my fucking men, not his. There must be a better—”
Forman obviously cut Handberry off, because he fell silent for several heartbeats. Then he swore loudly and said, “Tell the bastard to meet me at home. I’ll be there in twenty.”
With that, he hung up. Footsteps retreated and the door slammed. That’s when Tao and I had witnessed him storming out of the club like some great black thundercloud. And twenty minutes later he was dead.
Stane pressed the screen again, preventing the recording from looping and replaying. “I tried to enhance the other end of the conversation, but could only get snatches of words. I think the other guy was using some sort of scrambler to hamper recording.”
Which meant he was not only urbane, but also smart
and
careful. “What about the name Handberry mentioned? Harlen?”
“I did do a search for both Harlen and Forman, but without knowing their full names, it was pretty useless. Still, there’s no Forman or Harlen connected to either the club or the consortium that was buying up the properties around here.”
I frowned. “What happened to the third man connected to the consortium, John Nadler? The one we never found?”
Stane shrugged. “Whoever he really is, he’s got his tracks covered. I’ve tried just about every search I can think of, and I’m coming up with nothing.”
Which was undoubtedly frustrating to someone like Stane, who prided himself on being able to goanywhere, and find anything, along the Net’s superhighway. “Meaning he’s probably using a fake ID.”
“Actually, I think it probably means he’s living two separate lives. Fake ID will only get you so far in this day and age.”
“But even if he was living two lives, wouldn’t one of those still require a fake ID?”
“Not if he simply stepped into the life of another man.”
“But that’s not possible—”
“Really?” he interrupted, eyebrow raised. “Do you think you’re the only face shifter on the planet?”
Face shifters were able to make basic structural changes to their faces—hair, eyes, and shape. Most could only hold the new form for limited amounts of time, but I’d inherited my shifting ability from my mom, and her genes had been enhanced in the laboratories of a madman. It took a lot of effort for me to change, but once I was there, I could hold it for a long time. “Well, of course not. But it would mean he’s a Helki werewolf, and that
would
impact both identities. Moon heat isn’t exactly something you can hide.”
“Why would he have to be a werewolf? I know for a fact that the military has face shifters, and they aren’t all werewolves.”
I stared at him for a moment. “Just how do you know all this stuff?”
He shrugged. “I told you, I get bored. It’s amazing what risks you’ll take when you’re bored.”
I snorted softly. “And what happened to all the land the consortium purchased?”
“It’s still all owned by the consortium, which is now run solely by Nadler. But James Trilby and Garvin Appleby’s heirs are suing the consortium and Nadler for a bigger piece of the pie.”
Trilby and Appleby were the other two men we’d linked to the consortium. They were dead, just as the witch who’d been in their employ was dead—killed by Azriel after she’d sent a soul stealer after a little girl. “Does that mean the two men didn’t leave wills, or did they simply not leave their heirs enough money?”
“The latter.” He grimaced. “See, this is where pack mentality wins out. In the event of my death, everything either goes entirely to the pack, or it’s split seventy–thirty between my heirs and the pack. Everyone understands the situation, and everyone wins.”
I grinned. “You don’t have any heirs, so your pack wins big time.”
“Hey,” he said, voice offended but eyes dancing. “I might not have heirs yet, but that doesn’t mean I’m not looking for a suitable lady.”
I snorted softly. “It’s a little hard to find said
Forman obviously cut Handberry off, because he fell silent for several heartbeats. Then he swore loudly and said, “Tell the bastard to meet me at home. I’ll be there in twenty.”
With that, he hung up. Footsteps retreated and the door slammed. That’s when Tao and I had witnessed him storming out of the club like some great black thundercloud. And twenty minutes later he was dead.
Stane pressed the screen again, preventing the recording from looping and replaying. “I tried to enhance the other end of the conversation, but could only get snatches of words. I think the other guy was using some sort of scrambler to hamper recording.”
Which meant he was not only urbane, but also smart
and
careful. “What about the name Handberry mentioned? Harlen?”
“I did do a search for both Harlen and Forman, but without knowing their full names, it was pretty useless. Still, there’s no Forman or Harlen connected to either the club or the consortium that was buying up the properties around here.”
I frowned. “What happened to the third man connected to the consortium, John Nadler? The one we never found?”
Stane shrugged. “Whoever he really is, he’s got his tracks covered. I’ve tried just about every search I can think of, and I’m coming up with nothing.”
Which was undoubtedly frustrating to someone like Stane, who prided himself on being able to goanywhere, and find anything, along the Net’s superhighway. “Meaning he’s probably using a fake ID.”
“Actually, I think it probably means he’s living two separate lives. Fake ID will only get you so far in this day and age.”
“But even if he was living two lives, wouldn’t one of those still require a fake ID?”
“Not if he simply stepped into the life of another man.”
“But that’s not possible—”
“Really?” he interrupted, eyebrow raised. “Do you think you’re the only face shifter on the planet?”
Face shifters were able to make basic structural changes to their faces—hair, eyes, and shape. Most could only hold the new form for limited amounts of time, but I’d inherited my shifting ability from my mom, and her genes had been enhanced in the laboratories of a madman. It took a lot of effort for me to change, but once I was there, I could hold it for a long time. “Well, of course not. But it would mean he’s a Helki werewolf, and that
would
impact both identities. Moon heat isn’t exactly something you can hide.”
“Why would he have to be a werewolf? I know for a fact that the military has face shifters, and they aren’t all werewolves.”
I stared at him for a moment. “Just how do you know all this stuff?”
He shrugged. “I told you, I get bored. It’s amazing what risks you’ll take when you’re bored.”
I snorted softly. “And what happened to all the land the consortium purchased?”
“It’s still all owned by the consortium, which is now run solely by Nadler. But James Trilby and Garvin Appleby’s heirs are suing the consortium and Nadler for a bigger piece of the pie.”
Trilby and Appleby were the other two men we’d linked to the consortium. They were dead, just as the witch who’d been in their employ was dead—killed by Azriel after she’d sent a soul stealer after a little girl. “Does that mean the two men didn’t leave wills, or did they simply not leave their heirs enough money?”
“The latter.” He grimaced. “See, this is where pack mentality wins out. In the event of my death, everything either goes entirely to the pack, or it’s split seventy–thirty between my heirs and the pack. Everyone understands the situation, and everyone wins.”
I grinned. “You don’t have any heirs, so your pack wins big time.”
“Hey,” he said, voice offended but eyes dancing. “I might not have heirs yet, but that doesn’t mean I’m not looking for a suitable lady.”
I snorted softly. “It’s a little hard to find said
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