I stopped and shifted near the patio door, listening carefully for any hints of being spotted. When I was satisfied, I checked the sliding door leading to the breakfast area. The door was locked, which I expected, but the house wasn’t rmed. “Probably thought no one had the balls to break in,” I said softly. Holding on to the bottom of the handle, I pulled up a half-dozen times before the lock stopped working, and I could slide the door open.


    I grabbed a carving knife from the block on the kitchen counter and headed for the hallway I figured led to the master bedroom. I was almost there when the door opened, and Bonnie appeared in her nightgown. She screamed, and I reacted faster. Pulling her into my arms, I put the knife to her throat and pushed her back into the bedroom. Lnd was out of bed, reaching in the drawer for a weapon. “Don’t do it, and don’t link anyone, or she’s dead,” I said. “I don’t want any innocents to get hurt.”


    He was smart enough to take his hand out of the drawer without the gun that he wanted. “Put the knife down, Leo. Whatever your problem is, we can talk it through.”


    “It’s a little toote for talk, Mr. Chairman. Back up against the wall.” Bonnie was crying, and he didn’t have a choice. I moved towards the bedside table, spotting the Colt 1911 pistol he’d tried to reach. Without warning, I dropped the knife and shoved Bonnie into his arms. While he caught her, I took the firearm out and covered them both. “If anyone interrupts us, I’ll shoot your mate first. Then I’ll kill you before l take as many of them as I can with me. I’m a mantled Alpha with nothing to lose, so that will be a lot. Do you understand me?”


    “Yes,” Lnd said, but his wolf was itching to get out.


    “Good. Now, let’s go to your office, shall we?” I had the couple walk ahead of me down the hall to his private office. I kept the gun to Bonnie’s head as I told Lnd what to do. “You have silver cuffs?”


    “In my drawer,” he said.


    “Take two pairs out, and nothing else.” He did, and I turned his mate around so he could ce the cuffs on her. With her disabled, I kept the gun on Lnd as I set his mate in a chair in the corner. I had him cuff himself with his hands in front this time. “Startup yourputer, and set up an emergency video conference with all North American Alphas.”


    “It’s seven in the morning, East Coast time! It’s not even four in the morning out west, Leo!”


    I smacked him on the side of the head with the butt of the pistol, opening up a cut under his silver hair. “I’m aware of how the time zones work, Mr. Chairman. There is an emergency summons code. Use it.”


    He pulled up the program and sent the coded message. The alert set off rms on Alpha phones andputers across North America, waking many of them up. The message he sent told them to get onto the videoconference; we watched as one after another came up on the screen. I’m pretty sure they were shocked to see Chairman Carver sitting in front of me as I held a pistol to his head.


    It took about ten minutes to get everyone there before I told Lnd to unmute himself. “Thank you for joining us,” I told them. “I apologize for the wakeup, but I have urgent business with the Council. Five days ago, gunmen in Cancun kidnapped Alpha Vicki Lawrence and five of her friends while they were on location for their television show. A dayter, we found the hideout they stayed at before the gang turned them over to the man paying for the abduction.”


    “We know about the dead gunmen; it was on the news,” Lnd said.


    “Yes. What was NOT on the news was that a werewolf was the one who came to pick the girls up. I knew this man and considered him a friend. He died before I could talk to him, but I know why he was in the area and who he worked for.” I moved the gun directly behind Lnd’s head. “Chairman Lnd Carver sent Lawrence Fenwick to meet with Vicki Lawrence in Jamaica. His mission was to present Vicki with the Council’s ultimatum to join the North American Council or else. Vicki refused to give her answer that day, as is her right as an independent Alpha.”


    “That proves NOTHING,” Lnd said. “Yes, I sent Lawrence down there to give her the information packet. That was all he did.”


    “Our investigators found Lawrence Fenwick’s scent at the hideout in the Yucatan, including on the cors used to hold the girls. His was the ONLY scent that didn’t belong there.” I let that sink in. “Chairman Carver is behind their kidnapping, and he will pay the ultimate price for hurting my people. The rest of the Council is under notice. Resign your positions. Produce the girls alive and unharmed, and you will live. If you refuse to resign, or if I don’t have them back by Christmas, I and my allies will kill everyst one of you.” Reaching forward, I ended the conference call.


