favor. If I ever get like that,” she paused to nod at the door, “shoot me.”
Her sisters said as one, “Done.”
Chapter Three
Quince stared through the window of the plane, uncomfortable at being in an enclosed space, one that could fall out of the sky at any given moment. At times like these he understood why raptors thought they had an edge on land dwellers.
“Okay. Lay it on me.” Joy sipped a rum and coke, slouched in her seat as if enjoying herself at a four-star resort. She cocked a brow. “Well? I’m not getting any younger.”
She sat close and—considering that even the first class seats seemed miniature for him—they continued to brush against each other, which made the trip almost bearable. That and he’d left Montana far behind. Thank God.
He glanced around them and noted that with the late hour, few passengers remained awake. Those that were listened to music or watched their electronic tablets. The rumble of the plane gave him added assurance he’d be hard to hear if he lowered his voice.
Speaking in a voice too low to be heard by humans, he explained what he’d been wanting to tell her for far too long. “Michael was like my father. You know that.”
“You loved him,” she said quietly.
“Yes.” He paused, his heart still aching from the loss. It seemed like only yesterday and not five months ago that his mentor and friend had been killed. “I found him bleeding to death in the Glades. I did my best to help him through, you know, to peace. But it was hard. Lex hurt him bad.” He knew she saw his anger, but she didn’t do more than nod. “Before he passed, he made me promise to infiltrate Lex’s command. The only way to take him down, because Lex had become too powerful, luring the others with promises of wealth, women, sex, anything they wanted. And he could and did deliver.”
She frowned. “He was such a prick.”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “I gave Michael steady progress reports for that last week he lingered. Then he died.” Quince tried to shrug off the emotional wound. “I made a promise, and I kept it.” He prided himself on always keeping a promise.
“But you didn’t tell Miles.”
“I couldn’t. Your brother is—
was
—my best friend. I know him as well as you do. He’s a hot head, and he has no patience unless it involves dollar signs. Yeah, he’s brilliant at business—not so great when it comes to dealing with stupidity. And Lex was a dumbass. Strong and mean, but deep-down stupid.”
“You got that right,” she muttered. She looked at him with what he hoped was the beginning of trust. “I still don’t understand why it took so long to break Lex down.”
“Your family was never that tight with the inner workings of the pride. You focused more on business and blending in with Miami society. Lex had his select circle so tight and twisted that they wrestled control of our finances before I could intervene. We need that money to survive.” Especially in Miami, where life didn’t come cheap.
She took another sip. “So what happened then?”
“I spent most of my time finding others like me, loyal to Michael. Guys like Jace and Ellis. Rain, Dana, Willow, Oliver. Between the seven of us, we started gathering others in secret. Trying to take back control. It took a while, because Lex had been planning his takeover for a long time before he actually did it.”
“I didn’t realize.”
“Not many did. He seemed like a good guy at first, remember?”
Charming, handsome, popular with women and men alike. And then he’d shown his true colors when anyone dared question him.
Quince continued in a low rumble, “To make a long story short, I did my best to prevent him and his idiot brother from raping and hunting humans in the swamps. That took time and effort away from corralling him. So much energy spent on damage control until two months had passed with Lex still in power. Then I had to make my move. I got in thick with him, and yeah, I had to
Her sisters said as one, “Done.”
Chapter Three
Quince stared through the window of the plane, uncomfortable at being in an enclosed space, one that could fall out of the sky at any given moment. At times like these he understood why raptors thought they had an edge on land dwellers.
“Okay. Lay it on me.” Joy sipped a rum and coke, slouched in her seat as if enjoying herself at a four-star resort. She cocked a brow. “Well? I’m not getting any younger.”
She sat close and—considering that even the first class seats seemed miniature for him—they continued to brush against each other, which made the trip almost bearable. That and he’d left Montana far behind. Thank God.
He glanced around them and noted that with the late hour, few passengers remained awake. Those that were listened to music or watched their electronic tablets. The rumble of the plane gave him added assurance he’d be hard to hear if he lowered his voice.
Speaking in a voice too low to be heard by humans, he explained what he’d been wanting to tell her for far too long. “Michael was like my father. You know that.”
“You loved him,” she said quietly.
“Yes.” He paused, his heart still aching from the loss. It seemed like only yesterday and not five months ago that his mentor and friend had been killed. “I found him bleeding to death in the Glades. I did my best to help him through, you know, to peace. But it was hard. Lex hurt him bad.” He knew she saw his anger, but she didn’t do more than nod. “Before he passed, he made me promise to infiltrate Lex’s command. The only way to take him down, because Lex had become too powerful, luring the others with promises of wealth, women, sex, anything they wanted. And he could and did deliver.”
She frowned. “He was such a prick.”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “I gave Michael steady progress reports for that last week he lingered. Then he died.” Quince tried to shrug off the emotional wound. “I made a promise, and I kept it.” He prided himself on always keeping a promise.
“But you didn’t tell Miles.”
“I couldn’t. Your brother is—
was
—my best friend. I know him as well as you do. He’s a hot head, and he has no patience unless it involves dollar signs. Yeah, he’s brilliant at business—not so great when it comes to dealing with stupidity. And Lex was a dumbass. Strong and mean, but deep-down stupid.”
“You got that right,” she muttered. She looked at him with what he hoped was the beginning of trust. “I still don’t understand why it took so long to break Lex down.”
“Your family was never that tight with the inner workings of the pride. You focused more on business and blending in with Miami society. Lex had his select circle so tight and twisted that they wrestled control of our finances before I could intervene. We need that money to survive.” Especially in Miami, where life didn’t come cheap.
She took another sip. “So what happened then?”
“I spent most of my time finding others like me, loyal to Michael. Guys like Jace and Ellis. Rain, Dana, Willow, Oliver. Between the seven of us, we started gathering others in secret. Trying to take back control. It took a while, because Lex had been planning his takeover for a long time before he actually did it.”
“I didn’t realize.”
“Not many did. He seemed like a good guy at first, remember?”
Charming, handsome, popular with women and men alike. And then he’d shown his true colors when anyone dared question him.
Quince continued in a low rumble, “To make a long story short, I did my best to prevent him and his idiot brother from raping and hunting humans in the swamps. That took time and effort away from corralling him. So much energy spent on damage control until two months had passed with Lex still in power. Then I had to make my move. I got in thick with him, and yeah, I had to
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