The Wife's Resolve

Chapter 15: Possible Threat

Nicoli walks into Damon's office. "Boss, we may have a Situation?"

Damons closes his laptop and stands up, "You keep bringing me problems, Nicoli, but what I need now is solutions."

"I know, Alpha, and I am sorry about that, but you need to see this." Nicoli clicks a button on his tablet, and the screen fills with the image of Paxton and Valerie having coffee when Donivan approaches and sits at the table."

Damon watches his face morph into one of rage. The clip is almost ten minutes long before Donivan excuses himself and leaves. Valerie gave him something. She slumped back in her chair, looking partly defeated, he thought, but Paxton reached across the table, patting her hand in a comforting manner. His mind races with thoughts, none of them good. "Get me Donivan!" he orders.

"Is that wise?" Nicoli interjects, "They don't know we know."

"Valerie is not stupid, Nicoli; she knows she is followed. She knows Natali answers to me. If she wanted this meeting to be secret, she would have done it in her office. This is her way of discreetly letting me know that Paxton and Donivan are working together on something."

"To what end," Nicoli asked, "why not just tell you herself, why stage this?"

"My wife is still a lawyer at heart," he laughed. Looking at the tablet, he rewinded it, "See how they are sitting. Valerie purposely chose the seating, knowing that if Dnoivan sat where she did, I would not be able to identify him as easily. She wanted me to know exactly who they were meeting."

"Deniability," Nicoli laughs, finally putting together what Damon was insinuating.

"Exactly, now I want Donivan in here. I want to know what she gave him."

"Paxton has always been separate from the business," Nicoli reasons, "why make this step?"

"No one in our family is completely separated from the business," Damon points out, "You of all people should know that by now. There is only one logical conclusion to draw from this," Damon asserted.

"It has to do with Penelope's death," Nicoli realized, "Do you think he would make a move against the family?"

"I think if the family made a move against my wife and his sister, if he discovers that. How can he not? He thinks himself above the family by not being involved, but it is funny how little a catalyst is required to pull you back in."

"Should we watch him?" Nicoli asked.

"Right now, I would say Valerie, Natali, and Donivan are all on that," he mused with a smile.

"I'll call Donivan in," Nicoli stated and started to leave the room,

Before he could answer, Damon thought twice, "On second thought, call him into the warehouse tonight."

"Boss," Nicoli questioned.

"This situation needs to be handled delicately. Tell him to meet Darius and me at the warehouse this evening."

"Do you want me to come along?"

"No," we've got this," he said, then walked back to his desk.

Later that evening, Damon and Davius arrive at the warehouse. They head to the back office where Donivan works. The building is empty, and a single light shines to show he is in. A voice breaks through the darkness, " Welcome, Alpha, figured I would warrant a visit from you tonight."

"Well, if you are going to take meetings with my Luna in secret, you can bet on it. Let's just skip over the pleasantries, shall we?"

Donivan laughed, "Always so sure of yourself, aren't you?"

"I am sure to notice that actions are happening inside the family that need dealing with, and Donivan, which side are you on?"

"My own," he said sharply. "We both know no one is ever on my side."

"Donivan, this is not the time to play games or hide behind past grievance which have nothing to do with me. I already took out the problem years ago. Now, where do you stand?" he raised his voice.

Donivan stood up and pushed back his chair, "Don't come into my office and go all Alpha on me. I am loyal to the family even though the family has never been loyal to me."

Damon yelled back just as loud, "The family was not loyal to me either in youth; the difference is I overcame. I fought back. I have control now."

Donivan laughed, "You have control because you killed our grandfather and took the reins."

"I did what I had to do to avenge my parents," He fought back, "and need I remind you the conditions you and your mother lived in before I did."

"You think I should thank you?" Donivan hollered.

"I think you should remember, I, not the family that had your back. I, not the family that took you in. I, not the family that gave you your name, which you always deserved." He yelled but reigned in his own emotions as he boldly listed why Donivan should be loyal.

"A name that ties me to him forever." He sneered.

"A name that we determine how it will be remembered, so I ask you again, are you with me?"

Donivan shook his head, "If you really believed I was with you, why did you come here?"

"A confirmation would be nice," Damon sighed, "moves are being taken, someone in the family is stirring up trouble either on their own or in conjunction with others."

"And you are here at midnight to see if Paxton is that trigger?" he laughed.

"I don't believe Paxton is responsible for the shipments or the car crash," Damon concluded. "I do worry that he is acting recklessly now and will do something I can't ignore."

"You don't trust him," Donivan laughed, "big shock, he hangs around your wife."

"They work together," Damon defended.

"Sure, like you and that," he paused, "who was that secretary of yours, your wife forced you to fire? What was her name again?" he laughed. "Elena. That's right." Donivan could see the tension building in the room, "Funny coincidence, is it not, that Elena's last name is Iris and the car that Valerie asked me to help find belongs to an Evelyn Iris. I just bet there is a connection there."

"Nicoli is already looking into the car," Damon claimed.

"Sure, but I bet he has not found it," Donivan

"And you have?" Damon looked surprised. Nicoli had been looking into this car all week.

"Let's just say, Nicoli, does not have my skill set," he laughed, "or the benefit of knowing the owner."

"You know who Evelyn Iris is?" Damon wondered how.

"Not the right question, Damon, I know who Evelyn Iris was, and because I knew who she was, I knew where to look for the car."

"What do you mean by was?" Damon asked.

"Back when grandfather had his ring of women, there was one young girl named Evelyn."

"Is she related to Elena?" Damon asked.

"That I can't tell you yet, but what I can tell you is she was a favorite of Devyn before his marriage and became quite close with Drea."

"Why have I never heard of her?" Damon questioned him further.

"One of Grandfather's better-kept secrets. Rumor from Drea is that Devyn was going to run away with her, and her grandfather made sure that didn't happen."

"So he killed her," Damon concluded.

"Well, the official cause of death was a suicide."

Davius, for the first time in the night, spoke," If she is dead, where is the lead Donivan. I feel like all we accomplished tonight was a trip down memory lane, which no one wanted."

Donivan burst out laughing, "She is not alive, but cars do not die when their owners do."

"How many years ago did she die?" Damon asked weirdly.

"About ten years ago. Just after her 17th birthday. Why?" Donivan answered.

"If she has been dead for ten years, who has been registering this car?"

"Now that is the right question," Donivan concluded, "who indeed?"

"Where is the car?" Davius jumped in, "You said you knew where it was."

"The registration places it at the home of Drea Dare."