As they drove through Ohio, Linda settled in to the large padded chair in the living room of the large RV. Her mate refused to let her out of his sight, much less do anything, and she was tired of sitting on his lap. "I'm pregnant, you idiot, not an invalid."
"I don't care." Joe pulled her further up on his lap. "Our baby is in your belly; my instinct is to protect it with everything I have." The other women smiled, this was typical for a first pregnancy among wolves but they didn't know how a panther would react. They were still getting used to the idea of having a cat as an Alpha, much less mated to a wolf. There had been a lot of discussion and even a few friendly bets on whether the baby would become a panther or a wolf, with the panther bets getting 4-1 odds against. The Alpha pair was exempted from driving duties; they didn't want any cameras or passing wolves to see them. The other four mated pairs were rotating between driving, sleeping in the back bedroom, or relaxing in the living room.
Lois was cleaning up from the lunch. They had stopped at a grocery store and loaded up on deli sandwiches, salads and drinks. Joe nuzzled his nose into her neck. "So, baby, what do you want to do about Trevor?"
"I want to tear his fucking head off." She laid her head on his shoulder. "I still can't believe he did that to me. All that time, all those things I did for the Torchellis, and it was all because a man I trusted turned on me."
"The good news is that he doesn't know that we know what he did. I think we should exploit that."
She sat up and looked into his eyes. "How?"
"Well, we know for a certainty that he was involved. After Victor's confession, the CIA started tracking down all the money. Enrique just got word from his tech buddy there that they found the accounts the Torchellis paid him off with. You'll be happy to know they are ready to drain his accounts on our signal. He's all about the money, and I think we should dangle that in front of him."
"The CIA." She chewed her lip. "We call him, say that the Director wants to bring me back into the fold, to work for them again on a contract basis. We tell them that they are offering big money for me to go after terrorists, but I'm reluctant."
"Yes, without an organization looking out for you the CIA could easily get you killed." Joe looked up at the ceiling. "You'll want someone with experience to be the buffer between you and the CIA. Someone with experience on both sides, someone who can negotiate a good deal for us."
Linda smiled. "We're getting the band back together." It took another hour, kicking around the ideas with the rest of the Pack, before she was ready to make the phone call. It worked just as they expected. He would meet them near Kansas City tomorrow.
Gila Pack House
New Mexico
The passenger vans started to unload outside the Pack meeting hall, under the watchful eyes of the Alpha and his mate. Mike Donaldson approached them, as the senior member of the Telluride Pack delegation, and passed along the letter from Alpha David Francis. These social calls were becoming fairly routine since borders had been agreed to and mates found in different packs. Beta Andy and his mate Linda per-formed the duties as escorts, introducing them before they had a meet and greet in the hall. Family members had already run off together, while single males and females of both packs nervously sniffed the air for a hint of their mates. As the group walked off, Robert used the bond to his mate. "I don't trust them. Something is going on."
Renee squeezed his hand. "I know, but we've got things well in hand. Surveillance is in place, nothing will happen yet."
"We are keeping Lynn out of sight, right?"
"Yes, Caleb and Maria know of the danger. Her grandfather is maintaining the watch; he is close enough but out of sight. Only the four of us know who he is, and that he has a family bond with Lynn. She will be safe."
Renee leaned into his side as they approached the meeting hall where the party was already going. "She better be. If anything happens to her, Joe and Linda will be devastated."
K-177 Overlook Park
Five miles north of I-70 near Manhattan, KS
The RV made Exit 313 off the interstate onto Highway 177, then stopped in the darkness. "Tell me again why we are meeting out here?"
Linda looked at Enrique again. "Trevor knows people are after us, so he will expect us to be more comfortable out in the woods. What he doesn't know," she looked around at the others in the RV, "is that we have a Pack. That is our advantage. Jennifer, John, you get out here. Work your way into the woods and shift, sweep south of the meeting point at the east end of the lake. Stay back far enough he doesn't pick up your scent. Enrique, you and Anna will stay with the vehicle and drop Robin, David, Lois and Alex at the northern end of the park. Robin and David, you'll move inland and come back from the north side of the lake, while Lois and Alex work their way down closer to the road. I want you all in wolf form, keep clothes tied to your legs and stay back until we signal. At midnight, Joe and I will move west to the meeting point from the overlook."