He hopped out of the Tesla. On the porch, he pushed open the big wooden door and got hit by wolf smell. Though humans came here too, this bar at this hour meant werewolves.
He glanced around the big, crowded room. A couple of Harker pack members waved. He’d join them if—
He smiled. The giant alphanta werewolf leaned back in his chair on two legs, facing away from Lindsey. Lindsey threaded through the tables, slapping high fives with a few friends. High fives were so not his style, but the wolves seemed to like them. He tiptoed up behind Cole. The alphanta could hear bubbles bursting in a pond a mile away and smell a wolf in the next state, but he’d humor Lindsey. Linds slipped his arms around Cole’s neck and hugged him.
“Hey, buddy.” Cole stood, lifting Lindsey on his back, twisted him around to the front, and gave him an embrace. Every werewolf in the club knew both Cole and Lindsey were gay, but they pretty much ignored it. Cole put him back on his feet and indicated a chair.
Lindsey sat and nodded to Alf Cotswale and Jim Joyner, Cole’s right and left hands in the pack. “Hey, guys.” He glanced around. “Where’s my favorite kitty cat?”
“Touring.” Cole made a face.
“How can you bear to share him with his adoring fans?”
“Fortunately, I know just how reclusive he is. That panther interacts with no one. They just drool over him on stage.”
Lindsey laughed. “But his drooling fans have no idea just how exotic that exotic dancer is.”
Cole nodded. “So true. Your date didn’t go late. Did it go well?”
“Well enough.” He grinned. The waitress came over, and he ordered white wine. Even with his metabolism, too many martinis were contraindicated. He had a big political fundraiser tomorrow.
When she left, Cole cocked an eyebrow at him. “So your mom set this date up. Is he the crème de la crème of Connecticut society?”
Lindsey shrugged. “I guess.”
“Did you like him?”
“A tad tame for my taste, but the short evening ended satisfactorily.”
“You devil. You come off like an English drawing room play, but you are so not.”
He nodded. He wouldn’t elaborate on how true that was. He trusted his friend implicitly, but Cole was alphanta werewolf, and probably the next alpha. Cole was all about pack. “Uh, on a different subject, have you heard anything about the kidnappings from the rich families?”
Cole frowned. “Yeah. Nasty business.”
The waitress brought his wine, and he smiled and handed her a twenty. “Keep the change, darling.” She beamed and walked away.
Cole looked at Lindsey. “I wish we could help, but you know the rules. We’d show up and somebody would blow our cover to the humans. It would have to be deemed a pack problem before we could get involved.”
“Yes, I figured that. But if you happen to hear anything, will you let me know? These people are friends of my family.”
“Of course. I hear there’s both police and FBI on it, which is even more reason for us to stay away.”
Police and FBI? Hmm. He pictured the men in the parking lot. The two suits had FBI written all over them. The other one? He could handcuff Lindsey anytime. That crooked smile he’d flashed at Lindsey glowed in his mind. Yes, like a red warning light.
“Lindsey?”
He glanced up at Cole. “Oh, sorry. Just thinking.”
“Of something pleasant, if that grin was any indication. That date must have been better than you said.”
Only in his mind.
Lindsey nodded at the maître d’, aka bouncer, who guarded the door for the political fundraiser at the Laurel Club in Hartford. The man knew him, so no slowdown. Good. He was running late. Howard Carter, the lieutenant governor, stood inside the door talking to a gaggle of political types. He thrust a hand at Lindsey. “Good to see you, Vanessen.”
“Howard. You know I’d never miss an event of Dave’s.” Lindsey owed the governor big time for saving the Harker and Marketo packs in the war with Eliazer and his goons. Of course, all the governor knew was he had intervened to save some of Connecticut’s prominent families. The wolfy connection was invisible.
Howard smiled. “We appreciate it.”
Lindsey nodded with a small smile. “As long as the party continues to represent the interests of the people of Connecticut—all of the people—I’ll be behind you.” Might as well make a few platform points while he was at it.
Howard smiled with lots of teeth but swallowed hard. His personal leanings fell pretty far right of his colleague, Dave Mendes, so he needed some reminders of where his bread was buttered.
Lindsey continued into the room. Dave Mendes was already on the platform. The tall, handsome, black-haired guy always had an easy way about him that got votes. But the man’s expression looked anything but easy. Hell, the crease between his eyebrows rivaled the San Andreas Fault. What’s wrong? Lindsey started toward him, but the state party chairperson, Annette Ostreo, walked to the microphone. “Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for coming.”
Annette launched into some blah blah blah about the greatness of the state and how the party was committed to its greatness. Dave just looked weird. Lindsey stared at him until he glanced up. Linds gave him a cock of the head as if to say “What’s up?” The man’s expression went beyond pained.
Finally, Annette called the governor to the mike. He stepped up and smiled, but anyone who knew him had to see he wasn’t himself. “I have so many friends in this room, and I can’t tell you how much that means to me. From time to time, we get reminded of what’s really important in life. Your friendship is important. I know my colleagues are going to wring your wallets for money today, but I want you to know that it’s your goodwill and kindness that mean the most.” Holy crap, there wasn’t going to be a dry eye in the house.
“I’d like to outline briefly the plans we have for that money, and then you can decide how deep you want to dig to support them.” He pulled up a paper chart and started writing on it. Funny and folksy in this day of technology. “We need to reach people about education. Here’s what we plan to do—”
A phone rang. Everyone looked annoyed. Who forgot to turn off the cell? Dave’s face froze. He reached in his pocket and pulled out the ringing phone. “I’m so terribly sorry. There’s a family emergency and I have to leave.” The phone kept ringing. “I’ll put you in Annette and Howard’s capable hands. Please know I would not do this if it wasn’t absolutely necessary.” He clicked the phone and put it to his ear as he hurried off the dais.
What the hell? Very bad feeling about this. As Dave walked past Lindsey, he gave a slight nod of his head and screwed his eyes toward the door. Okay, follow discreetly.
Everybody buzzed as the governor left the room, but Annette called them back to order, the waiters stepped up their delivery of drinks, and people’s attention returned to the money- grubbing at hand.
As soon as attention diverted, Lindsey slipped quietly from the room, then hurried to the parking lot. Dave was just climbing into the limo. “Dave.” He ran up beside the big vehicle. “How can I help?”
The governor stared at him for a moment. “I’m not sure. You’re good at making things happen, Lindsey, and my wife has fallen apart and I’m practically with her. I could sure use your calm decision-making.”