Hard & Lethal: A Bad Boy Romance

by Jade Allen

  Sera sighed. She knew it wouldn’t do any good to lie to her friend. Stephanie had an unerring ability to detect bullshit and call people on it.

  “Aiza. She’s alive out there, somewhere. Maybe.” She swallowed hard. Her emotions were always closer to the surface these days, and tears were already stinging the corners of her eyes.

  “I can’t stop thinking about her,” Sera continued. “We just left her there. Alone. Anything could have happened to her. How could I just leave her?”

  “Sera, we—”

  “We left her. We should have brought her with us. We should have helped her or gone back for her. And here I am getting married and planning the rest of my life like I didn’t betray her.”

  “You didn’t betray her,” Stephanie said. “She tried to kill you. She tried to kill all of us. After she lied to you about being dead.” She shook her head. “I know you love her. She’s your sister. But you’re not to blame for this.”

  “But that’s just it. Something was clearly wrong with her. If she can’t count on me to defend her and protect her and figure out what’s wrong, then who can she count on?”

  “Sera, from what you’ve told me, she hasn’t counted on you in a very long time.” Stephanie leaned forward, wrapping her arm around Sera’s shoulders and pulling her into a hug. “She’s an adult who made her own choices. You don’t have to bear the burden of those choices.”

  Sera returned the hug with a grateful sigh, though she still felt like her heart was breaking. The past five months had been the best and worst of her life. She’d never been happier. She didn’t even know it was possible to be so happy. Waking up in Seth’s arms every day, carrying his child and building a new life beyond her sweetest fantasies were blessings she couldn’t even account for. But every happy moment was tainted, tinged by the greatest mystery of all. What had happened to Aiza?

  “You can’t dwell on this forever,” Stephanie said, perhaps sensing Sera’s thoughts were still square on her sister. “You have a new family and we need you here with us.”

  “We?”

  “Of course we. You’re my sister now. Which reminds me, I brought something for you.”

  Sera had to blink rapidly to alleviate the new sting of tears. To gain a man like Seth as a lover, a protector, and a husband was a literal dream come true. Gaining a sister like Stephanie was like a balm on her heart.

  Stephanie presented a small square box. Sera opened it slowly, gasping softly at the sight of the delicate gold and diamonds, shaped into the silhouette of a wolf. “Oh, it’s beautiful. Is it an antique?”

  “Yes, it’s been passed down in our pack for generations.”

  “Oh, I can’t accept this,” Sera said, quickly replacing the broach in the box. She’d met several members of Seth’s pack, and they’d all been kind to her, but she didn’t consider herself to be worthy of receiving such an important gift. “You should keep it. It probably looks beautiful on you.”

  “It does, but I want you to have it and I’m sure Marian would have wanted that, too.”

  “Marian?”

  “Yes. She was our Alpha. She mentored me. She is who prepared me to be an Alpha.”

  “All the more reason for you to keep it. To remember her by.”

  Stephanie pressed the box into Sera’s palm. “I don’t need this to remember her. If you don’t want to keep it, please at least wear it tonight.”

  “I will wear it tonight with pride. Thank you.” She accepted the box. “I can’t believe it’s happening tonight.”

  Stephanie smiled. “I’m so excited. Everyone is going to be there.”

  Sera almost corrected her. Not everyone, certainly. Obviously, she would feel Aiza’s absence, but her parents had declined her invitation, and her brother said he wanted to be there, but with a toddler and another baby on the way, he was stretched thin these days.

  “Is everything ready? Does Jackie need help with anything?”

  “Jackie has everything under control,” Stephanie assured her. “I don’t want to jinx anything but—”

  Sera held up her hand. “Then don’t.”

  “Okay, I won’t jinx it. I was just going to say that it’ll be—”

  “Don’t jinx it!” Sera laughed. “So...the whole pack is going to be there?”

  “Nearly.”

  “How many is that?”

  “Around one hundred.”

  Sera whistled between her teeth. “That’s a lot of people. How will I remember their names?”

  “It’s okay, you don’t have to remember everyone’s name tonight.”

  “What if they don’t—”

  “Don’t what?”

  “Like me,” Sera said.

  “Well, they don’t know you. Once they do get to know you, they will like you. In the meantime, they all really love Seth. You make him happy, so they will adore you. He’s been alone for a long time.”

  “How long?”

  “Since...well, since he was eighteen.”

  “When you two became Alphas?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why were you so young?” Sera inquired, giving in to her curiosity for the first time. “Didn’t anyone challenge you?”

  “There was nobody left to challenge us. Our pack was nearly destroyed. Once the fighting stopped, all that remained were the kids and seniors. We’d both been trained to lead the pack since birth; we just didn’t count on starting so soon.”

  Sera’s mouth dropped open. “All of the adults were killed?”

  “Yes.”

  “By who?”

  “The Wolf Brotherhood. It was a territory dispute. They wanted Portland and they got it.”

  “Sorry I’m late,” Peggy said, bursting through the back door. “I’m dealing with a real bear of a client. Talk talk talk, blah blah blah…I’m parched. Mind if I get myself a drink? No, no honey, stay off your feet. I can pour my own water. Oh, I can’t wait to see you in your dress. God, you’re going to look gorgeous.”

