I stopped and shifted near the patio door, listening carefully for any hints of being spotted. When I was satisfied, I checked the sliding door leading to the breakfast area. The door was locked, which I expected, but the house wasn’t alarmed. “Probably thought no one had the balls to break in,” I said softly. Holding on to the bottom of the handle, I pulled up a half-dozen times before the lock stopped working, and I could slide the door open.
I grabbed a carving knife from the block on the kitchen counter and headed for the hallway I figured led to the master bedroom. I was almost there when the door opened, and Bonnie appeared in her nightgown. She screamed, and I reacted faster. Pulling her into my arms, I put the knife to her throat and pushed her back into the bedroom. Leland was out of bed, reaching in the drawer for a weapon. “Don’t do it, and don’t link anyone, or she’s dead,” I said. “I don’t want any innocents to get hurt.”
He was smart enough to take his hand out of the drawer without the gun that he wanted. “Put the knife down, Leo. Whatever your problem is, we can talk it through.”
“It’s a little too late for talk, Mr. Chairman. Back up against the wall.” Bonnie was crying, and he didn’t have a choice. I moved towards the bedside table, spotting the Colt 1911 pistol he’d tried to reach. Without warning, I dropped the knife and shoved Bonnie into his arms. While he caught her, I took the firearm out and covered them both. “If anyone interrupts us, I’ll shoot your mate first. Then I’ll kill you before l take as many of them as I can with me. I’m a mantled Alpha with nothing to lose, so that will be a lot. Do you understand me?”
“Yes,” Leland said, but his wolf was itching to get out.
“Good. Now, let’s go to your office, shall we?” I had the couple walk ahead of me down the hall to his private office. I kept the gun to Bonnie’s head as I told Leland what to do. “You have silver cuffs?”
“In my drawer,” he said.
“Take two pairs out, and nothing else.” He did, and I turned his mate around so he could place the cuffs on her. With her disabled, I kept the gun on Leland as I set his mate in a chair in the corner. I had him cuff himself with his hands in front this time. “Startup your computer, and set up an emergency video conference with all North American Alphas.”
“It’s seven in the morning, East Coast time! It’s not even four in the morning out west, Leo!”
I smacked him on the side of the head with the butt of the pistol, opening up a cut under his silver hair. “I’m aware of how the time zones work, Mr. Chairman. There is an emergency summons code. Use it.”
He pulled up the program and sent the coded message. The alert set off alarms on Alpha phones and computers across North America, waking many of them up. The message he sent told them to get onto the videoconference; we watched as one after another came up on the screen. I’m pretty sure they were shocked to see Chairman Carver sitting in front of me as I held a pistol to his head.
It took about ten minutes to get everyone there before I told Leland to unmute himself. “Thank you for joining us,” I told them. “I apologize for the wakeup, but I have urgent business with the Council. Five days ago, gunmen in Cancun kidnapped Alpha Vicki Lawrence and five of her friends while they were on location for their television show. A day later, we found the hideout they stayed at before the gang turned them over to the man paying for the abduction.”
“We know about the dead gunmen; it was on the news,” Leland said.
“Yes. What was NOT on the news was that a werewolf was the one who came to pick the girls up. I knew this man and considered him a friend. He died before I could talk to him, but I know why he was in the area and who he worked for.” I moved the gun directly behind Leland’s head. “Chairman Leland Carver sent Lawrence Fenwick to meet with Vicki Lawrence in Jamaica. His mission was to present Vicki with the Council’s ultimatum to join the North American Council or else. Vicki refused to give her answer that day, as is her right as an independent Alpha.”
“That proves NOTHING,” Leland said. “Yes, I sent Lawrence down there to give her the information packet. That was all he did.”
“Our investigators found Lawrence Fenwick’s scent at the hideout in the Yucatan, including on the collars used to hold the girls. His was the ONLY scent that didn’t belong there.” I let that sink in. “Chairman Carver is behind their kidnapping, and he will pay the ultimate price for hurting my people. The rest of the Council is under notice. Resign your positions. Produce the girls alive and unharmed, and you will live. If you refuse to resign, or if I don’t have them back by Christmas, I and my allies will kill every last one of you.” Reaching forward, I ended the conference call.
