They had a plan. A good one. York knew that the deal he had struck with Agent Porath had given them the space they needed to take care of this his way. Now they just needed to get everyone on board, and maybe rehearse a few things, before they set the final steps of the plan into motion.
He needed to eat, shove some carbs into his face, to get back some brainpower to make sure that whatever he’d concocted was the best course of action. Thankfully, when Johanna showed up an hour late—because let’s face it, she knew shifters and how they were with their mates in the morning—she had brought with her a bag full of assorted bagels and a few different kinds of schmears. He went for his two favorites: sesame bagel with strawberry cream cheese and a poppy seed bagel with jalapeno cream cheese.
A little something sweet.
A little something spicy.
Just like his Josie.
“You think of everything,” he told his mother between mouthfuls.
“You eat like a monster,” Josie teased.
“Oh, you better get used to the eating habits of shifters. We eat like it’s going out of style. Just wait until you have little ones, you’ll surely feel the need to buy a dairy farm just to keep them in milk.”
York’s bite froze on the way to his mouth. They hadn’t discussed kids, but they sure hadn’t used any condoms. He hadn’t even thought to ask if Josie wanted kids, or if she was on any contraceptives. Not that those were effective against shifter sperm.
Josie patted her still flat stomach. “Well, so long as they get a little bit of my magical blood, I won’t mind. Though, I don’t think I’d be very good on a dairy farm. I bet I could grow a mean crop, though.”
At her words, York felt his heart expand to about three times its normal size. She winked at him before taking a bite from his bagel.
“Right,” Johanna said finally, “well, I know we can absolutely trust two people in the bank. Jordyn and Vern. We could use them if we need to. I know they’re loyal, and we can definitely make it worth their while. Besides, they will never be in harm’s way.”
“I like that,” Josie agreed. “That they won’t be in harm’s way. They’re both so sweet, I wouldn’t want them to be hurt at all.”
“But, we have to be careful,” York cut in. “Josie mentioned that Steiner had jaguar guards.
Johanna’s face darkened. “Does he now.” Her tone was clipped, indicating that his mother had the same suspicions he did.
Josie’s eyes went to him, then to Johanna, then back again. “Wait. What? What does that mean? What did I miss?”
“You didn’t miss anything, love. You’re just new to our world, so you don’t have all of the information that you would need to make the connection we did.”
“We could be wrong,” Johanna argued with no real feeling.
York sent her a disbelieving frown. “Right. But we aren’t, are we?” He could feel the nervous energy rolling off of Josie, so he turned toward her to explain. “Lewis Nolan, one of our board members, is a jaguar shifter. He is a difficult man to please, and he doesn’t like us much. He has a lot of resentment against the family. He never liked that Dad had so much luck with numbers. Nolan’s own bank and financial firm went under during the Great Depression. He never forgave the Warwicks for not meeting the same fate.”
“Never mind that we gave the entire pack good jobs,” Johanna shrugged like it didn’t sting. It did. They had tried to keep the Nolans afloat, but instead of being grateful, they were irate and combative.
“So, you think that Nolan is Steiner’s man on the inside?” Josie asked.
York shook his head. “Maybe. But we have a lot of jaguars on the payroll, from executives to security guards. Maybe Steiner is blackmailing the whole pack, or maybe he has told the Nolans that he’ll help them set up their own firm. Who knows? All I do know is that I don’t like coincidences. This feels connected.”
“Oh!” Josie gasped. “You said that this could be a test job Steiner has me doing, right? What if the end game is to steal enough from you that you go under, and then the Nolans come out on top?”
York nodded, crossing his arms. “That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking.”
“Then let’s keep Nolan in mind as we go through the plan,” Johanna cut in. “We need to make sure he doesn’t spot anything. Meanwhile, I’ll get some of our security people on Nolan. If he steps a toe out of line, if we can prove he is involved with this, we can be rid of him once and for all.”
“Right,” York agreed. “So we need to make this as believable as possible on all sides. If any Nolan jaguar sees anything, we have to assume they would report to Steiner. Not one Warwick employee can seem complicit to the plan. Or Steiner will know Josie spilled the beans. Then we lose our edge over him and the deal I made with Interpol. They know I know your identity now, and that would seriously complicate our relationship if one of us was jailed.”
Josie bit down on her lip.
“It’s okay,” he assured her, wrapping a hand around her waist. “Here’s what I’m thinking. Jordyn is at the security desk, talking to Vern. They do that often, chat together. Josie shows up to the desk and has to leave her purse behind, like the common procedure. Jordyn gives him a bit of a dressing down for separating a woman from her bag, and Vern relents out of respect and shame to the lovely Jordyn. With her purse in hand, Josie can go into the safes, pretend to work for a bit and leave the bank with the vase.”
“That better be one big purse,” Josie snickered. She did favor small clutches, he had noticed.
“That’s where I come in,” Johanna was smiling broadly. She took one of the many shopping bags she had brought with her. She pulled out a large black leather purse that definitely cost a small fortune.
Josie’s eyes went wide. “That’s…that’s…”
“From next season’s line, yes. It’s not even out in stores yet. But it is big enough to slip the vase into.” Johanna’s sparkling eyes were positively mischievous.
Josie took the bag with reverence. “Then what? I get Steiner to meet with me?”
“We need to make sure this all happens someplace I can shift. His shitty little jaguar guards can shift anywhere, but people are going to notice if a dragon is flying across Manhattan,” he pondered out loud.
“Let’s have him meet us in the Hamptons. We could fake a security breach, and have Josie on the run. She could call Steiner from there.”
“But he knows we have properties there. It could tip our hands.”
Johanna shrugged. “But, where else could you shift?”
York hated to admit it, but she was right. “Fine, but there will be a shit ton of security on Josie. From the second she walks into the bank, as she drives out of the city, and on the drive, and when she’s at the final location.”
“Well, hell,” Josie quipped with good humor. “Why don’t you put a tracker on me?”
York pursed his lips. “Now, that’s not a bad idea.”
Josie rolled her eyes up to the heavens. “I was kidding.”
“But it’s a good idea,” Johanna agreed. “In case Steiner gets his hands on you.”