That was the moment Mitch had been waiting for.
He took a quick glance around. The mage was still immobilized, but Horace had risen and tried to head toward the door. He’d been intercepted and Gunnar and Paul had one arm each. Horace wouldn’t be able to get away from both of them.
“So is this the evil triumvirate?” Mitch asked in a disgusted tone. “The three that jumped me near the dojo. If you knew who I was, why didn’t you skip town the moment I took over as Tig’Ra? You’ve known for a week that I was in charge.”
“We thought you were dead,” Horace spat from across the room. “We killed Mitch Thorburn. We didn’t know Mitchell Gustavson was the same guy. We figured he was just some lucky Icelandic bastard who had managed to kill Gisli.”
“You should’ve taken my calls.” Mitch smiled, knowing their own hubris had been their downfall. They’d thought they were too good to talk with the new Tig’Ra. They’d been too sure of themselves and their superiority. How the mighty had fallen.
“Yeah. I see that now.” Horace grimaced as Gunnar tightened his grip on the panther’s arm.
Victor passed out due to lack of air and Mitch threw him aside. Guards moved quickly to tie him up so he couldn’t attack anybody when he woke.
Mitch checked the mage, noting the glyphs on his face. Mitch had never had any real magic before, but and suddenly he could see the magical tattoos that were only visible to those with a specific kind of magical sight. He’d read reports about such things, which is why it had finally registered what he was seeing, but only after the mage had already attacked. These three were going to be prisoners and they were going to be questioned very carefully before being sentenced and punished for their crimes against the Clan.
Finally, Mitch turned to Horace. He’d known of the man from his days with the Nyx, and everything he knew about him told him the panther wasn’t trustworthy. He’d been a con man and had swindled members of the pantera noir to support his lavish lifestyle. His actions had gotten him thrown out of his Clan, which was one of the worst punishments imaginable to shifters.
“Are you working for the Venifucus too? I don’t see any glyphs on you. Or are they hidden?” Mitch asked Horace point blank.
The panther shook his head. “I’m in this for the money. Vic and Norbert pay me for services rendered—including the intel on where you would be the night of the dojo fire.”
“So you’re the inside man that’s been leaking the Nyx’s itinerary. I bet she’ll be happy to find that out so she can finally stop running. Horace, you’ve made that girl’s life a living hell.”
“She’s the almighty panther queen. She should be able to deal with it,” Horace countered with a sneer. It was clear he had no respect for the Goddess-granted authority given to the monarchs.
“What you fail to realize here is that I like Ria. It was my honor and duty to protect her for a lot of years. I didn’t like seeing her hurt each time she had to run and someone else tasked with helping or protecting her got hurt because of the leaks in her security. Because of you, Horace.”
Finally, Horace backed off, paling under Mitch’s scrutiny.
“I’m not disposed to cut you any deals, but if you tell me everything you know, things will go easier for you.”
Yeah, good old Horace was thinking about it, weighing his options—which weren’t very many at the moment. Unlike the two fanatics with the Venifucus tattoos, Horace was motivated by greed and his desire for personal comfort. That was something Mitch could work with.
“I’ll cooperate,” he said finally. “As long as you protect me from those two. They’ll kill me without hesitation.”
“Done,” Mitch agreed.
Chapter Fifteen
Mitch arranged for discrete transport of the three out of the country on a private jet. The tiger stronghold was the safest place for them. He could imprison them there indefinitely while they were questioned and the intense power of the volcano would nullify anything the mage tried to throw out.
Mitch and Gina stayed in the city a little longer so they could get in touch with their friends Cade and Ellie. Mitch was shocked, but Gina was not surprised to find out the two had mated. Most of Mitch’s surprise was regarding the fact that Cade had taken a human, but Gina set him straight, championing her friend. Mitch conceded after a while that such a paragon of human stubbornness as Gina described was the perfect mate for his best friend, Cade.
Ellie had also informed Gina that her apartment was no more. There had been a fire in the building while Ellie and Cade had been dealing with the threat to the Nyx. The bad guys had targeted Ellie’s apartment and Gina’s had been directly above. There was essentially nothing left worth salvaging. It was tough to hear, but Gina could deal. Most of her truly cherished possessions had been left at her parents’ house anyway. She’d lost all her furniture and clothing though.