Lupi 09 - Mortal Ties

you do.” Lily looked at Rule, a frown pleating her forehead. “I know
     you don’t like to split up.”
    “I don’t, no. Tony can wait a little longer. You’re worried about leaving your sister
     alone.” He raised one brow slightly.
    She knew what he was asking. And he was right, dammit. She couldn’t make any sense
     of Sean Friar’s apparent disappearance, but just because she couldn’t see what Friar
     was up to didn’t mean he wasn’t knee-deep in whatever was happening here. He had to
     be. Her sister hadn’t just happened to meet Friar’s brother, not without a push from
     someone who could manipulate possibilities.
    Of course, Beth wasn’t entirely alone and hadn’t been since she moved here. The time
     had come for her to meet Murray and the others who’d been watching over her. Guarding
     her from a distance wasn’t a good option anymore.
    Lily sighed, sure she knew how her sister was going to take that news.

TWENTY-ONE

    “T HAT didn’t go well,” she said, clicking her seat belt in place.
    “It could have been worse.”
    “I suppose.” It had helped some that it was so abundantly obvious that the guards
     Rule had assigned to Beth hadn’t been spying on her, reporting on her. If they had,
     Rule would have known about Sean Friar months ago.
    Rule squeezed her hand. “At least she’s letting Murray stay in the apartment with
     her for now.”
    “Not because she sees the need. Murray gave her puppy dog eyes, and she caved.” Lily
     hadn’t met Murray before, so he’d been almost as much of a surprise to her as he was
     to Beth, though for different reasons. She had this theory that lupi were genetically
     incapable of ugly. It made sense—the continuation of their species depended on them
     charming, seducing, and otherwise trying to impregnate as many women as possible.
    Murray turned out to be the exception. Sort of. He was short and squat and looked
     like he’d grabbed his features at random from the bargain bin, yet somehow he was
     five feet, five inches of adorable. Maybe it was the so-ugly-they’re-cute deal some creatures had going, like that breed of dog that seemed to be made
     entirely out of wrinkles.
    “Whatever works.”
    “I guess.” Bergman’s agent had arrived just as they were leaving—Richard Snow, a studious-looking
     fellow with a competent manner. Cullen was already gone by then; he’d left with Marcus
     and Steve to check out Sean Friar’s house. Well, Marcus would check out the house.
     Cullen would let Marcus in, then wait outside with Steve, who would be keeping an
     eye out for trouble.
    Lily drummed her fingers on her thigh. Nothing was adding up. Rule’s brother’s partner
     was missing, held hostage. Friar seemed to be involved. Lily’s sister’s not-a-boyfriend—who
     was also Friar’s brother—was missing. Fate unknown.
    That had to be more than coincidence. Didn’t it?
    “I see three possibilities,” she said abruptly. “One, Sean is genuinely missing—dead,
     injured, or held hostage by person or persons unknown for reasons unknown. Two, he’s
     dancing to his brother’s tune, and his absence is part of some plot. Three, he isn’t
     Mr. Reliability the way Beth thinks. He fell off the wagon and is on a binge or sleeping
     one off.”
    “Alcoholism is an insidious disease,” Rule agreed in the mild way that meant he didn’t
     really agree. “But Beth has good people instincts.”
    “She’s only known him for three months.”
    Rule reached for her hand. “It didn’t take us three months.”
    “We were different.” Oh, that sounded lame. “We had the mate bond.”
    “Mmm. That did force us to pay attention. Perhaps Beth doesn’t need as much of a prod
     as we did.”
    That made her grin in spite of herself. “The women in my family are pretty stubborn.
     The question is, where does Beth have her stubbornness dial turned? If it’s set to
     ‘Sean is my soul mate,’ she’d miss seeing all the signs that he isn’t.”
    “How much of your attitude is professional skepticism, do you think? And how much
     is because you don’t want your sister involved in any way with Robert Friar’s brother?”
    “I have no idea. But it’s way too much of a coincidence for Beth even to meet Friar’s
     brother, much less fall for him.”
    “Friar is a patterner with too much power. He wouldn’t have needed his brother’s active
     cooperation to bring about a meeting.”
    “But why?” Lily spread her hands.