He relaxed back in his own seat, his brows drawn as he stared out the windshield. “A couple of the teachers said you did pro bono work on some of your cases.”
A couple of the teachers talk too much.
“Is that why?” His gaze went back to hers. “How many families have you worked with and gone without payment?”
“That’s private between me and my clients and their families.”
“So, a lot of them.” He nodded, and then after a few moments of silence said, “I understand why, and it’s admirable, but you can’t do that without some kind of funding to fall back on.”
“I had that. Or I did.” This was getting into the realm of things he truly did not need to know. “Look, it’s not important. Just take me to my hotel and I’ll find someone else to work with Dex.”
“That’s not acceptable.”
Talk about bullheaded.
“Well, acceptable or not, that’s what’s going to happen.”
Aubrey strained to hear Rafe’s low, mumbled words toward the headliner of the roof, but the only one she could clearly make out was stubborn before he turned his scowling gaze on her. “Aubrey.” An unwanted shiver went over her skin. “Dex has related to you more than anyone else. Not even me.” She was well aware of this, but she couldn’t let that sway her. “Although Max did get a small laugh out of him.” The beginnings of his grin faded. “I want…”
She became lost in his sorrowful gaze and then watched in fascination as it turned to intense determination.
“No. I need to see Dex happy. To maybe be close to the child he was before what happened to his parents. I need your help for that to happen.” He reached out, and without thought she took his hand as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “Please.” This time he said it without looking like he’d sucked on a lemon. He squeezed her hand, and she knew she wasn’t going to get where she wanted to be until she helped him to understand.
“My boyfriend drained all my savings and took out several credit cards and a loan in my name.” There. Fast and painless—just like ripping off a bandage.
“Your boyfriend.” Tension rolled off him as he squeezed her hand and his voice went deadly calm. “You have a boyfriend? And one who would treat you like this?”
“Not anymore.” She took back her hand, though he momentarily resisted letting it go. “I broke up with him after… Well, after he tried to hustle money from a couple of my clients’ parents.” A low, rumbling growl startled her, but she cautiously continued. “It wasn’t too long afterward I’d realized he’d gone off with my savings, and then a couple of months after that was when I started getting calls from creditors. I had to let my apartment go and find someplace cheaper to stay.” She swallowed hard at how difficult that was to say. “So, this is why I’m working an extra job. I have to until I can get those bills paid down and my finances straightened back out.”
Rafe’s palpable anger simmered next to her with that feral look coming over his face once again. That should have frightened her, but somehow it didn’t.
“I see. And you have no idea where this ex-boyfriend is now?” The old saying "if looks could kill" would best describe Rafe’s expression as she shook her head.
“No idea,” she said with some hesitance. “The police haven’t been able to locate him either.”
“And what’s this asshole’s name?”
She gave him a guarded look. “Why?”
He didn’t answer, but from his expression it wasn’t a stretch to figure out the answer.
She frowned, saying slowly, “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to know.”
His calculating gaze held hers for several seconds before inclining his head and saying, “Okay. Let’s go.”
“Thank you,” she said, taking a deep breath and relaxing back in the comfortable leather seat.
He picked up his phone and dialed. “Max, change of plans. Meet us at the Marquee Hotel.” She couldn’t believe he’d given in. “No. I don’t know the exact address. Just GPS it in case we get separated.” She just hoped Reba survived having Max driving her. “No. We need the truck to pack up—”
“What?” She sat up straight and twisted in her seat before letting out a disbelieving snort when he held up his hand at her.
“Like I was saying, we’re packing up Aubrey’s things and bringing them to the ranch.” He disconnected the call and then put his car in reverse and backed up without looking at her. His jaw was taut and expression hard. “You can be angry with me all you want, but I cannot in good conscience let you stay in a hellhole that’s in the news at least once a week.”
“Oh,” she said, on an irritated huff as she crossed her arms and focused out the windshield. “You can bet your ass I’m angry. And hellhole or not, it’s where I’m staying.”
“Can you give me one second to try and change your mind?”
She cut her eyes to his tense profile and hated how his rational tone grated on her. But at this point, she was stuck with him anyhow, so she shrugged.
“Thank you. So, how long is it going to take you in your current state of living to pay off these debts you’ve been burdened with?”
Much too long, but she wasn’t going to tell him that.
“Aubrey?”
“A year—maybe a few months longer. That’s if I don’t eat,” she said with a short laugh as she glanced at him. Her attempt at levity probably wasn’t a good idea as his jaw tightened even more.
“If you had a free place to stay,” he said, giving her a quick look, “with regular meals, a decent wage, and limited expenses, how long then?”
She took a moment to answer, but after several seconds of calculating her expenses, she said, “Probably four months.” With four months being generous. “But that’s not an option I have right now.”
“Yes it is.” His focus remained on the road, but she had a sense he was aware of every expression crossing her face as he continued. “I have several guest quarters at the ranch. You can stay at the one closest to the main house. You can eat meals with me and Dex.”
“That’s generous of you, but I can’t.” Again, she didn’t want or need his charity, no matter how well-intentioned. “And I can’t quit The Covenant. My tips alone for two nights is—”
“As I said before, I’ll pay you more money.”
