When did Draven get so damn smart? The pup was always so predictable before. I sent another message, applying pressure,
“Figure something out if you want your weekly payment.”
His reply only irritated me further,
“I’ll try, but it’s getting harder. They’re being cautious. Alpha Draven works from home most days now. Information isn’t flowing from the top anymore.”
Incompetent fool! I needed to know what was happening inside that company.
“Hey, Evil One,” Kai interrupted my thoughts. “Can I ask you something?”
“What now?” My head throbbed with annoyance.
“Aren’t you gonna help my buddy who got caught for that kidnapping job? The guy who tried to snatch the little pup?”
“I’m not even helping my own daughter!” I snapped, my wolf’s anger blending with mine. “He knew the risk when he took the money. The dungeon is his problem now.”
“That’s cold, man. He’s done lots of work for you,” Kai argued, surprisingly principled for a lowlife.
“And he was paid well for it.” I opened the food container. Steak with fries. At least today’s meal was decent. “Every wolf for himself in this world.”
“Can I ask something else?” Kai fidgeted uncomfortably.
I sighed heavily. “What?”
“Why won’t you help Ella? She’s your pup, your blood. She’s locked up, and it’s pretty sad,” Kai actually seemed concerned about my daughter.
“She’s old enough to handle herself,” I growled, stabbing a piece of meat with my fork. “Ella never does anything right. She’s just deadweight. When I finish with Draven Thorne, I’m disappearing to live like the Alpha I deserve to be, without that useless girl dragging me down. She’s just like her mother!” I caught myself revealing too much. “If you feel sorry for her, she’s all yours.”
“Man, wouldn’t mind being your son-in-law. Your daughter’s smoking hot,” Kai grinned. “But she wouldn’t give me the time of day.”
He was right about that. I chuckled darkly, my mind drifting to how I’d manipulated Ella all these years. My wolf rumbled with satisfaction at our control over my weak offspring.
Howard’s POV
I laughed at Kai’s delusional fantasy of being with Ella. My daughter would never look twice at this mangy pup. She’d been obsessed with Draven Thorne since she was a teenager.
“That’s partly my fault,” I admitted, cutting into my steak. “I groomed her for years, telling her Draven was perfect mate material. Pushed her toward him constantly.”
The manipulation had worked beautifully until Ella’s rebellious phase. She became infatuated with that weakling Bruno Hill. Started hanging around him, mooning over him like a lovesick pup. The final straw was when she lost her virginity to him at some club where half the pack knew it. Ruined all my careful plans to connect our bloodlines with the Thorne family.
“I taught her a lesson that day,” I said, remembering the satisfaction of her cries as the belt landed. “Promised to throw her out without a penny if she disobeyed again.”
My wolf growled with approval inside me. “Weakness must be punished.”
It worked. Ella was a pampered princess; her life revolved around shopping, partying, and flaunting her status. The threat of losing it all kept her in line. She must be suffering in that jail cell now, stripped of her luxuries.
“Kai, did you find out how they located my apartment?” I suddenly remembered to ask. “I’d forgotten about that.”
“Yeah, almost forgot too.” Kai sat up straighter. “I sent this junkie lawyer to put pressure on Linda in jail. Went yesterday.”
“And?” I prompted, impatient with his scattered thoughts.
“She was pissed, man. Said to get her out fast or she’ll talk. She hasn’t yet, but wanted you to know that princess Ella requested a cell transfer a while back and got it.”
“What do you mean?” That was strange. Linda and Ella had gotten along well in their shared misery.
“Seems Ella got a visit from some lawyer. After that, she wouldn’t speak to Linda anymore and demanded to be moved.”
My interest piqued. “When did this happen?”
“Around when they raided your place. The lawyer-he’s a junkie but has moments of clarity-found out who visited Ella.”
“Who?”
“Damn, forgot the name…” Kai scratched his head, then grabbed his phone to make a call. After hanging up, he laughed. “No idea how that guy passed the bar exam. He’s wasted already.”
I hurled my takeout container at the table. “The name, you moron!”
“Oh yeah, Bruno something. Can’t remember the last name.”
“Hill!” I snarled, fury rising. That little weasel must have told Ella everything.
“That’s it!” Kai snapped his fingers. “You’re smart, Evil One!”
“What else did Linda say?” I demanded.
“She kept digging and found out Ella was harassing the dungeon warden to talk to some investigators. Then another inmate told her Ella got an investigator visit in the warden’s office on the same day they raided your place.”
I frowned. “But Ella didn’t know about the apartment.” Even as I said it, doubt crept in. “And even if she did, she wouldn’t betray me.”
“Look, Evil One,” Kai leaned forward. “You killed her mother. You’re letting her rot in dungeon alone. If it were me, I’d want to rip your throat out and feed your heart to my pitbull.”
My wolf snapped his jaws, wanting to tear into Kai for his insolence, but the pup had a point. Ella must have been furious. The timing matched perfectly-her meeting with the detective, the raid on my apartment, my accounts being frozen. My own daughter had turned against me.
Prodigal daughter! Traitor! I should have been more careful. Her mother had pulled similar tricks, hiding evidence of my sabotage of the old Alpha’s car-the “accident” that claimed the lives of Draven’s parents when those rogue wolves attacked their disabled vehicle. I’d arranged everything perfectly, but Diane had found proof and hidden it.
I should have realized Ella wasn’t as stupid as she seemed. Her mother must have taught her to gather information for leverage. Like mother, like daughter.
“Too late now,” I muttered, My wolf’s rage making my hands shake. “She’s made her choice.”
“So what’s next?” Kai asked, oblivious to the murderous thoughts swirling through my mind.
I composed myself, forcing a calm I didn’t feel. “We proceed with the plan. The quadruplets will arrive in two months. By then, I need everything in place.”
“What about the surveillance problem?”
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