Warming The Cold One - 40. Nothing Clears the Head Like a Walk in the Moonlight

As Clifford, Tala and Jay pulled into a spot in guest parking, Clifford saw a woman pull a bag out of the trunk of her car. He got out and waved them over.

“I want you to meet my wife, Patricia,” Clifford said as they got close.

“Hello Patty. It’s wonderful to see you again,” Tala said.

Patricia looked over at Tala and frowned. “You saw me then,” she said flatly.

“Yes, I did. You’ve been hovering around all over,” Tala answered.

Jay and Clifford looked confused and just stared at Tala for a minute. Finally, Jay broke the silence. “Where did you see her?”

“She has been following us since we left Ohio.” He let that sink in for a second before continuing. “She was near the airport when we left Ohio, she was just outside the pack lands in Alligator River, and she was trying to get back on these lands after dark the same day.”

Clifford’s jaw fell slack. “Why didn’t you come home?”

“She couldn’t,” Tala answered.

“I’m really confused,” Jay admitted.

“How did you know,” Patricia asked.

Tala smiled. “I figured it out when I read the pack documents we were given. Someone must do the recruiting and you were the person to do it.”

Patricia shrugged. “That, I did. When I figured out what was really going on I tried to warn people, but it was too late.”

“Should we go inside,” Tala asked the group. “I think we have a lot to talk about and I don’t want an audience.” Tala watched a shadow move as they turned to go inside.

 

“I don’t understand, Mr. Spencer. We have you on a very large retainer. Why are you refusing to even talk to me?” The young man says into the phone on the verge of tears.

“I told you already. Your last payment never showed up. When we called your accountants, they said they hadn’t been paid either and to take it up with the council committee,” the older man explained. “Until I am paid, you get nothing,” slamming the phone down.

The young man put the phone back on the cradle and cried for about five minutes. He was sure he was going to be fired now. “Well, if I’m going to be fired, I might as well burn the place down on my way out,” he said to himself.

He got up and went to the bathroom, washed his face, and got on the elevator. When he got to the room he was looking for, he knocked on the door firmly.

Deirdre opened the door. “Can I help you?

“Yes,” the young man stuttered. “I need you to pay the contracted attorney's firm so that I can fix a real estate issue. They claim the last retainer payment didn’t go through.”

“I don’t write the checks, I am only on the investigative committee,” she started to explain.

“I know all that,” he snapped. “Just let everyone get paid.”

She shook her head. “I can’t do that. I can’t pay someone if I don’t know who they are or how to contact them.”

“Just call Todd like everyone else does,” he said and then started to walk away.

She called after him, “Who is Todd?”

Realizing his mistake to ran for a different set of elevators to get back to his office.

 

“Who was that,” Olav asked as Deirdre closed the door to the conference room.

“I think he was one of the interns from my clan,” she answered.

“What did he want,” Cooper asked.

“I’m not sure what he really wanted but I think he just gave us a huge clue. For better or worse, let’s try it,” she said.

 

“Good afternoon, this is Hans.” Hans listened for a reply. “Hello?”

A gruff voice finally answered. “I’m sorry I thought this was Todd’s number”

Hans chuckled. “I get that a lot, he is one number off mine, let me transfer you.

Cooper sighed in relief as the phone when silent and began to ring again.

“This is Todd, how can I help you,” came a perky voice.

“Good afternoon, Todd, I think there is a lot you can help me with,” Cooper replied in his normal voice again. “My name is Cooper. I am with the Clan Investigation Committee. I was wondering if you could provide us with the requested information today?”

“You said your name is Cooper,” Todd asked.

Before Cooper could answer, the group heard Hans in the background yelling. “Hang up, you idiot!”

The three committee members stared at each other in amazement as they listened to the dial tone.

 

Clifford showed Tala and Jay into his living room. “Can I get you anything to drink?”

“Just some water for us please,” Jay answered for both of them.

Once everyone was seated, Clifford broke the silence. “Can anyone clue me in to what I am missing here?”

“As you know, Patricia,” Jay stressed her formal name, “has been working for Tony. What Tony didn’t know is that she wasn’t doing his bidding but instead she was working for someone else.”

“Someone else,” Clifford asked.

“Actually,” Tala answered, “more like three someone else.”

