Drake frowned. “Do the men have access to your control room, Joshua? Everyone can be watched and recorded from that room.”
Joshua shook his head. “Only my most trusted men are allowed in the control room. They aren’t counted among them.”
“Are any of the old crew allowed in there?” Sevastyan asked.
“Only one. A man by the name of Palmer Blanchard. He comes from an old and respected family of shifters in the bayou. He and his brother are the only ones left.”
“Did Amory spend time with him? Or his brother? Presumably the brother works for you as well,” Mitya said.
Joshua nodded. “He does. Palmer’s brother, Louis, is especially good with the locals. They trust him, talk to him and inform him of anything out of the ordinary in our territory. I saw Amory with Louis a time or two, but not with Palmer. Again, that doesn’t surprise me. Palmer is serious and quiet, Louis is outgoing and open.”
“Did anyone other than Amory ask or volunteer to work for Jake?” Mitya persisted.
“Several of my men,” Drake said. “They go there to work closely with Jake. He has death threats all the time and they come in from credible sources. It’s a high-octane gig and therefore a popular place to work.”
Fyodor sent Jake a grin. “Nice to know everyone wants you dead.”
Jake smirked. “I’m very popular.”
That surprised Mitya. The man didn’t deal in crime, but he had credible death threats, enough to draw some of Drake’s men.
“Trey Sinclair comes to mind,” Drake said. “He worked with me in the rain forest for quite some time and then came to the States and requested working with Bannaconni. There are others.” He looked at Jake.
Jake’s face had settled into hard lines. “I can’t imagine Trey would betray me or my family. He’s with me most of the time as a private bodyguard. All the men working for me have done so for a while. Most guard my family. Trey and Jerico are my personal bodyguards and they come with me everywhere, including my office.” There was an edge to his voice as if the idea that anyone would question those men irritated him.
Mitya knew Trey Sinclair and Jerico were in the next room with a few of the other bodyguards who hadn’t been allowed into the meeting. Now Jake knew why. Mitya wasn’t going to make any apologies no matter how upset Jake became. The guards might be innocent, but if they weren’t, they had access to Jake and any information that passed through his hands.
“Ania’s family was murdered. All of them. She’s had attempts on her life prior to becoming my fiancée. Since then, we’ve had a few other tries. It appears that both her father and grandfather agreed to take packages to two different families in Houston. Her grandfather picked up a package in New Orleans and was taking it to the Anwar family in Houston. Her father picked up a package in New Orleans as well and took it to the Caruso family in Houston. The package that Ania’s grandfather was taking never arrived in Houston. Supposedly he never delivered it.”
There was a small silence. Mitya kept his gaze on Joshua. He held the New Orleans territory. It was Joshua who spoke first.
“The package didn’t originate from me. As far as I know, no one came to the house to pick up anything for delivery elsewhere.”
“Was there someone who was upset because you took over for Cordeau? Someone who wanted that territory?” Mitya asked.
Joshua shrugged. “I have no idea.” He indicated those around the table. “I was asked to take the position and, like an idiot, I agreed. I had no idea I’d find Sonia and have to ask her to share this life with me. I do my job and I hold that territory, but I’ve never had an attack on me.”
“I’m in New Orleans,” Drake said. “My wife is from there and we continue to make our home there. The lair was really a mess and I took that over. There is crime there, and sometimes it feels as if we can never get a handle on it, but if there’s a specific boss wanting to take over from Joshua, I have no idea who it could be.”
Jake sat back in his chair, his shrewd eyes on Mitya. “What’s in the package? I presume you know.”
Mitya could see why he was considered a force to beware. Those eyes said a lot, and part of that was his burning, focused leopard close to the surface. He was waiting. He knew that package had something to do with him.
“I had a little time to interrogate another shifter working with Amory. We haven’t found the package, but he was looking for it, as was Amory. He claimed there was dirt on Jake and Drake and a lot more. By dirt, I believe he meant proof that you two are working with us. Or more to the point, we’re working with you. Information like that could get us all killed.”