Diamond (Rare Gems #2)(15)
“Can you reach him for me?” Jane nodded and moved to the door, but he stopped her. “Never mind. Could you just get my plane ready to go to Ohio? I need to…I have to see what is going on.”
The longer he sat there thinking about Diamond the more he thought something had happened to her. He didn’t have a clue about henchmen, but he did know who might. He picked up the phone and called Morton. For some reason, Thad thought he was behind all this.
“Henchmen, you say? Nope. Did send out my son and his friend to tell them to back off. Did you know that they’re planning to sell your idea to another firm? Heard tell they are saying it was all theirs.” Thad buzzed Jane as Morton continued. “I haven’t heard back from him since he was there, but I’m guessing he’s made some progress.”
“It was their idea.” Putting the phone on speaker, he waited for Morton to say something as he wrote out a note to Jane. He needed to get to Ohio more than ever now, and he wanted her to set up an appointment with Blair as soon as possible.
“Well…I suppose that we can say that it was yours, and nobody will be the wiser. I’m willing to say whatever you want for a price.” Thad looked up at Jane as Morton unknowingly spewed more information to them both. “Otto, my son, he’s got himself a gun down there. I told him to be careful of them people. They ain’t anything more than dogs with big teeth, but then ain’t we all at some point.”
He knew. That’s all Thad could think of was that Morton knew. And according to a conversation he’d had with Sapphire before leaving, only another supernatural would know about another one unless they were told. That made Morton a sup. But what?
He had to be slick, trick him into answering him. But how? He waited, knowing that sooner or later this was going to come back to bite him in the ass, but he had to take a chance.
“One of them is my mate.” There was silence both in his office as well as on the phone. “Diamond. Diamond Erickson is my mate, and we’ve bonded.”
“Mother f*ck,” Morton exploded. “You have to get rid of her. That’s the only way. Mother…you say you’ve bonded? Shit, let me call Otto back and have him hunt her down. He’ll know just what to do. Our kind just doesn’t like wolves. Panthers are much more superior to those f*cking animals any day.”
He looked at Jane when she stood up and took his pen from his hand. She wrote something on another sheet of paper and handed it to him. Then she left the office. Thad was almost afraid to read it, but when he did, he felt a chill run down his spine that made the hair on the back of his neck dance.
“I’ll take care of him. Vampires are much more superior to panthers any day.” Thad let Morton go on and on. He wasn’t sure if it was because everything had gotten so surreal or that he wasn’t sure what to do now. Thad thought it was a good case of both, and when Morton said Jane was at his door, he had the overwhelming urge to tell him good luck. But he hung up the phone and waited.
Jane returned an hour later, and she simply went to her desk. He didn’t ask her, though he wanted to know what had happened in his foreman’s office. When she came into his office again and sat across from him, he tried his best not to notice the drop of blood on her blouse. It might have been there this morning, he kept telling himself.
“There’s a major front moving through Ohio right now, and will be for the next several hours. I have you booked to Chicago, the closest I could get you, and have arranged for you to have an SUV there for you to drive the rest of the way.” She handed him a file, and he took it from her without speaking. “There are driving instructions in there, as well as hotels that you can…. Are you all right? You look like you’re going to freak out.”
“I am. I don’t…you’re a vampire.” It wasn’t a question, but she answered him with a nod. “And Morton was a panther. Diamond and her family are wolves, and there is more of your kind on my staff?”
“Yes. I would say about half your management staff is, and more of your floor staff. We, well most of us, thought you were aware of us but had some sort of don’t ask don’t tell kind of thing going on.” She leaned back and watched him carefully as she continued. “You’re not mated with Diamond, are you? The reason I say that is because while I can smell her on you, you don’t actually have her scent.”
“Sex you mean?” She nodded. “No, we didn’t have sex. I didn’t…I had no idea what she was or you were, for that matter. Sapphire knew, she and Blair told me when they explained to me what they were. Not who was what, but that I had a few of you on my staff. I think…f*ck, I f*cking lost it and said some things that I’m sure I didn’t mean.”
“Doubtful. You say what you mean and stick to it.” She stretched out her legs in front of her and smiled. He could see her fangs now, and he was sure it was because she was letting him.
“What did you do to Morton?” She shook her head, and he decided that he really didn’t want to know. “I don’t think they’re going to let me go back, and I’m pretty sure that something happened to Diamond or one of the others.”
“I can find out. You won’t ask me how I find out, but I can find out.” He nodded as she stood up and moved to the door.
“I really screwed this up with her. I’m not saying that I’ll want her as my mate, but I didn’t want anything to happen to her.” Jane turned to stare at him, and he could see fear there. “What is it? What do you already know?”