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  Manuel knew he really didn’t have a good rebuttal for that, because his uncle was completely right. “He was my little brother, and Father emphasized loyalty. It was my job to take care of Raul. I swore on my father’s deathbed I would take care of him, and our family. And I swore an oath to my mother to avenge Raul’s death.”

  Abundio sighed as he slowly shook his head. “What would your father say about the cartel now, hmm? That you allowed such…activities to continue? The drugs? That is a product, although what you peddle now is far more dangerous than the marijuana and liquor our father used to sell. But the flesh trade? And allowing someone like your brother to victimize children? Tsk.”

  Manuel had no response, either, because in his gut, he knew his uncle was absolutely right.

  The longer Abundio scolded him, the higher the price it’d cost Manuel to gain his help. He knew this, because it was a tactic he’d learned from his own father.

  As had Abundio. They’d been raised at the feet of their cut-throat father, who’d started building an empire Manuel’s father went on to expand and make flourish. Abundio had found his own reasonably respectable success once he’d turned his back on the cartel after their father’s death, no doubt utilizing those same tactics in a far more respectable way.

  Finally, Abundio looked at Carl. “What do you think?”

  Another soft chuff. “That’s up to you, sir. If you order it, I can put together a small team of men, including myself, to take care of this.”

  “How many men?” Abundio asked.

  “Four, at the most. The fewer, the better. Too many will be spotted. Preferably, I would take only myself and Mateo. If the goal is to find the one man, too many men would be overkill.”

  “But is it worth it?” Abundio asked. “Is it worth the risk?”

  “I don’t have an answer for you, sir. I work for you and don’t know the history behind your relationship with him.” Manuel knew the man meant him.

  Manuel’s uncle focused on him again, and this time Manuel recognized the reptilian gleam there. “What would make this worth my while, nephew?”

  Manuel didn’t have to lie. “I don’t know, sir. I know offering you money would be futile.”

  “Well, that’s the first intelligent thing you’ve said since your arrival. Does anyone know you’re here?”

  “No, sir. Only my wife knows I’m back from the States. We flew in to a different airstrip than usual.”

  Abundio spoke to Carl. “Did he have any weapons on him?”

  “No, sir. Car keys and a phone. Some jewelry.”

  “There is a handgun in the trunk of the rental car,” Manuel said, weariness suddenly setting in. “I parked three streets south of here.”

  “Have someone get his car,” Abundio said. “Bring it inside the compound before it’s stolen or draws unwanted attention. Confiscate the handgun and phone and search the car. Bring his clothes to him.”

  “Yes, sir.” Carl opened the door and issued orders to the men standing guard just outside. Then he returned and resumed his previous position.

  “You will spend the night,” Abundio said to Manuel. “Have dinner with me, and we shall talk some more. I need to think on this for a while. Carl, please show him to the first guest room upstairs and let him get dressed there, then bring him down to the dining room.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Thank you,” Manuel said as he stood, relief flooding him that he was not only being granted a longer audience with his uncle, but that he was even still alive.

  “Oh, do not thank me yet, nephew.” Abundio’s eyes glittered with amusement. “You have not yet heard my price.”

  Chapter Four

  Dewi tried to relax once Ken was safely inside Beck and Nami’s house and settled on their sofa with his ankle propped up. Nami made him another ice pack and handed it too him before she patted Dewi on the shoulder.

  She kept her voice down so Da’von couldn’t hear. “Sugar, my ankle was fine about three days after we got back from Idaho. Twinged a little for another few days, but I probably could’ve been walking on it sooner than I did if someone hadn’t been a worrier.” Nami shot a playfully dark glare at Beck. “I’m sure Ken’s will heal up quick, too. Probably faster than mine did. Look how fast you said his leg healed up before.”

  Beck hadn’t yet met Nami when the showdown with Endquist occurred.

  Dewi’s rational brain knew Nami—and everyone else—was right.

  Still, Ken was her mate, and she wasn’t quite used to holding this level of worry for another person yet.

  It wasn’t a bad problem to have, it was just a new one, for her.

