by Lauren Dane
Chapter Five
Several boxes of Tracy’s clothing and other goods from her house arrived the next morning at the apartment, courtesy of Nina’s quick thinking.
Nick raised an eyebrow as she looked for a place to put it all. The problem was that he had as much clothing as she did, which didn’t bode well for their present living conditions at all. Hell, he had no idea where Gabe was going to put anything at all.
“Sweetie, can’t you leave some of it in a box for now?”
“Nick, you know what? You’re an ass. This place is too small.” She turned to glare at him. Gabe was on the phone in the study and looked up but kept out of it for the time being.
“I’m an ass because you have too many clothes?”
“I have too many clothes? You’re a man, Nick, and you have more clothes than I do! You have more pairs of shoes than I do. Oh, okay that’s a lie, no one has more shoes than I do, but still, you give me a run for my money. In any case, you’re an ass because you want me to keep my clothes in boxes while yours hang up and are in drawers. Way to make me feel at home.”
She plopped on the couch.
He sighed, biting back a smile at her comments. “And what would you propose? That I put several thousand-dollar suits in a box while you hang your jeans up?”
Her eyebrow slowly rose and Gabe snorted a laugh and murmured something over the phone.
“I propose that you get some comfortable shoes on. We’re meeting the real estate agent in twenty minutes to go and look at houses. I figure for now we can rent until we figure out just what the hell is going to happen. When we want to buy, did you know that Lex is an architect? He designed the house that he and Nina and Cade live in now. It’s been in Architectural Digest, you know.”
Nick rolled his eyes. “Of course. Can’t just be the big bad Enforcer, he has to be some fucking fabulous architect too. Is there anything Lex can’t do?”
Tracy laughed. “Well, that took your mind right off me setting up a date to go look at houses to rent. I’ll have to keep that in mind for the future.” She got up and shoved him in a chair and scrambled atop his lap. “As for what Lex can’t do? Why, my darling sweet wolf, he can’t be you. And that’s everything.”
Nick looked up at her, into that face with those big green eyes and those freckles and fell for the thousandth time in the thousandth way. “You’re really good, you know that?”
“I have to be to keep you.” She rolled her hips, grinding herself over him, and he grabbed her, holding her to him as he arched into her.
She brushed her lips over his and he breathed her in, letting her presence calm and soothe him.
“Let’s go in the bedroom,” he murmured, kissing her chin.
“Can’t. We have to leave soon.” Her hands in his hair, she pulled him up so that their lips were touching again. “But I definitely want a rain check.”
“Can’t you call her? Put it back a few hours?”
“Nope.” She stood and straightened her clothes. “It is my plan to have a place by the end of today if it kills you and Gabe. I want my dog here, I want my own closet. I want a place that doesn’t have echoes of your past conquests.”
He winced and Gabe walked up behind her and encircled her waist with his arms. “Hi, sweetness. You giving Nick a hard time?”
“I am not!” she said with mock indignation. “It’s time to go.”
Once they all got downstairs to the garage, they piled into Gabe’s rental because Nick’s Porsche was too small for the three of them.
“And where am I going?” Nick asked Tracy with a smile.
“I looked through your Pack address book and called Shelley. The other guy you wanted to use was part of that whole mess last night and I don’t want any part of that. But she didn’t seem to be and I saw that she worked for a realty company and when I called and chatted with her she had a lot of great ideas. I’m sure you know where she works.”
Nick sat there looking at her. “You called Shelley? You know that she and I...that we...”
“Oh, stop stuttering.” Tracy waved her hand. “It’s fine. I know what she was to you and I know what I am to you. Even better, she knows it too. So let’s get moving. I want to find a place to live and I want to do it today.”
Gabe knew better than to even suggest that it might take some time to find a place. She’d proven to him that she could pretty much move mountains by sheer will and so he just sat back and handled some Pack business on his cell phone on the way.
Once there, each male took one of her arms and they garnered a few curious looks as they went into the office. Shelley stood near the reception desk speaking with someone when she saw them come in.
“Hi!” She approached with a smile, and ignoring Gabe and Nick, kissed Tracy’s cheek. “You look great. Let’s go back to my office and I’ll show you a few places I think would be good for you all.” Looking up briefly at Nick and Gabe, she motioned her head toward her doorway and they followed.
Once inside, Tracy sat next to Shelley and they discussed the listings on rentals in the area, the various amenities and drawbacks to each one. In the end, they found four to go look at and rejected a few.
Tracy rode with Shelley in her car while the men, Nick finally giving up the argument, followed in their car.
“It drives him crazy to imagine what I might be telling you,” Shelley said with a laugh as they drove.
Tracy laughed. “I know anyway. Why wouldn’t he have slept with you? You’re gorgeous and he’s hot. It seems a natural thing. But you certainly seem to be fine with it so what’s the problem?”
The redhead looked at her from the corner of her eye. “Well, yes. I’m just amazed you think so. I mean, after what went down last night I’m surprised you’re even speaking to any of us. I can’t believe it all happened the way it did. God, you must think we’re all a bunch of savages.”
