Leopard's Wrath (Leopard People 11)

Trust was earned, often through life-and-death situations. He had stepped between Fyodor, Evangeline and bullets. He’d nearly lost his life, but his cousin knew with absolute certainty that Mitya would never betray him, that he was willing to give his life for him and his family. That was trust. That was how it was earned.

Jake Bannaconni was a businessman. He owned a cattle ranch. He was considered a ruthless man, willing to take apart any company, and his enemies had to be careful because he found legitimate ways to destroy them. He was a man many feared, but there was never a whisper of him being anything but legitimate. There wasn’t a shred of anything illegal attached to his name. Somehow, and Mitya didn’t fully understand how, Bannaconni was part of their coalition. When one didn’t have anything to lose—like their life—Mitya wasn’t certain they would be as committed as they needed to be.

He paced across the room and turned back to look at Drake Donovan. “Amory Binder worked for you in Borneo. You vouched for him. Got the job for him with Bannaconni and then here, with me. You had Sevastyan hire him.”

There was Donovan. The start of all the conspiracy, the gathering of shifters to get rid of the worst of the criminal element of shifters—men who had risen to the top to become crime lords and claim territories. Drake’s vision was to remove them permanently and take over their territories, weeding out the worst of the crimes and keeping some level of sanity.

It wasn’t a bad idea, it just put those doing the work in double jeopardy. They would be hunted constantly by the police. Their families would always carry the taint of criminals on them in regular society, and if it ever became known that they were double-crossing crime families, they would be hunted down and killed.

Drake nodded. “Yes. Amory came to my team in Borneo highly recommended. I was already here in the States working with Jake at the time. According to those on the team, and I spoke to every single one of them, Amory did his work in an exemplary fashion. When he asked for a job here in the States, I didn’t hesitate. Many of the shifters want to come, even if it is just to experience work here. He went through additional training and was first put with Joshua.”

Joshua Tregre was Evangeline’s cousin. He was now related to Fyodor, which made him family. Mitya liked the man. He was very steady, very calm. But liking and trusting were two different things. In fact, he made certain to put Joshua in the one chair at the large round table that had the least protection.

Amory had returned to New Orleans. He’d evidently worked for Joshua, who held the New Orleans territory. Mitya didn’t believe in coincidences. He remained silent, waiting for Joshua to speak. It took a few moments, which didn’t surprise Mitya. Joshua was a thoughtful man and would weigh his words before speaking.

“Amory was a good worker. Evan was responsible for his training, and he’s one of the best. He had no complaints and said Amory had amazing reflexes and would go far in the business of retrieving prisoners as well as being a bodyguard. I met him a few times, but for the most part, he didn’t work closely with my crew. He was transferred within three months to help guard Jake’s family right after his training. I believe he asked for that transfer, but I can check with Evan just to be certain. He’s right outside the door.”

Sevastyan, always quiet and rarely noticed when he was still, stirred from his position, where he could get to Mitya if needed. “Who were Amory’s friends when he was with you?”

Joshua frowned and drummed his fingers on the table. “Amory hung out with two of the crew I didn’t know very well at the time. I had just been named to take over the territory Rafe Cordeau held. I believe it was Eli Perez who killed Cordeau. Eli worked for the DEA, and they’d been after Rafe for some time. Rafe went after Eli’s woman, Catarina. With Rafe dead, the territory was open and fair game to any of the crime families looking to expand, so I was put into that position. Being new, I had to go slow and figure out who I trusted and who I didn’t.”

“So there were several of Rafe’s men who stayed with you?” Sevastyan persisted.

Joshua nodded. “Yes. Evan and the others, my people, watched them closely. I can’t say they all integrated into my family, but they worked hard and didn’t give me any trouble. The two men Amory became friends with are Colten Schultz and Fargo Day. Like I said, they do their jobs and appear to be good men to have, but they have never become close to any of my crew.”