"Should we all step inside?" Kane asked.
"No. We shouldn't." Bas said. "I can't stay long. I've got enough to deal with in my own backyard. I really just need an answer from you, Kane."
Kane let out a low noise, part growl, part sigh. "Bas, we've had this conversation half a dozen times."
"This time is different. Now we're not dealing with a theoretical threat from Dale. It's materialized. Just like I told you it would. Now, out of respect for you and the arrangements we all honor in Wild Lake, I've come here in person. I need to know what you plan to do."
"What would you have me do? You really want open warfare with the southern packs again? If I banish Dale from Michigan, it could backfire in ways you don't realize."
"He's not some diplomat with immunity, Kane. He's planning to take Wild Lake out from under us. Through Pat and Harold if he has to. That's a treaty violation. I'm done hanging back and waiting for action. If you don't want to get your hands dirty, fine. But then you need to give me your word you won't interfere if I do. Are we clear on that?"
Bas moved toward him; his shoulders bunched and coarse hairs sprouted on the back of his neck. A hum went through him as his wolf simmered just below the surface. Kane's eyes flashed as his own posture shifted. The two of them stood suspended in time. Just the slightest wrong move from Kane, and I knew the time for words would end. I let out a steady breath, trying not to let my own rising emotions impact Bas in any way.
Kane's eyes flicked toward me, and I felt Bas's heartrate spike. Kane would be no match for him. He was outnumbered, and Bas held blind fury inside of him, ready to protect me . . . his mate, if Kane made a wrong step.
Kane leaned back against the wooden railing and shook his head. "Fine."
"Fine what?" Bas's voice was thick, but his heartrate dipped and leveled off.
"Fine. I won't stand in your way if you feel you have to do something drastic."
"That's not enough, Kane. I need you to revoke Dale's permission to even be here. He's got to go back to Kentucky or wherever his home pack is now."
Kane's eyes flashed, and a muscle in his jaw jumped. Alec moved forward, putting his body between mine and Kane's. Between him and Bas, I had a wall of keyed up werewolf shielding me from a brewing threat I felt was more than I understood.
"Understood," Kane said.
"Good. That's all I needed to hear." With that, Bas turned. He had a firm grip on my arm and he pulled me away from the porch. His pulse ramped up, and I felt the bubbling aggression inside of him. It had taken everything in him to use words, not fists.
Seth followed us, but Alec and Pat stayed on the porch. "Kane," she said. "Look me in the eye and swear to me you didn't know anything about Dale's plans or anything he might have brewing with Young Willie."
Kane's shoulders dropped and he hung his head. She had a hand on his chest. Kane nodded. "I swear, Pat. I wouldn't do anything to hurt you."
She nodded and let Alec take her arm as they stepped off the porch and headed toward the Jeep with us. Bas opened the door and helped me into the back seat. I expected him to climb behind the wheel, but instead he stood there like a stone wall, waiting for Alec to get to us.
"I need to travel with the pack," he said. "I want Callum and Alec to make sure you ladies get back to the farm safely. I'll meet you there later this evening."
Callum climbed in back next to me after helping Pat into the passenger seat. Alec took the keys from her. "You sure that's necessary?" she asked, looking from Bas to Alec then back to me.
Dread bubbled inside of me as the gravity of my situation took root. Bas's thundering heartbeat put an exclamation point on my conclusion. "When Kane tells Dale he's not welcome here anymore, he might not take it well. And he'll have nothing left to lose."
Bas gave me a grim nod as Alec started the Jeep. Then he stepped back and shifted, sending the torn denim flying.
"Son of a bitch," Pat muttered. "Those were brand new."
Chapter Twenty-Four
"Do you know how much I don't want to ever leave this bed?" I leaned my head against Bas's chest. His arms enveloped me in warmth and safety as he pulled the covers up to my chin. We'd spent the day here, tucked away in Pat's farmhouse, surfacing only for breakfast and lunch. Later, we planned to ride out to the lake together.
Bas growled and nipped the air next to my ear, sending a spike of heat straight to my heart.
"And are you sure you have to leave tomorrow?"
He reached up and made a small circle with his finger around my right breast. "I'd like nothing more than staying right here with you. But, Kane was just the first step. I need to have a little chat with Willie Gaither, Jr."
"I'm feeling very afraid for Willie Gaither, Jr. Is it all right if I ask what you're planning?"
Bas stretched out, and with his legs fully extended, his toes poked out from beneath the coverlet. I turned, sitting up to face him. He had drowsy eyes and his hair stuck out in peaks and cones. I was more than a little tousled myself. My thighs ached, and I had stiff muscles in places I never knew about before.
"Willie might be an even bigger weasel than his father, but he's not stupid. People around here are never going to believe Lloyd Bonner would have left anything to the Gaithers unless he'd been coerced. Willie Jr.'s whole business relies on the goodwill of the people of Wild Lake. Now, he would have just been a kid when all of this went down, but I'm banking on the fact he's not going to want his father's name dragged through the mud."
"Hmm. What if you're wrong? If you're right about what this land is worth, he might not care if he loses clients over it."
"True. But, I have other methods of persuasion if reason doesn't work."
For a millisecond, Bas's eyes flashed with preternatural fury that both thrilled and frightened me. "Yeah. I go back to my earlier statement. I think I'm afraid for Willie Jr."
"I'm not going to leave him with nothing, Abby. We'll make him a fair offer for signing over his interests to Pat and Harold."
"Very reasonable of you, Mr. Lanier. I'm impressed."
He leaned over and pinched my ass.
"Ow! I'm sore there too, you brute."
"Good. Then my plan is falling into place."
"What one is that?"
"The one where you stay put and rest up. I might be gone for a day or two, so when I get back, I'm going to be in sore need of a little attention."
As much as I could use the rest, I hated the thought of even that short separation. Bas assured me this need would subside over time. For now, though, it was almost as if he'd asked me to go without oxygen for a day or two.
"I don't do the sitting around pining thing very well, Bas. I need to head back home. I haven't talked to my mother in over a week. Messed up as she is, she's my mom. I need to make sure she's okay. Then there's the matter of the congressman. Technically, I still work for him."
Bas sat up, his back stiffened. "Don't even think about it. You're not going anywhere near Foster's office until I have a bead on Dale. He's unpredictable. I've always suspected he didn't leave the southern packs voluntarily. When Kane tells him he's lost his privileges up here, he might literally have nowhere else to go. That's going to make him dangerous, Abby. And Kane knows you're mine now."
"I know. I know. But, I need to know where I stand. Asshat though he is, I need Foster's recommendation. Or at least, I need to know he's not going to do anything to sabotage me."
Bas slid out of the bed, dragging half the covers with him. I shivered at the sudden absence of my human space heater. He shoved his legs into his jeans and did a little hop step to pull them over his trim hips.
"God, I'd like to shove my fist through Kane's nose right about now. I've said for years we'd regret letting Dale in."
"But it wasn't worth the risk of causing friction with Kane's pack. Is that about right?"
Bas nodded as he finger combed his hair. "We may not always agree with each other, but the Wild Lake packs respect each other. It was Kane's decision to make."
"I get that. And it's incredible, really. I mean, I could feel the tension between you. It's better if you're not around other Wild Lake Alphas very often, isn't it?"
He nodded. "It's a tough urge to suppress. That's why the Bonner farm is such a special place for us. It's neutral turf. A place where we can come together without feeling territorial. It should go to her son when Pat and Harold aren't around anymore."