Chapter 807 Chapter 807
Jake stepped outside and looked around. An hour of sleep is what he’d managed. His shower was probably longer than his nap. It had been hard to go back to sleep after falling on your face at someone’s feet. Coop was never going to forget that happening. Ever.
He paused and looked toward the shop. Shaking his head, he turned toward the house. He needed coffee and some sort of food before he started lifting heavy tools. Maybe Beth or Kelsey would take pity on him.
He slowed when he reached the van he’d seen on the way in. It was white, so he knew it wasn’t an Alliance vehicle. He looked through the window. It was filled with suitcases. He glanced at the house. Maybe a family was staying at Ed’s. It is probably more for Blair and Kobie’s clan. They multiplied every time someone left the area. It was crowded over there. He started walking again. It could be some more for Noah’s place. They were packed in over there too. It made sense that Ed’s was going to get some overflow.
Opening the door, he chuckled. The tiger clan was close to outnumbering the wolves now. If they ever had the games again, it was going to be stripes for the win all the way.
Taking off his mucky boots, he walked into the kitchen. The smell of coffee caught his attention before he was all the way through the doorway. Making a beeline to the cupboard, he got out a cup and checked the counters for evidence of any food lingering that he could help himself to.
Blair came out, cup in hand, and then paused and looked at him. “Did you sleep?”
Jake shrugged. “A few minutes.” He blew on the coffee. “I don’t know who looked after the Alliance vehicles before, but they did a shit job of it.”
Blair set the cup down and emptied the rest of the pot into it. “Whoever it was, I think they were suspected to be the ones sticking trackers on the cars.”
Jake hadn’t known that. “What have I missed here?” Hopefully, Blair would stick to the basics and not go off on some tangent about so and so, bugging what’s his face about something not important to Jake at all.
Blair chuffed. “Six new trainees at the shop. A bunch of younger ones from my place and Noah’s are going to join the training programs at the factory and the US headquarters.” He paused and looked at the door. “And a new kind of shit show is brewing.”
Jake raised a brow and opened the fridge. “What kind are we talking about?”
Blair motioned to the living room. “Gage is getting Devin on the phone now, so we’re about to find out.” He opened a cupboard and grabbed a package of the store-bought biscuits Beth always had. Coming over, he smacked them against Jake’s chest. “Come sit down and find out. You don’t look awake enough to be working on any equipment right now.”
Jake caught the package before it fell and closed the fridge. He picked up his coffee and followed Blair into the other room. Noah was leaning against the doorframe on the other side, like he might need to make a fast escape. Jake didn’t ask why he did some things. He’d seen enough to know better.
Gage was by the front window on the phone. Cooper was standing beside him, looking worried and angry at the same time. It took a lot to ruffle Coop that way, so something serious must be happening.
Over on the couch were Kobie and Emersyn. They were both perched on the edge, looking toward Kelsey. He didn’t know either one well enough to know what their expressions meant. He left their issues to their mates, it was safe for him.
Kelsey was kneeling in front of the big chair, talking quietly to a woman he’d never seen before. Well, when he wasn’t naked on his face at her feet. She was upset, but still, the prettiest female he’d ever seen. He glanced at Noah and started to grin when he shook his head, a tense expression on his face. The guy was all coupled up and still didn’t get it.
Making eye contact with Blair, he jerked his head in the direction of the woman and lifted his brows.
Blair’s eyes rounded, and he gave his head a quick shake and looked at Cooper.
Jake wasn’t sure what that was about, but he wasn’t going to get a chance to find out because Aunt Mari came around the corner from the stairs and hurried over to the woman. She handed her a big fuzzy pillow. “You just hug this tight, and you’ll feel the talking come easier.”
The woman took the pillow, and Jake was sure she was going to refuse the offer, but she surprised him and hugged it to her chest.
The vibes in the room completely changed, and Jake didn’t feel like smiling at the pretty girl now. His cat couldn’t take the fear and anxiety coming off her. He glanced at Blair, who jerked his chin toward the chair in the corner. Basically, he was telling him to sit down and keep his mouth shut. Jake went over and sat down. He set the package of biscuits on the table. He couldn’t snack when his cat was all tied up in knots trying to figure out what was wrong.
Gage lowered the phone, tapped the screen, and set it on the coffee table near the woman. “Okay, Rory, the prince and his mate are on the line.” Gage glanced a Jake, but it was so brief he didn’t pick up any commands from it.
“Hello, Rory. It’s Rayne. We’re so glad you made it there safely.”
Jake knew nothing about kings and leaders, but if Rayne was ever promoted in the hierarchy of it all, she was going to make one hell of a queen for the people. Love, confidence, and a sense of peace oozed from her every word. He’d seen her in action at the factory, and anyone she spoke to in her travels felt it.
“Thank you,” Rory said quietly.
“Rory, I’m Devin. I’ve also got Raymond Hardy listening in. He’s the head of the Alliance security and because of where you were, I thought it was important he heard this.”
Rory nodded and then looked at the phone. “All right.”
He’d only heard four words from her, but he still wanted to go over and hug her and tell her it—everything was going to be fine.
“You just take your time,” Mari said and nodded. “We’re all friends here. You are safe.” She looked at Cooper, who nodded to her words. Jake didn’t have enough words in his own vocabulary to explain Mari, but he did know that since she’d arrived, there had been more than a few events that stirred things up, and also, Cooper had smiled more than Jake had ever seen him do.
