Making the Rent the Hard Way - 29

"Tetrad?" Rocky said.

"Well, there are four of us, if you want to be involved, and The Tetrad sounds better than The Four," I replied.

Rocky nodded emphatically. "If my involvement means bringing down Farnham, I'm in." Orchid agreed she was, as well.

"You're definitely playing into the humans' distrust of shifters," Luca said. "Let's hope it doesn't backfire on us."

"Why isn't Farnham's name on the list?" Orchid asked. "Isn't he on some of the planning commissions? That's what it said in one of the files I copied last night."

"I wanted to keep it to government officials for the time being," I told her. "Yeah, the police chief was appointed by the present mayor, but the rest have been elected. I suspect the mayor had no idea the chief is a shifter."

"Or he didn't care," Luca said. "The guy moved up in the ranks and was the obvious choice. If the mayor had brought someone in from the outside, the police union would have had a hissy fit."

"Next question," Rocky said. "How are we going to distribute these once they're printed up?"

"Send them to all the news outlets, for starters. Then to the public officials who we know aren't shifters. We probably shouldn't give this info to the ones who are shifters. We know from the information Orchid found that some of them are in Farnham's pocket."

"Then send this to the ones who aren't," Luca said. "The more people, human or shifter, we have on our side, the better."

"I agree," Rocky said. "It'll get the ball rolling. I wish it was safe to out Farnham now, rather than waiting."

"That's the next step," I told him. "Once we've delivered these"—I tapped the flyer—"he'll be so angry he'll come after me, knowing I had to be the source of the information."

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" Luca spat out furiously.

I barely smiled. "Probably, but it's the only way I can think of to get him out in the open."

"How do you figure he'll know it was you?" Orchid asked.

"He hired me to find Luca because Luca overheard things that were said at the meeting with his cronies, but Farnham doesn't know how much, so he searched Luca's place."

"And found nothing, since I had the info with me," Luca said, nodding.

"Exactly, but he didn't know if you'd decide you were safe after a couple of weeks and come back to your apartment, so he has someone watching. Then I show up, the same afternoon that he hired me to find you. He might think I found something he missed, since I'm a pro." I chuckled. "At least, I'm supposed to be one. Anyway, he figures if I did, it would be in the files in my office."

"Which explains why someone broke in. But why make it so obvious?" Luca asked.

"Best guess at this point, the guy was in a hurry. Then he heard the elevator, figured it was the building's security guard on his rounds, and got the hell out of there. He could have been human or shifter, but I'm betting on human. Farnham would have given a shifter a visual of the office, so there'd be no reason for him to break in."

 

Making the Rent the Hard Way - 28

 

I turned the corner of the hallway leading to my office and just about had a panic attack. Mr. Bracco, aka the bruiser, was standing by the door. Then I remembered that Farnham said he'd send him to pay the bill for what I'd done so far. The bruiser handed me an envelope, told me that Farnham expected results on my search for Luca by the end of the week, then left.

"Fuck you and him," I muttered once I heard the elevator doors close.

The first thing I did when I was in my office was make a visual check to be certain I hadn't had any visitors. What held true for my foray with Luca to Farnham's house held true here. Farnham was a shifter. He could get in here without coming through the door and setting off the security system. As far as I could tell, nothing had been disturbed. The file on Luca was where it belonged. Not that it mattered if someone had accessed it, since I'd somehow neglected to make any notes on my visits with Rocky or Nick Allen at the repair shop.

The only message on my machine was from an old client who was expanding his business and wanted me to install security on his new building. I picked up what I needed from my supplier and spent the rest of the morning on the job. After stopping at the bank to deposit my client's check, I got some take-out Chinese food then returned to the office to eat and think about how we could deal with Farnham.

The problem was, I couldn't come up with anything that we hadn't already talked about, and ditched, the previous night. We had some proof about what he was doing, but making anyone believe it was something else. He had too many friends in high places who would back him to the hilt because it was in their own best interests.   

Then I got an idea. A screwy one, but it might work. Booting up my computer, I set to work.

*****

I called Rocky late in the afternoon at Luca's suggestion, asking if he could take the night off from work. As it turned out, it was his day off. When he asked what was going on, I told him I'd let him know after we were at Luca's place. That was fine with him. He told me where he lived and said he'd have Orchid meet us there. She did, gave Rocky the visual of Luca's living room, then we descended on Luca en masse.

"What do you think?" I asked, when everyone was settled, handing them mockups of a flyer I'd designed.

"As a graphic artist, I think it's nothing to write home about," Luca replied, chuckling, after looking it over, "but it gets the message across."

The message was pretty basic.

