn’t want him pestering her. “Don’t play innocent with me, Adrianna. No bodyguard looks at their client that way. Or the other way around.”

  “This isn’t fair. It’s nothing.”

  Oh, he had seen the interest in her eyes, enough to make him uncomfortable because he didn’t want to think of her—or any of his sisters—that way. But the way she blushed harder confirmed his suspicions. And that concerned him.

  “He’s part of The Family, right?” he said, mentioning the name of the organized crime group that had taken residence in Jersey. “Those people causing trouble for Mama?”

  “We’ve taken care of it,” she said defensively.

  “It’s your territory and your business.” He placed a hand on hers. “I know the women in our family are capable and strong. None of you would stand for me and Papa coming in like white knights, but promise me you’ll tread carefully. Especially around that one.”

  “I—yes, I promise!” she said in a petulant tone. “But you have to promise me that you won’t ignore me again. That really hurt, Lucas.”

  That stabbed through him like a knife. “I’m sorry, Adrianna.” He squeezed her hand. “I swear I won’t do that to you again.”

  “Good.”

  Their waitress’s arrival seemed to have broken the tension, and they switched their topic of conversation to more mundane subjects. They seemed to have come to a silent agreement—or perhaps an impasse—neither wanting to get into the other’s business for fear that they would have to talk about sensitive subjects.

  Surprisingly, he found himself having a good time. Or not surprisingly, actually. Adrianna always had this way of soothing and calming him. And this place reminded him of the good memories from the past, not just the bad ones that had been swirling in his mind.

  When the waitress came with their check, she insisted on paying and he let her. “Did you drive by yourself here?” she asked as the cashier handed her her change.

  “No, but I had Zac with me, so we didn’t have to get anyone on the Lycan Security Team to come and follow me. He’s waiting outside.”

  “He is?” She frowned. “Why didn’t he come in with you?”

  “Don’t worry, Astrid’s with him,” he explained. “He couldn’t lie to her and then she insisted on coming. Besides, she took one look at the reviews of this place and gave a hard no. Do you want to say hello?”

  “It’s okay.” She gave him a dismissive wave. “You guys should go before anyone suspects anything.”

  He pulled her into a hug, taking in her familiar, comforting scent. “This was nice, Adrianna. I really needed this.” He meant every word. “Thanks for telling me to come here. I knew your bossiness would come in handy someday.”

  “Ha! Now you admit I’m the boss because I’m older.”

  “By one minute,” he relented. “I’ll talk to Mama and Papa, and we can figure something out. It’s ridiculous that we can’t even be in the same room together.” It really was unreasonable; they couldn’t expect them to stay apart indefinitely.

  “I know. Have a safe drive back. And call me if you need to talk. About anything,” she said with genuine concern.

  He shoved his hands into his pockets. “I will.” Heading toward the door, he exited the diner. Darius was there, and their eyes met, and a kind of silent truce–agreement passed between them as their wolves assessed each other. He would stay out of their business for now, but if he hurt Adrianna, there would be hell to pay.

  He strode back to his car, opened the door and got in. “Hey—fucking hell, really?”

  The seat beside him was empty, as Zac was in the back. At least, he assumed it was Zac that Astrid was straddling, with his hand up the back of her shirt.

  “Oops.” She giggled and scrambled off her husband’s lap.

  “Sorry,” Zac said, though the grin on his face told Lucas he wasn’t sorry at all.

  He sighed. “C’mon, lovebirds, let’s go back to Manhattan. Ugh. It stinks in here.” It smelled like desire and passion.

  “I’ll pay to get it cleaned,” Zac said as he entered the front seat.

  “You should just buy this car from me,” he grumbled.

  “Maybe I will,” his friend countered. “Those seats in the back are nice.”

  “Really nice,” Astrid purred.

  “Shut up, both of you,” he groaned. He was just glad he had gotten there before they actually started having sex. He put the car into gear and pulled out of the parking lot. As he was waiting for his turn to exit into the street, his phone beeped. There was a message from Adrianna.

  Darius says you’re being followed. Watch out for a dark sedan. Want us to follow you back? He typed a quick reply telling her he would take care of the matter.

  Lucas didn’t need two guesses to figure out who was following them. Sofia S
elinofoto was bold. And she was great at maintaining a tail without being detected.

  “Lucas? The road’s been clear for about ten seconds.” Zac frowned. “What’s wrong?”

