Chapter 28

“Oh my god, Shae. This place is like a smorgasbord of tight buns. Why have you never told me what all these big, sexy men look like?”

Zain stopped in the middle of the hall and watched Shaelan laugh at the man with her.

“I have a mate, Brock. I don’t check out other males.”

“Well, I will do the checking for both of us, girl.” He nodded.

Shaelan turned and saw Zain. “Zain, this is one of my clan mates, Brock.”

Brock put his hand on his hip and looked Zain up and down. “I may never go home again. I’m just going to live here.” He giggled. “Hi.”

Zain nodded his head and started walking again. “I was looking for Calum or Devin.” He felt uncomfortable with the way Brock was smiling at him, so he looked only at Shaelan.

She pointed to the door down the hall. “They’re in there with Jesse brainstorming.”

“Thanks. I just need to speak with them about Chicago.”

“You’re going there too?” Brock cleared his throat. “I’m going to infiltrate the caterers and be the eyes inside.” His voice was deeper, and he sounded like he was from the south now. He turned to Shaelan and grinned. “Is it just me, or does infiltrate sound like something dirty?”

Shaelan shook her head. “You need to have a nap. The trip has made you loopy.”

Brock laughed. “Honey, this is me now that I can be me.” He rolled his eyes.

Zain inhaled a deep breath and then pointed to the door. He blew it out. “I’m going to go see if they have time to talk to me.” He started walking toward the door.

“Do you think it would be okay if I go let my kitty out for a run, Shae?”

Shaking his head, Zain walked faster toward the office. Things were interesting around here, he had to admit that.

~

Zain closed the door and then looked at the three men. He was so out of his element here. Someone walking into his office was one thing—he was in charge there.

“Have a seat.” Devin motioned to one of the chairs.

He went over and sat down.

“Rayne spoke to my mother.” Devin walked around to the front of the desk and leaned against it. “She doesn’t know any details, just that my father had a secret he didn’t share with her—for her safety.”

That hadn’t been the answer Zain had hoped for.

“She was going to ask the second family about it, but we told her not to. If Shepard didn’t share the details with anyone, there was a reason.” Calum crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Devin.

“Okay.” It wasn’t, but Zain didn’t want to say that. He looked at Jesse. “Am I still being sent to Chicago?”

Jesse nodded. “Bear will be there, and one of Uri’s is going to keep an eye on things while you’re there.”

Zain nodded. That made him feel a little better, but he still would have preferred to not be going.

“I know it’s a lot to ask of you.” Devin went back around to the back of the desk. “We’ve gone through all the other team members, and there’s no one that hasn’t been involved in ops or surveillance at some point.”

“So what you’re saying is it’s me or no one.”

“Basically.” Calum shrugged. “Oaklyn is very capable of avoiding trouble.”

Zain snorted. “Yeah. She’s pretty handy with knives too.”

Calum grinned.

He didn’t like she was going, but the only way he could justify telling them was if he told them she was his mate and he wasn’t ready to go there. “What exactly are we going to do there?”

“It’s going to be like a holiday.” Devin flipped through some folders on his desk and then looked at Calum.

Calum grinned and went over and pushed a few aside and then picked one up and held it out to him.

“Thanks.” Devin opened it and looked at the pages inside. “Illias and Fallan have created a backstory for both of you.” He walked around the desk. “You’ll be staying at a hotel there and just have to be seen at restaurants and other places prior to the party.” He held out the folder to him.

Zain took it and opened it. He read the top of the first page. “William? My name is going to be William Jeggins the third?” He looked from Devin to Jesse, who was trying not to grin.

“Yes.” Devin sat down in the chair beside him. “Brock is going to get you access to the party and any gatherings prior to it.”

“Brock?” Zain pointed to the door. “I just met Brock…”

Calum chuckled. “He will fit right in. Trust me.”

“He is…”

“Unique,” Jesse said with amusement in his eyes.

“Okay.” Zain blew out a breath and looked down at the folder. “Has Oaklyn seen this?”

“She has a copy,” Calum said. “She’ll pull it off without any problems.”

“Illias is setting up an isolated line for you.” Devin glanced at Calum. “It’s my understanding that at the push of one button, you will have someone on the phone if you run into any problems.”

He knew that was supposed to make him feel better, but it didn’t. Problems could cover any number of things. He didn’t dwell on them too long. None were pleasant. Closing the folder, he looked at them one at a time. “I’ll study this. Has Illias figured out everything they got from my laptop?”

“He has.” Devin got up. “None of it was your fault, Zain. Nate is at headquarters; Raymond is on his way there. They’re going to sweep the building and check all electronics because if they had something on yours, then chances are there’s more.”

“What about this party? Has anyone communicated about it outside of here?” If anyone had, they could take out all of the teams in one night, and then the shifter world would never survive.