 

In the interests of full disclosure, the following public servants are shifters, who may or may not be serving the interests of their human constituents.

 

It then went on to list the names of the five shifter city council members, the police chief, two shifter judges, and the DA.

 

This information was obtained from files leaked to us by sources that shall remain unnamed for their own safety. – The Tetrad   

 

Making the Rent the Hard Way - 27

"All clear," Orchid said when we landed. "At least in here. No clue if anyone's out on the street watching."

I wasn't about to go to the windows to check. Instead, I turned on the light in the bedroom as if I was just getting up for the day. She stood in the doorway, looking at me. "You and Luca?" she said.

"Are just friends. Nothing more."

"Just friends don't fuck," she said pointedly.

"Sure they do. What do you think 'friends with benefits' means?"

She waggled a finger at me. "That's not what you said."

"Damn, Orchid."

She grinned. "I'm betting you getting involved with him has more to do with how you feel about him than a need to screw to release tension."

"Then you'd be wrong. Besides, it takes two and I haven't gotten any vibes from him that he sees me as more than someone who's trying to get Farnham off his back."

"So he's paying you with sex?"

"No," I protested, even as her question made me wonder if that was exactly what Luca was doing.

She must have caught my dismay, since she gripped my hand, saying, "I was teasing, Cade. I've never met him until tonight, but Rocky's talked about him. Luca is nothing else if not honorable. He's not the kind of guy who'd do that."

I nodded, hoping she was right, because, against my better judgment, I did find Luca interesting. Was it the situation we were in? Maybe. Maybe not. I wasn't sure. That didn't negate the fact I liked him—more than I should, all things considered.

"Go home," I said, unwilling to continue the conversation. "I have to shower, eat, and get my ass out of here."

She smiled, shocked me by kissing my cheek, then vanished.

 

Making the Rent the Hard Way - 26

"What do we know about Tipton?" Luca asked.

"He's a Realtor on the planning commission, as it says here," I replied, tapping the screen. "From what I've heard, he and the mayor have locked horns more than once over rezoning issues. Tipton wants to turn residential neighborhoods into areas of shops, hotels, and high-density housing."

Orchid frowned. "How would that benefit Farnham's plans?"

"You'll have to ask him," I replied. "I have no idea, unless… Yeah. If he owns some of the prospective businesses and housing, he'd stand to make a lot of money. If they're all run by shifters, forcing humans out…" I spread my hands.

"In the end, he'll have his own shifter city with him as the alpha, which is what he's going for," Luca said angrily.

"Exactly. With the mayor and other city officials in his pocket… Hell, he's got that already, to some extent."

"How do we stop him?" Orchid asked.

"Feed the info we have to The Chronicle, for starters," I replied. The Chronicle prided itself on exposing the behind the scenes wheeling-and-dealing of government and businesspersons who were more interested in making money than working for the people they supposedly served.

"I bet, the minute we do, Farnham will send some of his goons to make them retract the articles—or else," Luca said. "We're in over our heads, Cade."

"We'll figure something out. We have to. I don't feel like setting up business in some other city. I like it here."

"Who can we get to help us?" Orchid asked. "Other than Rocky, that is. They have to be shifters. Humans"—she slanted a look at me—"can't tell who's a shifter and who isn't. Nor are they strong enough to take one on, to say the least of a whole pack."

"This human is," I told her. "Okay, not fighting them, but pointing a finger and saying he is or he isn't."

"You're kidding."

"Nope." I explained my ability to her.

At first she didn't believe me, until Luca convinced her otherwise, telling her I was fairly well-known, or my name was, within the shifter community. "Probably the reason Farnham hired him to find me," he told her.

"I'd say that's a given," I said as I checked the time. "Right now, I suggest we head home. Well, me and Orchid. It's almost five and I need to clean up, eat, then get to the office. I do have a business that I'd like to keep up and running."

"How are you getting there?" Orchid asked, as if she didn't know. When Luca said he was going to take me, she vetoed the idea. "You know Farnham undoubtedly knows where he lives. It would be better if I took him, in case Farnham's got someone watching the place."

I doubted he did, but she was right. Why take chances? I gave Luca a fast kiss—because why the hell not? Orchid just rolled her eyes, asking Luca for an image of my apartment. Then she took my hand and, instantly, we were in my living room.

 

'Lies of Omission' is live!

 Lies of Omission

https://www.jms-books.com/edward-kendrick-c-224_229/lies-of-omission-p-3599.html 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PBCWNTK

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lies-of-omission-edward-kendrick/1138401267?ean=9781646566464

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/lies-of-omission-4

 

GENRE: Gay Paranormal Erotic Romance
LENGTH: 78,057 words
RATING:

Lyle Atwood's company is hired to costume a party given by multi-millionaire Warner Radclyffe. As he and his employees begin preparations for the job, Lyle begins to feel as if someone is watching him. Then he meets Damien Sauvage, the newest tenant in the apartment building where he lives.