  Although, come to think of it, in a single lifetime most couples didn’t go through the shit they’d already been through in the span of the past couple of months.

  Then Lu’ana and Reggie arrived, with Bebe in Reggie’s arms. The beautiful little two-year-old was wearing…

  “Um…” Dewi stared. “What’s she got on?”

  Lu’ana laughed. “Isn’t it just the most adorable little costume? She said she wanted to be a wolf for Halloween. It arrived from Amazon yesterday, and now I cannot get her out of it. I went ahead and ordered another one, so I would be able to swap them out so I can wash them.”

  “Imma wuff!” Bebe happily squealed.

  That’s exactly what it was, too—from the furry suit complete with tail, to the hood with ears and everything on it.

  There were only three people in the room—not counting Bebe—who didn’t know about the wolf situation. That would be Lu’ana, Reggie, and Da’von.

  It was no coincidence that they were the only three people who weren’t standing there in wide-eyed surprise.

  “That’s…that’s absolutely adorable,” Nami agreed, recovering first and swooping in to take her from Reggie. “Come here and give Auntie Nami some sugar.”

  Bebe giggled and threw back her head, letting loose a howl.

  Badger started coughing, which Dewi damn well knew was him trying to cover a laughing fit.

  Duncan, however, walked over to kiss the toddler on the cheek.

  “Gampa Dunk!” Bebe reached for Duncan, practically throwing herself out of Nami’s arms to reach him, forcing Nami to hand her over.

  Duncan smiled at the toddler, tipped his head back, and gave a soft howl of his own. That completely delighted Bebe and drew a deep belly laugh from her before she let loose with another howl.

  Nami stood with her back to Reggie and Lu’ana, but the nearly panicked look in her eyes as she stared at Dewi clearly meant Nami was begging her to do something.

  Dewi sighed and gave a little wolf howl of her own, making Bebe giggle and clap. “Yay, Auntie Dewi!”

  And Dewi was also pretty sure the dark scowl Nami sent her in response clearly meant, That’s not what I meant!

  “You know,” Lu’ana said, “ever since we got back from Idaho, she’s been carrying around her stuffed wolf and howling. I found an episode of a nature show on Netflix about Yellowstone wolves, and she watches it every day and howls with them.”

  Dewi avoided Badger’s knowing gaze. Since their return from Idaho, she’d already had one discussion with him about this very topic. He’d discovered that the Drexler siblings had a couple of wolf shifters in their lineage, through their mother’s family. Distant relations, but including a fairly famous Prime Alpha.

  Which would help explain why two of the sisters had fallen for wolf mates.

  Badger was still working on tracing their complete lineage through their father, as well as Reggie’s lineage.

  Maybe little Bebe had more than a few dominant wolf genes in her blood. It wasn’t very common, but it wasn’t impossible or unheard of. Bebe had immediately bonded first with Badger, and then Duncan. She was also fond of Dewi, Beck, and every other wolf she’d met while in Idaho.

  And, before now, Bebe was not a child who bonded quickly with strangers. She still wasn’t—she was shunning a new teacher at her daycare, according to Lu
’ana. But anyone who was part of their pack, be they human or wolf, had apparently passed the Bebe test.

  Bebe next reached for Badger. “Gampa Bada!”

  The grizzled old wolf smiled as he held out his hands to her. “C’mere, me wee lass. I been needin’ meself a Bebe hug all week.”

  Duncan passed her over. If the toddler was going to be afraid of anyone on first sight, Dewi would have thought it’d be Badger. With the wicked scar that ran the length of his face, including through his missing left eye, his presence had terrified plenty of adults, much less children. And Bebe didn’t like him just because of his Prime Alpha powers smoothing the way. He’d sworn to Dewi he hadn’t needed to use it on her to get her to like him.

  She just liked him.

  It was obvious Bebe had an affinity for wolves.

  Badger adored children, even though he didn’t have any of his own. His mate had been murdered long ago, in the same incident that left him scarred and missing an eye. Dewi usually referred to him as her uncle, even though their pack relation was far more complicated than that. Plus, he’d raised Dewi, trained her. He was the closest thing she had to a father, and she loved him like one.

