“It was just a thought,” he said nonchalantly. “Don’t mean it’s true.”
“Still, it’s a good start, and it’ll help us figure a couple of things out,” Mika said.
“We should definitely plan for this,” Daric said. “I should be off for now. The former Alpha asked to see me.”
Ransom’s ears perked up. “Former Alpha?”
“Yes, Lucas’s father.” The warlock looked at him strangely, eyes narrowed. “Anyway, he’s been at home in Italy, but he wanted to come back to New York to help out. He asked that I bring him and his wife back to New York right away.”
So, Grant Anderson would soon be in New York. Useful information, but he filed that knowledge away for now.
“Will I see you and Sabrina tonight for dinner?” Daric asked Cross.
“I’m afraid not, Dad,” he replied. “I promised Dee I’d bring Sabrina over for dinner.”
“That’s fine, I’ll see you tomorrow then. Give Dee and His Majesty my regards.”
“I will, Dad,” Cross said before Daric disappeared.
“I have stuff I need to do,” Mika said. “And it’s almost lunch, and Delacroix’s going to burst in at any moment to feed me,” she said with a sigh.
“We’ll be on our way then, Mika.” Cross stood up and so Ransom followed him. “Did you need a ride anywhere? Perhaps a quick trip home in case you forget anything?” he asked when they left Mika’s office. “I need to leave soon, but I can make a trip if you need me.”
“Nah.” He waved the other man away. “If you don’t mind, I do have a few things I need to take care of, but just here in the city.”
“I’ll let you know next time we need to meet with the Alpha or Mika again,” Cross said. “And Ransom?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks … for everything.”
“Well, I ain’t doing this for you.”
Cross looked at him with an inscrutable expression on his face. “Who are you doing it for?”
Fuck if he knew. “Tell Sabrina I said hi,” he said evasively.
“Speaking of Sabrina …” Cross opened his mouth then seemed to hesitate.
“What about Sabrina?”
“Nothing.” Cross shook his head. “I mean, she says hi too.”
Ransom frowned. “Did she say—” But Cross disappeared before he could finish his sentence. What the heck was Cross about to say? He knew something was up, and it didn’t sit right in his stomach.
An insistent vibration from his pocket made him sigh impatiently. It was the call he’d been dreading, and he knew he needed to answer or else. “Yeah,” he said into the receiver.
“You’ve been ignoring my calls.”
“There was nothing to tell you last night. I didn’t know where Gr—our target was located,” he said.
“Last night? What about now.”
“He’s coming back to New York today. That’s all I know.”
There was a loud huff. “Keep me posted. And don’t ignore my calls again.”
The line went dead. “What, not even a kiss goodbye?” he said sarcastically. He shoved the phone back into his pocket and headed to the elevator. He jabbed at the call button and walked inside when the door opened. Two people—a timid-looking female with glasses and a stack of folders clutched to her chest, and a skinny young man who didn’t look old enough to be here—were already inside.
God what a mess. Was he really going to go through with this revenge plan? It was the only way he could protect his family now. And what about Isabelle? She would hate him if she knew what he was planning.
His wolf snarled at the thought, and the two other passengers in the elevator started. The young man pressed up against the far wall and the female dropped her folders, sending papers flying everywhere.
“Sorry, Alpha!” she squeaked as she got down and began picking up the spilled documents.
“I ain’t no Alpha,” he growled, though that only made the woman nervous. With a sigh, he got down and helped her, handing her the papers by his feet.
His wolf didn’t like the presence of the female, so it let out another warning yip, and the woman let out a yelp. “Damn thing,” he spat.
The door opened to the training floor, and the two of them quickly scampered out. He berated his wolf. “See what you did?”
Maybe a ride would help clear his thoughts and calm his animal. Cross had said he could go anywhere in New York City, Upstate, and New Jersey, but not anywhere else like Connecticut. He ignored the irony of those words and got on his bike.
Ransom rode for what seemed like miles and miles and hours and hours, first heading out to New Jersey, as if he were headed west, back home. But he couldn’t even make it past Uniontown. So he turned around and went east, to Long Island and up the coast, eventually parking his bike at a rest stop so he could walk up to the water.
He’d seen an ocean a few times in his life, but never the cold Atlantic waters. What would happen if he kept on riding? If he never stopped and made it all the way to Canada? Maybe he could live in Nova Scotia, or even Newfoundland, where no one knew him. Where no one knew his past, and he could make his own future. Or he could just jump into the freezing ocean. There would be no Cross to rescue him this time, so maybe he would die and never have to feel trapped like this. He would be free.
But his wolf, his own goddammed wolf, fought him. “Asshole,” he growled back as its claws dug into him. “Stop! I’m not going to kill myself, you bastard!”
Grumbling to himself, he walked back to his bike and hopped on. But that didn’t seem to quell his animal. He knew what it wanted. “Fine,” he grunted as he started the engine. “I know where you want to go.” Just once more,
