Page 137 of Contested Crown

“What did you see?” I asked, focusing on Heather.

“That’s the thing. He went to every crew in the city and picked up all the stuff we normally would deliver direct to Declan.” She shrugged. “Then he went home.”

“Home?” Joel said. “How do you know where his home was? Maybe he just went to wherever Declan was hiding.”

Heather sneered. “The bodyguard went to hishousein the suburbs! His wife was out front with his kids! She kissed the guy on the lips. This wasn’t Declan’s hideout, unless Declan is into someLeave it to Beaverménage à trois kink.”

“Was he taking everything to Declan in the morning?” I asked. That would be possible. Pick everything up one afternoon, deliver it to Declan fresh with his morning paper.

But I knew Declan, and that was unlikely. The only thing Declan liked less than independent thought was old news. He’d want the reports immediately so he could give his orders fast.

“After JD was demoted, how did Declan communicate?” I asked. “Just through his bodyguards?”

“He’d text us,” Gabe said, handing over his phone.

I scrolled back and read the past few weeks of texts. They sounded like Declan. Short, to the point, with just a hint of a threat in every word.

“Are we even sure he’s in the city?” Gabe asked as I read. “What if he just pulled up stakes and moved somewhere else? I heard he has a really expensive house in Carmel.”

“He’s here.” I felt the certainty in my bones. I knew Declan like I knew myself, his every thought, his every motion, what he was going to do in any situation.

“You’re sure?” Gabe searched my face.

“I know Declan. He’s not going to leave the city. This is his territory. He’s not even going to let the fact that the mages are after him scare him off.” I found a text and smirked. “He’s mentioning the fog here. He was watching it.”

“That still doesn’t prove that he’s in this building we’re talking about raiding.” At Joel’s annoyed look, Gabe shrugged. “It doesn’t.”

“If he’s not there, then we have a new base of operations. So it doesn’t matter either way. We’re clearing the building.” I waited until Gabe nodded.

His shoulders went down, relaxing. Wolves liked certainty. They liked knowing that their leaders could make decisions, ones that held.

Watching him, I realized it would be a fine line between giving them enough leash to tell me the truth, to make decisions themselves, and making sure they always knew I was the final call. I was the one in charge.

“So no one knows anything else about the building?” I asked.

Everyone shook their heads.

“We’re going to need some reconnaissance, then. I don’t want us walking into anything we don’t understand.” I looked at my new pack, trying to decide who to send. “Evelyn. Take someone with you, go sit outside the building. Hide yourselves. I don’t want Declan to have even an inkling what we’re up to. When you’re good, start tracking who comes in, who goes out. See if you can get a head count of how many people are in the building.”

She nodded, waving for one of the other wolves to come with her.

“And get some takeout food on the way,” I called.

“Sure thing, boss. I’ll keep the receipts for reimbursement?” She grinned at me, just enough sass for me to tell she was testing the waters.

I smirked. “As long as it’s not steaks and caviar, I’ll foot the bill.”

Then they were out the door. I looked around the room, then over to Rhys. “We all need food. And somewhere to sleep. I don’t want any of us going into this without rest and food.”

“Of course, honey.” Rhys tapped into their phone. “Food is on the way. As for rest…”

Flowers fluttered from the ceiling, and the wolves and humans sitting on the furniture jumped out of the way. Only the mages from House Bartlett seemed unconcerned.

The air itself hummed as the universe shifted. Soon, all the couches and chairs had been turned into beds.

“You didn’t want to wait until after we ate?” I raised an eyebrow. “Now we’re going to get crumbs in the sheets.”

“So picky!” Rhys waved a hand to me and Cade. “Come into the back room. You might think you’re getting away with wearing whatever off-the-rack trash this is, but I’m not letting you go into battle like that.”