  ****

  “I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” Noah said, gesturing to his Alpha to have a seat. Dana had offered to call Seth and tell him the news, but Noah had declined. Seth deserved to hear it from him, not from a stranger.

  “I hate to hear it. But you’d better lay it on me anyway,” Seth said, remaining on his feet.

  “We just got a positive ID back on a John Doe. We had to use dental records and DNA and there’s really no margin of error on this one.” Noah took a deep breath. “It’s Tony.”

  Seth rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, his face creased in a deep frown. Noah held his tongue, waiting for Seth to process the information. Only Noah knew how many times Seth had traveled to Portland in search of their lost pack mate. Noah’s most fervent hope was that his own investigation wouldn’t intersect with Seth’s search, and yet, he’d prayed every day for a chance to give Seth and the rest of the pack a sense of closure.

  “The Brotherhood?” Seth finally asked.

  “We think so. I didn’t want to give you this news today, of all days, but I thought you would like to know.”

  “They took his life and for what? Because he showed his face in Portland?”

  “That’s part of what I’m working on finding out,” Noah said. “There were other remains we’re working on ID-ing. If things go our way for once, we might have enough info to make some arrests.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I can’t divulge much,” Noah said, “but we have an eyewitness we’re working with. If we can link any of the remains to her statement, we’ll have enough to get a warrant.”

  “A warrant? Is that going to be enough to take out that viper’s nest?”

  “It’ll be a start.”

  Noah could see that wasn’t enough for Seth, and frankly, it wasn’t enough for him, either. The only reason he joined H.O.W.L. was to take down the Wolf Brotherhood once and for all. Every inroad he made met a dead-end and every lead he found met the same fate. He hoped finding Aiza Sim
pson and taking her into protective custody would change his luck, but so far, there was little to be optimistic about.

  “I will find the sonsabitches responsible for this,” Noah said, when he couldn’t bear another second of Seth’s frown or silence. “I won’t give up until I do.”

  “I know you won’t give up, Noah. But how many of us can they slaughter before somebody finally stops them? I mean, are you the only one here who cares?” Seth demanded.

  “I’m definitely not the only one here who cares. There are a lot of good agents working on this case with me.” As soon as Noah finished speaking, his phone erupted with Dana’s personalized ringtone. “I’ve got to take this.”

  “I’ll leave you to it.” Seth stood and held out his hand. “I’ll see you tonight?”

  Noah shook his hand. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I’m really excited to meet the woman who finally trapped the wolf.” As soon as Seth stepped out of his office, Noah brought the phone to his ear. “Talk to me.”

  “It’s Aiza.”

  “What about her? Is she hurt?”

  “I don’t think so. I don’t know because she’s not here, Noah.” Dana’s voice was calm, but he still caught the edge under her words.

  “What do you mean? Did she go for a walk? Maybe she’s at the grocery store.”

  “She’s not here. She’s not in town. She left a note saying she was going back to Portland.”

  “What?”

  “I contacted her detail. They said she went to Paul’s Tavern and now she’s at The Eight Ball, across the street. There’s been no suspicious activity but Pete said she’s been in that bar for a long time.”

  “I’m heading there now.”

  “Keep in touch,” Dana said before the call ended.

  Noah would like to say that he was surprised by this development, but he was not in the least. Aiza had shown remarkable patience, given the situation, but even a blind man could see her advanced case of cabin fever. He did what he could to alleviate it, but he was really her only source of social contact; her only real link to the outside world. And he couldn’t even visit her every day.

  Even though he wanted to.

  That had been a great surprise, the day he realized he was truly looking forward to the three-hour drive that would take him to Aiza. After that, there were dozens of smaller realizations, all of them genuinely unexpected. He liked the way she laughed, the way she smirked when she told a dirty joke, the way she got angry over books and weepy over stupid movies. He liked the way she downed whiskey, poured beer, and made cereal for dinner. He didn’t even care if she talked to him, and sometimes she didn’t have a single word to say to him past greetings and the formalities—he just liked spending time with her.

  So far, he kept their interactions completely professional and appropriate, as though Dana was standing over his shoulder, monitoring every word. In a way, she was, since Aiza’s entire safe house was wired with mics and cameras. Their hope had been that Aiza was much deeper in the pack than she initially let on, but her story never changed, and nobody in the gang sought her out. He was beginning to believe that her only connection to the Brotherhood was Dwight, and since he was dead, Noah wasn’t certain what value Aiza would bring to their investigation.

  But he still didn’t want her wandering around Portland. The thought of anything happening to her made his blood boil and the vein in his temple throb. He told himself his concern was entirely professional, stemming from the fact that she was still a witness, after all, and she’d already been through so much.

  Deep down inside, he knew the truth. He didn’t want anything to happen to her because he would miss her. Because he cared about her.

  He didn’t keep to the speed limit on the drive to Portland, though it probably made no difference at all. She could be on her way back to the safe house—if she intended to return; if somebody didn’t find her before he did. It occurred to him that if he did find her, she might refuse to leave with him. She wasn’t under any legal obligation and there hadn’t been any threats against her in the last five months; she might insist she was perfectly capable of living her own life.