“I think there’s something going on that I don’t understand but I don’t blame all Pacific for it. Do you have any ideas?” Tracy asked casually, wondering what Shelley would say, if anything at all.
“Well, if you’re asking me, I’d have to say I think Sarah is behind it. She and Jo are bosom buddies, you know, and Jo is dumb as a rock. Way too stupid to have thought that little scene up on her own. And that stuff on the porch? Well, I don’t know the whole story but it sounded like Sarah was in the wrong somehow and you took her to task for it. And good for you.”
Tracy briefly outlined the situation with the phone call and Shelley was scandalized. “You have to be kidding me! I’d have killed the bitch!”
Tracy laughed. “I seriously wanted to for a while but Nick wanted so much for things to be all right that I let it go. I mean, I knew part of her apology was for Nick’s benefit but I didn’t know all of it was! I just have a hard time believing last night was about her wanting Nick to herself. I mean, she’s risking tearing the Pack apart with this. She has to know that Nick is my mate. She doesn’t stand a chance.”
Shelley shook her head as they pulled into the driveway of the first house. “I don’t know, Tracy. It all seems very suspicious to me. But there’ve been some...” She stopped speaking as Nick came to the door to open it for Tracy.
“Tell me later if you don’t feel comfortable saying it in front of Nick,” she murmured and let him open her door.
By the third house, Shelley had told Tracy that she’d gone out with the wolf who’d handled the basic accounting for the Pack and he’d quit and gone tight-lipped. In the end, he’d actually left the Pack. Shelley had thought it odd at the time but figured he’d felt like there was no real room for him in the Pack hierarchy and that’s why he’d left. She hadn’t thought of it again until she’d started thinking about how odd Ben and Sarah had been acting and when it’d all started up.
“Is it okay if I talk to N
ick about this? I think he should know. I promise you he won’t be upset with you.”
“Okay. I don’t know much more than that. Like I said, I’d forgotten it entirely until last night.”
When they pulled up the long driveway leading to the last house, Tracy sat stunned. They drove up a hill and when they reached the top, there sat a Spanish Colonial, complete with a courtyard, fountain and gardens.
“Oh my goodness, who’d have expected this?” There was a lovely circular drive and lots of room at the sides of the house. It was not very common to see that style of architecture in the Northwest and Tracy instantly fell in love with the circular arches and the pretty greenery.
She was out the door before Gabe or Nick could get there, staring, openmouthed, at the house.
“This place just opened up yesterday. The same family that had it built ten years ago has moved to London. They’re good friends of mine but they don’t know if it’ll be for a year or permanent just yet. They are very nice people. The rent isn’t too high for a place this big.” The details Shelley was giving floated around Tracy as they walked into the open front hallway. The tile was a warm red glaze with pretty blue, cream and yellow accents inset here and there. The ceilings were high and big windows lined the first floor, flooding the house with light.
There were five bedrooms and huge closets. The kitchen was a dream with a huge island and a giant fridge and freezer. A cook’s fantasy. It looked out over a very large fenced yard with a pretty view. No immediate neighbors to either side.
“I’d ask what you think but, baby, you have no poker face at all.” Nick grinned at her. “What do you think, Gabe?”
“It’s beautiful and clearly Tracy loves it. When can we move in?”
“I just need to run a credit report and get a deposit and the first and last month’s rent and you can have the keys.”
“Milton is going to love the yard. Dogs are okay, right?”
“I’m sure if it was a stranger, no. But I know Nick and I know he’ll take care of the house and I can vouch for you with them.”
“Let’s do it. Can you handle selling my apartment?” Nick put his arm around Tracy, unable to not touch her.
“Hell yes! I’ll buy the damned thing, I’ve wanted that place for two years now. No offense, Tracy, but I think most of his appeal, other than the face, was that apartment.”
Caught by surprise, Tracy laughed. “Well, you can have the apartment, I’ll keep the face.”
Shelley grabbed her hand and squeezed. “You’ve got a deal.”
They all drove back to the office, filled out paperwork, wrote a check and got the keys. Tracy hugged Shelley on the way out. “Thanks for everything. And thanks for telling me all that stuff. I appreciate it. I don’t know anyone down here and it’s nice feeling like I may have a friend.”
Shelley smiled. “You do have a friend. Truly. I’d love to grab a drink or lunch with you soon, get to know you better. Call me if you need anything else and I’ll keep my eyes and ears open.”
“Thanks.”
Grinning, she rode back to the apartment with Gabe and Nick.
“Okay, I admit it, the house is gorgeous. Good choice, baby.” Nick grinned at her, taking her hand and kissing her palm until shivers ran from the heat of his mouth straight to her pussy.
“Well, my. Yes. I’m glad you like it. And it’s got space for all of us and a yard for Milton. He will love that fountain and oh, the indoor pool and weight room will come in handy, won’t they?”
Gabe laughed. “I like seeing you this way. In fact, I think I’m going to do my level best to keep you like this all the time.” He leaned forward and kissed her shoulder.
“Well, I’m happy. And I need to deal with my house. My grandmother is still alive but she won’t want it. I tried to get her to let me buy it when my grandfather died and left it to me but she refused. She lives in a swank condo community for hot seniors near my parents. I could sell it, but it’s been in my family since it was built.”