Patricia flushed. “How did you know it was three?”

“Simple,” Tala replied. “The first would have been whomever Tony was working for. They wanted you to do things that Tony didn’t know about.”

“Tony didn’t know even 10% of what they were really doing,” Patricia confirmed.

Tala continued. “The second would be the group controlling the group that Tony was working for. They are the ones really behind all that has been going on.”

“So, the true masterminds are not the group working with Tony,” Clifford asked.

“Nope,” Patricia affirmed. “Totally in the dark.”

Jay was counting on his fingers and drawing stuff in the air before asking a question. “So, who is left?”

Tala smiled. “Who else? Faolan.”

Patricia laughed. “How do you figure that?”

Faolan walked out of the hallway into the light. “Because I told him.”

Clifford jumped up and bowed to Faolan. “Master Faolan. What an honor.”

“Please sit down,” he said to Clifford. “Patty, so good to see you again. I hope I haven’t missed any of the good parts.”

Tala patted Jay on the shoulder to break him out of his shock. “No, nothing that big yet. We hadn’t gotten to the real reason she was doing any of this.”

“I’ll take this one,” Faolan said. “Because I asked her very nicely.”

“Nicely,” Patricia suddenly snapped. “You threatened me is more like it.”

“I simply let you know that I had uncovered some of your dirty deeds and gave you a chance to make some of them right,” Faolan acknowledged in an even tone.

“You’ve used me for three years,” Patricia growled. “Three years I’ve had to sneak around and feed you information about this pack and all the Red Wolves around us.”

“And I have paid you well for your work,” Faolan said. “You have helped make breakthroughs and right wrongs.”

“Paid well,” Clifford asked confused.

“I kept it in a separate account,” Patricia admitted. “I had it hidden in with the council investment accounts and it has grown quite a bit. Well, until recently.”

“The account freeze,” Jay asked,

Patricia sighed. “I guess. They wouldn’t tell me why my cards stopped working but I had a hard time getting back here.”

Jay perked up for a second and turned to Tala. “You were calling Faolan when we were at that sleazy guy’s office.”

“I did, but I didn’t know it at the time,” Tala admitted. “I thought I had dialed my old lawyer friend. I hit the wrong button and ended up getting Faolan. It just happened to work out.”

“That it did,” Faolan chuckled. “I am sorry to hear about the account being frozen. I never was able to investigate the finances as much as I would have liked in the past. I have heard rumors that it has caused a lot of problems.”

“I just hope that they are able to find the issues,” Jay said. “It is hard on our team being the only clan that can still pay its employees. A lot of questions are being asked.”

 

“Hello? Yes, this is she.” The well-dressed woman looked confused as she listened to the caller on the phone. “I don’t understand. I already signed the contract and sent it back.” She listened again. “It had the finance signature on it.” She was starting to get upset. “What do you mean I don’t have any money? I am the head of the real estate acquisitions department.” Her expression turned pale. “No, I’ll make some calls and see what I can do.” She hung up the receiver and slammed her fist into the desk.

It was just then the young man came back into the room. “I swear I tried,” he stressed as her angry look.

She took a breath and tried to make her face a bit less harried looking. “I know you did.”

He winced until he realized she wasn’t yelling. “I can continue to press if you need.”

“No,” she sighed. “This is going far above the level influence either of us have. I plan on talking to The Rancher and telling him that it can’t be done.”

“The Rancher? You are joking with me right now. He’ll destroy you,” the young man said in a very serious tone.

“I’ll try to protect you,” she replied. “Maybe you can get my job when I’m gone.”

“I doubt it,” he sighed. “I purposely screwed up when I tried to get the committee to release the funds for the lawyers. I said Todd’s name, but I made sure to make it sound like an accident.”

Upon hearing that, the woman sat down and started laughing. “We are both screwed then. Look on the bright side; The Rancher is going to get his too. I am going omit your slip of the tongue. Best he hears about that from someone other than us.”

 

Faolan got up from his chair. “It was good seeing you, but I must be off. I have places to be and people to direct.”

Tala stood up and shook his hand. “I bet you do. Maybe someday you’ll share what you are up to.”

After Faolan left, Tala sat back down, and Clifford looked puzzled. “I thought you didn’t like Faolan.”