“And as I said before. No, you won’t. This isn’t your problem.”
“Well, since I now know about it, it is—whether you like it or not.”
“You’re right. I don’t like.” She reared up in her seat. “You—”
“I’m assuming you know how to use a computer.”
“Yes,” she huffed as she grimaced at his set profile. “But what does that have to do with anything?”
“You’re coming to work for me.”
She narrowed her gaze. “What do you mean?”
“The hours you aren’t working with Dex, you’ll be my assistant.”
Well that came out of nowhere. And from his continued taut profile, he was serious. But that wasn’t going to work either. “I don’t think so.”
“I have need of a personal assistant right now due to some…added responsibilities I have taken on, and I can use the extra help.”
“First of all, if you’re this highhanded now, I’d hate to see how you would be if I worked directly for you. Plus, I don’t need your charity.”
He had the gall to look offended. “I'll have you know I’m very fair to anyone who works for me. Besides, I would have hired someone anyhow. So why not you?” He frowned as he kept his eyes on the road. “And believe me, it won’t be charity. You’ll earn what you make.”
She bit her lip and stared out her window at the darkness broken only when they passed a street light. Her job at The Covenant was only temporary and she would be out searching for something new within the next three weeks—a task she’d been dreading. She had no idea where she’d find another part-time job with pay that good.
Aubrey glanced over
at Rafe’s tense profile and his white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel. Did her answer matter that much?
She couldn’t imagine why.
Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to take him up on his offer. She could still work with Dex, and with the reduction in her expenses, perhaps she could pay her debt down in four months. It would certainly make a huge difference in her level of stress.
But first…
“If I do this.” She rolled her eyes at the grin cracking his profile. “And that’s a big if. No more highhandedness. No more Me Tarzan shenanigans. And no more thinking you know what’s best for me.” She didn’t try to fool herself into thinking he would be able to keep from doing any of those things, but she could try. “Do you think I could hold you to that?”
“You can. Scout’s honor,” he said with a smiling glance over at her.
“Good.” She frowned. “So you were a Boy Scout?”
His grin broadened. “No.”
5
“Son of a bitch.”
Rafe gritted his teeth as each muscle twisted and contracted, and a series of spasms racked his body. But through it all, he kept his slightly wavering, grayed-out vision slowly filling with color trained on the State Council of Elders. The lot of them did nothing to hide their expectant expressions or the fact they found his discomfort enjoyable from their lofty perch above the arena.
Damned vultures.
At least he hadn’t given them the satisfaction of showing any sign of outward distress or weakness. If he had, they’d no doubt have sanctioned another shifter—alpha or not—to pounce while he was here at his most vulnerable.
He held back a grimace as another slice of pain hit him.
This was the bitch part of taking his alpha form—the slow process of shifting back to his human self and the crash after being hopped up on adrenaline and testosterone. He was a strong alpha, but only the strongest like the Alpha Sovereign and Alpha Prime managed the transitioned with less effort. It was why having his Beta or Guardian—or both—in attendance at these challenges kept everyone honest.
He glanced over at the two men he had chosen as his second and third—Slater Garnett and Sebastian “Bash” Ortiz—as he heaved in a great gulp of coppery air. Good. They had moved closer and flanked his position.
Rafe bent and rested his retracting bloody, elongated fingers and claws on his thighs, and panted through another contraction as he spat more of the blood that had filled his mouth during the final kill. His gaze landed on the mangled, naked body of Logan Blackburn lying in the arena near the Elders’ observation platform. The young alpha had reverted to his human state in death but was hardly recognizable after challenging Rafe.
“Alpha Regent.”
Rafe breathed out a sigh of relief as the next pain racing through his body was more manageable and then grinned at his Beta Regent as he straightened and took the towel he offered. “Thanks, Slater.”
The jaguar shifter and former Marine kept his unusually pale green eyes trained on the dais and the Elders in attendance while saying low, “I don’t trust a single one of them.”
“Neither do I,” Rafe said, casting his own glances at the group as he wiped down his blood- and sweat-covered naked body while being careful of the wounds along his chest and torso. He frowned at the dead tiger shifter as the last twinges of his transformation subsided and he wrapped the towel around his waist. “He should have yielded.”
“Wasn’t going to happen.” Bash’s cautious gaze scanned the few spectators slowly exiting the arena as he came up to him and Slater. Then he focused on Rafe. “Kid didn’t stand a chance.” His fellow panther shifter and Guardian Regent motioned his head toward the Elders, saying, “He was taking every cue from those dried out old prunes.”
“I thought so,” Rafe said as he motioned for his men to follow him toward Blackburn, with the Elders mingling and talking amongst themselves as if they hadn’t basically handed down a death sentence moments before. Rafe clenched his fists as he got closer to the young man’s body and then wasted a glance at a few of the Elders who had bothered to stop and watch him with bored gazes. Rafe ignored them and went down on one knee and whispered, “I’m sorry this had to happen.” While in his alpha form he wasn’t always aware of the damage he inflicted, but now…
This had been a fucking unnecessary death and one that brought him no sense of satisfaction. If only his challenger had yielded when given the chance, but he’d continued to fight hard, only ceasing his onslaught of attacks when Rafe had torn out his jugular.
