Page 8 of His Place in the World (Legendary Shifters #9)

The cars had parked by Cam’s house, and Del recognized the man climbing out of one of them.

Ryland wasn’t wearing a suit today. He looked like he’d been training when someone told him to come, and he was still wearing shorts and a t-shirt.

His cheeks were flushed, and if Del hadn’t already been falling for Angus, he might have given Ryland a thought.

His father wouldn’t have been happy about that because Ryland had to be twice Del’s age, but Del had never cared about age.

Still, he was glad Angus was still in his mid-twenties. That made it easier for them to get along and understand each other.

Remi got out of the other car, and he and Ryland walked toward each other.

Their presence here, clearly unplanned, was enough to tell Del that something had happened.

He wasn’t fully involved in any of this, but between what Doyle had done, Everly being a rare shifter, and Angus, he felt he had a right to know what was going on.

So instead of heading home, he headed toward Cam’s house.

He got there as Ryland and Remi climbed the porch steps. The two of them heard him and turned to face him, and while Remi frowned, Ryland smiled at him and offered him his hand.

“Del, right?” he asked.

Del shook his hand and nodded. “You got it right.”

“It’s good to see you again. Are you here for this impromptu meeting?”

“Not exactly, but I’d like to know what’s going on, considering my mate is involved.”

“Really? I wasn’t aware of that.”

Del shrugged as he followed Ryland and Remi toward the front door. “We only recently met, but he was there during the last meeting.”

“The cute blond?”

Del narrowed his eyes at Ryland, who laughed.

“Sorry about that,” Ryland said. “But your mate is cute.”

Angus was, and Del wasn’t actually angry. Ryland had eyes, and as long as he didn’t bother Angus, Del didn’t care what he thought of him.

Ryland knocked on the door. It took a few moments for someone to open. Toby didn’t seem surprised to see them, although he did arch a brow at Del, who looked away, hoping the alpha mate wouldn’t ask him to leave.

“We came as quickly as we could,” Ryland said. He and Remi walked in, and Del quickly followed.

“We were sorry to bother you today, but we need to talk to you,” Toby said. “Or at least Cam does. He’s in his office with Angus. You can head right there.”

“Have you found Pembroke?”

Toby grimaced. “Not as far as we know, sorry. We might be a step closer to finding him, though.”

Apparently, that was all Ryland needed to hear. He rushed down the hallway, heading toward the office. Remi went after him, but when Del moved to follow, Toby grabbed his arm.

“You realize you don’t have to be involved in this, right?” he asked.

“I don’t especially want to, but I also can’t look away and ignore the situation,” Del told him. “Between Doyle and Angus, I need to know what’s going on. If there’s anything I can do to help, I will.”

Although Del doubted there was much he could do. Ryland and Remi were human, too, but they were older, had great jobs, and a lot of money. Del couldn’t compare to that, and honestly, he didn’t want to. He just wanted to be there in case anything happened.

Toby nodded. Del didn’t wait for Toby to change his mind. He rushed toward the office, walking in as Angus spoke.

“Through this Albert guy, I managed to find several of his clients, including one who organized a party for this weekend,” he explained.

“What kind of party?” Ryland asked.

He and Remi sat in front of Cam’s desk, where Angus was. Cam was on his side of the desk, and while he looked surprised to see Del here, he didn’t tell him to leave. Del closed the door before taking the last empty chair on Angus’s other side.

Angus didn’t even look up from his computer. Del wasn’t offended because he’d already seen his mate while he was working, and he knew this was normal. Angus was fully focused on what he was doing, and Del wouldn’t want him any other way.

He loved watching Angus work. When Angus was focused on his job, he was in his own world, and that allowed Del to watch him without him knowing.

Angus was passionate about finding these shifters, and Del didn’t blame him.

He wanted to find them, too, although considering he was only human, it made sense that he wasn’t as focused.

“Well, the invitation doesn’t specify it’s an auction, but I believe it is,” Angus said.

“Why?” Remi asked.

