For the Good of All (Law of the Lycans Book 7) Read Free

approves, that’s their problem not mine.”
    “My plan was to help people with nowhere to turn, not hire out mercenaries to do someone else’s dirty work.”
    “That was all well and good in the beginning. However, from a business standpoint we were stagnant. A constant, reliable influx of cash was needed, not dribs and drabs from the lost causes that came crawling to us.”
    Lost causes. He clenched his jaw at her condescending tone. “There were sufficient funds to keep things going until I got back.”
    “Sufficient? A paltry bank account, a list of passwords, a few contacts.” She snorted. “It’s not like you left me the keys to Fort Knox.”
    “All you needed to do was watch the email and pay a few bills.”
    “For a few months you said. But you never came back so I did what I needed to do.”
    Stone narrowed his eyes. “What you needed to do? You could have closed everything down if it was more than you could handle.”
    “I could handle it. And why waste the groundwork you’d laid? Hardly a fitting tribute to my supposedly dead brother.”
    “You bastardized it.” He stared at the woman before him. Deirdre had been his younger sister, the little girl he’d protected and pushed on swings, who he’d confided in as they sat under a shade tree together. He’d taken the blame for her misdeeds and patched up her skinned knees. Much younger than him, she’d been cosseted and spoiled, doted on by their parents.
    When he’d returned after his stint at the Academy and Lycan Link, he’d thought letting her help with his pet project was an ideal way for her to heal after the death of their parents in a plane crash. It would allow them to reconnect and give her a purpose in life. He’d thought she shared his vision. Now he realized he should have taken more notice of her constant suggestions to expand. Hell, how long had he been gone before she began to gut the organization?
    He pulled the paper he’d found from his pocket. Most of his original men were gone. “Who are these bastards?” When she frowned, he almost laughed. “You never did like to empty the trash.”
    “You’ve stooped to garbage picking now?”
    “I do whatever it takes.” He glanced at the list, his gaze lighting on a bright red circle. “What’s with the Masterson guy?”
    “He quit.” From the tight look on her face, he could tell it was a sore point.
    “I’ll still check him out.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I mean I’m going to deal with each piece of scum on this list.”
    “Keep your nose out of my business, Eli.” She took a step towards him.
    “Now it’s your business? A minute ago you said it was mine.” He shook his head. “I created Virtus to help—”
    She interrupted. “I help anyone who asks.”
    “At a price. And you don’t give a damn as to their motives.”
    “It’s not my business to judge. I provide a service.” She folded her arms.
    “A service that doesn’t give a rat’s ass about who it employs, who gets hurt or what side of the law it operates on.”
    “And look who’s talking! Lycan Link kicked you out.”
    Stone narrowed his eyes. “We mutually agreed to go our separate ways.”
    “Right.” She snorted. “And a few years later, you left the country and joined some fringe group.”
    “Is that what the rumours said?”
    “Among other things.”
    “But you knew the truth. You could have quashed the rumours. I went on a mission, was captured and held prisoner.”
    “That’s your story.” She sniffed. “You’re a Lycan. An ex-Enforcer. You could have escaped.”
    “And left the men and women I went to save? As well as probably exposing myself as a Lycan?”
    She shrugged a shoulder. “Losing them would have been unfortunate but still an acceptable loss in exchange for your own freedom. And the chances of exposure were negligible.”
    He lowered his brows, his voice growing cold. “Never say losing a life is acceptable.”
    She sighed noisily. “Leave the idealism