Tala smiled. “I have learned to let him do his thing and he has learned to let me do mine. It’s best I leave it at that.”

Clifford shook his head. “Okay, I guess.”

Jay took advantage of the moment and changed the topic of discussion. “With that done, how about we work on the transition tasks. Any ideas?”

“I do, in fact,” Tala said.

 

A few hours and a couple of full notepads later, they had planned out the timelines and announcements. Clifford got up and grabbed a pitcher of tea and four glasses. “Tea,” he asked.

Jay took a sip and grimaced. “I don’t know if I will ever get used to sweet tea.” The other three laughed at him. “Ha, ha, not funny,” he frowned. “I think this can work. Do you two think you can handle it all?”

Clifford smiled. “I know we can. This is planned out so well, we can’t fail. You thought of every way we could get tripped up and accounted for them.”

“How do we know that Tony will stay with the program,” Patricia asked.

Jay laughed. “I forgot that you missed the show. I don’t think anyone in the Alpha’s office will put one tow out of line.”

“Was it really that violent,” Patricia asked.

Tala shook his head. “The only violence was aggressive barking from their kennels.”

“You didn’t,” she questioned.

“He did,” Jay confirmed. “Nothing breaks down ego faster than losing control of your ability to change.”

 

Tala and Jay went back to their room and sat down on a sofa facing the window. “Penny for your thoughts,” Jay mused.

“You’re getting a bad deal, but if you insist,” Tala joked. “I’m worried. There is so much going on down here, and with my mom’s project, and back home.”

“I think we can go back home if you want. I know Clifford has this handled and Tony isn’t going to be able to screw it up. Let us fly home to Cathlamet and have some time just for us.” Jay wrapped his arms around Tala. “I want to see how everything looks.”

“That does sound wonderful,” Tala agreed. “I want to stop in and talk to Matthew though. I think he needs to know that we are there for him.”

“What if he wants you to go to Amidon and help his father? Are you prepared to do that,” Jay asked.

“Very good questions,” Tala sighed. “I guess I should pull out my laptop and look over those scans again.

 

Two hours later, Tala sat back and blew out a breath. He got up and stretched his legs and found Jay out on the deck watching the sunset. “I wondered where you went.”

“I saw how engaged you were and didn’t want to disturb you,” Jay said as well as patting the chair next to his. “Figure it out?”

“I think so,” Tala affirmed. “It is very intense. I think I can do it if I have you with me. I need to bring Duane and Greyson back together and then have you and I lay hands on them while I recite the reversal.”

“With the power that spell has, do you think the two of us are enough? I mean would it be better with more,” Jay mused.

“That is a great idea,” Tala exclaimed. “We can have some of Greyson’s pack help as well. I’m sure they would want to help their alpha recover.”

“I’ll let Tony and Clifford know we will be leaving in the morning then.” Jay went inside to call them.

Tala looked out over the darkening sky and took in some calming breaths. He got up to go back inside as Jay was coming back outside. “All good?”

“They thanked us for letting them know and assured me that they could handle things for now.” Jay looked over Tala’s shoulder and had an idea. Grinning he turned to look back at Tala. “Should we go for a run?”

Tala grinned we he caught Jay’s meaning. “Yes, I think we should.”

 

They changed into some breakaway pants and slip-on shoes and headed outside and found a small bench tucked away to the side of the building. They pulled off their shoes and pants and transformed into their wolves. Tala let out a howl and they started running with no real destination. Every few minutes they would stop and howl again before running in a new direction. They continued for a few hours, ending up on the beach where they lay a few feet above the tide line and just listened to the sounds of nature. Before they fell asleep, they got up and walked back slowly. Two black wolves were seen when they reached the edge of the trees that bordered the pack compound proper. They ran over to Tala and Jay and nuzzled under Tala before running down the path. Tala led the way back to the bench where they saw another set of clothes matching Clifford and Patty’s. They changed back and got dressed. Going upstairs they saw others slowly heading outside to walk in the moonlight. They lay in bed smiling as they heard distant wolf howls as they fell asleep.

 

The elevator opened to the 17th floor and Tala and Jay stepped out seeing Avery looking at something on her monitor. They got all the way to the desk before she halfway looked up. “Can I help you,” she asked as she paused the video she was watching.

