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handled.”
    It wasn’t out of the norm for Rome to consider their opinions, that’s just the type of leader he was. He knew that keeping the Shadows safe and protecting the humans at the same time was a team effort and he’d acquired one hell of a team to see that through. Bas only hated that Rome’s use of the word “handled” had succeeded in stroking a serious protective instinct in him that he knew the others would never understand.
    Once again deciding that now was definitely not the place to let his personal feelings interfere, Bas spoke on what he knew from a strategic standpoint. “For now, I think the best plan of attack is no attack at all. Nobody’s going to believe her ramblings, she’ll discredit herself by even putting them in print. She has absolutely no evidence and I doubt the Post would be willing to take on the liability for printing anything about Rome without solid proof to back them up. They don’t want the Lethal Litigator suing their asses,” he ended, trying for a lighter mood.
    Bas continued to look down the table at Rome, who readily acknowledged his reputation as a ruthless litigator in D.C., with a nod.
    “The rogues should remain the priority,” Bas added with finality.
    Rome was quiet for a few moments, obviously contemplating what their next move would be. His mind would no doubt be on the issues that were now permeating the very fabric of the democracy he was trying to build for the shifters. His actions from this point forward would undoubtedly set the stage for how they would proceed, how their lives would go on in this world of humans who had no clue what they were.
    “We’ll keep her in our peripheral for the time being.” Rome spoke decisively. “Right now, I want all of you to head back to your zones. Nick received a report this morning about a shipment possibly coming into Arizona tonight.”
    “Coming in from Mexico?” Bas asked immediately. The last shipment they’d intercepted in his zone had given them Felipe Hernandez, a former lieutenant in the Cortez Cartel. The man was still being held in the lower bunkers of Bas’s resort where they’d locked him up after X had come to Sedona to question him.
    “It’s not Cortez,” X offered, shaking his head. “No way they’re going to send in another shipment after we captured the last one and their lieutenant at the same time. Not this soon.”
    “Whoever it is, there are two boats expected to dock at midnight mountain time,” Nick reported.
    “Where’d you get this intel?” Bas asked.
    All eyes fell on Nick. “It was an anonymous e-mail sent to my work e-mail address. I didn’t have a chance to give X a heads-up so he could do his computer mojo and find out where it originated from before coming into this little get-together. But we’ll get on that trace right away.”
    “In the meantime, you need to head back to Sedona and get some guards down to that location,” Rome told Bas.
    He nodded. Understanding immediately what his priority was. The shifters were his life, right alongside his business. That was all he had in the world and, truth be told, all Bas wanted. This mating and joining crap wasn’t for him. And having his mind messed with by a human female definitely wasn’t in his repertoire.
    “On my way to the airport now,” he told Rome. “You cornballs coming with?” he asked Jace and Cole. The three often traveled together when it was time to meet with Rome and while all of the FLs kept in close contact, they seemed to have an even tighter bond since they’d always known Rome was destined for greater leadership than being a Faction Leader.
    Cole hated Bas’s laid-back ways with women and everything else, most likely because of his parents’ bitter and very public divorce. Jace, on the other hand, took everything in stride as most L.A. transplants did. Life to him was lying out on the beach, tanning, and hunting—for new talent as his human job was as a high-profile Hollywood agent. Bas