Free The Road to Redemption by Nicky Charles

you. You’re honest.”
    “I do my
best.” For some reason he was pleased to have made her smile
again.
    A chuckle
escaped her before her expression sobered. “Truthfully, this
conversation can’t be shared. It might give Sinclair an advantage;
being the weasel that he is, who knows how he could twist things
around to his advantage?”
    “Sinclair’s a
weasel? I thought he was a wolf?” The mental image that came to
mind of Kane shifting into such a small animal had him struggling
to keep from grinning. He’d definitely have to tell his friend
about that next time they talked. Suddenly, it struck him that when
he was around Sam the need to smile kept popping up. It had been
years since he’d felt that sense of levity, three years to be
exact. Ever since Beth… The memory of his dead mate wiped the joy
from his heart. He had no right to be happy while she was dead. A
cold empty feeling washed over him again and he focused an icy
stare on Sam.
    “You know what
I mean.” Sam scowled. “If I find out you’ve leaked the information,
your employment will be terminated, you won’t get paid and I’ll
beat the crap out of you.”
    “Seems
reasonable.” He carefully evaded answering the question. Lies were
all part of the job, however, he avoided them as much as possible.
You never knew when one could turn into a ticking time bomb.
    Sam began to
pace the room. “My pack is small, most members are getting on in
age. The few of us that are still able-bodied find ourselves
over-worked, our resources stretched to the limit. I have no one
suitable to fill the Beta position. That’s why we need
you…temporarily. With Sinclair nosing about, Lycan Link is sure to
get involved and a strong outward appearance is crucial.” She
paused by the punching bag. “We’ve gone through a few rough spots,
but if the outside world would leave us alone, we can get back on
our feet. All we need is time.” She punctuated the statement by
slamming her fist into the bag. It swung wildly, creaking on the
chain that suspended it.
    “Rough spots?”
Damien straightened from his spot on the wall and caught the bag,
holding it in place. He listened carefully hoping to pick up some
information that would help Kane.
    “My
grandfather wasn’t always wise when it came to finances. He made
some bad investments and now we’re…temporarily financially
embarrassed.”
    The quaint
turn of phrase seemed odd coming out of Sam’s mouth and he raised a
brow. “Bad investments…or was he a gambler?”
    Sam delivered
an unexpected roundhouse kick to the bag and Damien grunted
slightly as he absorbed the energy from the blow. He had a feeling
she wasn’t pleased with his assumption and took it as a slur
against her family. If she did, that was too bad. His job was to
gather intelligence that would aid in a takeover bid and this bit
of news just might do the trick.
    An established
pack being hard up for cash was unheard of. Lycan Link helped most
with investment strategies and pack members usually pooled
resources, the result being that a substantial nest egg accumulated
over time. Given that the Chicago pack had been in existence for
over one hundred and fifty years, it was hard to fathom how such a
loss could happen. But, apparently it had. If the Alpha had a
gambling problem, Kane could use the information to gain the upper
hand.
    “No. He didn’t
gamble. At least not in the traditional sense of the word.” Sam
compressed her mouth into a flat line then looked away, a heavy
sigh escaping her. “Many members of my pack suffer from a genetic
flaw. Infertility rates far exceed what might be expected in the
average population.” She flicked a glance at Damien. “There’s less
than a five percent chance that a mated couple will conceive and
that the pregnancy will result in a live birth.”
    Damien
blinked. To a species where family—pack—was everything, the
inability to reproduce would be devastating. A memory flashed
before him. Beth