“Fine, it’s my fault not his, so leave my dad out of this, Uncle Kano.”
“Your what?” he asked looking like he was suddenly going to be sick.
“She knows,” I whispered.
Kano sat down hard in the chair next to me.
“Baine Landry is Macie’s dad? I mean I knew it, I heard you say it, but hearing her say it somehow makes it even more real.”
“Yup. Pretty cool, huh?” she said proudly.
He looked around the room. “Every single one of you knew all along too, didn’t you? Even you, Killian? Why the hell did you beg me to be on your side and have him removed from here permanently if you knew that?”
“I didn’t know at the time. I mean I sort of suspected once she turned up pregnant, but by then it was too late.”
“It was never too late. All you had to do was say so. Do you really think for one second our father wasn’t keeping tabs on him? He spent months in a drunken stupor when he left here. We lost track of him from time to time, but he always showed back up, at least until about three years ago.”
“What happened three years ago?” I asked, surprised by my brother’s confession.
“My guess, he joined the Force. I don’t know exactly what those guys do, but they are super covert. I still don’t have a clue how they knew we were in trouble.”
“We’re in trouble?” Resa asked.
“They think Grandpa’s still alive and some bad guys called the Raglan took him,” Macie told them.
“How do you know that?” Killian asked her.
She shrugged. “Besides Baine telling me this morning, I overheard Uncle Kano and Silas, that’s the grumpy leader guy, talking about it.”
Tori grinned. “She’s good.”
“I’m going into the family business,” Macie announced.
“Aw, you want to make people feel beautiful like your mom?” Resa gushed.
“No. I’m going to be a spy, like my Dad.”
I groaned and said a quick prayer. Please Lord give me the strength to get her through the teen years.
“They really think Uncle Pike is alive?” Felix asked.
“Apparently they came across evidence that our Clan was being targeted. That’s why he came back,” Kano told our cousins.
“So Baine came back to help Uncle Pike, even after everything that happened?” Tori whispered.
I nodded. “I don’t think he was given much of a choice.”
Macie gave a know-it-all look as she agreed. “That’s how it works. The grumpy man barks an order and they all have to obey.”
“So where is he now?” Resa asked.
Macie rolled her eyes. “The grumpy man. Keep up. They left on a mission to look for Grandpa.”
“There’s, um, something you should probably know, Kano,” Killian said.
I cringed because I knew what was coming. Was I ready for it? I was still struggling to believe it wasn’t all just a dream.
“What do I need to know?” He looked back and forth between me and Killian as if he just knew it was something to do with Baine.
“Tell him,” Killian said.
I glared at my brother. Now was not the time. I didn’t know if I wanted the entire clan to know yet.
“Fine. You need to know that Baine isn’t just Macie’s father—he’s also Olivia’s true mate,” said Killian.
Resa gasped.
“No,” Tori said as her eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she searched mine for answers.
Felix shrugged. “Is it really that surprising? His bear probably knew before hers even surfaced. I’m guessing that’s why he couldn’t stay away from you even though he knew he should.”
“Really? I always just thought it was my irresistible charm.”
Resa laughed. “Yeah, I’m sure that was it.”
Baine
Chapter 11
The ride down the mountain felt like it took an eternity. The further away from Olivia I got, the worse I felt. It physically made me ill and my anxiety spiked like never before. My leg bounced up and down. Tarron stared at it and shook his head.
“Another mating male. When will we ever catch a break around here?”
Painter grinned. “Jealous much?”
Tarron grimaced. “No way. I’m never going to take a mate. I like my freedom.”
“Bullshit.” I coughed.
“It’s not. I don’t want to be tied down. Plus, it’s dangerous in this line of work. You guys are all just a bunch of idiots. I’m not falling for some female.”
“Pretty sure you already have,” I pointed out. “Nonna.”
Tarron laughed. “That’s not the same thing.”
“No, it’s worse. You’re a whipped Grandmama’s boy. What woman would even want that?”
Tarron rolled his eyes and I knew he wasn’t going to engage. I should have probably thanked him for the distraction though. I knew I could be a danger to the team if I didn’t find a way to get my head in the game.
Ben slapped me on the back. “It really does get easier after you seal the bond.”
“I hope so, because this sucks.”
We rode mostly in silence for a while stopping for the night. I wanted to call Olivia just to hear her voice, but I didn’t think that would help matters any. My bear was already on edge with the distance between us. It was a long night of tossing and turning. I felt terrible the next morning.
“You look like shit,” Silas said.
I just grumbled as I got back into the vehicle.
It was more of the same as we headed down the mountain, up another, and down one more. On the edge of the city, we finally slowed to a stop. Grant pulled over to the side of the road next to what looked like an abandoned warehouse. We all knew that was classic M.O. for the Raglan.
“According to Archie, this is it,” Silas said.
Painter and Ben both pulled out binoculars and started sweeping the area.
“There’s no sign of life on the outside,” Ben finally said.
“I concur,” Painter confirmed.
“This is getting ridiculous. We can’t keep walking in blind to these things. Have all of you forgotten what happened last time?” I reminded them.
Painter groaned, clearly remembering how he’d been shot in the last blindside we’d faced off with the Raglan. We thought we had the upper hand that time too, but a cute little bunny shifter had infiltrated us, and we’d walked right into the trap they’d laid.
“What we need is a man on the inside,” Taylor said. “I didn’t bring all of my gear, but I can do it.”
“No,” Grant said. “Who knows how long you’d have to be in there? It’s too big of a risk.”
A few days ago, I’d have called him a pansy and teased him for preferential treatment to his mate, but now, I got it. I couldn’t stand the thought of Olivia ever being near the Raglan. In my opinion if this was one of their new bases it was entirely too close to my family. I had no idea how Grant dealt with it all. Leaving them behind had been hard, but knowingly endangering Olivia or Macie would never be acceptable in my book.