“What about one of your sisters? Another member of your family? Do you think one of them would want it?” Nick thought about her family he’d met at the joining.
“Well, my cousin Dave and Megan live at the house with Cade, Nina and Lex. Tegan may want it, she has loved it and she’s in an apartment right now. I’ll have to ask her. Of course, she’ll insist on paying for the damned thing because that’s how she is. She won’t take anything from anyone.”
“Tegan is Megan’s twin?”
“Yes but they couldn’t be more different. Megan is outgoing and funny but Tegan is so serious. She’s a lot like Cade. She’s a good person and someone you can always count on but she hates to count on anyone else. She had a mate, you know. They met and married when she was twenty and he was nineteen. Oh man, were they ever in love! But he was killed in Afghanistan several years ago. And her Anchor was already mated to someone so it wasn’t as if she could have pursued anything with him anyway. She’s been so aloof ever since.” One had the option of pursuing a relationship with her Anchor, as a bond had been established on some level. But if the Anchor was mated, the female would be alone.
Nick’s stomach cramped at the thought of losing her. The emptiness one must feel after the death of a mate! It terrified him. He met Gabe’s eyes in the rearview mirror and knew Gabe had been thinking the same thing. An unspoken bond formed between them to keep her safe at all costs.
“I’m sorry, baby. I can’t imagine how painful that must have been for her.”
“Yeah, she doesn’t talk about it much. She and Layla, my other sister, are closest, and even Lay has felt shut out sometimes. Anyway, I should go up there and deal with all this myself. Deal with the store, the house, bring back my car and my furniture and Milty.”
“Not by yourself you won’t,” Gabe growled from the backseat. “Nick, myself or both of us will accompany you. We don’t know what is going on with Sarah and Ben and until we do, I plan to keep an extra close watch on you.”
That chafed but she understood it. “Don’t you have to go to Boston too?”
“Boston can wait a few days. There’s trouble brewing, but if this isn’t resolved when I need to get back you’ll come with me. I don’t want you here with all this insanity.”
They pulled into the parking garage and went into the elevator, where both men pressed against her. “When you do that, I can’t think straight.” She sighed as Nick slid his lips down her neck.
“Good.” His hands moved up her torso as Gabe ground himself into her ass, his hands moving inside her sweater and cupping her breasts.
The elevator came to a stop and they all groaned and spilled out into the hall, adjusting clothing and rushing to the apartment.
Being pushed back to the carpet with Nick over her, she put her hand out to stop him and turned his head by his chin, showing him the phone. “Thirty-two messages. You’d better see what it is. Could be an emergency, god knows it’s been that kind of week.”
He sighed and sat up with a growl. Gabe helped her up and pushed her against the wall. “While he’s busy, I’ll just keep you occupied.”
But they were both listening to the calls and stopped to go over to the couch, where Nick was watching the machine wearily.
There were several messages from his father, a few from Ben, more from Sarah and various others from different members of the Pack, both for and against him. Tracy put her hand against his cheek.
“My father wants to work things out within the family and show a united front to the rest of the Pack. Josh wants me to challenge Ben. Ben wants to try and work it out, Sarah wants me to apologize to Ben. And a whole lot of ‘what are you thinking’ and ‘kick his ass and protect your mate.’ I don’t know what to think.”
“I forgot to tell you a few things Shelley told me. She seemed to think there may be some
suspicious reason behind the wolf who was your accountant’s leaving the Pack. Have there been any financial irregularities that you know of?”
“Well, there should have been a fairly large bit of cash moving through after the lumber sales. First we did the sale of the raw lumber and then we sold the land and the mill. The mill was worked by our wolves and wasn’t profitable and hadn’t been for years. Most of the families have moved here to Portland or out to the coast where we have a resort the Pack owns. And then we moved the capital into other projects and some into basic stuff like the health insurance for the Pack and the pension program. Our accountant did get a bit squirrelly at the end but I just chalked it up to not having a lot of single women. He told me he was leaving for a Pack with more females in it.”
“I don’t know. But I think you should look into it.”
“You can’t seriously think that my brother is stealing from his own Pack?” Nick pushed up off the couch and began to pace.
“I said I didn’t know and I don’t. I didn’t say anything about Ben anyway. But it seems a big coincidence and coincidences are suspicious. Have you had money problems and then it got better, a lot better, with the sale?” Tracy was stung but tried to remember how hard it must be for him.
“And lay off her, Nick. It’s not her fault for telling you the truth and it sure as hell isn’t her fault that your brother and his mate are up to something.” Gabe wasn’t so understanding, Tracy was his to protect too.
“You think I like this? Being hurt that my mate is accusing my brother of something?”
“You think I like coming into your family and being attacked and maligned? Having the female you’re anchored to say all that stuff to try and put a wedge between us? You think I wanted my mate’s Pack to hate me for some unknown reason? You think I want this to be happening to you and hurting you, Nick? Is that what you think?”
He turned and sank to his knees, putting his head on her lap. “I’m sorry. I know you aren’t trying to hurt me. I’m sorry my family is acting this way. I don’t understand it.”