  When he finally reached Portland, he went directly to The Eight Ball. A text from Dana confirmed the men still had eyes on her there. The bar was dark and he had to wait a minute to let his eyes adjust before he finally located her, hunched in the back corner booth, hands wrapped loosely around a giant, nearly empty stein.

  “Can I buy you a drink?” Noah asked.

  She didn’t look up. “They took it.”

  “They took what?”

  “Everything. It’s all theirs now. Like nothing I did in my life mattered at all.”

  “The bar?” Noah slid into the booth beside her. He wanted to take her hand, but kept a respectful distance between them.

  “I missed it. I wanted to see it. I know I shouldn’t have left but I couldn’t stand seeing those fucking beige carpets for another second. I just wanted to see my bar, you know?”

  “I understand. I wish you would have told me, though. We could have arranged something.”

  “Well, it doesn’t matter anyway. You can tell those nice men to stop following me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It doesn’t matter. They’re not coming after me again. They already have exactly what they wanted. Exactly what I handed over to them...like a fucking idiot.”

  “Hey.” Now he did take her hand. “You are not a fucking idiot. You were manipulated and controlled and you know what happened to you? Theft by deception. And you know what we’re going to do?”

  “What?”

  He squeezed her fingers. “We’re going to get it all back.”

  “How?”

  “Well, first thing’s first. You’ve got to tell me everything that happened today.”

  “I’m going to need that drink you mentioned.”

  “Coming right up,” Noah promised as he eased out of the booth. When he returned with a pitcher of beer and two fresh steins, she was listlessly picking at the bowl of peanuts, popping them into her mouth one at a time, her eyes staring, unseeing, into the middle distance.

  “I used to suck at this,” Noah said conversationally as he began to pour. “I bet you’re really good at it.”

  “I guess so.”

  He slid the stein over and filled his before prompting her with a gentle, “So what happened?”

  “I just wanted to walk by and see if it was still open. I didn’t plan to go inside or even stop, but then I noticed Chad and Cyn outside on a smoke break and I...I had to talk to them.” She looked up. “I know, we agreed they should continue to think I’m dead, but...well…”

  “What did they say?” Noah prompted.

  “At first they couldn’t believe it was me. I told them that I had to pretend to be dead for my own protection. They told me that the bar never even closed for a day. They came to work and the new owner told them that I was dead and he was taking over. Everything was as fine and legal as you please. Their checks never stopped, so they thought everything was kosher. Until—” She paused there and took a long drink. Noah waited.

  “Until the new owner, Adam, announced a new policy. He would collect and pool all the tips and pay them out at the end of the night. Only, he doesn’t always remember to pay them. He’s working them into the ground. Hell, it sounds like he’s running the whole fucking place into the ground.” She shook her head. “All of this bullshit to get the bar and they’re going to destroy it.”

  “Did anybody see you speaking to them?”

  “No...no, I don’t think so.”

  “Did they give you the new owner’s full name?”

  “Adam Pettyjohn.”

  “And he’s a member of the Wolf Brotherhood?”

  “They said he wears the patch. And it would make sense, right? Dwight got everything when I ‘died’ and he implied that what’s his is theirs.”

  “It does make sense,” Noah agreed. “Given what we know abo
ut how the pack is structured.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe I should just go.”

  “Go where?”

  Aiza gestured vaguely. “Anywhere. Away from here. Maybe I should move to the desert.”

  “What about the bar?”

  She shrugged. “What does it matter? It’s already gone. I don’t even know who I am anymore. And on top of that, I’ve lost my sister. So why stay? Maybe it’s time to start my life over.”

  “All alone?”

  “What other choice do I have?”

  “You could stay here,” Noah suggested. “You can help me bring down the gang and get your bar back. And…” He took a deep breath. “You could see your sister again.”

  “My sister?” She looked up sharply. “What do you know about her?”

  “I know where she is. I know she’s doing well. She’s happy.”

  “I want to see her,” Aiza said immediately. “I need to see her. I need to tell her what happened.” She took his hand, squeezing it fervently. “Please.”

  “Yes, of course. I can arrange that. Maybe in a few weeks or a month.”

  “Weeks? Months?” Aiza shook her head. “No. I need to see her now. Today.”

  “Today?”

  “Yes. If I can see her today, I’ll go back to the safe house with those damned beige carpets and I won’t complain and I’ll stay as long as you need me to.”

  Noah had the sense to know that the timing of the request was absolutely awful, but no matter how he sought for the strength to deny her, he couldn’t find it within himself to tell her no.

  “She’s a few hours from here with my cousin,” Noah said. “We’d better hit the road.

  “Oh my God, thank you!” She flung her arms around him in an exuberant hug, a smile lighting her face for the first time in ages. “I just need a chance to make this right.”

  Noah returned the hug, taking a deep breath and absorbing her scent, enjoying the warmth passing between them. Contact between them was always casual, brief and incidental, after their first night, when she hugged him without shame, seeking comfort. He’d relived that embrace in his dreams over and over, never expecting more than that.