He placed one hand on Logan’s head and closed his eyes. “May your journey be swift and your reward great.” Long moments later, after his and his men’s reverent silence was broken only by a bark of laughter from the Elders, Rafe stood and motioned at Bash and Slater. “Let’s go.”
They had gotten almost to the tunnel entrance on the opposite side of the dirt-covered arena floor when a voice echoed across the now mostly empty cavern.
“Alpha Regent Navarro.”
Rafe paused in his steps, dropped his head, and then let out an aggravated sigh as he glanced over his shoulder. Of course. Elder Skidmore.
“We require a moment of your time,” the senior Elder called out.
“Now?” He didn’t have or want to take the time to deal with any political bullshit they might have on their agenda.
“It will only take a moment of your time,” Skidmore said while eyeing Rafe before his narrowed gaze went to the men on either side of him. “Yours and your people.”
Bash snorted, saying under his breath, “Here it comes,” as Rafe led his men to the middle of the arena but no further. He wasn’t at their beck and call and most certainly wasn’t theirs to command. He grimaced when his gaze fell on Blackburn. No one had yet claimed his body, and the Elders were in no hurry to see he was treated with some respect.
“What do you need?” Rafe demanded as he forced his gaze up to the man looking down at him—a position Rafe found unacceptable but one he couldn't do much about. “I have other business to attend to.”
Namely getting back to his ranch and checking on his mate.
Aubrey had been ensconced in one of his guest houses now for almost a week. However, with the upcoming full schedule he’d had planned for Regent business, he’d only managed to spend time with her on Sunday morning after The Covenant incident—something she had called it at least a couple of times with a cute little scowl—before he’d left later that afternoon. That meeting had only been to go over her duties in his office. It hadn’t been nearly enough time, but he’d soaked in every moment of having her with him, even if she had still been aggravated at him.
He had called her daily regarding Dex, and he hadn’t been able to mistake the smile in her voice—or the surprise—as she’d gone over his nephew’s progress. A slight grin tilted his lips at her reports. It had made him wish he could have been there to witness how well Dex was doing himself instead of dealing with the shit-show Gordon had left him. The past few days had left him to wonder if the other states in the southeast were in as bad a shape as Florida. If they were, he didn’t envy Law leading his region of the Alliance one bit.
Before this, Rafe had never been much on the political ins and outs of shifter government. That had been Javier’s arena as the local den leader. But Rafe was now fully entrenched and had spent the last four days traveling up and down the state with his two men conducting meetings in several key locations. Of course they had faced the expected resistance from Gordon supporters.
But not everyone had been contentious. A few areas had seen hope from a handful of pack and den leaders who had voiced their relief to see change coming to the state. They had also brought forward several concerns Rafe would need to address.
He glanced again at Blackburn. This was something he hadn’t anticipated—his second alpha challenge.
“I’m sure you have.”
Rafe diverted his attention back on the Elder’s words and the man’s thinly veiled scornful g
aze. He would have time to contemplate his next move with Aubrey once he got back home, but now he needed to focus on Skidmore and the other Elders who had moved up beside him.
Hmm… So, a united front.
Skidmore stared down his snarling nose at Rafe before his features morphed into a self-satisfied smile. “We won’t play games here and pretend we were not disappointed when the Alpha Prime made the decision to go over our heads and replace Alpha Regent Gordon. We worked quite well with him.”
“I’m sure they did,” Slater muttered low with a slight growl.
“But what’s done is done.” The Elder’s lips turned down. “However, because you have no experience with how things work, we feel like our guidance is necessary regarding certain aspects of your chain of command.”
Rafe shared an incredulous look with his men before giving a hard stare up at the platform with a raised brow. “My chain of command…”
“Yes. You see, while there is nothing we can do with having you as…” He cleared his throat and swallowed hard. “Alpha Regent.” But they were certainly going to try. He was sure of that.
“Gotta love how he almost choked on those words,” Bash interrupted his thoughts on a low chuckle as Skidmore continued.
“At least you are of pure blood.” He should have known—Purists. “But we must protest your choices of Beta and Guardian.” Several of the other Elders nodded their agreement as the lot of them grimaced and looked down on them. “They are unsuitable for the positions.”
Beside Rafe, Bash stroked his neatly trimmed black goatee and let out a decidedly contemptuous quiet laugh while from the corner of Rafe’s eye, Slater’s, clean-shaven, dark espresso features hardened. The anger radiating off his Beta was palpable as he murmured, “Are you fucking kidding me?”
Rafe didn’t acknowledge his men’s reactions but instead kept his gaze on the Elder. “And what exactly do you find so unsuitable about what is ultimately my decision?” He held up a hand when the Elder opened his mouth to respond. “But you should watch what you say. While I am, as you say inexperienced, it doesn’t change the fact I am your Alpha. And I will be treated accordingly.”
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