“Because of the wording and the people invited. Not only are they the richest people this guy knows, but the invitation is weird. It says they’re invited for a night of drinks, fun, good food, and choices. It also says that the people invited shouldn’t mention it to anyone else.”

“How did you get your hand on an invitation?”

“I hacked into someone’s account. He’s one of the co-owners of the security company working the event.

I have the list of the people invited, and if we need to, I can create another invitation.

” Angus looked up, his gaze stopping on Del.

He blinked as if he wasn’t quite sure what to make of Del’s presence, so Del smiled at him.

He didn’t need Angus to focus on him. He just wanted to be here for his mate, and he was.

“Why would we want to create another invitation?” Cam asked.

“Because having one would mean we could get into the auction,” Angus explained.

“Think about it. So far, we don’t have anything concrete.

I can think whatever I want, but I can’t make any promises until I have proof that this is an auction.

I believe we should get someone in, but we need funds.

We could fake it, but I think it would be better if we had someone backing us who has access to a lot of money. ”

“Which is where I come in,” Ryland added.

Angus nodded. “I can hack into the system and fabricate this invitation, but if we’re doing this, we need to play it well. Are you a good actor?”

“I can be if it means I might get my brother back.”

“Then I believe you should go to this party, and since the invitation also states that pets are welcome, you should take me with you.”

Del’s stomach turned to lead. What was Angus talking about?

“You’re not a pet,” Ryland pointed out.

“But they’re not talking about animals here.

Come on, Ryland. Can’t you see it? If this truly is an auction, and I believe it is, the people invited are used to buying and selling shifters.

Why do they do it? I’m sure all of them have their own reason, and one of those reasons is that they enjoy having rare shifters as pets.

I could take advantage of the situation to clone cell phones and maybe even sneak around and get more information. ”

“What if someone realizes Ryland wasn’t supposed to be invited?” Remi asked.

“Why would they? Even if no one recognizes him, he can say he’s a friend of a friend of the organizer.

Anyone looking into him will find what I want them to find, including Ryland’s bank accounts.

Besides, since he owns a security company, he could be looking both for pets and fighters.

He’s not the only security company involved, after all.

Having me with you would help our cause and show everyone that you’re serious about the auction and that you’re actually contemplating buying more shifters. ”

Del understood everything Angus was saying, but his brain couldn’t make sense of it. Was Angus actually willing to put himself in danger that way? It sounded like he was, and Del wasn’t sure what he could do about it.

Or even if there was anything he could do about it.

* * * *

“What if this is an auction?” Cam asked. “Will you just be gathering information, or are you planning on trying to save the shifters there?”

Angus hadn’t gotten that far. “My first instinct would be to save everyone we see, but I don’t think that will be possible.”

“I agree,” Remi said. He glared at Ryland when Ryland opened his mouth.

“And I know that if Pembroke is there, all hell will break loose. I don’t expect you not to do anything if you find your brother.

But think about it. What will happen if you decide to step in and attempt to save all the shifters these people are auctioning?

You can’t buy all of them, and if you try, people will notice and know something’s wrong.

What will happen to you then? What will happen to Angus or any of the shifters involved? ”

Ryland’s heart looked like it was breaking, and Angus understood. He wanted to save rare shifters, too.

But they wouldn’t be able to, at least not the night of the party.

“We’ll gather as much information as possible while we’re there,” he said.

“Hopefully, that will include information about where the rare shifters are being kept between auctions. If we can find an address, these shifters will be easier to rescue than the ones who get sold. We’ll get all of them eventually, though.

” It was a promise that Angus was making to Ryland and the others as much as he was making it to himself.

“And you’re willing to put yourself in danger for this information,” Del said.

He was staring at Angus, but Angus couldn’t read his expression. It was fairly easy to understand how he felt, though. Angus just had to think about how he’d feel if Del volunteered for a mission like the one he’d just volunteered for.

His mouth went dry. He understood where Del was coming from, but that didn’t mean his mate’s feelings would stop him. This was too important, maybe even more important than a mate. “This is the best way to get me inside and for me to find the information we need,” he explained.

“You could get hurt.”