“What if we park near the access road and watch it first? Maybe here?” Jamie tapped the screen. “I bet the Challenger would fade in pretty well, especially at night.”
Chad pursed his lips. “That’s a possibility.”
“I mean, we’re not going to see everything, but we could start with a feel for how much traffic goes in and out.”
“That would be good to know.” Chad nodded. “We could do that while we wait for more from your father, Q.”
“And maybe while we’re there, we’ll come up with another idea for how to get closer.” Miles leaned in and peered. “Is that… a putting green?”
“And a swimming pool with pool house, and tennis courts. Two English gardens, a three-car garage, and a carriage house.” Quincy shook his head. “And he’s alone there.”
“Where’s the partridge in a pear tree?” Chad asked, shaking his head. “And what the fuck does one guy need with a place like that?”
“He doesn’t.” Miles couldn’t keep the disgust out of his voice entirely. “I mean… I make good money. I could own a house, probably one of those huge ones in Squirrel Hill, but….”
“Yeah, I don’t see you doing that either.” Chad shook his head.
“Okay. Well, I think we can rule out the pool house too.” Jamie sighed. “When do we want to watch the road?”
Chad looked up at the clock. “Q, how long would it take to get there? Without the cemetery traffic this time?”
“Less than an hour.”
“All right. We can do this one tonight. We’ll see how far we can get in the car, then go from there.”
“WOW, THIS is worse than waiting for the cats to show up,” Jamie said before taking a sip of coffee.
“Told you it would be. This is the most boring part of investigation ever.” Chad chuckled. “Hey, Q, any donuts left?”
Quincy sniffed. “I’m not that much of a pig. Of course.”
Miles grinned and kissed Quincy’s temple. “Of course you’re not.” He handed the box up to Chad.
Chad opened it. “Okay, pick a donut,” he said, holding it out to Jamie, who did. Chad set the box down, then took one for himself. “Okay, now. You have to break these in half, ’cause they’re too big.”
“Okay,” Jamie said, raising an eyebrow.
Miles buried the snicker, sure he knew where this was going.
“Now, you gotta hold the cup close to your mouth so you don’t drip, and you can’t dunk for more than a couple of seconds, or you’ll soak the donut too much and it’ll end up a lump in the bottom of the cup.”
Quincy snorted. “Are you seriously showing him the proper way to dunk a donut in coffee?”
“Hey! It’s a delicate operation. Takes a steady hand and good timing!” Chad managed to sound truly offended.
Miles lost the battle and started laughing.
Meanwhile, Jamie had dunked his donut and was already eating it.
“Bastet, give me strength,” Quincy muttered, but Miles noted he seemed to be fighting a smile too.
Miles was about to say something when a car pulled out of the access road.
Chad sat up slowly, watching it carefully. “Get that plate number?” he asked.
“Yup,” Quincy said. “Already working on it.” He’d set his coffee down and was furiously typing into his computer. A few moments later, he chuckled. “That was his, all right. One of….” He tapped a few more keys, then nodded. “Eight different vehicles. All registered under his name.”
“Ugh. Too damned rich,” Chad muttered. “What does he do with eight cars?”
“My father probably has as much money, maybe more than Thomas does, but even he doesn’t have eight vehicles. As far as I know, he owns three, including the one he’s driven in.”
“He has a driver?” Chad asked, looking into the rearview.
Quincy nodded. “Yeah, for events and the like and when he’s in the city. Cabs stink too much, but driving is just….”
“Yeah, no,” Chad said, shaking his head. “Not something I’d want to do all the time.”
“Was Thomas being driven just now?” Miles asked.
“Yeah, why?” Quincy said.
Chad stared at him in the mirror for a moment. “Nothing. Or, well, it could be. Something to consider, though, if we do manage to get in, is how many servants he has.”
“So, how are we going to get to the house?” Jamie asked.
Chad sighed. “I’ve been trying to figure that out.”
“What kind of equipment do we need?” Miles asked.