Luna Adrienne’s POV
I left Hammer and Brent in the SUV and trailed behind Nicholas a half-block or so as he walked towards Master Pontalba’s lair. I kept walking as he talked to the human guard, who got on the phone with someone else. I kept walking, glancing back to see him going in as I reached the corner.
I walked another two blocks, then turned and walked back the way I came. I didn’t see anyone outside the second time I passed. I found an outdoor café closer to Bourbon Street and sat down to have a coffee. The waitress had just brought it when a man, a human I didn’t know, asked if he could join me. “I’m old and married,” I said dismissively.
“I’m young and familiar,” he said as he took a seat anyway. It was a simple way of telling me he was a familiar, a willing human servant to his Vampire master. “Master Pontalba requests that you join Nicholas in a meeting with the other leaders present.” My blood ran cold; had they already taken Nicholas out? I cursed myself for getting close enough; the vampires must have scented me and followed me here. I looked around for where they might be, figuring this man wasn’t here alone.
“Nicholas is fine. Call him if you need reassurance. The two gentlemen in the black Suburban with license plate NA8=7VY two blocks away should come as well. You might want to have them change first, as that attire isn’t suited to the office.” He waved the waitress over. “We have to return to work earlier than expected, Miss. Could you put that coffee in a travel cup for the lady, and bring a cup for me as well?” She took care of our drinks while my new companion tossed a ten-dollar bill on the table. When the drinks returned, he stood and held out his hand for me. “Mr. Pontalba has been expecting you.”
“I see that,” I said. I tried to cover up how flustered I was; our efforts to use stealth to approach were laughable. Cyprian must be on high alert if he’s monitoring streets blocks away. “I have to go speak to my friends about this.”
“They are waiting for you. Just show up at the entrance when you are ready.” He took his coffee and walked off, leaving me wondering what the hell just happened. I had a Pack link with Brent, so I filled him in on everything while I sat there and sipped on my coffee. “What should we do?”
“Call Nicholas, and see if he uses the distress codewords. Meanwhile, we’re taking off our combat gear. We’ll swing by and pick you up in a few minutes.”
“Is that wise?”
“Alpha, if they want us dead, it won’t take much to do it. Hell, one phone call to the police, and Hammer and I are never getting out of Federal prison. Reaching out to you like this is a good sign they aren’t involved. If they want to talk, let’s talk.”
I pulled out my phone and called Nicholas. If he answered me with “Luna Volkov,” it meant he was under duress. The phone only rang twice before he answered. “Hi, Aunt Adrienne. Did you get the invitation?”
“I did,” I said. “It was a little surprising, but we’re on our way.”
“Good. Vicki’s friend from Boston is here, and she’s looking forward to seeing you again.”
That would be Master Emily. “We’ll be there in a few minutes.” I hung up just before the SUV parked across the street. I took my coffee and walked across the street, getting into the backseat. I glanced back, seeing the black bags in the third-row seating area that contained their body armor. “He’s not under duress,” I said.
“Are we packing?”
“Knives and pistols. You’re my bodyguards; they would expect that from you.” Hammer nodded and reached into a bag at his feet. He strapped a combat knife to his left forearm and put a Glock in his waistband. Meanwhile, Brent had driven up to the entrance. “May as well pull in; they’re expecting us.” What I didn’t say is I didn’t like leaving our SUV with its weapons and explosives on a public street in this city.
Brent turned into the parking lot, stopping at the guard shack. “Adrienne Volkov to see Master Pontalba,” Brent said.
“Park on the far side of the lot,” the man answered. Brent waited for the gate to lift, then drove into the courtyard. He parked in the same place we’d parked when I was last here with Vicki. We waited a few seconds for Brent to arm up, then Hammer got out and came around to open my door. He stayed next to me as Brent followed behind us towards the door.
The large door opened to a familiar person. “Welcome to New Orleans,” Master Emily said to me. “This way, please; we have much to talk about.”