Free Beneath the Skin: de La Vega Cats, Book 3 by Lauren Dane Page B

business. But we’d like to know what the issue is.”
    Bob sighed. “No one seems to want to say anything. Bertram and these cats have been with this jamboree for years. He’s skipped, we don’t know exactly where. His wife and their son are gone as well.”
    “What about the human?” Gibson asked.
    “Human?”
    “They brought a human lawyer with them when they came into our territory. What’s his story and where is he?” Gibson had been looking for him since that first day, but he’d come up empty. The name he’d used appeared to be fake.
    “I don’t know. I…we have an attorney but it’s a she and she’s a cat. Why would we send a human attorney to deal with jamboree business?”
    “This was our question. And I suppose now it’s more along the lines of what prompted this mess.”
    “We have a new Bringer as well. I’ll get him your info and have him look around and get back to you, Gibson. We sincerely apologize for what has happened in our name and ask that you not judge us along with Bertram and these other cats.”
    They’d be within their rights to call for war. Or to bankrupt Smithville. And depending on what they found out, it was still an option. But Max and Gibson, along with the other leadership, didn’t feel like it was time for that yet. Not until they found out what was really going on.
    “We accept your appeasement. For now. But we want to know what the fuck is going on.”
    “We understand and appreciate your patience. I’ll keep you apprised. Understand things are up in the air here. The jamboree is…well we’re all shocked. But this was not done on behalf of the jamboree. This was the crazed act of several individuals. We’re trying to get to the bottom of it.”
    They spoke for a while longer before hanging up. Max turned his attention to Gibson. “So?”
    “No use punishing all the cats in the jamboree if they had nothing to do with it.”
    Galen spoke up. “I’ve put our best investigator on this full time. He’s got a team working. They’re pulling together dossiers on all the cats we had here on the day of the shooting as well as on Pepper and the female he was with.”
    “Good. I want us working on this. I understand they need answers down there, but I don’t give a fuck about that. My Bringer was shot with silver. For Weres to use silver on one another is an error we cannot allow to stand. And I’m sure as hell not going to stand idly by while my cats are being attacked in their businesses. I want answers, Galen. And I want them as soon as possible. The longer this goes on, the more tempted people might be to want to forget about it. That’s not going to happen.”
    Gibson nodded. “The fact is, Smithville is a tiny, not very well managed jamboree. We can’t expect them to have answers as quickly as we might. We have the structure and training in place for it. They don’t. I’m not saying we don’t need that information. At this point, I’m just not sure we’re going to get it without a trip down there to do what they should know how to already.”
    Galen, who like Gibson was Max’s second, stood. “All true. I’m working on my end. I’ll see you both this evening at the gathering?”
    Imogene had convinced Kendra it was necessary to have a dinner to honor Mia and her service to the jamboree. He’d tried to stay out of it, especially after the sex, but his mother had gone around him anyway, and whatever she’d said had convinced Mia to accept the invitation. She and her family were all invited, though he had no idea if the whole Porter clan would attend or if it would be just Mia. But he’d be at Mia’s doorstep that evening. It was to protect her, of course. She’d saved him after all.
    Gibson nodded. “I’ll be there.”
    Max snorted. “Yes. Kendra and our mother have been working on the details. I’m just glad it’s finally here so it can be over and I don’t have to hear about it every day. And I admit to wanting to see this Mia Porter