“Oh my God! So that bastard tried to kidnap you?” Hope screamed into the phone.

Autumn paced the motel room floor clutching the cell phone in her palm. As soon as Garrett left the room, she quickly lost her shit again and panic set in again. The only person she could think to call was Hope, but she wasn’t helping with staying cool and calm in the least bit.

“Calm down, Hope. I’m okay. Tell Melisandra that I’m fine too. I don’t want you or her doing anything drastic. Definitely don’t come back here under any circumstances. Simon is a slick, dirty dog.”

“Did you find the old deed for the restaurant? The one that the Montagues altered?”

Her gaze swept over to her handbag where she had stuffed the legal documents. “I’ve got it. It looks like a photocopy though and not the original. And get this?”

“What?”

“The check from dad’s life insurance policy was gone.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“I’m certain I left it in there last week when the mail guy brought it in,” Autumn said. “I was going to drive out to the bank to cash it before all this shit starting happening with the Alpha being found dead and all.”

“Well, it’s not like Simon will be able to cash it. It’s made out to you.”

Autumn groaned. “That’s the thing, Hope. The tavern’s checking account is in my name. What’s stopping Simon from depositing the check there into an account that he has full access to.”

“We’ll get through this. The greedier Simon gets, the more mistakes he makes. He’ll get what’s coming to him,” she said. “Who is this other guy anyway? The one that saved you.”

“His name is Garrett. He’s a shifter from Aspen Valley. His brother is the Alpha there.”

“But how do you know this Garrett person isn’t conspiring together with Simon?”

“I seriously doubt that. He’s a stranger, I know, but nothing is worse than being kidnapped by that self-righteous idiot. I told Simon to give me twenty-four hours before he came for me again and he reneged on that. I’m not sure who tipped him off that I was at the restaurant, but the men who grabbed me asked me where I thought I was going and said I wasn’t allowed to leave town.”

“So you think he knows you were planning to leave?”

“Maybe…”

“That bastard…I’ll send you some cash by Western Union and you can buy another ticket. Can you get to the convenience store across the street from Jackie’s Laundromat?”

“I’m going to stay put for now. Garrett offered his protection until I get out of town, so don’t worry about it. Simon is such a coward; it’s unlikely he’ll come when he knows what he’s up against. On top of that, the Cross City leaders are onto Simon. Garrett’s been hired to track him down. I might not have to run in the meantime.”

“So you’re betting on this guy, this shifter, to find Simon and turn him over before he gets to you? I don’t know, Autumn. This all sounds so risky. If the Cross City leaders believed that Simon could be stopped, why don’t they just stop him themselves, like right now?”

“Something tells me that they’ve tried that already,” she said. “Simon has turned more than half of the Pack against the Alpha family. Remember what Melisandra told us? If Simon steps into the position, there’ll be nothing stopping him from the unlimited resources of the Pack, including loads of money and a whole lot of property. He has a mass mob mentally. He just takes what he wants and damns everyone else.”

“So the Alpha family has called for outside help? This Garrett person…what’s in it for him anyway? And what does he want from the Alpha family in exchange for his help?”

“Money.”

“Money? What about you? What does he want in exchange for helping you? We can’t possibly pay him too.”

“He didn’t ask me for money,” Autumn said. “This job he’s on is ongoing and top secret. If this information gets out…”

“Right. I know. My lips are sealed. Besides, I’m halfway across the country and I’m not coming back. There’s nothing for me there now. Dad’s gone.”

“Dad may be gone physically, but what he lived for is still in Cross City. I don’t know about you, but I fear losing everything our family has built more than I fear an encounter with Simon again. Remember how we promised Dad that we’d keep up the restaurant no matter what? He did what he had to keep the business. I can’t hate him for it. And if I run, we won’t have a family business. Dad made a mistake and he died not knowing it. I have to fix this. I have to find a way out of this contract and a way to get our tavern back.”

“All right. I just hope that guy knows what he’s doing as far as Simon is concerned,” Hope said. “Before I left there were rumors going around that he doesn’t care about getting his hands bloody.”

Autumn shook her head, thinking about what happened earlier that evening. If Garrett hadn’t come, she’d have probably been the one with the knife wound. She owed him big.

“Unfortunately, it’s true,” Autumn agreed.

“Just stay safe and away from Simon,” she said.

“I feel safe with Garrett, and luckily I won’t be stuck in this city in the meantime. Sometime tomorrow I should be in Aspen Valley. Remember we used to go there on business runs with dad.”

“Yeah.”

“Garrett knows a lawyer I can talk to. I’ll call you when I get there.”

“Okay…I’ll be up all night probably. My insomnia is back. If you need me for anything, call me.”

“I will.”