Scandalous Shifters Paranormal Box Set

by Mia Taylor

  The lessons sometimes took a lot out of her and she wished his mother had done a better job of educating her son. But Victoria knew it wasn’t Lenora’s fault either. The times had been much different for her.

  It was up to Victoria to rectify the wrong way her husband and other Republicans looked at women. It had taken hard facts and sometimes undercover work to show her husband the light, but in the end, Ryker had become as much as a women’s advocate as Victoria herself.

  Or as close as he’s going to get anyway, Victoria mused.

  “We’re in the twenty-first century, for Christ’s sake!” Ryker yelled one day when congress proposed a bill justifying even lower wages for women in the workplace.

  “It seems like we’re going backward, doesn’t it?” she had replied flippantly but Ryker had a spark in his eye that she’d never seen before.

  “I should run for Senate.”

  “Sure, darling,” Victoria had agreed. “You would make a wonderful senator.”

  “I would, huh?”

  Victoria nodded, her eyes still trained on the sketches she had been sent to approve. Her mind was only half on the conversation with her husband as she eyed the artwork critically.

  “I need you to put your work on hold for a while and help me,” Ryker said. That caught her attention squarely. She glanced up at him, her mouth pursing into a fine line of anger.

  “I thought we had already had this conversation,” she replied, tightly. “Many years ago.”

  “Just hear me out,” Ryker said slowly, his eyes lighting up as he began to formulate a plan in his mind. Victoria put the pages down and regarded him, checking her temper.

  Then again, maybe I’ve taught him absolutely nothing.

  “What if we can bring the parties closer,” he continued. “We both know that it’s the severe right who is proposing these ridiculous bills. What if we can infiltrate them and undo their crazy from the inside out?”

  Victoria eyed him warily.

  “I’m not following you, Ryker,” she answered cautiously. “What are you proposing?”

  “What if I run for senator, marketing myself as a member of the alt-right…”

  His grin broadened and Victoria shook her head, not understanding.

  “And?”

  “Once in office, do precisely the opposite of everything I claim in my campaign.”

  Victoria snorted at the idea. He wouldn’t be the first politician to lie through his teeth to get elected, but to go completely against his own party’s views? That was something else.

  “So you’re going to become a Republican senator with a Liberal heart?” Victoria laughed.

  “Of course not!” Ryker retorted. “You know the old adage: if you’re a Republican under the age of thirty, you have no heart. If you’re a Liberal after the age of thirty, you have no brain. I will always be a Republican, darling. That doesn’t mean I must agree with every single one of their policies. For all I know, there are others who think exactly as I do. This is a sure-fire way to find out.”

  “Doing this will make you a liar,” Victoria warned him. Ryker smiled a large, genuine smile.

  “It will make me a true politician, then.”

  Now, as Victoria gnawed on the insides of her cheeks, she considered her husband’s question seriously. Indeed, what could he do? They were two weeks from the election. He had presented himself to appeal to the most rigid of the right. He couldn’t very well do an about-face now, not with the donations pouring in from every old-money businessman on the East Coast.

  “Nothing. You’re right,” she finally said, turning back to the dinner preparation. “There is nothing you can do now. We will simply have to exercise more caution until the Secret Service is here to protect us.”

  “Tor?”

  “Yes, darling?”

  “Everything is going to be okay. Just hang in there.”

  Victoria forced another smile onto her face and nodded.

  Chapter Five

  It All Falls Down

  It was impossible to hear above the noise in the room. Confetti splayed throughout, the colorful pieces of paper adorning the people and furniture alike.

  Victoria ground her teeth together, trying to keep the smile from faltering, but as the volume increased, her nerves wore thinner. The desire to shed her mortal skin and shift was almost overwhelming under all the bright lights and tension.

  “…and of course, I would have never been able to do this if not for the endless support of my loving wife, Victoria. Darling, come up here!” Ryker was almost screaming from the spot in front of the conference room but Victoria heard his words clearly.