“Yes, is Matthew in yet,” Tala asked.

“I think he is out getting coffee. What do you need with him,” she asked.

Jay rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers near her face. “Wake up, Avery.” She got mad and looked up fully and froze. “That’s better,” Jay said.

“When will he be returning,” Tala asked.

The door to the right of the desk opened and Matthew walked out with a very large and expensive-looking coffee drink. He smiled when he saw Tala and Jay. “Welcome back! I didn’t expect to see you two for weeks.” He handed the coffee to an embarrassed Avery.

“We thought we would take a break from fixing the whole world and come see how you were doing,” Tala explained. “I know how just how hard all of this can be.”

“It has been a lot the last few weeks,” Matthew started. “Thank you for thinking of me.”

Avery sipped her drink feeling left out. “I guess he has been doing okay. He isn’t the best receptionist we have.”

Tala and Jay looked at each other and just shook their heads while Matthew looked on in horror. “Why don’t you come back with us Matthew and let's discuss your performance with Hawk,” Tala said while winking at Matthew.

The three men badged back to the office area while Avery sat stunned. She shrugged to herself and started her video again while sipping her coffee.

 

As they walked back, Jay turned to Matthew. “Is she always like that?”

“Only when she isn’t the star of the show,” Matthew sighed.

Tala knocked on Hawk’s open door and he looked up. “Tala? Is there something wrong?”

“No, we just decided that we didn’t need to micromanage the events in Florida and wanted to see how Matthew was holding up,” Tala replied.

“It’s good to know I rank high on your list,” Hawk said with a fake hurt in his voice. “Matthew has been doing well from what I can see. I have questions about his continued place in reception.”

“I heard about that from Avery too. I wanted to discuss that with you,” Tala said. “Jay, can you close the door?”

Jay closed the door and motioned for Matthew to sit next to him. “How bad has it been? I see that Avery is not happy with him.”

“I do the best I can,” Matthew said with a bit of panic in his voice.

“Stop,” Tala said firmly. “This is not a problem with you.” He saw Matthew relax a bit and continued. “Because of the complex rules in the council, we are unable to assign you to another role without the needed qualifications.”

“Tala and I have been discussing things we could do for you. From the way things are progressing, I think he made up his mind,” Hawk said.

Tala smiled. “I have. Please hear me out before you answer. Matthew, due to performance related issues, meaning you are too good for this job, I am hereby canceling your employment contract with the American Clan.” Tala saw Matthew get tears in his eyes. “I am also offering you a job with the Cathlamet pack as my personal liaison between the council and the trust lands. You will need to work directly with the trust manager and aid in finding a real estate law firm for said trust that can work in the best interest of the residents and future wolves in that area.”

“What,” Matthew asked confused.

Jay smiled. “Do you want a job working for Tala as the go between the council and the land trust?”

Matthew looked dazed. “Really?”

“Really,” Tala answered. “You will have a lot of responsibilities. You might have to travel back and forth between Amidon and here, but we will cover your travel costs. If you accept, we’ll take you with us when we head out to Amidon to speak with the trust manager.”

“What about my family? Can I see them,” Matthew asked.

Jay smacked Matthew in the shoulder. “Dude! You can HIRE your family.”

Matthew rubbed his shoulder as it all clicked in his head. “So my dad won’t lose his job.” He jumped up and hugged Tala.

Tala hugged Matthew tightly as he felt tears on his neck. Tala could feel the joy and relief rolling off the youth in waves. “Yes, I that too. If I can.”

Matthew pulled back and saw Tala was speaking truthfully. “Thank you,” he croaked.

Jay hated to break up the moment. “Matthew, go out and grab your things from your desk and come back. We can discuss things more after that.” Matthew went to grab a tissue, but Jay stopped him. “No, I want you to mess with Avery. Tell her we are firing you, which is kind of true as you won’t be in reception anymore, and you are grabbing your things before your exit interview.”

Matthew smiled before you forced a sad look and when to get his things.

 

Avery saw Matthew come out from the back and his face was blotchy red from crying. “What happened?”

“My contract is being canceled,” Matthew said flatly. “I have to grab my stuff and do an exit interview.”

“What? They are firing you,” she demanded.

