Page 28 of Gold Sector

“Of course he did. So why not share your identity with his daughter?”

I shake my head. “Not a fucking clue. Maybe you should go ask him.”

“You know, I would, but the last time you gave me a task, you went and did it yourself. So I think I’ll leave this one for you to do.”

I roll my eyes. “I went to him to figure out why his daughter thought I was going to rape her.”

His eyebrow arches. “And?”

“He basically told me her upbringing in Obsidian Sector preprogrammed her to believe certain things about Alphas.” Rather than wait for my brother’s comments on that topic, I proceed to tell him everything else Keegan said, including the details about Riordan. “You walked in as I was sending Rio an email. I assume he didn’t mention anything to you during your call with him?”

My brother grunts. “Our call ended shortly after he realized you weren’t coming.”

I sigh. “Who ended it?”

Onyx smiles. “I did.”

“Of course you did.”

“He said, and I quote, ‘I have no interest in meeting with Gold Sector’s second-in-command.’?” He shrugs again. “I’m not one to beg for an audience, so I told him to have a good day, then, and hung up.”

“Have a good day?” I parrot.

“Well, it may not have been that polite. But the point was the same.” He unhooks his ankle from his knee to set his silver-coated boot on the ground and leans forward with his forearms on his thighs. “Do you believe Keegan? About why he’s here?”

“Yes and no,” I murmur. “I’m waiting for Taylor’s evaluation file to confirm the facts.”

“I doubt he lied about her being a wolf.”

“It would be a poor decision on his part,” I say, agreeing with my brother’s assessment. “Same with the information on the suppressants.”

He nods, then gives me a thoughtful look. “You gave her a token of favor.”

“I did.”

His light-colored eyebrow arches upward. “Before or after you learned about her wolf?”

“Before.”

“And now?” he presses.

“And now…” I repeat, drawing out the answer. “And now, I don’t know. Not because of her wolf, but because of her scent.” I already told him what Keegan said about Taliana’s mother and how she laid a trap for him. “It could be a trap.”

“Indeed,” he agrees, his lips curling down. “But she doesn’t smell unique to me at all.”

“Then you’re not the one being ensnared.”

“You said Keegan claimed it only works on compatible mates, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then…” He waves a hand.

“Then what?” I ask, not following his train of thought.

“You’re compatible.” He utters the words like that should be obvious.

It is, but why he’s pointing it out is less clear.