  “We have a tail.”

  Astrid turned around. “Where? Who?”

  “Who do you think?” Zac asked. “I told you she wouldn’t like it if you went after her.”

  He didn’t even know the half of it. “I’ll take care of her.” He drove out from the driveway, his senses on alert as they pulled onto the highway. If it wasn’t for shifter eyesight, he wouldn’t have seen the dark sedan a few cars behind them. The driver was definitely a woman.

  Yes, she was good. But he was better.

  Chapter Eight

  Sofia prided herself on keeping her cool in any situation. But last night shook her up more than she cared to admit. And she hated being rattled because that meant she did stupid things. Like, following Lucas Anderson.

  Last night she had undoubtedly crossed a line. Obviously, she had struck a nerve when she mentioned Kevin Hall’s name. Did she really have anything to fear from him? If she didn’t, surely, she did now.

  Still, here she was, following him. Like he had me followed. She used a different vehicle from the precinct pool. It was unmarked and would blend in. She had arrived at the Fenrir Corp. building just after five, so she was surprised to see Lucas in the driver’s seat of the green Aston Martin that was coming out of the garage.

  When it headed toward Midtown and into the Lincoln tunnel, she frowned. New Jersey? She tailed him for a good thirty minutes until he pulled off the parkway and into a large truck stop. He parked the car by the lone diner, and she had kept going, circling around the back once before making a U-turn, heading back into the parking lot. She picked the space at the end of the lot and turned off the engine. And so, here she was, thinking about her next steps while kicking herself for the poor choices she made when it came to Lucas Anderson.

  Why couldn’t she just let it go? Well, for one thing, there really was no other leads in the Dixon case. The one or two possibilities she had didn’t pan out. A former cellmate who supposedly had a beef with him died in prison a decade before. All other known associates were dead or so old themselves that there was no way any of them could have committed such a violent murder. His other accomplices were still in prison. He didn’t even have any family. Dixon was abandoned as a child, grew up in the system, and was left to fend for himself the moment he turned eighteen. It was like he was a ghost outside prison.

  Speaking of ghosts, whoever their killer was seemed like one too. The crime lab didn’t find any traces of DNA on the body, which was highly unusual for such a violent murder. No footprints, or vehicle tracks either. It was like whoever did this magically appeared in the alley, beat the shit out of Dixon, and then just disappeared into thin air. Which made her think it could be a professional hit, and Lucas Anderson was certainly rich enough to hire someone. But then again, a killer for hire would use something clean, like a gun or poison.

  It was all too much, too many coincidences and she was far too invested in this thing to let it go. She would have to see this through. Decision made, she exited the car, pulling her coat closer to her body. There was no way she could enter there without anyone noticing her. It was far too empty and her suit would stand out amongst what she could imagine the clientele was like.

  She waited, and an hour later, he emerged and walked to his car. Much to her surprise, someone emerged from the back seat and slipped in the front. Huh. She didn’t even notice anyone was in the car. She watched him drive out of the parking lot before starting her engine and turning toward the direction where the Aston Martin went. The road wasn’t too busy, so she had to make sure she stayed behind. There were more cars on the highway, so it was easier to follow him while staying far enough away.

  She thought they’d be heading back to Manhattan, but to her surprise, he took the next exit into an industrial zone. Her alarm bells went up. Maybe she was right to follow him. Why would the soon-to-be CEO of one of the biggest corporations in the world be sneaking off into the middle of nowhere in Jersey? Surely he had lackeys to do his dirty business. Unless this was personal business.

  The road was taking them deeper and deeper into the area that housed many of the factories and refineries in the Garden State. She trailed behind, but there were fewer vehicles as they went further, and soon it would be obvious she was tailing them. And, he must have realized it, because there was a roar of an engine and then taillights ahead of her disappeared down the road.

  “Fuck!” She stepped on the brakes and slammed her palms on the wheel. There was no way she could keep up with a sports car, not at that speed. It’s not like she was in her jurisdiction either, and if she attempted to stop him for speeding, it would definitely look like harrasment. She supposed she could keep going, but she had no idea if Lucas had kept going straight or turned off into one of the many facilities in the area.

  From this point on, she could only go back to Manhattan. However, before she could turn around, a pair of headlights appeared in the distance, growing larger as it drew close. The green Aston Martin was unmistakable, even in the dark. It slowed down as it passed by her car and even though she couldn’t see the driver, she could feel him looking straight at her.

