Free Grayslake: More than Mated: The Right Spot (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Bianca D'Arc Page A

their eyebrows at seeing her there, so cozy with the new cat in town, but they didn’t say anything out loud. They both seemed to respect Mario and the Itan gave her a little nod when he realized she’d stayed the night.
    Mario was clearly in his element. He gave a sitrep that would make any Green Beret proud, she was sure. And he didn’t leave room for any sort of comment from the Itan or Enforcer about the company he kept. He seemed to simply take it for granted that she was with him now, and the two bears better get used to it. She felt the dominance rippling off him in a way that made her want to purr.
    Purr? She was a bear. She didn’t purr. But she’d do it for Mario. Hell, she’d do just about anything for Mario, as he’d discovered last night.
    After the first round of coffee had been consumed, Ty had asked Van to take care of the two miscreants, and Van had excused himself to go next door and load the men into his patrol vehicle, transporting them down to the station. The Itan stayed behind to talk with Mario and Patty.
    “So you think your pal Escobar will take care of this problem for us?” Ty said after hearing the bare bones of Mario’s solution. “What makes you so sure we can trust him?”
    Patty drew some hope from Ty’s casual use of we in his question. He was including himself in the situation, indicating that he was willing to listen. That was more than most Itans would have given misbehaving bears in their clan, and Patty knew it. She and her family were damn lucky to be part of the Ty’s clan. They wouldn’t have fared so well in other places with other Itans.
    “What I’m about to say has to stay between us,” Mario said, drawing Patty’s full attention with his serious tone. “Escobar may have dubious morals when it comes to his choice of business enterprises, but he’s…special. He’s like us. At least partly. He can’t shift, but he’s got shifter blood.”
    Ty whistled through his teeth, clearly surprised. “Be that as it may, there’s got to be more than that if we’re going to trust him with this.”
    “There is. Trust me, Itan, there is. He and I have a history, and like I said, I don’t always agree with how he chooses to make his money, but he’s definitely got a moral code. It’s probably not the same one you or I go by, but it’s not that far off either.”
    “All I have is your word on that,” Ty reminded them.
    Mario put his hands flat on the table, sitting back in his chair. “That’s true, but look at it this way. Escobar has no interest in Maryann, but he would like to take out Lopez. Lopez wants Maryann and Greg dead. In this case, the enemy of our enemy could be a very helpful friend.”
    Ty seemed to bristle a bit as he thought over Mario’s words. His eyes took on the black hue of his bear for a short moment before he sighed and sat back, relaxing marginally.
    “All right. Top priority now is keeping Maryann safe. Personally, I don’t care if someone takes out Greg, but he’s still one of my bears. If anyone is going to demand justice of him, it’ll be done according to clan law.”
    Patty swallowed the growl that wanted to issue from her throat. Ty was one of the few bears she would follow through fire, if need be. Her bear respected the Itan’s dominance and trusted that he’d do right by Maryann and punish Greg accordingly.
    “As you wish, Itan,” Mario replied with all the respect due an Itan in his home territory.
    Ty stood and headed for the door. “Make whatever arrangements you need to. Just let Van know when it’s time to let those two jackasses go. The rest is up to you. It’s better if the Grayslake police department isn’t seen to have any official role in this after we release the perps.”
    “Understood,” Mario rose and walked Ty out. They paused in front of the front door and shook hands. “I’ll let your Enforcer know when it’s done. If all goes well, you’ll never have to deal with Lopez, or his like,