  “So are you gonna bring her over here for Trick-or-Treating next weekend?” Nami asked Lu’ana. “Our neighborhood is throwin’ a big party for it Saturday night.”

  “Sure, we can do that,” Lu’ana said. “I still don’t know what we’re going to dress up as.” She laughed. “I was thinking about maybe being Little Red Riding Hood. Bebe can be the wolf.”

  It took Dewi every ounce of self-control she had not to howl with nervous laughter.

  When the toddler reached for Dewi, Badger carried Bebe over to where Dewi sat on the couch with Ken.

  “Here ye go. I believe the princess wants yer company now.”

  Dewi smiled and kissed Bebe’s cheek, breathing a deep sigh as she hugged her. “Hey, sweetie.”

  Bebe played with Dewi’s hair, which today was pulled back in a ponytail low along the nape of her neck. “Imma wuff, Auntie Dewi.”

  “Yes, you are, sweetheart. Are you a good wolf?”

  She nodded.

  When Badger’s cell phone rang, he glanced at the screen before he stepped outside to take the call. Dewi fought the urge to hand Bebe off and follow him, because the dark scowl he’d worn when he read who the caller was concerned her.

  Except…this was family time.

  And the way Bebe was now high-fiving Ken was adorable as hell.

  That was something else she’d need to address sooner or later. Until she met Ken, honestly? She’d never thought she’d have pups of her own. She had work, and training, and…

  Well, that was it.

  Now she had Ken, and it was like he’d unlocked doors not just in her heart, but in her life. Instead of obsessing over whatever was happening with their pack, Dewi loved spending lazy Sunday mornings in bed, when she didn’t have to be somewhere.

  Also, she was now more likely to hand assignments off to Martin, Beck, or Joaquin. Or even to Badger. Before, that was unheard of, for her. She’d planted herself squarely in the middle of nearly every situation brought to her as Head Enforcer.

  Including more than a few she didn’t need to deal with but had opted to handle personally.

  Dewi held still while the toddler rested her forehead against Dewi’s. “You be wuff wif me on Hawwoween, Auntie Dewi?”

  No way to hold that smile back. “I don’t have a wolf costume.” Technically not a lie.

  Bebe giggled. “You don’t need a costume, Auntie Dewi! You wuff wike me!”

  Uh…whut?

  Dewi glanced at Duncan, who was definitely paying attention to their conversation, if his arched eyebrow was any indication.

  “I can play wolf like you,” Dewi opted to say.

  But then Bebe was off again, this time wanting Malyah to take her into the kitchen to see Da’von, who was likely on biscuit duty.

  As everyone else moved out of the living room, except for Ken, who remained on the couch for obvious reasons, Dewi stood and motioned for Beck, Duncan, and Joaquin to hang back.

  “Did you hear that?” she whispered.

  Duncan nodded. “You realize we need to figure this out soon, correct?” he whispered. “If she is one of us, we’re going to need to figure out how to go about schooling her properly. It might mean telling…” He pointed toward the dining room, obviously meaning Lu’ana and Reggie.

  She barely remembered to whisper. “What are we supposed to say? ‘Oh, hey, she’s really a wolf, it’s not just a phase?’”

  “I don’t know, sweetheart, but we need to tell Peyton.”

  “And what’s going on with Badger?” She headed for the windows by the front door and peeked out. He stood in the driveway, the phone to his ear and his other hand rubbing his forehead.

  Dewi had spent her whole life mastering Badgerisms—whatever the phone call concerned, it wasn’t good. She was just about to go out after him when he ended the call, pocketed his phone, and headed for the front door.

  After opening the door for him and stepping aside, he met Dewi’s gaze and gave her a curt shake of his head, the meaning clear.

  Not now.

  Well, hopefully that meant it wasn’t an emergency. If it was, he’d be pulling her outside to talk, or using his Prime powers to silently talk to her.

  Goddess, how much weirder can tonight get?

  * * * *

  Ken thought he might have to throw himself on Duncan and Badger’s mercies and ask them to Prime Dewi to let him move from the couch to the dining room under his own power.