  So, he did it. He won. Now we can end this charade and continue with our lives as if the past year never happened.

  She made her way through the festivities, nodding and accepting handshakes from the supporters. Her mouth was beginning to ache with all the fakeness of her smile.

  Ryker kept his dark blue eyes trained on his wife.

  See? he seemed to say with his look. You just needed to be patient. We won!

  Victoria joined him at the head of the room, stepping onto a chair beside him, carefully aware of her four-inch heels teetering on the hard rubber. Ryker grasped her hand and turned back to the gathering of contributors in the room.

  “For those of you who don’t have the pleasure of knowing my beautiful better half personally, Victoria is my rock, my raison d’etre, and I know I would not be standing here right now if not for her endless patience with me. She had endured more than any woman should have to between the insane hours, mad rantings and hey, let’s face it, the company I keep!”

  A roar of laughter followed Ryker’s final words as he stared meaningfully at the crowd, one eyebrow raised in jesting accusation.

  Victoria nodded humbly, looking about. Her eyes rested upon Samuel Crowe, who stood almost directly below her as if he were Ryker’s faithful Doberman.

  Victoria had the sudden urge to press her thighs together, given Samuel’s angle. He’d always struck her as the type who would look up her skirt if given the opportunity.

  Her husband’s partner wore the same expression as she, a feigned appreciation which did not meet his eyes, but as she looked further into his gaze, she recognized a certain bemusement there. It made her slightly uncomfortable, but before she could glare at him, it was gone under Victoria’s scrutiny.

  Sam offered her what he considered to be a warm smile but it chilled her. She had no illusions about her husband’s former father-in-law. He had not acquired his fortune with good graces and kindness, she knew.

  She shifted her luminous grey eyes toward the back where Lenora was sipping on a glass of champagne. Victoria nudged Ryker, who was in the middle of his speech. He continued to speak but squeezed her hand to indicate he was listening.

  “Thank your mom,” she murmured quietly and Ryker nodded almost imperceivably. Without taking a pause, Ryker finished his glowing praise of Victoria and seamlessly moved on to expressing his gratitude toward his mother.

  “And of course,” he yelled to be heard over the din, “none of us would be standing here right now if not for my mother, Lenora. Most of you would be drowning your sorrows next door at Lucky’s Pub because Eddie Monroe won.”

  Another swell of laughter erupted through and Lenora provided the people with a weak smile. Victoria could see that her mother-in-law was feeling ill at ease among the Wall Street moguls.

  I feel your pain, Lenore.

  “I would ask her to come up and join us,” Ryker was saying. “But I have a feeling she will run directly out that exit if I make such a suggestion.”

  Lenora nodded in agreement from where she stood, quickly taking another sip of her drink as if to wash away her nervousness.

  “I just want to end my long-winded spiel by thanking you all for your endless support. I can’t wait to start my journey as New York senator. I will make sure that my term will change New York and America like nothing you have ever seen before
!”

  If possible, the din grew louder, causing Victoria to cringe visibly. She gently stepped off the chair, Riley offering his hand in assistance.

  “Thank you, Riley,” she told him in an uncharacteristic display of generosity. The young aide blinked at her words and blushed.

  “Of course, ma’am,” he mumbled, attempting to withdraw his hand, but Victoria held fast to him.

  “I haven’t always been kind to you, Riley, but I want you to know that Senator Duvall and I appreciate all the help you have provided us over the past year.”

  Riley’s face was nothing short of shocked.

  “I… uh, I—thank you, Mrs. Duvall,” he almost whispered. Lenora appeared at their side, allowing the aide to escape without having to say more.

  “Hello, dear. This is quite a shindig, isn’t it?” Lenora commented. Victoria realized that the older woman was slightly drunk. Amusement lighting her eyes, Victoria conceded her sentiments with a nod.

  “Yes, we had a good turnout,” she agreed, linking arms with Lenora. They made their way past several tables covered in campaign swag.