“Effective immediately,” Matthew replied as he turned toward the door.

“But why? You are the best receptionist here, after me of course. Why would they fire you,” she pleaded.

“You told them I wasn’t doing a good job. You always tell people how bad I am at my job.” Matthew explained as he walked away and into the back.

 

When Matthew got to Hawk’s office, he could hear him talking animatedly. “Why would you lie to the head of the clan like that? Do you know what could happen? Wait, he’s back. I’ll talk to you later.” Hawk hung up the phone. “Please, close the door and sit down.”

As soon as he had, there was a knock on the door and Avery burst in. “You can’t do this. I need him here.”

Hawk stared at her. “How dare you burst into my office. You will go back to the front desk, turn off the damn videos and do your job. Now!”

“You don’t understand,” Avery started.

Jay stood up and took Avery by the arm and walked her out. “I’ll talk to her. You finish up with Matthew.” Jay closed the door as they left.

 

“Do you want to be next?” Jay looked her in the eye.

“No, I just,” Avery started to cry.

“You just what,” Jay asked as they got to the reception desk.

“I just.” Avery continued to stammer.

“I’ll stop you right here,” Jay said. “Words have power and yours got you into trouble. I know how good you are, but you have gotten lazy. The Avery of a few weeks ago was attentive and eager to get things done. What happened?”

“I learned I could give Matthew a list and he would have it done faster than I could have,” she admitted.

Jay nodded. “I see, but you couldn’t let anyone know that he was doing your work and his.”

“Yes,” Avery sighed.

“I think this is a learning experience for you. Don’t waste it.” Jay turned and went back to rejoin Tala, Hawk and Matthew.

 

Jay walked into them laughing. “What did I miss?”

“The look on Avery’s face was priceless,” Hawk said.

“I reminded her that words have power and confirmed what we already knew. She let herself get lazy and have Matthew here do all the work while she watches online puppy videos.” Jay sat down next to Matthew again. “So now what?”

“You said earlier that you thought you could fix my dad,” Matthew said to Tala.

“I read over some old texts and I think I can if I have enough help. I’m going to call Greyson when we get into town and see if he can get some of the others from his pack to lend their support,” Tala replied.

“Is there anything I can do,” Matthew asked.

“You are already doing it,” Tala assured him. “None of this would have been possible unless you had advocated for him in the first place.”

“Shall we head out then,” Jay asked.

“Before you go, can I take you all to lunch? I don’t get to see you two very often and it might be a while before Matthew is able to come back.”

“Lunch sounds great,” Tala replied.

 

As the four walked out toward the elevator, Avery stopped them. “Matthew, I’m sorry.”

“I want you to know I didn’t just do everything you told me to because you told me to. I went above and beyond my job because I believed in what we were doing. I know you will find someone else to fill in for all the things I did.” Matthew smiled. “I look forward catching up when I come back in the future.”

“I’m confused,” Avery said shaking her head.

“Tala offered me a job working for him. I’m going to be able to go back home and work with my family.” Matthew grinned and added, “you are not going to get rid of me that easily.”

“We better go,” Jay said. “We have a tight schedule to meet. See you again soon, Avery.”

Avery stood speechless as she watched the four of them get in the elevator and head down.

 

“This has gone too far. Fix this mess and take out the problem.” The older man sat at his desk smoking a cigar staring at the speakerphone in front of him. “I thought we paid you well enough that you could have taken care of this already.”

A stern voice came over the speaker. “I told you already that you haven’t paid me, nobody has paid me in weeks. Why should I even be taking this call?”

“Are you still going on about that? Just take the money you are owed,” the older man replied.

The voice came back even more angry. “There is no money! All transfers have stopped. I have a copy of the letter sent to all the packs. It says that due to financial issues, dues collection is paused and will resume when the issue is solved. All past dues will be discounted by a rate yet to be determined.”

The older man sighed. “Fine, I’ll pay you myself.”

The voice laughed. “With what money? You are overdrawn. Spending fifteen million dollars for a piece of worthless land was a bad idea.”

The cigar fell from the man’s hands and into the ashtray. “What? I told them to get that stupid lien taken care of.”

The voice turned smug. “We told them no. No pay, no play, no work! We will not be taking any more of your calls until you pay us the three million dollars you are overdrawn plus fees.”

