Leopard's Wrath (Leopard People 11)

“I looked. Thoroughly,” Sevastyan added. “He lived like a monk. But he’s planting the seeds here that Joshua and Drake are against the Anwar family. He also seems to be suggesting several times that they’ve met with the Caruso family.”

Mitya nodded. “He’s mentioned every crime family in Texas that has met with Elijah. He’s grown to suspect that Jack Bannaconni is working for Drake, taking apart the companies Drake is pointing out to him. Two of those companies belonged to the Anwar family. One was dismantled; the other, Jake hasn’t begun to go after. Amory was definitely stirring up trouble between all the families. He suggests that Elijah is seeking to take over Fyodor’s territory or that he already runs it. Again, he’s sowing seeds of doubt.”

Sevastyan nodded. “Already several of the bosses are afraid of Elijah and the fact that he controls so much territory, both here and in other countries. Suggesting that Elijah is actually the one calling the shots for Fyodor expands his holdings and power. None of them will like that at all.”

“Amory has really concentrated on bringing Joshua to the forefront,” Mitya said. “He’s got his two recruits in place. They both came from the rain forest to work for Rafe Cordeau and stayed on after to work for Joshua. What they’re really doing is reporting to someone else. Possibly this Carrieri. He doesn’t give names, but Joshua will know who they are. What is his beef with Joshua?”

Sevastyan shrugged. “More than likely it isn’t Amory’s beef. It’s someone else’s.”

Ania frowned and rubbed a finger along her bottom lip. “I was led to believe that there are very few shifters left alive. Like pockets of them scattered here and there. Is that wrong?”

“Very few,” Mitya said. “Shifters are a dying breed. Many have found men or women who aren’t shifters and married them, leaving the lairs altogether. Then others are like my father, so shortsighted that they’re destroying the lairs from the inside out. Instead of embracing marriage and finding their true mates, they want to show their loyalty to other criminals.”

“Then if we keep killing their leopards, they’re going to run out of them,” she pointed out. “Why keep coming at us like that?”

“She’s got a point,” Sevastyan said. “One of the men attacking us wasn’t a shifter. He was human. We treated him like a shifter, but there was no evidence that he was leopard. Whoever is behind this is going to have to rethink their plans.”

“They’ll employ snipers,” Ania said. “Mercenaries. They won’t keep sending their shifters if they’re going to try to kill us.”

“I don’t even think that’s going to be necessary,” Sevastyan said. “They want to disrupt all of us, break up the alliance, and they aren’t even certain we have one. Mostly they seem to want everyone to go to war.”

“And turn against Drake,” Ania said.

“And Joshua,” Mitya added. That really bothered him. Joshua seemed a very easygoing man, not at all like someone who made enemies. “Once they suspect we have the notebook in our possession, they’re going to disappear. There were either of two reasons for retrieving the notebook. That was their original goal, not because it mattered to them to get it to the Anwar family so much as to keep us from figuring out that someone is very angry at Drake and Joshua. Or, they didn’t want this name, Carrieri or whatever, to get out. Amory must have realized it could still be read and he was desperate to retrieve the book. That would also explain why there were no digital copies made.”

“Everything in this journal is inflammatory, geared to get each of the families stirred up against the others. At the very least to throw suspicion on each family so no one trusts the others. The worst is bringing Bannaconni into it. He isn’t part of any crime family,” Sevastyan said. “This casts enough doubt on him to make it look as if he and Drake are partners in trying to take everyone over.”

“Burn it now,” Ania said. “Really, Mitya, just burn it. No one else has seen it, and those last entries are pure fiction. Amory made up his mind to send it to the Anwar family, and he wants war.”

“The others need to see it,” Sevastyan said. “Give Fyodor a call and ask him to have Joshua and the others meet us at his house tonight. They can drop everything and fly in. We need to let them see this and talk about it. I suggest we go straight there.”

Sevastyan and Mitya exchanged a look she couldn’t quite interpret, but whatever it meant, Mitya nodded immediately. She didn’t mind because she wanted to see Evangeline and Ashe. She was a little worried about Evangeline.

“No one is going to follow us there, are they?”