Liam had just lit the fire when Tawny and Zach returned. She looked tired but satisfied at the same time.
“Take a load off. I have some wine for you, and Liam lit the fire,” Alex said.
She smiled. “You guys are the best.”
That sounded like she wanted to be with both of them—or was Alex projecting his desires?
Once he poured Tawny and himself a glass and handed her the wine, Alex sat down. Liam must have known what Zach wanted, because he grabbed two beers, one for her brother and one for himself.
“Tell us what you found,” Liam said.
“Mason located two bugs. The one in my office that we knew about and one near the cages in back.”
“Did these people think Brett and Alan would be talking about werewolves?” Alex asked.
“Alan is a human so Brett would never talk about shifters to him,” she said.
“If they are after our family, they might just want to know where to find us,” Zach said.
“Maybe, but what bugs me the most—no pun intended— is how did they know the Grangers were shifters in the first place?” Tawny asked. “It’s not like any of our males shift in the middle of the street.”
Liam nodded. “It’s possible the head of this group is aware of shifters. He might have interacted with a family member in the past.”
Zach chugged his beer. “It’s not like we go around fighting a lot of people.”
“What about the Franklin Clan,” Liam said. “Could they be behind this?”
“I hope not,” Tawny said. “I know what Ariel went through with that group.”
“We fought them, too, remember,” Alex said. It was bloody, and Tawny’s cousin and his roommate almost died. Thankfully, the two deaths were on the Franklin Clan side. Alex wondered if this could be some kind of revenge for running Paul Franklin out of town—or rather for finding evidence that he'd killed Ariel's brother's girlfriend.
“I know you did, and my family thanks you,” she said.
“I say we stay focused on trying to find out who these humans are. Once we know their identity, we can decide if they are working alone or not,” Liam said.
“Sounds good,” Tawny said.
Since Alex didn’t want the evening to be a downer for Tawny, he suggested the four of them play a game of cards.
“What is your pleasure?” she asked.
“Gin Rummy?” Alex suggested.
She grinned. “You are so going down.”
Zach laughed. “You have a short memory, sis. Please recall that I am the card champion of the family.”
She held up both hands. “That was when we were ten. I’m better now.”
Alex suggested they sit at the rarely-used dining room table to make playing easier. While they moved over, he located the cards.
For the next two hours, they played, laughed, and challenged each other. Alex hoped he and Liam were able to show Tawny a more fun side to their personality.
When it was close to bedtime, he looked over at Zach.“How about going into your cave? Liam and I want to persuade your sister that the three of us belong together.”Alex held his breath. It would be terrible if Zach was against this union.
Tawny’s brother raised his hands over his head to stretch and then yawned. “I am calling it quits for the night.” He pushed back his chair and stood. “Thanks, sis, for allowing me a few minutes of freedom this evening.”
“I’m glad you kept me company. It would have been a little creepy sitting in my car by myself.” She looked up at Zach and smiled, and Alex’s heart melted a bit.