“Be serious Todd,” the older man said. “If you have get rid of the lien, I will have money to pay you. It is a win-win for all of us.”

“No deal,” Todd said flatly. “I think it’s kind of funny that you end up paying him and can’t afford to buy the land.”

Fire burned in the older man’s eyes. “This is not the end of this.”

“Yes, it is,” Todd stated and then hung up.

 

Hawk was paying the bill from lunch when Tala’s phone rang. He stepped outside and answered. Before he could say anything, he heard Ruth talking a mile a minute. “What did you do? I mean everyone here is so happy and can’t wait for the events. And the bank called and said the land was taken care of.”

“Slow down, Ruth. One thing at a time,” Tala chided her.

Ruth took a breath and tried again. “Hello, Tala. This is Ruth.” She waited for Tala to stop laughing. “My call is concerning some of the event happening here.”

“I see. Thank you for calling. I can hear your passion.” Tala took a breath and then answered as rapidly as he could. “I don’t know what you mean. I’m glad people are happy. We worked hard on the event planning. I’ll have to check up on the bank issue.”

Ruth did not expect that and could only gasp for a second. She steadied herself again. “No, I’m serious. What did you do last night. I think half the pack was out super late and they were all so happy this morning.”

“I swear neither Jay nor I did anything special. We went out for a walk, laid on the beach for about an hour, and we came back and went to bed,” Tala explained.

Ruth wasn’t convinced. “We heard howling! What did you do?”

Jay was coming outside and smiled when he heard Tala explaining. “Wolves howl. I promise that all I did was just a howl of joy.”

“Oh,” Ruth sounded sad. “I guess we were hoping it was something more.”

“Now, my mate’s howl was a bit more,” he looked over at Jay and saw he on the edge of falling over laughing. “He told everyone to go walk in the moonlight.”

“Wait, I thought only you had ancient speak,” Ruth asked.

“That is true,” Tala answered. “You don’t need to have ancient voice or even alpha voice to encourage others to take a beautiful walk in the moonlight. Did they all transform?”

“No, I guess not,” Ruth said pondering. “Either way, thank you both. The pack hasn’t been happier.”

Tala smiled brighter. “I’m glad you called. I’ll find out more about the land and let you know.”

 

By that time, everyone was outside, and Hawk gave Tala a sideways glance. “What did you two do?”

“All we did was run down to the beach last night. Jay might had told everyone they should all go for a moonlight walk when he howled,” Tala answered.

“No funny business,” Hawk asked.

“I swear,” Tala exclaimed. “Neither of us did anything but normal howls.”

“Okay, I believe you. What about the land,” Hawk asked.

“Ruth said they got a call that the land was ‘taken care of’, I guess. I need to make sure calls on the way to the airport,” Tala explained.

“Matthew, is there anything you need to grab before we go,” Jay asked.

Matthew thought for a second. “I still have a few things at my family’s house. Mostly just in case the weather turned back when I was visiting. I didn’t want to get stuck for an extra day or two with nothing.”

Jay smiled. “Off to the airport then!”

 

“This is Hughes,” the man said into the phone.

“Mr. Hughes, this is Master Tala. I just wanted to call for an update about the foreclosure status. One of my colleagues received an odd call today and I wanted to check with you on it,” Tala explained.

“Yes, um, Master Tala. It appears the foreclosure has been halted by the loan holder. The bank shows a payment solution has been reached. You would have to reach out to the bank for more information since my office was only handling the foreclosure proceedings. Is there anything else I can help you with,” he asked.

“You have been very helpful, thank you,” Tala answered and hung up.

 

“Hello,” Karla answered her phone.

“Good afternoon, I was wondering if there was anyone there that could come to the airstrip and pick my group up,” Matthew said. “We are flying in from Ohio and should arrive in about an hour.”

“Um, I guess. I’m surprised I didn’t get a call from Hawk or Tala about this,” Karla said confused.

“I am so very sorry. I am the new personal liaison between the council and the trust lands. My job is to ensure communications between the council and the trust lands remain open,” Matthew explained.

“What? Why wasn’t I informed about this liaison,” Karla demanded.

