Eric squinted against the bright headlights streaming through the windshield. His asshole of a father had made him spend two nights in that damn cell before bailing him out. He’d remember that when he became alpha of his own pack.

Neither man spoke on the drive from the jail to Eric’s house. He stomped inside and tried to slam the door behind him, but his old man caught it with his meaty hand.

“I drove an hour to bail your sorry ass out of jail. The least you can do is thank me.” David stepped through the threshold and let the door shut behind him.

“Thanks.” Eric plopped onto the couch and rested his feet on the coffee table. “Now leave.”

“You assaulted a police officer. What the hell were you thinking, son?”

“I caught him making out with my girl. What was I supposed to do?” His insides burned as the image of his woman pressing her lips to the pig’s face flashed in his mind. They were both going to pay for that little display of affection. Alexis would learn not to cheat, and Sergeant Samuels would learn to stay away from his property.

David shook his head like he was disappointed. The man was always disappointed. “Alexis hasn’t been your girl since you beat the shit out of her for denting your car.” He crossed his arms over his chest and stood over him. Trying to intimidate him.

It wouldn’t work this time. Eric put his feet on the floor and sat up straight. “How’d you know I was talking about Alexis?”

“She called me. If she’s your girl, why’d you try to kill her?”

“I didn’t mean…Wait. Why’d she call you?”

David narrowed his eyes as a reptilian smile curved his thin lips. “How do you think she ended up in this God-forsaken town? I paid her to keep tabs on you.”

Eric tried to take a breath, but it got caught in his throat. “You…paid her?”

His old man shrugged it off. “She got into some trouble with the pack in Biloxi. I got her out of it and sent her here to watch you.”

Eric fumed with anger. No wonder she’d turned down his offer to be mates. She was nothing more than a prostitute, and his own father was her pimp. “I didn’t try to kill her. It’s not my fault she fell off the electrical tower. She tried to kill herself.”

“But she survived, even though you left her for dead.”

“I thought she was dead.” He should’ve known she’d survive. He’d seen her healing powers first-hand, and they obviously worked on herself too.

“Come on, son. You wanted her dead. She told me about your cockamamie plan to build your own pack out of humans. Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

He crossed his arms, tucking his fists beneath them to stop himself from punching the bastard. He hated the old man with a passion, but he needed his money. He had to play it cool. “Build my own pack?” He forced a laugh. “Alexis told you that? She was probably trying to squeeze more money out of you. She seemed destitute when she came here. She practically got on her knees begging me for some cash.” He rose to his feet. “She’s good on her knees, if you know what I mean, but I didn’t give her the money.”

His dad cocked an eyebrow. “Who knows what you’ve been up to? She hasn’t worked for me since she left you.”

“Exactly, Dad.” He put a hand on the old man’s shoulder. “She’s broke. She’ll do anything for a few bucks.”

His dad eyed him warily. “Let me see your music room.”

“Yeah, sure. No problem.” He led his father down the hall and pushed open the door. A drum set sat on a raised platform in the corner, and several guitars hung from a rack on the wall. The tile floor had been hosed down and cleaned with bleach after his last unsuccessful attempt at turning a human, and thankfully the bodies were in a freezer at Trevor’s place. David wouldn’t find a lick of evidence in this house. After Alexis had shown up unannounced, Eric had made sure he wouldn’t be caught off-guard again.

His father may have thought him a stupid loser, but he took plenty of precautions. He’d even taken care of the Jane that Alexis had set free. Now, he had to take care of Alexis.

David scanned the room, running his hand along the wall and fingering the strings of the bass guitar. Eric held his breath, hoping the old man wouldn’t ask him to play it. He hadn’t touched the instrument since he hung it up. His dad opened the closet door and peeked inside. It was empty. He stepped in front of Eric and stared him hard in the eyes. “Where are the bodies?”

Eric let out an exasperated breath. “There are no bodies. I told you she was lying. She’s desperate, Dad, and she’s just a rogue. Believe me.”

“Why do I smell bleach?”

Shit. Would he ever let up? “I got a little crazy on a guitar solo and knocked a six-pack off the table. It shattered on the tile. You smell floor cleaner. That’s all.”

David sighed and walked to the front door. “I don’t understand why she’d make this up, but your story checks out, son. If there is something unethical going on here, I will find out.”

“There’s not. Everything’s legit. I swear. And I’m sorry about getting in a fight with that cop. When I saw him with Alexis…you know how I feel about her. Jealousy got the better of me. It won’t happen again.”

“You’re damn right it won’t. You’ve embarrassed the family name enough. I’d like you to come back to Biloxi one day, but not until you’ve gotten your act together. The pack won’t tolerate miscreants.”

“I understand, Pops. I’m trying.” No way in hell would he step foot in Biloxi again. He’d go completely rogue before he’d be under his old man’s thumb.

His dad stepped through the door, and the new motion-sensor camera he’d installed on the doorbell made his phone chime. “All right. I’ll see what I can do about getting you out of this assault mess if you promise me you’ll stay out of trouble.”

“You have my word.” He closed the door and marched into the living room.

That bitch. He rammed his fist through the sheet rock. White powder rained onto the floor as he jerked his hand from the wall. Alexis could fix the hole. She could fix everything. He hadn’t been successful in turning a human into a werewolf a single time. The bodies were piling up, he was no closer to having his own pack, and now he had his dad on his back.

At least she’d run to a human for help and not her sister’s pack. Cops he could handle. His old man he could handle. Starting a war between Biloxi and New Orleans he could not. Luckily, Alexis didn’t catch on to the hollowness of his threat to harm her sister. If he could hang that over her head, he had leverage.

Her sister was a cop. He had enough bodies in the freezer to easily pull her in without getting the pack involved. Trevor had already dumped the first one in the river, and there were plenty more to keep her busy. Samuels would be easy to find too. Alexis was bound to turn up on one of their doorsteps sooner or later, and then she’d be his for the taking. She’d come back to him on her own once he was done.