  She tried to contain a shudder. He knew, the bastard. Knew it was her following him.

  Chapter Nine

  Thoughts of the consequences of her actions coming to bite her in the ass kept her up that night. However, she didn’t think it would happen quite so soon. Like, the moment she walked into the precinct.

  “Detective.”

  She turned her head toward the hissed whisper. “What’s up, Winters?”

  Sergeant Winters’s lips were pursed together. “Captain wants to see you.”

  “Okay.” The look on the other woman’s face told her there was more. “And?”

  “And he’s not alone. Deputy Commissioner Aarons is there with him.”

  Now that raised alarms. “The deputy commissioner?”

  “Yes.” Winters’s eyes darted around. “And someone else. Some business-type guy in a suit.”

  Fuck. She hoped it wasn’t who she thought it was, but her luck wasn’t that good. When she glanced over at the captain’s office, the blinds were drawn closed. Dammit.

  With a deep breath, she strode to her desk and deposited her purse, then headed into the office. A sharp, “Come in,” followed her knock. As she entered the office, she kept her gaze on Captain Bushnell, who was seated behind his desk, while ignoring the other occupants of the room who sat on the chairs across from him. But she didn’t need to look at the dark-haired man to know who it was.

  “You wanted to speak to me, Captain?”

  Bushnell’s face was impassive, not revealing an ounce of emotion, not even in his blue eyes. “You know Deputy Aarons, Detective.”

  “Sir,” she said with a slight incline of her head. Though she had never talked to him face to face, she recognized him from his photos. Aarons was a large man, though he had a slight paunch, probably from sitting behind a desk for years. His head was completely bald and his eyes small and beady.

  “And of course, you’ve already met Mr. Anderson.”

  Though she turned to him, she focused on a spot just above his shoulder. “Mr. Anderson.”

  “Detective.”

  Her head snapped back to the captain and her stance became rigid. “What can I do for you, sir?”

  “Actually—”

  “The commissioner himself sent me here,” Aarons interrupted. “He asked that I meet with you, your captain, and Mr. Anderson,” he said, his tone impatient. “So, it seems Mr. Anderson is a person of interest in your case.”

  “Yes. Sir,” she added quickly.

  “And could you explain how he’s connected to a murder of this ex-con?”

  “I followed proper procedure, sir,” she said.

  “I didn’t ask if you followed it or no
t.” Aarons voice was tight.

  “It’s an active case.” Her gaze flickered to Lucas. “I can’t just discuss the details.”

  “And I’m the deputy police commissioner of New York.”

  Bushnell cleared his throat. “Just explain to the commissioner, Detective Selinofoto.”

  “As I said, I followed procedure.” She refused to look at Lucas, even though she could feel his gaze on her. “I investigated all the leads. Mr. Anderson just happened to be one of them, and I went to interview him to eliminate him from the suspects list.”

  “And did you?” Aarons shot back. She hesitated, and he continued. “Mr. Anderson asked to come here to offer his cooperation on all matters in this case, by the way.”

  “He has?” She couldn’t stop herself nor hide the surprise in her voice, and she cursed at herself silently.

  “Yes, it seems he also forgot to mention one important detail when you went to interview him—which he reminded me, he did voluntarily at your request.” His beady eyes quickly glanced at Lucas. “He assures me and Commissioner Foster he wasn’t being untruthful, just forgetful.”

  “You have to understand,” Lucas began. “I’m in and out of the city and the country all the time. When you asked about that night and I said I was alone, I must have mistaken it for another night.”

  Her chest tightened and she knew things were about to go bad for her. But she pressed on. “So, you weren’t alone that night, like you told me?” She had no choice but to look at him now, because she needed to see his face. It was the only way she would be able to tell if he was lying.

  “I was.” He met her gaze full-on. “But I have bodyguards on me twenty-four hours ever since we had a security issue during a family event a couple weeks ago. I have at least one bodyguard in the house with me at night. I’m sure I can ask our head of security for the name of the guard and he would be happy to speak with you.”

  She swallowed hard, and her entire face felt like a three-alarm fire. It was hard to breathe, but she managed a small gulp. “I see.” Her case against him was crumbling before her very eyes—correction, it had crumbled—and nothing was left but ash.