“Binoculars. I’d like a good camera with a decent telephoto lens. Listening equipment would be nice, but I doubt we can get that close.” Chad shook his head. “We can walk, I guess. It doesn’t look that far.”
“Four men walking through these woods would throw up so many alarms, it isn’t funny,” Quincy said, shaking his head. “While Thomas may not have a security system, everyone else around here will, and most of those woods actually belong to other properties. I have no idea what kind of security, but there are enough animals in the area that I’m sure it’s calibrated to ignore them.”
“What if…,” Jamie said, then shook his head.
“What?” Chad asked.
“What if we tied it on somehow?”
Quincy raised an eyebrow. “Tied it on?”
“Uh, when Tanner had to go get Finley, he took a cell phone he’d tied up in a bandana and put around his neck. What if we found a way to put a bag or something with the equipment in it and put it on one of us.”
Miles blinked. “That’s not a bad idea.”
“Those cameras aren’t tiny like a cell phone,” Chad pointed out.
Quincy nodded. “Yeah, but… it doesn’t have to fit in a bandana. I have an idea. When do you want to do this?”
“How much time do you need to put together your idea?”
Quincy shrugged. “A few hours and a bit of shopping.”
“Let’s go tomorrow, then.”
“I’M GOING to look ridiculous,” Chad muttered, shaking his head.
“Who’s going to see you?” Miles asked.
Jamie sighed. “You don’t have to carry it.”
Chad waved that away. “I’m joking. Mostly.”
“Well, go ahead and shift.” Quincy took the backpack he’d bought earlier in the day, now filled with the equipment Chad wanted, and, once Chad had shifted, squatted next to him. “You’re such a cute little puppy!”
Chad growled.
Miles grinned. “Go ahead and bite him. He’ll heal.”
Quincy glared up at Miles, who winked.
Chad chuffed and lifted his head.
Quincy got the bag onto Chad’s back, and then they worked the straps around him the way they’d figured out earlier. Each of the big straps crisscrossed over his ribs. One smaller strap went around each of his forelegs at his shoulders, and two larger straps anchored it to his back legs by his hips. Chad had tested it a bit in the hotel room, and though his movement had been limited, the bag hadn’t come off his back.
A few moments later, the other three had locked the car and shifted. It didn’t take too long to get through the trees, and none of them tripped any alarms, thankfully. Finally they got to the edge of the huge lawn surrounding the estate. Jamie was shifted before the rest of them, pulling the bag off Chad’s back. In mostly silence, Chad handed the binoculars to Quincy and took out the camera and lens. Then he glanced at Miles, pointed to the left, and nodded.
Miles nodded, then shifted back to wolf form. He was grateful for the way Chad was focused, and the jealousy of having his naked mate near two other gay shifters wasn’t nearly as bad as it might otherwise be. Pushing the thought away, he turned to do as Chad asked, picking his way around the edge of the lawn to the other side of the house. There were very few lights on, but Miles counted no less than five doors on that end, two on one wing and three on the main part. Windows galore too. He glanced around and saw another stretch of trees that
got closer to the house on one side, so he crept through them as silently as he could.
Sure enough, when he got there, one of the windows on that end of the house had the drapes wide open. Miles could just make out a high-backed leather chair, bookshelves along one wall and what looked like a desk of some sort in front of the chair. He made note of any other obvious rooms—including the location of the kitchen—then hurried away.
When he got back, Chad glanced at him, then back to the house before speaking. “This place is a security nightmare.” He shook his head. “How old is this place?”
Quincy lowered the binoculars. “I believe the main house was built not long before Thomas was born, somewhere around 1800.”
“Fuck me, that’s old,” Chad said, turning back.
“We’ve got some that old in Pittsburgh,” Miles said.
“True. Okay, so what did you find?”
“I think the office is on the other end of the main part of the building. First floor, there’s a section that sticks out a bit, and I saw bookshelves and what was probably a desk. I’d guess that would be a good one to check, anyway.”
