There was no sign of any of his brothers when they reached the driveway, no doubt they were out patrolling the mountain. They could only keep up this level of heightened security for a limited time. If the enemy didn’t come to them, they’d have to take it to them. That would be trickier.

  Don’t borrow trouble.

  Arms wrapped around herself, Kinley picked up her pace, practically sprinting across the yard and bolting up the porch steps. She was likely trying to put some distance between them. He’d made a real mess of things with both her and his brother.

  Inside, Cyrus was at his seat at the table. Although he gave the appearance of being calm, Eli knew better. Better to clear the air then let things fester. Zach was examining a phone. The case on it wasn’t familiar. It had to belong to Ridge. Cyrus had likely found it in the man’s pocket. If anyone could get into it, it would be Zach. The man was a wizard with technology, had designed and sold several apps that bolstered their finances.

  Zach glanced up and started to smile, but it quickly faded. One look at Eli’s face had him jumping up from the table. “I’ll keep working upstairs. Call me when you’re done.” He bumped Eli’s shoulder on the way, and sent Kinley a nod of encouragement. No one moved or said anything until they heard the door close in the distance.

  “I have something to say.” Kinley walked around the table and stood at the far end facing Cyrus. It put her on one side and him and his brother on the other. There was little doubt it was intentional. Crossing his arms over his chest, Eli waited to see what she had to say.

  She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “There’s nothing I can do that will make up for what happened here today.” She drew a shaky breath. “Death is never easy and it shouldn’t be.”

  Maybe not for her, but he’d had no trouble dealing with the backstabbing bastard, and neither did Cyrus.

  “I fear this is only the beginning. I’d leave if I thought it would save more bloodshed on your land.” Every muscle in Eli’s body tensed. He glanced at Cyrus, trying to gauge his reaction. As usual, he was unreadable. She leaned forward and pressed her palms on the table. “Since we all know the Alabama Pack will come regardless of what I do, I’d like to stay and fight. I promise I won’t be a distraction going forward.”

  Cyrus stirred and pinned her with a steely stare. “You will be a distraction, but that’s not your problem.” He glared at Eli. “It’s his.”

  There was no denying it, nor would he. They both deserved the truth and his respect. “It won’t happen again.” As much as he longed to be near her, as much as he craved her touch, he had to deny herself.

  It’s only until she’s safe.

  Cyrus shook his head. “I honestly believe you’ll try, but I’m telling you you’ll fail. We’re successful at what we do because every move we make is cold and calculated. Emotion has no place in a fight. It clouds the thinking and causes men to do stupid things.”

  He wasn’t wrong. Eli had seen it time and time again. It was too late to take her and leave. “What do you suggest?”

  “Before this is done, we’re going to bury a lot of bodies on this mountain. I don’t want one of them to be yours.” Cyrus pushed up from the table. “For God’s sake, be smart.” He yanked Eli into his arms and thumped him on the back. “I can’t afford to lose any of my brothers.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Kinley looked away to give them a moment of privacy. The love and respect between the brothers made her want to curl up on the floor and cry. Cyrus was mad as hell at Eli, but it was only because he cared and was afraid of losing him. If that happened, she would be the cause.

  Before this is done, we’re going to bury a lot of bodies on this mountain. Cyrus’s warning rang with an undeniable truth. They’d already buried one.

  She cursed herself for ever approaching Eli at the fight club. It had seemed like such a simple and straightforward plan. He’d been no more than a name, a mercenary for hire. Someone whose skills she could utilize to escape her dire situation.

  He was no longer a stranger. She wasn’t sure what to call him. Friend wasn’t quite right. And he definitely wasn’t her lover. Not yet, a tiny voice whispered. If the kisses they’d shared were any indication, they’d burn up the sheets if they ever got that far. Eli was ... special. Vital in a way she couldn’t explain. Her wolf wanted to be near him and so did she.

