Cat's Wolf (A Shifter Romance Novella) (11 page)

“I hate to break it to you,
Kaitlin, but that doesn’t prove anything,” Brent said softly.

She took a step closer and shoved
her finger in his face, “Don’t patronize me, Brent. My instinct tells me he’s
up to no good and it’s never been wrong before.
He’s working for someone
else
. For all we know it could be my father; or Darren; Tito.”

Both men stared at her for long
minutes as the rest of the room was filled with the sound of quiet
conversation.

“Look, Raoul wasn’t happy to see me
when you fetched me here the first time. He may have acted polite but I sensed
he’d rather have killed me than smile like he did.”

Brent nodded like it made sense.
“We did think it strange that he came with us, didn’t we? He never interacted
with us unless he had to so why did he follow us out here?”

“You have a valid point,” Rhys acknowledged.
“We need to find out who he’s working for.”

“How do we do that?” She asked.

His brow furrowed as he thought and
then a loud sigh left him. “I have no idea. Maybe we should concentrate on one
problem at a time. Your father is a bigger concern. If it turns out Raoul is
working for him then that will get rid of both problems. If not, we can deal
with it afterwards.”

Kaitlin nodded and turned back to
stare at the room.

“My source is very reliable. The
information doesn’t need verifying,” Malachi chipped in. “And there’s a list in
there that documents who’s willing to testify. You may also find a picture
of—Raoul?—in there as an associate of Tito’s; which probably puts him on the
payroll of Paul Mahone.”

They all turned to stare at him and
he held his palms up. “I didn’t know he was in your pack; that wasn’t passed on
to me or I’d have mentioned something sooner.”

Rhys glared at him for a moment
before turning back to the room. “Alright guys. Change of plan. There should be
a list mentioned in the file that lists people willing to testify. Find it and
check—just to confirm. Myself and Kaitlin will be working out who on the
council will be the best choice to take the evidence to. Brent will be around
somewhere, as will Malachi, if they are needed. Please treat Malachi kindly, he
is a…guest and an ally.”

A soft murmur of agreement went
through the room and then Kaitlin felt Rhys’ hand wrap around her upper arm and
she was led down the corridor and into the bedroom and pushed gently towards
the bed.

“Rhys now isn’t the time to—” Her
words were cut off as his lips claimed hers softly but passionately.

“I know,” he told her with a smirk,
when he finally released her, “but I couldn't resist.” His thumb ran over her
bottom lip, “You’ve been biting it and it looked so red and inviting.” Rhys’
eyes flared amber as his gaze roamed her face.

Kaitlin could see the effort it
took for him to let her go and couldn't resist a small smile. It was certainly
something to know you had a hold on someone who was normally so strong-willed.
That you were his weakness.

He moved away to grab something off
the table and then sat on the edge of the bed. Rhys patted the space beside him
and she walked to his side to see what he was doing. He’d grabbed a pad of
paper and a pen and was writing all the council members names on it with a
pro’s and con’s column under each.

“You think that’s going to help?”
She asked with a smile.

As he shrugged his shoulders, she
dropped down beside him and pulled the pad from his grip and flicked through
the names for the one she wanted. When she found it, she tugged the pen from
his fingers and wrote a note on the pro side.

Youngest member of council; has
done little that D could hold over her.

“You’re thinking of going to Li?”

She glanced across at him, “Why
not? Maybe in Malachi’s file it says it was my father who sent the rogues to
kill hers.”

Rhys’ brows rose in surprise. “You
think so?”

“It’s possible,” she got up off the
bed and headed to the door. “Let me go find out.”

Pulling the door open she hurried
down the corridor and hooked and arm through Malachi’s to get his attention. He
glanced around nervously, probably looking for Rhys, before giving her his full
attention.

“You know that file off by heart?”
He nodded his head, watching her warily. “Then do you know whether it was my
father who sent the rogues to kill Li’s?”

Malachi slowly nodded his head. “My
source told me.”

Kaitlin tried to swallow past the
lump in her throat. “Who is your source? I know them, right?”

He glanced away, “I don’t think
they’d want you to know.”