Chad nodded. “Excellent. I’d say we’ll go there first. Q, how many rooms did you say this had?”
“Thirty, according to the tax assessment.”
“How many servants does it take to keep up with a thirty-room estate?” He glanced over at Jamie.
Jamie frowned. “My former alpha’s place was smaller than this, but he had at least four or five. Cook, butler, maids….” Jamie tilted his head in thought. “And a gardener.”
“Yeah, and how many maids would it take to keep that place clean?” Chad pointed at the house.
“At least three or four,” Miles said.
“Uh-huh. Q… how many cats did you say were in the pride?”
Quincy frowned. “Last count, we had about a hundred and fifty.”
“For how many states?”
“Thirteen.”
“One hundred and fifty cats in thirteen states. And how many live here in the New York area?”
“Maybe… ten? Fifteen? Three of the elders live here. My father, of course. There are two families—husband, wife, and a kid. Maybe four or five others. Maybe.”
“So… who’s cleaning, cooking, opening doors for him? Driving him around?” Chad asked.
Quincy blinked. “Humans.”
“And how much do human servants know?”
“A lot,” Miles said.
“Yeah. Are they supposed to be allowed to know he’s not human?”
“No one’s supposed to know what we are,” Quincy said. “Especially humans.”
“Is there any way at all that these people could live with him and not figure it out?” Miles asked.
Quincy snorted. “Oh hell no.”
“I’m guessing your father knows this, then?” Chad asked.
Quincy frowned. “Actually, I don’t think so, come to think of it. But… none of the other cats have homes like this either.”
“Your father knows how big this house is, though, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So, who does he think cleans and cooks?”
“I don’t know, but I think we need to find out,” Quincy said, frowning.
“Yeah. I’d be interested in that answer too,” Chad said, turning back to the house.
“OKAY. I count four different maids in these pictures,” Chad said, pointing to the prints spread out on the table.
“The cook was still in the kitchen,” Jamie said, pulling another one out.
“And the gardener was in his room in the carriage house next to the driver.”
“So, there’s no way they don’t live there,” Miles said.
“Yup.” Chad nodded. “Now, if we rule out the gardener and driver, since they more or less live in the carriage house, that still leaves how many for the servants’ wing?”
“Six. With the cook and butler,” Quincy said, sighing.
There was a knock on the door before anyone could say anything more. Quincy glanced at Miles. “Did you order food?”
Miles shook his head and got up, but Chad held a hand up. “I’ll answer it. Q, get the SIG.”
Quincy hurried into the bedroom and returned a moment later with his weapon. Jamie had his Glock out, and Miles said a prayer to Diana that they were overreacting.
Chad opened the door and stepped back in surprise. “Mr. Archer.”
“Chad, good evening,” Aubrey said. He glanced behind him quickly. “Uh, may I—” He waved a hand into the suite.
“Oh, duh, yeah.” He stepped aside, shaking his head. “Mind isn’t really where it should be. Sorry.”
“That’s fine,” Aubrey said, turning to the rest of them.
Quincy and Jamie relaxed. Aubrey glanced around with his eyebrows up. “I suppose I’m glad you’re prepared. I didn’t know you could use one of those.” Aubrey nodded at Quincy.
“I taught myself some time ago.” Quincy tucked the gun into the holster in his jeans. “Is everything okay?”
Aubrey held a hand up. “Yes. I actually decided it’d be safest to bring you the information I have myself.” He held up an envelope Miles hadn’t noticed.
“Oh, thank you,” Quincy said, taking it.
“Please, Mr. Archer, have a seat. Coffee?” Miles asked, waving a hand toward the couch.
“Sorry,” Quincy muttered, blushing.
Aubrey took a seat on one of the couches but shook his head. “No, thank you. I don’t think I should stay long. I’m pretty sure I’m being watched.”
Miles joined Quincy on one of the other couches. He leaned over to see what Quincy held. The top page held a daily schedule, including departure and arrival times and office hours and even some evening activities.
Quincy’s head whipped up. “I knew you were being tapped, but watched?”