  He got it, but her hovering wasn’t helping his mood. And his own mind was spinning from watching Dewi and Bebe together.

  Not for the obvious reasons that he knew had shocked everyone except the three clueless humans in the room. But because, for a moment, as he watched Dewi with Bebe, he felt a deep, nearly painful longing hit him, and he realized it came from Dewi.

  Honestly? He’d given up on love when Dewi literally walked into his life. In some ways, he and Dewi were almost like twins, their lives paralleling each other. Dewi was orphaned at a young age, and he’d lost his dad young. Then Ken’s step-father had murdered Ken’s mother. But he’d felt incredibly alone growing up. He’d kept his emotions close for fear of what his step-father or step-brother would do to him. He’d sought solace in school and work and just getting through life. He didn’t have close friends or confide in people, because he didn’t want to be hurt.

  Much like Dewi had spent most of her life. Except she’d had a trusted few she could count on, at least. Badger, Beck, her brothers and sisters-in-law.

  But that was it. Because she’d been named Head Enforcer at twelve, she’d learned to master keeping a lid on her emotions and couldn’t afford to risk making herself vulnerable to others.

  Ken never had much of an opinion about having kids before, because he’d never thought he’d have a wife. Except the more time they spent around Bebe, the more he found his own biological clock ticking.

  He did want kids.

  He wanted to curl up on the couch and read to them the way his mom had read to him.

  He wanted to teach them how to cook, watch Dewi teach them how to swim.

  He wanted a family of his own. Nothing against his extended and adopted family, but he wanted to lay his head in Dewi’s lap, with his hand resting against her tummy, and feel the kicks of a baby inside her.

  Their baby.

  And that pang he’d felt from Dewi just now only twisted his guts that much harder.

  The last thing he wanted to do was beg Dewi to get pregnant, because he refused to be one of those guys. Sure, Dewi liked it when he got a little pushy with her in bed, but he was no Alpha the way Dewi was. He didn’t want to be.

  Ken also knew if he spoke this aloud to Dewi, she’d likely do it for him to make him happy, whether or not she was ready to do it. He hadn’t quite yet figured out how to talk to her about it to find
out what she truly wanted, without worrying about her volunteering to do it just to make him happy.

  They’d had a brief conversation about kids when they first got together, and had left the topic open for future discussions without settling anything.

  Right now, Ken was extremely curious about why Badger looked…

  Concerned was a good word for it.

  But Badger shook his head at Dewi’s silent query and Ken knew any discussion would have to wait until later.

  Once Nami called them all in for dinner, Ken took a page from Badger’s playbook and arched an eyebrow at Dewi when she tried to swoop in to help him.

  To his surprise, she pulled up short.

  “I’ve got it,” he quietly said as he pulled himself up with his crutches. “See?”

  Dewi damn near pouted. “I just want to help you.”

  “I know, babe. I’ve got this. Give a guy his pride, huh?” He offered her a smile to take the sting out of his words.

  As Ken hobbled his way into the dining room, he realized maybe he was an idiot if he thought he could be trusted to raise a baby. He couldn’t even walk down a wide, smooth path without nearly breaking his dang neck.

  On that thought, he decided to shelve the issue of discussing kids with Dewi, for now.

  We’ve got too much going on, anyway.

  Maybe, once they knew Segura was out of the picture for good, they could think about it. If he couldn’t even protect himself, he’d worry his way into an early grave over having a vulnerable baby to take care of, too.

  And he didn’t want to dump extra stress on Dewi’s plate, with her worrying about him and a baby. If she was this stressed now…

  Yeah. Babies can wait.

  Chapter Five

  Manuel didn’t know if Carl had already eaten or what, but there were only two places set at the dining room table. After showing Manuel into the room, the large man moved to stand sentry at the far end of the table. While he no longer wore the tactical vest, he wore a handgun holstered on his hip, providing easy access. He stood with his hands clasped behind him, sort of an at-ease position. Manuel suspected his early impression, that the man was former military, was likely correct.