“No. Details haven’t been spoken of beyond these walls and won’t be.” Devin picked up his phone and looked at it. “Everyone is going home for a few weeks, and then they’ll regroup at assigned locations. No one will know details until they get there.”

Zain nodded. “I have this knot in my stomach that won’t let up…”

“Considering what you’ve been through, that’s not surprising.” Jesse pulled out his phone and checked it. “You have a few days before you’re heading to Chicago. Get some rest. Study the new you and try to relax.” He looked at Devin. “Leah and I have to get back. If anything comes up, let me know.”

Devin nodded. “I’m hoping for quiet and dull for a few weeks until that party.”

Jesse ginned. “I wish you luck with that.” He went over to the door and looked back at Zain. “We’ll get Shepard back, and then we’ll get you answers.”

Zain nodded. His only worry with that was whether these answers were going to be ones that everyone could live with. “Drive safe.”

Jesse nodded and then left the office.

“Sir—” He looked at Devin. “Is there a way to check on the clan that Oaklyn ran from? I’m just wondering what’s going on with it.”

Devin glanced at Calum for a second. “She ran from it? Why?”

“I couldn’t get details from her,” Calum said quietly.

Zain hoped she wouldn’t get mad at him, but he needed to know. “She was going to be forced to pair up with a man she didn’t like.”

“She didn’t like her mate?” Devin crossed his arms over his chest and gave Zain his full attention.

“He wasn’t her mate.” He cleared his throat. “I tried to look in old files for the clan, going off her last name…”

“You know her last name? Her real one?” Calum’s lips twitched. “I know the name she uses isn’t her real one.”

Zain nodded. “Her last name was Green. I don’t know what state she’s from, but her dialect tells me a general area.”

Devin leaned over the desk and wrote on a piece of paper. “We can look into it.” He turned to Calum. “We should look into it. Pairing up people against their wishes isn’t something that’s going to happen on our watch.”

Calum’s expression darkened. “No. Not anymore.” He rubbed his hand over his forehead and then looked at Zain. “Go find Oaklyn and go over your stories together. When you get there, you’re going to have to play off each other and be in synch.”

Zain turned to Calum. He wanted to blurt out that she was his mate, and he was anything but together and in synch with her.

Calum’s mouth quirked. “I know.” His eyes were filled with amusement. “You’ll sort it out.” He nodded his head once. “I’m going to see if I can drag Shae away from here for a few days, at least before all of this happens. Once Mom is back with the clan, we might be able to sneak away.”

Devin snorted. “Good luck with that. I’m stuck here.”

Calum stopped in the doorway and grinned at him. “Yes, you are. Until your father is found, we can’t take any chances.

“I know.” Devin heaved out a deep breath. “Go.” He motioned to the door but smiled as soon as Calum left. Turning back, he looked at Zain. “Let me know if you need anything. Rayne will already have a shopping list for your trip.”

Zain stood up. “I have no idea what I’m doing.”

Devin nodded his head slowly. “That’s been my life for the last seven months.” He laughed. “I was alone for years. Now I have a hundred guests at my campground, and I’m charge of all this.” He waved his hand around.

Zain blinked. It made what he had to do sound simple. “You’re doing a great job.” He gripped the folder tight in one hand. “I’ve heard many things from your father about the plans you and Rayne have, and I think the entire community will be better for it.”

Devin shrugged. ‘We just need to shut down Aiden, before we make any changes.”

Zain sucked in a deep breath and straightened his spine. he blew it out. “We will.” He nodded at him and went out into the hallway. They had to find Shepard. There was no other option. If he had to put his furry tail on the line in order for that to happen, he was going to have to suck it up and do it.

He walked down the hall and hoped Oaklyn would be somewhere near the cafeteria and entrance. Beyond there, he was going to get lost.

Going around the corner, he spotted Webb and went toward him. “Hey.”

Webb looked up from the clipboard in his hand. “I’m on inventory detail.” He gave him a half-grin. “I didn’t realize how much the teams went through.”

Zain laughed. “Keeping you guys stocked is a full-time job.”

Webb waved the clipboard around. “I see that.”

“Hey,” Zain tucked the folder under his arm. “Are you okay? You were a bit weird at the end of our run.”

Webb’s expression sobered. “Yeah. Yeah. I’m good. I was just taken back running into someone out there.”

“Rhogue,” Zain nodded. “She seemed nice enough.”

Webb nodded. “Yeah. She was real pretty too.” He cleared his throat. “I better go start checking this list.” He backed up a few steps. “I’ll see you later.” Turning he started down the hall.

Zain watched him with an eyebrow raised. He wasn’t humming. Webb was always humming. He grimaced; he was so glad he wasn’t asked to do inventory here. Keeping the entire factory stocked would be a task that even he would struggle with.

Pulling the folder out from under his arm, he looked at it. He needed to find Oaklyn and see where she was with all of this. No one had even asked her if she wanted to go.