Matthew was trying to think on his feet when Tala and Jay were doing everything they could to remain quiet. “I think we might have gotten off on the wrong foot. I can explain more when my team arrives. I am in no way going to interfere. I am just going to observe and report."

“Yes,” Karla said firmly. “I think you will need to explain a lot. I’ll come to the airstrip personally and if I don’t like what I hear, I’ll send you right back to Ohio where you belong.”

Matthew stared at the phone for a second before he realized she had hung up on him. He turned toward Tala. “That was so mean to do to your mother. She is going to hate me.”

“Nah,” Jay said with a grin. “She will understand you were compelled to make the call under duress. Just don’t be surprised when she asks you to do it back to Tala and I.”

 

Avery looked around to make sure no one else could hear her. She picked up the phone and dialed a number on another floor and the young man answered. “Dillian, it’s Avery”

“Shh, you know we aren’t supposed to use our real names,” Dillian answered.

“Fine, the problem was here, and the contractor has been released from duty,” Avery said.

“What do you mean by that,” Dillan asked.

“I mean that He was here, and He fired Matthew,” Avery explained.

Dillion mumbled an expletive. “He is supposed to be in Florida. This changes everything.”

“I know,” Avery replied with a tone that screamed eye roll. “Listen, just have Livia call to warn The Rancher. My part is done since he won’t be back here for me to babysit.”

“Shh about the names! I’ll let my boss know the update and we thank you for your concern,” Dillian said and quickly hung up.

Avery looked down at the phone and told herself she hoped to never deal with that douche canoe ever again.

 

The small jet touched down on a small airport with no more than a small runway and an airsock. The door opened and Matthew saw a woman standing next to an SUV. He walked over to her. “You must be Karla. It is so good to finally meet you. I have heard wonderful things about you.”

“Funny, I have yet to heard anything about you. No one seems to know anything about you,” Karla said flatly. While Karla had been preoccupied by Matthew, Tala and Jay had snuck off the plane and slipped around behind her. “What is your game young man? Do you think the council can just push us around?”

“Why would you think the council is trying to do anything? They just need to know that things are progressing. Master Tala and his mate needed someone to be able to interface directly with the council leadership. I swear I am just here to observe and report,” Matthew tried to explain.

“I am sure that’s what you were told but,” Karla started before Tala put a hand on her shoulder.

“Stop,” Tala said. “Matthew is here on my request.”

Karla spun around and all the anger drained away. “Your request? You mean...”

Tala smiled. “I asked him to work as my liaison so that he could be here with his family while we work some things out.”

“You little brat,” Karla exclaimed. “You could have warned me but instead you set him up to piss me off on purpose.” She turned toward Jay. “Don’t think I have forgotten about you. I thought you were going to be a voice of reason.”

Jay laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever been called the voice of reason before.”

“So now you think I need a babysitter,” Karla joked.

Matthew trying to get in on the fun, “From what I have heard from Tala and Hawk, yes. You need 24/7 care.”

“In all seriousness though,” Tala said to try to get back on topic. “I will admit the job is fake. The toxic environment needed to be cooled a bit and I also wanted to make sure Matthew could see his family before he had to go back.”

Matthew slumped. “I have to go back?”

“Not in the same job,” Jay said. “At least not if everything goes the way we planned.” Jay could see the confusion. “We will explain more later. For now, let's head into town and meet up with the crew.

“I am sure everyone will want a better explanation,” Karla agreed and showed them to the car.

 

Livia answered her phone and heard a recorded message she had become accustomed to hearing. “Please hold for a call from The Rancher.”

A few seconds later the man’s voice came over the line. “What the hell is going on?”

Livia gave a quick report. “Well sir, He showed up without notice and fired the contractor. Our informant had no advanced knowledge and the account has been suspended. I’ll work on seeing if I can arrange access again as soon as possible.”

“Does anyone have eyes on Him at least? I mean there must be cameras showing who he talked to and where he went,” the man demanded.

“No eyes on,” she replied carefully. “He came in with his mate and talked to Haih Bia’isa and the contractor in one of the back offices and then they all left together. Only Haih came back to the office.”

“Useless! What kind of place are you running there if you can’t even provide the information I need,” the man screamed and hung up.

Livia turned to Dillian. “That went better than I thought.”