Duko shook his head. “None of my charges were involved.”
“Regardless, Dominic will interview them.” The infamous enforcer would find out if anyone had helped the bad guys.
Duko winced. “Trust me. Even I, a beta, smelled the truth.”
Rylee said, “They should be at Dominic’s by now. He’ll let me know.”
“What about me?” asked Duko.
“Join your charges at Dominic’s compound.”
“When do I return to Croatia?”
“Give us a month. All the lone wolves throughout the world have been ordered to join a local pack until it’s safe. At least, they are attempting the genetic manipulation with real wolves and not us. For now,” said Rylee. “You are all excused.” She turned to Emma. “Cricket will meet you here in five minutes to take you to your home.”
Nik turned to Emma. “See you soon, partner,” he drawled with his best Texan accent.
Chapter Four
Emma followed Cricket to her apartment or what the lycans called den. Fortunately, her quarters were upstairs in the ranch house. Being human, it worked out better. Less pack rules. Best of all, far away from Nik. He was old-fashioned about the idea of putting a woman in peril. Lycans had no qualms about sending females into danger. On top of his annoying protectiveness, his good looks were too damn distracting. Cricket unlocked the door and entered. The tastefully furnished suite had Western themed décor throughout. There were even fresh flowers in a vase on top of pinewood dining table. “I could get used to this.”
“Rylee designed every room.”
“Really?” She couldn’t imagine the top alpha working on something so domestic.
“Believe it or not, Rylee could start an interior decorating business. She renovated our quarters below.”
Emma had been downstairs to the lycan lairs, but she’d had no idea who designed the interiors.
“Let me give you the grand tour of the den then we can make coffee.”
“Sounds good.” Not only did she have a huge bedroom, palatial bathroom and a large kitchen fitted for a cooking gourmet, she also had a personal office equipped with a computer, printer and filing cabinets.
“The entire den is a smart home.” They returned to the kitchen and Cricket spoke, “Prepare French roast coffee for two.”
The coffee started brewing. Emma grabbed two mugs from the cabinet. “Would you like cream and sugar?”
“Yep.”
Emma nodded. She prepared the mugs then handed one to Cricket. “Let’s sit.”
“By the fireplace,” said Cricket.
They sat on the sofa facing the fireplace. Emma sipped. “Good coffee.”
“Rylee only orders the best.”
“Must be nice to be the alpha of alphas.”
Cricket shrugged. “Personally, having that much control would be a burden.”
“So true.” Emma tilted her head to the side. “How long have you known Nik?”
“Not too long, about six months. Slade and I invite him to hang with us for dinner or to watch a game whenever he’s in town.” She laughed. “You need to get used to his obsession with old American movies. Especially, his choice of cheesy spy and western movies.”
“Interesting.” She checked her fingernails as if looking for a chipped nail.
Cricket smirked. “You have the hots for him.”