“Okay.” She nodded understandingly.
“You have proof? I’m going to need it for what I have planned.”

“There’s a transcript in the file
of the phone conversation between Paul Mahone and the rogue werewolf.”

How had he managed to get something
like that? “I’ll need a copy.”

Malachi nodded and crossed the room
to retrieve it from the file. She watched as he moved over to a small portable
printer and pressed a few buttons. Moments later he was back with a copy of it,
which he handed to her.

Her eyes scanned the sheet of
paper, a queasiness taking over her as she read the instructions her father had
given to the wolves on how he wanted Li’s dad to be killed. She took a
steadying breath and looked away from the file. It was sickening.

“Thank you,” she said sincerely.

Taking the paper she headed back
towards the bedroom where Rhys was waiting and waved the sheet in her hand.
“Bingo.”

Chapter 16

Rhys
took the paper from her and scanned the page. He paled at the details and she
saw his jaw clench hard. She wasn’t surprised; it wasn’t pleasant reading. “Now
what?”

“Now,
we take this to Li. She’ll want revenge for her father and I’m sure if the rest
of the council knew the truth they’d want him out too. Fear that they could be
next may just shock them into doing the right thing.” He gave her an odd look.
“What?”

A
grin curved his lips, “I never realised you were so…business orientated.” Kaitlin
raised a brow. “Wanting to bring your father down,” he explained. “You seem
really determined to do it; there’s a fire about you.”

“He can't be in a position of power
if he’s just going to abuse it.”

Rhys nodded emphatically. “I
agree.”
He bit his lip, “That fire is kind of hot.”

She
laughed. “Do you ever not think about sex?”

“Not when I’m anywhere near you,”
he confessed. Standing, he grasped her hips and pulled her against him, his
breath warm on her face as his gaze locked on her lips. Obliging, she tipped
her head back, her fingers threading into his hair as his mouth lowered to hers.
Her fingers tightened in his hair as his tongue tangled with hers and his hands
pulled her closer against him.

Kaitlin’s breathing was harsh as
she pulled away from him. Placing her palms on his chest she gave a little
push. With his legs being at the edge of the bed, he fell backwards until he
was sat back on the mattress. “Rhys, we don’t have time!”

“I know. I couldn't resist,” he
added with a wink.

Leaning forward, Kaitlin plucked
the crumpled page from under his thigh and scanned it again. “I need to contact
Li; set up a meeting with her.”

Rhys offered her his mobile and she
took it with a smile. Opening the contacts she scanned through the names but
couldn't find the one she was after. Then she realised that probably not
everyone had the names and numbers of every council member programmed in, like
she did—not out of choice but at her mother’s request—in case she found herself
in trouble. She seriously doubted her mother had meant from her own father at
the time.

“I need my phone. I have her number
stored in there.” Kaitlin handed him his phone back and patted her pockets
hunting for her own. Only she couldn't find it. Running through the places
she’d been in her head, the only one where she could possibly have lost it was
in the car when things had gotten a little…crazy, earlier. “Damn, it’s in the
car.”

Pushing to his feet, Rhys offered
her his hand. “Let’s go get it.”

“Sure,” grabbing his hand she let
him escort her out of the suite and down the corridor to the lift. Oddly the
doors opened as soon as the button was pressed, and they stepped into the steel
compartment. He pushed the ground floor button and the doors swished shut and
the elevator hummed softly as it descended. A ping signalled their arrival at
their destination and Rhys took her hand, twining their fingers together, and
led her through the ornate lobby and to the car parked outside.

The black SUV’s lights flashed once
as he unlocked the car and she pulled open the passenger door and inspected the
carpeted floor. Kaitlin couldn't see it so she reached blindly under the seat.
Her fingers brushed something and she quickly grasped it and pulled it out.
Sure enough it was her silver phone.

Smiling triumphantly she wiggled it
at Rhys and then unlocked it. The message icon blinked furiously on the screen
and she tapped it with her finger. It opened to reveal three messages; two from
Misha and one from her mum. Apparently things were happening in the cat
compound.
Big
things.