“I don’t know where to start.” Rory looked down at the pillow she held and picked at the fluff on it.
“Just tell us what you saw, Rory.” Coop used a tone Jake had only heard him use with the younger shifters when they were scared.
“Okay.” She took a shaky breath. “I had a new client to meet.” She glanced at Kobie and then Emersyn. “I’d never done any in that area.” She sighed. “It’s mostly businesses, but it seemed like it was going to be a very profitable one.”
“What do you do, Rory?” Rayne asked.
Rory looked at the phone. “Interior design.” She nodded. “I started with one client, working out of my apartment, and gradually built up the right reputation and moved to an office, a few workers, and an assistant.” She sucked in a breath and looked at the floor.
“Oh, you and I will be talking later.” Rayne sounded calm. “I need help with a few places.”
Rory smiled hesitantly and then took a deep breath. Exhaling slowly, she nodded. “I look forward to it.”
“Did you meet the client?” Gage asked.
She shook her head. “No. I was running late, so my assistant—Blanche, I sent her in the van ahead, so we didn’t come across as no-shows.” She looked at Cooper. “Blanche looks—looked similar to me. We had the same hair color and style. She was a little stockier, but people thought we were sisters.” She looked down and then, with just her eyes, looked back at Cooper again.
“Take a minute if you need it.” Mari nodded. “You want a drink or something?”
Rory shook her head. “No. Thank you.” She blew out a breath. “I cut through a building that would bring me out in the parking area. I told Balance to park in to meet them. When-when—” She closed her eyes and took a few breaths. “When—” She opened them again and looked at Gage. “—I got there, I saw two men grabbing Blanche. I’d never seen them before. Blanche was struggling and fighting them.” She nodded and then blinked a few times. “The one holding her sniffed her neck and said it wasn’t her. The-the other asked Blanche if she was Aurora Bishop. Me-me and Blanche said no, she worked for me.” Rory hugged the pillow tighter and pressed her face into it.
Jake leaned forward and then looked at Blair. He shook his head. Jake’s cat was screaming inside him, and it took every ounce of control he had to keep him from forcing a shift.
“You take the time you need.” Mark went over and stood close to Coop. Without looking away from Rory, Coop took hold of Mari’s hand.
Rory lifted her head and made no move to wipe the tears from her face. “They-they looked in the van, took the registration, and then—” She took a ragged breath. “—they broke her neck.” She looked at Kobie. “They just dropped her on the pavement like she was trash and left. I hid—I didn’t help her.”
Emersyn was up off the couch and kneeling in front of her before anyone else could take a breath. “You did what you had to do to survive.” She took Rory’s hand. “They would have taken you or killed you.”
Jake looked to see Noah’s hands balled up. He glanced at Blair and then jerked his chin toward Noah. Blair’s eyes narrowed when he turned in his direction.
Noah held up his hand to say he had it under control.
Rory nodded. More tears were rolling down her face. “I-I called 911 and took the van.” She sucked in a breath. “I went home, packed, and left. I-I called the others that work for me and told them I have a family emergency to-to take time off and I would call them when was back.” She sobbed and looked at Cooper. “I’m never going back, am I?”
Cooper didn’t speak. Jake watched him look at Gage. Something was exchanged in that look.
“I am deeply sorry for your loss, Miss Bishop.”
Jake recognized Raymond Hardy’s voice from the many calls overheard at the factory.
“You did the right thing. However, I do need to ask you some questions.”
Rory wiped at her face and nodded. “Yes. Okay.”
“Do you still have the phone you used?”
Rory nodded and pulled it out of her pocket. “Yes.”
“We will have to replace that.” As Raymond said it, Blair went over, and Rory handed him the phone. They watched him open the screen and then power it off.
“Is the van there, Gage?” Raymond asked.
“It is.” Gage crossed his arms over his chest and looked at his phone on the table.
“We will need to get rid of it,” Raymond said. “Nowhere near where you are.”
“Jake and I can take it for a drive.” Noah offered.
“Good. Miss Bishop, can you show us on a map where this happened?”
Rory nodded. “Yes.”
Cooper released Mari’s hand and got his phone out. He opened the screen and then went over and held it out to her.
Rory took it and used both thumbs to type on it. Jake had no idea how women could do that. How did they hit the right letters with their thumbs? He barely could with his finger aiming at them. He could see her hands were shaking, but she was holding herself together better than he figured he would. She dragged her finger over the screen and then handed the phone to Cooper. He took it and went over to Gage.
Blair was standing beside him and leaned over and looked at it. He hissed. “Two blocks from the headquarters building.”
“I’ll take a screenshot and send it to you, Devin.”
“I will find out what happened to your friend, Miss Bishop, and I will ensure she has a proper funeral service.”
Rory sobbed. “Thank you.
“I’ll contact you when I know more,” Raymond said. “Rest assured, Mister Bishop, your niece will be safe and taken care of.”
Jake looked at Cooper. Niece? The prettiest woman he’d ever seen was Cooper’s niece. Aurora. Rory. That changed things. All those thoughts he hadn’t thought yet were out of the question. He glanced at Blair. His look said it all. ‘Told you not to look.’
Sitting back, Jake picked up his coffee and took a sip. Knowing she was Coop’s niece made what had happened personal. Now, everyone here would want justice for what had happened.
He needed to go for a run. All the emotions in their room were too much to handle.