Page 71 of License to Kill

“I wasn’t counting.”

“Why are you hiding in there, anyway? Actually, how did you even fit?”

“It’s mostly empty in here. Surprisingly spacious. Maybe if you were keeping food in here like you’re supposed to, I wouldn’t have room to fit.”

“She makes a good point, Jake.”

“There are too many people in the house. Make them go away. The taco guy can stay, though.”

“Stay,” Jake growled to Mason before storming out of the kitchen. Several moments later, the snarling started. Answering growls heralded a thump and more snarls. The brawl in the living room resumed, and I sighed, shook my head, and poked my head out of the pantry.

Since only Mason was in the kitchen, I crawled out of hiding. “What are they doing?”

“Jake tried to pick a fight with the pack’s Second, and he’s getting trounced. Gary, just use a sleeper hold. That’ll quiet him down until the Alphas get here.”

“They’re not coming here, are they?”

“I give it twenty minutes, maybe. They would’ve left New York the instant Jake brought you into the pack, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they hunted down a helicopter to get here faster. Even if they drove, they’d push the speed limit to get here.”

I almost made it to the back door before Mason caught me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and lifted me off my feet. “No. No. Put me down, damn it!”

“If you run, we’ll all chase after you, Karma. You wouldn’t like that.”

I used every last dirty trick I’d learned over the years in the field, but knowledge and technique did nothing against Mason’s physical strength and endurance. When I couldn’t break free, I panted to catch my breath.

Mason hauled me into the living room, keeping my arms pinned to my sides. “I caught this female attempting to escape.”

Three FBI agents were sitting on Jake’s back, and he sighed. “You all right, Karma?”

“Fucker wouldn’t let me run out the back door.”

“This is the worst sort of hostage situation,” he grumbled.

Several of the men in the room sucked in a breath, their eyes widened, and they stared at each other. All of them were attached to various offices in the Washington area, so while I recognized them as agents, I didn’t know any of them well.

A problem with Fenerec was their relative agelessness, and one of the older ones—in their terms—gave a wicked chuckle. “Hey, little fox. Want some payback?”

I blinked. “Pardon?”

“If you want to get some of your own back from the Alphas, I know exactly how to do it.”

Jake groaned. “Don’t do it, Karma.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Will Jake hate it?”

“Definitely.”

“I’m sure you have a name, but I don’t remember what it is. So, Agent Hey, You. Will it piss his parents off a lot?”

“I’m Ned. Gary’s our pack’s Second, and he’s the one sitting on your mate’s shoulders. The other one is Adrien, and he’s middle of the pack in the rankings, but one of the older wolves, almost as elderly and decrepit as old man Mason.”

Adrien waved at me, and I bet he got carded if he even thought about looking at a liquor store. “Hi, Karma.”

“Hello.”

“As for your question, yes, it probably will piss them off a lot.”

“What’s the downside?”