“Something’s happening back at the
cat compound. How much do you reckon it’s to do with us?”

Rhys didn’t seem bothered in the
least. “Almost definitely.”

“I need to phone Li, tell her what
I know and see what she wants to do.” Scrolling through her contacts she found
who she wanted and hesitated for the briefest second before pressing the call
button. The phone started ringing and she pressed the phone to her ear.

“Li.”

Kaitlin licked her suddenly dry
lips. “It’s Kaitlin Mahone. I…I know who killed your father and I have evidence
to prove it.”

There was a long silence following
her words and she began to wonder if the connection had cut when Li spoke, “Where
are you? We should meet.”

“I’m with Rhys…” she trailed off as
she realised she didn’t know his last name.

He grinned before supplying, “Hemsworth.”

“Rhys Hemsworth, a wolf shifter—my
mate—at the Crescent Bay hotel; he’s got the penthouse suite.”

“A wolf shifter is your mate?” She
asked, her voice turning light and teasing. “I bet your father isn’t happy
about that?”

Kaitlin smiled and let out a snort
of laughter, “Not in the slightest.”

Li’s voice grew serious again, “I’m
already in the country—your city actually—on business. I’ll be there as soon as
I can.” The line went dead.

“Cat?”

She glanced up at Rhys to find his
gaze locked on something across the car park. Following the direction of his
gaze she found a group of people, both men and women, staring at them. Her eyes
locked on one man as he cracked his knuckles with a smile. This couldn't be
good.

“What should we do?” She asked.

“The most sensible thing would be
to run, but I don’t think that would be a good idea with Li coming here.”

Shooting him a quick glance, she
said, “We don’t know how long she’ll be. Two versus nine are not good odds.
Can't you phone Brent or something?”

“Not a bad idea,” he conceded and
swiftly plucked his phone from his jeans pocket and speed dialled Brent. “We’ve
got trouble in the car park. Fetch some guys downstairs with you.” He didn’t
wait for an answer just disconnected the call and slipped it back in his
pocket. “They’re on their way.”

“Good because
they’re
heading
our
way.”

Kaitlin tried to remain calm as the
newcomers grew ever nearer but it was hard. Not knowing whether they posed a
threat to them or not was driving her crazy.

One of the men in the group drew a
knife and took a second to stroke the blade before tossing it end over end at
Kaitlin. She ducked the flying weapon and heard a crack behind her as it
embedded itself in the bullet-proof glass of the SUV.

Definitely a threat, she decided.

Rhys swore to her right as one of
the male attackers drew a blade and sliced at his stomach. Baring his teeth in
a snarl, he drew his fist back and punched the man in the face.

Kaitlin didn’t get the opportunity
to watch as a shrieking woman ran at her. Feinting left, she quickly moved right,
kicking out with her foot and connecting with the woman’s side. The woman let
out a pained grunt but quickly rallied with a low punch to the kidneys that had
Kaitlin crying out in pain. Her anger and adrenaline rising she pushed the pain
away and bared her teeth in a snarl.

The other woman went to punch her
again but Kaitlin blocked it and grabbed the woman’s arm to pull her off
balance. Lifting her knee she drove it into her attacker’s stomach and heard a
satisfying “oomph”. Quickly she tripped the woman and, following her down,
punched her in the face several times until she was unconscious.

One down, several more to go.

Jumping to her feet, she saw Rhys
grappling with one guy on the floor. A woman was closing in on them from behind
and Kaitlin saw red.

Stalking forward, she launched
herself at the woman, catching her in the side. They tumbled to the ground and
rolled as they each fought for dominance. Surprisingly the other woman ended up
on top and punched Kaitlin hard in the jaw. Her head snapped to the side with
the force and she had to struggle to keep conscious. She blinked slowly and
turned her head back to face the woman, who was grinning at her.

In the next second she was yanked
backward, her face showing surprise. Kaitlin heard the sound of flesh hitting
flesh and then a thud.

Brent was suddenly leaning over
her. “You okay?” She nodded, shaking the punch off, and took the hand he
offered and was hauled to her feet. “Duck!”