Page 68 of Brandon’s Mate

He spoke cautiously, but there was an undercurrent of excitement in his voice.

Jax said, “No way to tell. I didn’t find anything about that in the background check I did, but that doesn’t necessarily mean much. If you meet with him, you could get your own take, and find out what he can get—or thinks he can get. Then tell him you want a sample. If he produces, fine. If not, fucking kill him.”

Brandon snorted at that.

Raines said slowly, “I’ll think about it. In the meantime, dig deeper into his background. Find out if he’s ever been connected to the magical artifacts trade. If he can get the stuff, I want it, but I’m not wasting my time with a poser.”

“Yes, Boss,” Jax said. The call cut off.

“That’s it,” Brandon said. Kitty could feel the excitement building in him, now that they had something definite. “Did the interceptor pick up the number he was calling? Can we get a location?”

But Remy was still looking at the screen. “Hold up,” he said. “There’s more to the office recording. Maybe three minutes later.”

He fast forwarded through the silence to the next section. The first voice they heard was Jason’s. The bartender.

“What the hell do you think you’re playing at?” He was talking low, as if he didn’t want to be overheard. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” It was Callie’s voice. They all looked at each other, and Colt moved restlessly. “And let go of my arm. You’re hurting me.”

That got a little growl out of all of them except Remy—and only because owls didn’t growl.

Jason said, “Sorry. I’m just worried about you. You’re always hanging around when Jax is talking business. If he hasn’t noticed it by now, he will soon. You want to know what those panthers do to spies?”

“You’re crazy,” Callie said. “I’m not spying. And if I was, it’s more than you’ve ever done. You could have stood up to Caleb, and you didn’t. Part of this whole mess is on you.”

Jason swore. “Do I need to remind you that everyone who stood up to Caleb is dead? And that those fucking panthers killed most of them? At least I didn’t bail like some of your so-called friends. Do you think I stayed because I like it here? I did it because I didn’t want to leave you alone.”

Colt was still growling.

Callie sighed. “It didn’t do either of us much good to stay, did it?” she asked. “And do you really think I’m deliberately putting myself in danger? That’s not what I do, is it?”

There was the sound of footsteps, and then the office door opened and shut. The only other thing on the recording was Jason’s low whisper, almost to himself. “Dammit. Be careful, Callie.”

Remy turned off the recording. Colt was pacing the room. “We need to get her out of there.”

“I tried,” Kitty said. “Remember? She won’t come.”

Brandon added, “She knows she can come here if she ever needs to. We’ve got her back.”

Colt snarled, “Yeah, that’s worked out so well for your other friends and allies.” He stomped out, and a minute later they heard the kitchen door slam.

Brandon felt the adrenalin seeping out of him, and he sighed. Turning to Remy, he said wearily, “What’s wrong with Colt now?”

Kitty added, “Aside from him wanting to get in Callie’s pants and being afraid Jason will get there first?”

Remy gave her a pissed-off look. “Give him some credit, will you? He also doesn’t want to see her dead. And quit getting on Colt. His leopard is kinda going off in all directions right now. It’s hard for him to keep it under wraps.”

Brandon said, “You didn’t think it would be a good idea to give me a heads-up about that?”

Remy turned the pissed-off look on him. “First off, how lame-ass and self-involved do you have to be to miss it? And B) I thought he might get better once we were here. But you’re fucked up worse than he is, so now I have both of you to worry about. Thanks for that.”

Brandon ran his hand through his hair and blew out a sigh. Remy was right. The twins had come all the way here to help him. It was about time Brandon stepped up. “Is there anything I can do?”

Remy didn’t look up from his computer. “You’ve pretty much done it.”

Brandon sighed again. “Fuck it, Remy. Just say what you mean for once.”

“Fine. All those years, when we were growing up, we talked about making a crew together someday. Colt’s cat—he latched onto you. He was ready to follow you anywhere.”