  I will never design in red, white, or blue again, Victoria thought to herself, cringing at the display. She never would have thought she would tire of seeing the colors of America, but she was mistaken. They seemed to haunt her into her dreams now. Victoria was certain her nightmares were in the tricolor every night.

  “So, what do you think of this rhetoric?” Lenora asked as they found a quiet corner near the entrance. “I find it hard to believe that you buy into Ryker’s barbaric ideas.”

  Victoria swallowed a smile.

  Lenora had no reason to know what they had planned, but she secretly hoped that when Ryker finally revealed his true intentions in the Senate, his mother would be proud. She had learned long ago that Lenora was an ally of women, having been somewhat repressed herself.

  “Sometimes things aren’t as they appear,” Victoria answered slowly. “Often, there are shades of grey in the most black and white areas.”

  Lenora’s irises reflected wisdom and Victoria wondered if her mother-in-law didn’t suspect that Ryker had other plans.

  She knew of Lenora’s power to foresee the future, but how much her mother-in-law used it, Victoria couldn’t be sure. After all, it seemed very cumbersome an ability to have. Victoria was sure if she had her gift, she wouldn’t use it to spy on her children… would she?

  “What is next for you, Toria? Are you going to continue baking cookies at the penthouse or are you allowed to go back to your job?”

  Victoria bristled at the word “allowed” but she didn’t let Lenora see her displeasure.

  “I’ll see if Ryker requires my assistance with his work before I make any final decisions,” she lied.

  In truth, she had already made covert inquiries regarding her business.

  When she had agreed to the ruse with Ryker, she had quietly given power of attorney to her lawyer. While Jade Evans was a competent woman, the lawyer was far too busy to oversee the trials and tribulations of a high-end fashion line. Victoria had ensured that an able staff dealt with the details of her house but as time slipped by, so did Victoria’s sales.

  I must get back into the swing of things before my shares are worthless, Victoria had thought numerous times. With the election now over, nothing was stopping her from silently regaining control of her company and making her line the success it had been before she had taken the time off to play dutiful wife.

  Lenora looked pensive.

  “Given the fact that you and Ryker nearly divorced based on the very issues he is preaching, I have a hard time wrapping my mind around what is happening here, Victoria,” Lenora confessed, her cobalt eyes boring holes into her daughter-in-law. “Is there something I’m missing?”

  Victoria forced a laugh and shrugged her shoulders.

  “People can change, Lenora,” she choked. She didn’t add that it was her son who had changed. Victoria pretended to wave at someone entering the room.

  “Oh, the mayor has just arrived. I should go say hello.”

  Lenora grunted in disbelief but waved her off and Victoria scurried away. Lenora Duvall was the only person who had the ability to make her feel uncomfortable. Victoria had once told Ryker that and he had laughed.

  “That’s because Mom is like God. You can’t lie to her. She can see right through everything.”

  As Victoria found her way to the bar, she suddenly realized that Ryker was absolutely right—Lenora had a way of looking into her soul like no one else.

  “Victoria! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

  As the bartender approached, Victoria reluctantly turned to look forlornly at the speaker. All she wanted was two seconds of time to herself but it seemed impossible in the overcrowded venue.

  She inhaled sharply as she recognized Evangeline Crowe-Mathers rushing toward her.

  What the hell is she doing here? Victoria wondered, eyeing the sensuous brunette. Evie was ridiculously dressed in a slinky, red evening gown, diamonds dripping from ears to ankle. Her lipstick was a deep purple, accenting her almost blue-black hair and hypnotic raven eyes. Impulsively, Victoria turned back to the bartender, barking out a drink order before he wandered out of earshot.

  “A double vodka martini with a twist and olive.”

  She was going to need all the alcohol she could manage that night.

  The server seemed to sense the urgency in Victoria’s voice and winked conspiratorially. As he busied himself with the beverage order, Victoria turned to face her husband’s ex-wife.

  Without warning, Evangeline threw her arms around the blonde, unsolicited. Victoria mustered every fiber of her being to avoid pushing the younger woman off her.