  But mostly she cursed Duke Wright for his unrelenting thirst for power, Holden for the unhealthy desire he had for her and his quest to rise within the pack, and the rest of the pack for falling in line and doing nothing to stop the coming bloodshed.

  If only Daddy was alive. But she was no longer sure that would have made any difference. He’d always backed Duke. He’d have done his best to talk him out of doing something he disagreed with, would have offered up other solutions to the problem, but in the end, he’d have supported whatever the alpha decided.

  It was a devastating blow to realize the man she’d loved and idolized her entire life had a fatal flaw. She’d been lying to herself to think for one second she’d have been allowed to stay single and remain a member of the pack. It had only been a matter of time until she’d have been forced to mate. Her daddy would have done his best to talk Duke out of it, or talk her around to it, but in the end, it would have happened.

  Funny that only after his death was she able to view him outside his role as parent, as a man with strengths and weaknesses doing the best he could. He hadn’t been perfect, but he’d loved her. God knows she’d been a trial to him at times. His life would have been easier if she’d been a more obedient daughter, but hers would have been hell. They’d both done the best they could. That was all anyone could do. Too bad it hadn’t been enough to stave off the nightmare her life had become.

  “You okay?” Eli asked, his brow furrowed in concern. Both brothers were watching her. How long had she been lost in thought?

  “Nothing about this situation is remotely okay, so no, I’m nowhere near okay. What I am is pissed off and determined. I don’t want to see any of you hurt.” Especially Eli, but she was coming to know and like the others.

  A door cracked open upstairs and a voice called out, “Is it safe to come down?”

  She tilted her head to one side and challenged Cyrus. “Is it safe for him to come down or do you want to yell at me first?”

  Eli shook his head in exasperation, but the corners of his mouth twitched. He detoured to the sink and began to scrub the remaining bloodstains from his hands. There wasn’t as much as there would be if Ridge had been human. The blood, like their bodies, deteriorated quickly once it was shed. Another way nature protected them as a species.

  “If I thought it would do any good, I might give it a go, but I figure it would be a waste of breath.” Cyrus swiveled his head toward the stairs and yelled, “It’s as safe as it’s going to get. Get your ass down here and tell us what you found.”

  Boots pounded down the stairs. “Nothing yet. I’m still trying to get into it.” Zach held up the phone. “Facial recognition didn’t work?”

  “I tried that,” Cyrus told him.

  She’d been too distracted before to pay much attention to what Zach had been working on before he’d bolted upstairs. Her stomach began to churn and she swallowed heavily. “Is that Ridge’s?” She dropped down onto the nearest chair.

  “He had it on him. It may have information we can use.” Cyrus said it as if issuing a challenge, daring her to object.

  “Its password protected.” She wasn’t sure if facial recognition would work when a person was dead. Gave her the creeps just thinking about it. “Give it to me.” She held out her hand. Zach glanced at Cyrus but handed it over.

  She prayed what she was about to try worked. There was no telling what might be on the phone. Holden would be privy to the details of any attack plan. As one of Holden’s inner circle, Ridge would also know. It wouldn’t matter if Duke told him to keep things private. Holden had an almost pathological need to brag to his friends. She tapped in a number, slightly surprised and profoundly relieved when it actually worked. “I’m in.”

  “You just happen to know his password?” A muscle in Eli’s jaw flexed. “Convenient.”

  The suspicion stung. “Yes, I just happen to know the password. I’ve known him—” She broke off as reality slammed down on her. For all he’d done wrong, they’d once been childhood friends. Now he was gone. “I knew him my entire life. Ridge was a creature of habit.” He’d unquestioningly followed Holden his entire life. It didn’t matter how many times his friend dragged him into some scheme that landed them in trouble, often with Ridge bearing the brunt of the blame.

  “I took a chance that he had the same password he’d had since he was a teenager. As senior enforcer, daddy kept a list of passwords for all the underage kids—phones and social media. He’d spot-check on occasion to make sure they weren’t doing anything too stupid. I knew where he kept the list and may have written down some of the passwords.” She threw her hands up in the air. “I was a bored teenager, what can I say? Now let’s see what’s on it.” She clicked on his text messages. Before she could read anything, Eli plucked it out of her hand. “Hey.”

