Message sent, he resumed eating and scanning the rest of his messages. Some were from his business managers about various holdings. He’d handle those when he stepped into his office. The myriad of corporate holdings maintained by Hudson River were also his, and the profits not funneled back to keeping the corporations strong were used to infuse the pack with capital.
Plate clean, he stood as the phone rang. He didn’t recognize the number, but only a specific number of people had his direct line. Answering, he said, “This is Brett.”
“Forgive the intrusion, Alpha. This is Dan Skinner, Enforcer for the northeastern corridor. I wanted to give you an update on Luc Danes.”
Don’t let him be dead… His last report listed the wolf as awake from his coma.
“He checked himself out of the hospital about an hour ago, an hour before he knew I was on the way to check on him. No one at the hospital seems to know where he went, and he left against doctor’s orders.”
Relief and amusement filled him. That sounded like Luc. “He had to be strong enough to leave if he left.”
“I agree, except…” The Enforcer hesitated.
“Except?”
“I’d told him about your offer, Mr. Dalton. And the security guard at the front doors of the hospital told me he left with a human who used to work at the hospital. I have a name of Colby, but no last name. I’m going to start tracking him…”
“He could be on his way here.” Brett exhaled. Leaving with a human? Had he charmed some poor sucker into being his driver?
“Yes, sir.”
“Thanks for the information. My invitation to Luc stands. If he arrives, I’ll have one of my Hunters contact you.”
“Thank you, sir. I’ll be in touch if I locate him in the meanwhile.”
“Fine.” The call ended and Brett stared across the empty kitchen. Luc was alive and out of the hospital. If he were stubborn enough to get himself discharged and find a ride, then he would be just fine.
Best news of the day.
His phone rang again on his way toward the office. The number was for his corporate attorney in Manhattan.
So the day begins…
Chapter Three
Less than an hour away from Alba and Colby ground her teeth as Luc changed the radio station—again. The reception sucked, her tape player was dead and her 1983 Volkswagen Rabbit didn’t have anywhere to plug in a smartphone. So the radio was the only source of entertainment.
“You should get an aftermarket satellite system,” Luc said for the tenth time. Their options were Christian rock, country, National Public Radio and a French station—one she was pretty sure came from Canada, but what did she know?
Not quite ready to drum her fingers on the steering wheel, she focused her attention on the road. “Can’t afford one. You should probably try to sleep, anyway.”
He didn’t look good. Though he swore he wouldn’t die on her, she wasn’t so sure about it based on his pallor. “You will after this trip.” A grimace accompanied the statement as he braced his right arm on the open window. Though grey clouds seemed to line their path, the rain had held off.
Which was good, because she didn’t have air conditioning. She’d tied a colorful scarf around her bobbed hair in an effort to keep the ends out of her eyes. Her sunglasses rested on her head on the off chance the clouds parted. Leaving Alba should be cause for rejoicing, but unfortunately the weather didn’t agree with her. She even had to tug on a light sweater to keep from being chilly.
The fingers of his free hand continued to drum against his leg as he tried to stretch his legs again. Though they were still in casts, he didn’t seem to let the plaster slow him down. She’d put the passenger seat back as far as it would go, but his six foot five inch frame did not fit comfortably in her old car. “You’re not going to try and sleep are you?”
According to the directions he’d given her, they had another three, maybe four hours to go on their drive. She wasn’t speeding, in fact, he’d already complained about her hugging the speed limit. Not that she cared. She’d had enough of Maine to last her the rest of her life. She wanted to give the law no new excuses to keep her around.
“No,” he half-growled the word and a shiver raced along her spine. Coughing once, he sighed. “Sorry, I had enough of the drug induced sleep in the hospital, and I can’t look after you if I’m asleep.”
It was on the tip of tongue to point out he didn’t have to look after her, since she was driving and he was a passenger. But she kept it to herself. He’d given her a thousand dollars in cash after stopping at a bank. He’d given her his bankcards and three sets of pins, she’d withdrawn the max on each card—per his instructions—then handed it all over to him. He’d counted off the crisp bills and said he’d give her the balance when they got there.