It was late, and she was tired from her shift, so she called it a night. She tried to sleep but instead lay in bed trying to wrap her head around everything that was happening. She felt overwhelmed and restless by it all. She desperately needed someone to talk to, and yet, she had no one. She considered that the amounts in the tubes had all been precisely the same and wondered what the significance of that might be.
She tossed and turned, keenly aware of every little sound that she heard from outside. Would they come for her in her sleep? She considered shifting, sleeping as a bear in the middle of the living room, and dismissed it for now.
How had she gone from running away from one mess, only to find herself in another? At least she understood what she was up against with Trill. Here, she had no idea which way to look for the bus that might hit her the moment she stepped off the sidewalk.
She laughed into the darkness of her room, wondering how her life had gotten so fucked up.
“I should have taken the other identity,” she said aloud, painfully aware that no one was there to hear her lamentations.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Niall
“You were a little late to the party,” Niall said, once again sitting across the table from Greyscales.
“We were there when we deemed our help was truly needed.”
“We could have used it earlier.”
“Probably, but you had already taken out Trill and we can’t risk being seen by the people. We’re a little harder to miss than bears and wolves.”
“Well, I guess all is well that ends well.”
“More like well done,” Greyscales replied with a smirk.
“Fair play,” Niall chuckled.
“What will you do now?”
“Go home. Ronan and I have reclaimed our family’s land, but it will be up to my brother as to what we do with it from there.”
“Your brother? I thought you were the Alpha of the McNally Clan?” Greyscales replied, obviously disturbed by the revelation, perhaps thinking he’d been deceived.
“I was given the Alpha role to deal with the situation here in my brother’s stead. I’ve since returned it to him now that my work here is done.”
“I see. Well, we’ve done our part to keep the peace, so I’m not sure why you’re here.”
“I need a peacekeeper.”
“A peacekeeper?”
“Someone to oversee the clans in the South and make sure no one is getting any ideas of global domination. We need to keep that from ever happening here again.”
“Why would you bring this to me? It’s not my place to tell other shifter clans what to do, and my territory is in the North, not the South.”
“Aye. I know. I just need a watchful eye, not interference.”
“I’m no spy. We mind our business unless we’re crossed. You should realize that by now.”
“I do, but you know more people here than I do. We’ve been gone a long time, and there is no one left in our clan. I’ve trusted many Alphas to stand with us in a fight against a common enemy, but I can’t be sure there is one among them who won’t try to take up where Trill left off now that they have their lives back.”
“So, you are asking for a recommendation?”
“Yes.”
“My suggestion is that you trust no one. If you want to make sure something is done, you must do it yourself, not place your trust in people who may have a different agenda than you.”
“I can’t do that. I have a business to run with my brothers in America.”
“Why? You went there because you were run out of your homeland. You have that back now. Why not stay and reclaim what you’ve lost instead of living among the filthy scum in the States?”
“It’s a fair point, but we have built our own empire there. It’s not that easy to just up and walk away from what we have.”
“Life is about choices. I suggest that either you or your brother stay here and mind the store while the other returns to America to tie up loose ends or discusses what to do next with your Alpha. It sounds to me like it is his decision to make, not yours alone or perhaps not yours at all.”
Niall nodded and stood. Greyscales wasn’t wrong, but suggesting they close up shop on a major mafia empire they’d been building for years in Boston wasn’t going to sit well with his brothers. However, he was right about one thing. Someone needed to stay and keep an eye on things while they sorted out what they wanted to do next.
Niall said his goodbyes and walked back out to the lobby to find Ronan chatting up a young blonde. That was exactly what they needed: dragon mates. He barked at him that they were leaving and Ronan jumped up to follow him, telling the girl he’d see her around as he left.