  Ignoring her protest, he started to scroll. There was no way to take it back without it deteriorating into a tugging match she’d lose, so she settled on glaring at him. Not that he seemed to notice or care. He was glued to whatever he was reading.

  “Well?” she asked after a minute passed where he said nothing.

  “Your good buddy Ridge and Holden had a lot to say about you.” It wasn’t what he said but the way he said it that worsened the churning in her stomach until she feared what she’d eaten earlier might come back up. Whatever he’d found, it wasn’t good.

  “Let me see.”

  “You do not need to see this.” The lack of expression on his face was downright scary. “Let’s just say if he wasn’t already dead, he would be.” The quiet promise sent a shiver racing through her. There wasn’t a shred of mercy in his black eyes. He handed the phone to Cyrus who scanned the screen, his frown deepening as he read. Zach read over his shoulder, his countenance growing more forbidding each passing second.

  The Seven Deadly Sins. In this moment, the title seemed apt. Anger snapped in the air, all the more potent for being under iron control.

  They have no idea what they’ve unleashed. Her pack had started something that might be the end of them. But how much of a toll would it take on the brothers?

  “Eli.” His head snapped toward her. Faced with a mountain of fury, a sane woman would back down. She held out her hand. “I have to see it.”

  “No, you fucking don’t.” It was the first crack in his icy armor.

  She wanted to go to him but wasn’t sure her shaky legs would hold her. “I need the truth.” No matter how devastating.

  “Damn it, Kinley. Why are you doing this to yourself?”

  “Do you think I want to?” She pushed upright. “Do you think I want to read whatever vile things are in there? To know that someone I thought was my friend spent years lying to my face?” Her entire life had been a lie. It was devastating.

  “Can’t you trust me?”

  “It’s not about trust.” Praying her legs held, she went to him. The muscles in his arm were like iron beneath her hand. “There’s a wound in my heart, one that will never heal unless I uncover all the secrets and deceit. There might be some hint, some clue about what happened to my daddy.”

  His lips thinned but he gave a curt nod. She heaved a sigh, the first hurdle passed. Cyrus passed her the phone without her having to ask. Steeling herself for what was to come, she began to read.

  ****

  The lewd comments and innuendo, not to mention the downright blatant sexual suggestions about Kinley, had Eli in a killing mood. These were men she’d lived among, ones her father had helped protect. He wasn’t feeling too kindly toward Lincoln Wright at the moment. That was her daddy’s name. Holden made mention of it several times in his texts to Ridge.

  He wanted to spare her this, and maybe he should have, but he understood that if he kept her from reading the texts it would damage not only her but their relationship. If he was the one in her position, he’d damn well demand to know what was on that phone.

  She sucked in a breath but kept reading. “Well, that’s disgusting. If either of them thought for one second I’d be open to doing that...” she muttered. She did her best to adopt a detached attitude, but the slight quaver in her voice and the hunch of her shoulders gave her away. It had to hurt like hell to read the ugliness on the screen, but she didn’t back away from it.

  He wanted to take her in his arms and promise her that Holden would never get the chance to do any of the vile things he’d bragged about to Ridge. Eli feared she might never want any man to touch her ever again. His wolf gave a lonely howl, not willing to accept that outcome. He might not have a choice. Not in a million years would he ever force his attention on a woman.

  The tension in the room was palpable. Eli edged close enough to read over Kinley’s shoulder. She glanced up but didn’t tell him to back off. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to give her the opportunity to process everything, there simply wasn’t time.

  “Wait.” He reached around her and tapped the screen. “Here.” She held the phone while he continued to scroll. “Holden made a vague reference to taking the fight to Kentucky.” He glanced at his brother. “He’s not too complimentary about you.”

  “Fuck him.” Cyrus pointed at the phone. “We need up-to-date info.”

