“That still needs to be searched for.”
He flexed his hands. “The Bennett name seems to be tied into every facet of this town.”
“We’re investing.”
“For?”
“The future. And it helps the local businesses. We own them. Not the banks. We can lower rent. Makes things cheaper for everyone. Keeps them happy. Michelle doesn’t need to be concerned. This is our home.” It was more than that, but he didn’t need to know. Carter and Kelly had taken over the pack’s finances and had come up with the idea to put the Bennett wealth back into the town. It did help the people who lived here, but it also tightened the pack’s grip on this territory. Anyone who wanted to take it away would be foolish to try. Not with how tied we were to this place now.
“That right? Was that Thomas’s plan? Before?”
“What do you want, Pappas?”
“I’m not here to force anything.”
I didn’t believe that for a second. “Except for the death of the Omega.”
He tilted his head. “Ox volunteered.”
“You gave him no choice.”
“There’s that word again. Choice. You must think of me as some kind of master manipulator.”
“I knew Osmond.” I meant the words to land with a punch, but he looked barely affected.
“A mistake.”
“One that went on for years. Tell me. Have you figured out exactly when he turned on you? When he decided Richard Collins was worth more than all of you?”
“There were… signs. Things that shouldn’t have been overlooked.”
“And there’s no one else.”
“Not that we know of.”
“That doesn’t mean as much as it used to.”
He leaned forward in his chair, hands clasped in his lap. His forehead had a sheen of sweat on it. I didn’t think I’d ever seen Pappas sweat before. “What are you really asking, Gordo?”
I looked back to make sure the door remained shut so that no one could overhear us. It was. Pappas was not-smiling again when I turned toward him. He arched an eyebrow at me.
“You know what.”
“Maybe I just want to hear you say it.”
Fucking werewolves. “My father.”
“Your father,” he echoed. “Right. Robert Livingstone. After the unfortunate situation with Richard Collins, I must admit I was surprised at the… subterfuge. Keeping things from your Alphas doesn’t seem like something you’d do, Gordo. After everything your pack has been through. It’s almost as if you trust me more than them.”
“You don’t know the first thing about me.”
And there it was. A full-on grin. It looked as if it belonged on a shark. “We know far more than you think. I report to the Alpha of all, don’t I?”
“Temporary. And nothing more.”
He shook his head. “Joe seems like he doesn’t want to leave here. I don’t blame him. This place, it’s… unlike any other territory I’ve ever been to. You can feel it as you approach. It’s like a great storm in the distance, all electricity and ozone. How Thomas Bennett ever left it to begin with is beyond me. He must have trusted you greatly to leave it in your care.”
“Thomas Bennett didn’t give two shits about me.”