    Luna Adrienne’s POV


    I left Hammer and Brent in the SUV and trailed behind Nichs a half-block or so as he walked towards Master Pontalba’sir. I kept walking as he talked to the human guard, who got on the phone with someone else. I kept walking, ncing back to see him going in as I reached the corner.


    I walked another two blocks, then turned and walked back the way I came. I didn’t see anyone outside the second time I passed. I found an outdoor café closer to Bourbon Street and sat down to have a coffee. The waitress had just brought it when a man, a human I didn’t know, asked if he could join me. “I’m old and married,” I said dismissively.


    “I’m young and familiar,” he said as he took a seat anyway. It was a simple way of telling me he was a familiar, a willing human servant to his Vampire master. “Master Pontalba requests that you join Nichs in a meeting with the other leaders present.” My blood ran cold; had they already taken Nichs out? I cursed myself for getting close enough; the vampires must have scented me and followed me here. I looked around for where they might be, figuring this man wasn’t here alone.


    “Nichs is fine. Call him if you need reassurance. The two gentlemen in the ck Suburban with license te NA8=7VY two blocks away shoulde as well. You might want to have them change first, as that attire isn’t suited to the office.” He waved the waitress over. “We have to return to work earlier than expected, Miss. Could you put that coffee in a travel cup for thedy, and bring a cup for me as well?” She took care of our drinks while my newpanion tossed a ten-dor bill on the table. When the drinks returned, he stood and held out his hand for me. “Mr. Pontalba has been expecting you.”


    “I see that,” I said. I tried to cover up how flustered I was; our efforts to use stealth to approach wereughable. Cyprian must be on high alert if he’s monitoring streets blocks away. “I have to go speak to my friends about this.”


    “They are waiting for you. Just show up at the entrance when you are ready.” He took his coffee and walked off, leaving me wondering what the hell just happened. I had a Pack link with Brent, so I filled him in on everything while I sat there and sipped on my coffee. “What should we do?”


    “Call Nichs, and see if he uses the distress codewords. Meanwhile, we’re taking off ourbat gear. We’ll swing by and pick you up in a few minutes.”


    “Is that wise?”


    “Alpha, if they want us dead, it won’t take much to do it. Hell, one phone call to the police, and Hammer and I are never getting out of Federal prison. Reaching out to you like this is a good sign they aren’t involved. If they want to talk, let’s talk.”


    I pulled out my phone and called Nichs. If he answered me with “Luna Volkov,” it meant he was under duress. The phone only rang twice before he answered. “Hi, Aunt Adrienne. Did you get the invitation?”


    “I did,” I said. “It was a little surprising, but we’re on our way.”


    “Good. Vicki’s friend from Boston is here, and she’s looking forward to seeing you again.”


    That would be Master Emily. “We’ll be there in a few minutes.” I hung up just before the SUV parked across the street. I took my coffee and walked across the street, getting into the backseat. I nced back, seeing the ck bags in the third-row seating area that contained their body armor. “He’s not under duress,” I said.


    “Are we packing?”


    “Knives and pistols. You’re my bodyguards; they would expect that from you.” Hammer nodded and reached into a bag at his feet. He strapped abat knife to his left forearm and put a Glock in his waistband. Meanwhile, Brent had driven up to the entrance. “May as well pull in; they’re expecting us.” What I didn’t say is I didn’t like leaving our SUV with its weapons and explosives on a public street in this city.


    Brent turned into the parking lot, stopping at the guard shack. “Adrienne Volkov to see Master Pontalba,” Brent said.This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.


    “Park on the far side of the lot,” the man answered. Brent waited for the gate to lift, then drove into the courtyard. He parked in the same ce we’d parked when I wasst here with Vicki. We waited a few seconds for Brent to arm up, then Hammer got out and came around to open my door. He stayed next to me as Brent followed behind us towards the door.


    Therge door opened to a familiar person. “Wee to New Orleans,” Master Emily said to me. “This way, please; we have much to talk about.”