  “Right. May I?” he asked, rather than taking the phone from her.

  “What are you going to do?” She gripped the device.

  “Pretend I’m Ridge.”

  “I can do it.” In a motion that was becoming familiar, her chin tilted up, daring him to object. “You can tell me what to say.”

  Eli scrubbed his hand over his jaw and gave it some thought. “In place in Kentucky. Not much happening. When are you getting here?”

  She shook her head. “That doesn’t sound like Ridge.” She started to type: I’m here. What do you want me to do now? She sent it before he could stop her. “Duke might have sent him ahead to scout, but according to their texts, Holden knew he was coming, just not the whole of it. Ridge kept the alpha’s side offer to himself.”

  Eli ground his teeth together and swallowed a growl. Ridge had come to steal Kinley for himself. That’s the kind of backstabbing friends these men were to each other. There was no honor among them. Almost immediately dots appeared on the screen to show someone was typing. “He’s responding.”

  “I can guarantee he’ll chew Ridge out for taking so long.”

  “You hit it right on the money.” He read aloud, “What the fuck took you so long? Duke is crawling up my ass demanding answers.” Eli chuckled. “Looks like Holden isn’t enjoying the job as senior enforcer as much as he thought he would.” When she flinched, he could have kicked himself. The only reason Holden had the job was because her daddy was dead. He wasn’t used to having to watch his words.

  “Holden likes power but doesn’t want to do any of the actual work or take any responsibility. He gets his friends into trouble and then pushes the blame on them.” She began to type: Had to find a place to hunker down. Security is lax. No trouble infiltrating.

  Eli raised a brow. “That’s clever.” Whether she realized it or not, she had a tactical mind. The way she’d dealt with him from the beginning to handling this now showed it. If something didn’t work, she came up with another option. What she didn’t do was quit.

  She shrugged. “I’m not sure it’s necessary. He’ll underestimate you. Duke won’t, but he’s used to my daddy following orders and being smart. Holden will do whatever he damn well pleases. He lacks restraint.”

  Once again dots appeared on the screen and Eli began to read. “Duke wanted to leave immediately. Talked him out of it. Convinced him to give you time to scout. Be there tomorrow night. How many men do they have? Have you seen the—” He broke off, refusing the speak the words aloud.

  “Have you seen the traitorous bitch,” she finished. “Not the worst thing he’s called me.” She brushed off the insult, but nothing could hide the pain reflected in her lovely eyes. Eli wanted to personally end Holden for all he’d put her through. “What should I say?”

  “Let me do it.” There wasn’t anything he could do about the other man at this time, but he could spare her further emotional hurt.

  Her fingers clamped down on the hard plastic cover. “They’re my pack, my problem.”

  “They were your problem, now they’re our problem,” he reminded her.

  Zach held out his hand. “One of us has to monitor it. I’m the tech guy. This is my job.”

  “Kinley?” Eli didn’t want her to feel as though she didn’t have a say.

  “He’s right. Holden will want updates.” When she didn’t hand over the phone, Eli carefully pried the device from her hand and handed it over to Zach, who began typing: Traitorous bitch is here.

  He gave an apologetic shrug. “Has to be done.” While Eli knew he was right, it didn’t make it any easier to hear. Seen three men so far. What time should I expect you tomorrow? After it was sent, they waited. “He says he has to go but he’ll talk later.”

  Eli pointed at his brother. “Text him back. Tell him no calls. Text only. Too risky with wolf ears around.”

  Zach nodded. “Smart.” His fingers flew. “And done. I’ll change the password and comb through the rest of the messages to see what I can find.”

  “I want to read them.” Kinley seemed determined to face every hard thing on her own. It was time she understood she was no longer alone. She had him.

  “Let me go through them.” Zach’s voice was gentler than Eli had ever heard it. Kinley’s innate pride and determination was having on affect on more than just him. “I’ll tell you everything I find.”

  “You won’t hold back?”

  Zach glanced his way and Eli nodded. “I promise.”