Damien tells Lyle that he's a waiter, and when Lyle confides in him that he thinks he's being stalked, Damien offers to help find out who it is. What he neglects to tell Lyle is he actually works for Radclyffe, who wants him to protect Lyle from a very powerful enemy.

As Damien gains Lyle's confidence, he becomes attracted to the younger man -- an attraction that Lyle reciprocates. He fights his feelings, knowing Lyle will hate him when he finds out his secret -- and even more so when he learns what Damien really is.

Radclyffe orders Damien to continue the job, as he has a secret of his own involving Lyle. A secret that cannot be revealed until the night of the party.

Can Lyle survive what is to come, or will the lies of omission be the death of him -- or worse?

EXCERPT:

When they arrived at the apartment building, Damien drove slowly around the block before entering the parking garage. He didn't see anything or anyone who piqued his interest, and said so to Lyle.

He was equally as observant when they walked from his car to the elevator, and made it a point to get off first when they reached their floor. He gestured for Lyle to wait while he scanned the hallway in both directions, and again when they got to the turn leading to Lyle's apartment.

"Your place or mine?" he asked when he had determined no one was hiding in wait for Lyle.

"Your choice."

"Then your apartment."

Lyle gave a nod, went down to it and unlocked the door. He was about to go in when Damien put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Might as well go the whole nine-yards," Damien told him under his breath before entering. A fast survey let him know no one was there, so he beckoned for Lyle to join him, saying, "I could do with some coffee."

"Me, too." Lyle went into the kitchen to fill and turn on the coffeemaker while Damien leaned against the doorway. "You can come in." Lyle gave him a shy smile.

"I know." Deciding it might be better to talk in there than the living room, Damien took a seat at the small table in one corner.

When the coffee was ready, Lyle poured it into two cups, brought them over, and sat as well. "Okay, as I've said more than once, there's no reason why someone should be stalking me, especially a woman unless you're right and she's helping someone else. The problem is, why would whoever it is bring in another person?"

"You're asking me?" Damien flashed him a brief grin. "It's pretty obvious, though, that someone is interested in you."

"Yeah, although I wish it had only been my imagination. That I could deal with. This ..." Lyle shook his head in obvious frustration.

"I wish I was off tomorrow and Monday. Then we could hang out together and see if she or the other person puts in another appearance. Not that the other one has, so far. That we know of, at least."

Lyle chortled. "Too bad you aren't. You could help me lug my groceries to my car and then up here."

"I'm not certain it's safe for you to go shopping," Damien retorted.

"Come on. They haven't done anything more than watch me, and I'll be out in public in broad daylight. Hell, if they planned on grabbing me for some reason, they they've had ample chances to do that already."

Damien had to admit he was right. I need to find out from Radclyffe who 'they' are and why they haven't taken Lyle already. Okay, that last could be because he hasn't come into his powers and won't until his birthday, but why wait until then to kidnap him? Boss, you and I are in for a long talk, I think.

Lyle sipped his coffee. From his expression he wanted to say something but wasn't certain he should. Then he blurted out, "Are you really a waiter? You seem to know an awful lot of things a detective would."

"Trust me, I spend half my time waiting," Damien replied. The truth, although not the way he knew Lyle would take it. "You can call my boss if you want."

"No." Lyle shook his head sharply. "If you say you are I believe you, although ... Maybe sometime in the past you worked for a detective agency?"

"Nope. I had an uncle who did. I probably picked up some ideas on what to do from listening to him tell stories about it."

"Okay, that makes sense."

Before Lyle could probe anymore, or get back to who was interested in him, Damien said, "I hate to spoil the party but unlike you, I have to work tomorrow. The boss wouldn't be too happy if I fell asleep on the job."

Laughing, Lyle agreed he probably wouldn't. He put their cups in the sink and then walked with Damien to the door.

"You be careful," Damien said. "I know you don't think you need to worry during the day, but still, keep your eyes open and if you feel threatened at all, head to the nearest group of people. You don't have to tell them what's going on but being with others should keep your stalker from doing anything."

"Got it. I promise I'll be hyper aware."

"Good. Okay, I'll check in when I get home tomorrow night."

"I'll be here." Lyle's expression was rueful.

"If you're not, I'm sending out the bloodhounds," Damien teased.

"Yuck. Slobber." Lyle gave a mock shudder of distaste.

Laughing, Damien said "Goodnight," and returned to his apartment.