Aubrey nodded. “Yeah. They don’t dare do anything to me yet. They don’t want Frank Lewis in my place, so until they have you taking over, they’re not going to do anything. But they’re keeping tabs on me.”
Chad wrinkled his nose. “Somehow I’m not surprised. Um… it might be best if you keep someone with you most of the time. Like… I’m sure you can bathe yourself.”
Aubrey smirked. “Yeah?”
Chad chuckled. “Yeah. But you’re bound to have security you trust in your company, right?”
“Sure.”
“I highly suggest you pick one. Tell him whatever you have to, but have him stick to you like glue for now.”
Aubrey considered Chad for a long time, then nodded slowly. “I can do that.”
Quincy let out a breath, and Miles put an arm around him and hugged him.
“Good.” Chad frowned. “Also… I have a question. Is it common for jaguar shifters to have live-in human servants?”
Aubrey blinked at Chad. “No. In fact, we’re not supposed to. Too much chance they’ll figure us out.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought too. Do you know if Thomas has servants living at his estate?”
Aubrey shook his head. “No. He told me he hires a cleaning crew to come in a couple times a week and temporary ones for events and the like.”
Miles met Chad’s gaze, and Chad shook his head briefly. It took him a moment, but then Miles realized he didn’t want to give away their thoughts about the servants just yet. He wasn’t quite sure why, but he trusted Chad to know what he was doing.
“Why?”
Chad smiled. “Just curious, that’s all. It’s just such a huge house. I was sure he wasn’t taking care of it himself.”
Aubrey laughed at that. “No way. I can’t see Abe in rubber gloves and an apron.” He shook his head. “The estate didn’t used to be that big. But it’s been in his family since before the Civil War, so they’ve had it a long time and added on quite a bit.”
“Father, what’s this?” Quincy asked, pulling a card from the envelope he held.
Aubrey grinned. “Apparently Abe is having a party.
Some big merger with his firm and another finance firm. I thought it might be a way for you to get in. There’ll be a few cats there, but also quite a few humans.”
“Ooh, very Bond,” Chad said, grinning.
Quincy rolled his eyes. “You are such a puppy,” he said, shaking his head.
Chad laughed. “Well, you know….”
“I figured you could walk right in,” Aubrey said, turning to Quincy. “There’s no way he could turn away the tepey-sa—whether you want it or not, that’s what you are—and his partner, even if the party isn’t exclusively cats.”
Quincy nodded slowly. “That’s true. So, the invite…?”
“Is for them,” Aubrey said, pointing to Chad and Jamie. “Once inside, you distract Thomas, and Chad, Jamie, and Miles go looking for what you need.”
Quincy grinned. “Looks like we’re going shopping.”
Miles groaned. “I have to wear another tie, don’t I?”
He didn’t like the twinkle in Quincy’s eye. “Not just any tie. A bow tie. It’s a black tie affair.”
Miles sighed.
“Hey, I wonder if we can buy exploding pens at Staples…,” Chad mused.
MILES REFUSED to be nervous. He refused, but it was damned difficult. He tugged at his collar again, unused to wearing a tuxedo, much less a bow tie, and tried not to think about walking into the lion’s—or jaguar’s—den. In fact, Miles would have preferred to face off a wild jaguar in their natural habitat to the ones he was about to meet.
The four of them currently sat in the back of Aubrey’s limo. It wasn’t a stretch or anything, nothing that would have made him roll his eyes, and he was glad for that. It still had nice leather seating, a television on the divider between the driver and the back, and an ice bucket—complete with champagne, which Quincy opened and the four of them downed in short order. Apparently Miles wasn’t the only one nervous.
He took a moment to let his gaze trail over his mate’s body. Quincy seemed to be one of those men that could make any clothes look good. But a tux… well, Miles decided then and there he could be talked into one again if it meant he’d see Quincy in one. The slim fit jacket showed his lean musculature well. Miles was going to enjoy taking it off him later.
Acceptance Page 19