“They would say I extended mercy to an old friend and her family. I would not allow anyone to retaliate against you,” I said.


    “What do you need from me?”


    “The original kidnapping attempt on Liv and Vicki was funded by my brother Ivan, as Vicki is his daughter. He got Liv pregnant while she was in college, just after Ivan left here to be the Marengo Lake Alpha. As his eldest child, she got the Alpha Mantle from him, instead of Luna Brenda’s first children. Ivan knew his mate wanted Vicki dead and thought he would be able to get them out of danger. Instead, the wolves he hired killed an innocent human before I killed both of them.”


    Susan looked over at the Chairman, who cleared his throat. “The Council is aware of this. What happens with John Petersen and Marengo Lake Pack is not germane to these discussions. We were able to confirm that Luna Brenda offered to pay Todd for killing Vicki, so her eldest would regain the Mantle. We cannot allow the FBI to trace the activity back to another Pack.” Chairman Wolfe turned to me. “The Council has met with your brother and Luna Brenda. Your Pack members, Vicki specifically, are no longer in danger from Marengo Lake. We have a blood oath to that effect.”


    My eyes went up; a blood oath was serious business. To vite it, you had to kill your wolf first. “Good. My brother lives?”


    “He does,” Chairman Wolfe said.


    “Back to the n,” I said. “Your mate is going down for the hit-and-run, he did that on his own. Ivan framed him for the kidnapping; the FBI has cash and a phone used to arrange the kidnapping with the two Stillwater wolves. It’s enough to charge him, but to convict him? That’s iffy. You are going to convince Todd to confess to both the hit-and-run and to funding the kidnapping.”


    “Why would he confess to a Federal crime he didn’tmit,” Susan said.


    “To provide for you and your boys. Todd will ask for a plea deal and confess to the crimes; you will link him what he needs to say to make the confession believable. He will sign the plea, and then he will be killed in prison before the plea is epted in court.”


    She looked up. “KILLED?”


    “Yes. If Todd kills himself, you don’t get a life insurance payout. The standard policy for Volkov Construction is a half-million-dors. I can find someone willing to shank him for under ten thousand dors.” Susan shivered. “It’s better this way. He won’t know it’sing.”


    “Why before the court epts it?” It was the first time Luna McInnis spoke up.


    “Thew only allows a guilty plea to be valid after entered in court and filed by the Judge presiding over the case. If a person dies before then, even if they confessed, by rule, they are NOT GUILTY. I will also ensure that your estate is not sued by the victims of the ident. The insurancepanies might go after you, but your business insurance will be forced to cover it. After all, your husband was not guilty of attempted murder.”


    I waited for them to think about it for a while before I continued. “As far as the FBI and State are concerned, the case dies with Todd. That stops any further investigations into Welch and Marengo, and gets us off the news. Is that satisfactory to the Council?”


    “It is, provided the Pack situation here is also resolved peacefully,” the Chairman said.


    “You use the life insurance money to pay off the loan against your home, the remainder you invest. If you want to leave, it gives you the money to start over. If you want to stay here, you can remain in your house, join my Pack, and continue your work running the business office.”


    “I would like that,” Susan said. “I will do it. I will make Todd understand what he needs to do so that we are provided for.”


    “That’s all I can ask of you,” I said. “As for the business, I will buy back my interest in Volkov Construction and take over management again. Right now, you and Todd own 85% of apany that is months away from bankruptcy. We both know this; your cash flow is negative, and you are tapped out on loans. You could try selling equipment, but then you can’t generate ie.”


    “I’m very aware of the situation, Leo. Miss Cornwell and I went over the books in detail. It doesn’t take an MBA to know we are running out of money.” She looked down at her hands. “Nobody knew how important you were to thepany until you were gone.”Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    “I will leave you with a five percent stake in thepany, the same five percent the other foremen have. When thepany rebounds, you will have a stake in it. The eighty percent I purchase will infuse enough cash to make the March balloon payment and pay off the high-interest line of credit. The purchase price will be $1. 2 million, leaving loan payments that are within revenues. I will also provide up to a half-million in low-interest loans to thepany while we turn things around. In a year, thepany will be making money again. The value of your 5% stake will grow quite a bit from the fifty thousand by the time you retire.”


    “It’s a generous offer, Leo. Miss Cornwell said we would be lucky to get more than half a million, based on our assets and liabilities.” She looked at me, hope in her eyes. “It’s not a good deal for you.”


    “As I will tell mywyer, I don’t want thepany I founded to fail.” I extended my hand to her. “Do we have a deal?”


    “We do,” she said.


    “Wonderful. As for your Pack, it would be cleanest if you merged with Miesville. I will allow any who do not want toe into Miesville to go elsewhere; we will provide rmendations. The only exceptions are Parker and Thomas.”


    “Why them?”


    “Because Parker was the one who bit a human, and Thomas tried to take my niece. The rest of those involved may apologize ande in, but those two are dead if they enter ournd.”


    Sheughed. “Both quit the Pack this morning. Good riddance.” She looked over at me. “What is my rank in your Pack?”


    “Beta officially, you’ll be in charge of Pack finances and the business. You’ll also be acting Luna.”


    She snorted. “Why? You’ll be mated soon.” She nced quickly at Luna McInnis, who blushed and looked down at her hands.


    “My mate is dead,” I said. Adrienne stood up and excused herself, practically running out the door.


    My wolf demanded we go after her, but I had work to do.