  “Oh, congratulations!” Evangeline gushed, her fake honey-bitch Southern accent dripping with sincerity. “I just can’t believe it! You’re a senator’s wife!”

  Victoria pried her lips into a thin semblance of a smile and pulled out of Evangeline’s arms.

  “Yes, isn’t it something,” Victoria muttered dryly. She looked desperately at the bartender, wondering what was taking him so long with that drink.

  “I can’t wait for Ryker—oops, I mean, Senator Duvall to put his plans into action. It’s about time that women take back their houses. Can you imagine? We’re living in a generation of children being raised by nannies. They eat McDonald’s like welfare kids! Where are their mothers? I’ll tell you where. They’re too busy doing men’s work to care. Can you imagine?”

  Victoria nodded automatically, grinding her teeth at Evangeline’s repetitious wording. It was a small wonder that Evie spoke as she did. Her vocabulary was limited despite having the benefit of the best schools the world had to offer.

  But even Sam Crowe couldn’t buy intelligence for his daughter. There’s no price on brains, Victoria thought with uncharacteristic bitterness.

  It wasn’t that Victoria wished ill on Evangeline—she just wished she didn’t have to see her husband’s scorned former wife as much as she did.

  After divorcing Ryker, Evangeline had remarried a Texan oil tycoon. What seemed like no time later, she had given birth to a set of twins, immediately followed by another boy. Evangeline liked to fancy herself ‘Mother of the Year’ but Victoria knew she spent just as much on daycare as she did on her hair stylist, and just as much on Xanax as she did Bear Paw cookies.

  “Well, Gerald and I are just thrilled that Ryker won. Can you imagine? My ex-husband is a senator! Oh, just listen to me. I have to remember to call him Senator now, don’t I?” She followed the rhetorical question with a giggle which inspired a foreign rage in Victoria.

  “I’m sure that he will always be Ryker to you, Evangeline,” Victoria replied cordially even though her insides were quivering. “And I am happy that you and your husband have been such generous contributors to Ryker’s campaign. It’s a shame you aren’t living in New York so we can see you more often.”

  Victoria had no idea how she managed
to say the statement without gagging. Evangeline’s smile widened spectacularly.

  “Well, it’s funny you should say that…” she drawled, the words grating on Victoria’s already taut nerves. “Gerald and I have been talking about taking the boys and making the move back to the city. Well, I guess it will be back for me. Gerald has never lived here. I don’t know how he can say he has lived, never having spent time in any major city long term. Can you imagine?”

  Victoria’s teeth were pressed so tightly together, she was certain her veneers were going to crack. Evangeline had never worked a day in her life and from what Victoria had gleaned from Ryker, she rarely spent time with any of her sons either. She was the very thing she was complaining about.

  Why would I want to fight for the rights of a woman who is perfectly content being a doormat?

  Instantly, Victoria was ashamed of herself. Women’s rights were for all women, whether they appreciated them or not.

  “Oh my!” Evangeline’s tanned, manicured hand flew to her mouth. Victoria turned to follow her stare, her heart jumping into her throat.

  Officer Bellissi and Officer Daniels had walked into the conference room, accompanied by two other shabbily dressed but official-looking men.

  “That looks like the police!” Evangeline declared obviously. Victoria rolled her eyes.

  “I’ll see what this is about,” she told her husband’s ex-wife, scooping up the martini from the bar and scurrying toward the foursome.

  As she walked, she gulped down the liquid in two solid swallows, relishing the burn in her throat.

  Victoria thought, not for the first time as she closed the distance between her and the police.

  She pushed that from her mind temporarily, realizing that the group was heading toward Ryker. He had not seen them yet but when Victoria got a clear view of the officers, she saw a piece of paper in one man’s hand. Blood drained from her face as Bellissi approached Ryker from behind, removing handcuffs from her belt.

  “Ryker Duvall?” one of the unknown men asked.