by Nikki Drost
Grace’s concern for the members of this household is only part of the reason why I adore her. She treats every Enforcer like her own child instead of the elite warriors that they are.
“Point me in the right direction and I’ll see what I can do.”
“He’s downstairs, now I’ll just go make the two of you something to eat while you have your little chat.”
I open my mouth to inform her that I’ve already eaten, but one look from the human woman in front of me as me quickly shutting my trap.
“Don’t even think about arguing with me, young man. You may not be an Enforcer, but as long as you’re in this house, you will follow my rules. Now you tell that boy if he’s not up here in twenty minutes I’ll box his ears, then force feed him his lunch.”
I nod my head in response. “Yes, ma’am.”
I stifle my laughter as I hit the stairs. It amazes me that one fierce look from that human female has me feeling like a pup instead of a two hundred and fifty year old wolf. I swear that woman was born to be a den mother.
The sound of a guitar and sad, heartfelt lyrics pulls me out of my amusing thoughts. I make my way through the game room toward the music studio. I ease open the door to see Jamie seated in a plush leather chair. His feet are crossed at the ankles and propped on top of a nearby speaker. With an acoustic guitar in his lap, he continues to strum the chords to “Wicked Game” with ease. I’m surprised that he is belting out a power ballad from the eighties. I will never understand the unhealthy obsession Jamie and my brother have with Bon Jovi.
Taking a moment to scan the room, I notice the numerous empty bottles of Jack Daniels and overflowing ashtrays. Combine this with Jamie’s disheveled appearance and the depressing music, I’d say the Enforcer is having a hard time coping without his mate.
“Hey, pup, what the hell are you doing here?”
I make sure the door is shut tight before making myself comfortable in an adjacent chair.
“My father sent me here on business so it looks like I’ll be sticking around for a while.”
Jamie nods his head while setting his guitar off to the side. He grabs an unopened bottle of whiskey, tossing the cap at his feet and proceeding to drink a third of the bottle.
“You know, if you were human you’d be in desperate need of a new liver,” I notice a nearby trash can full of empty bottles, “or a mortician.”
When Jamie finally comes up for a breath, he flips me off with a half-hearted grin.
“It’s either this or I kick down Kelsey’s front door and drag her back here kicking and screaming. For some reason I don’t see that helping my case, so I figured drinking myself stupid was the better choice.”
Well, at least he hasn’t lost his sense of humor.
“Here’s an idea, why don’t you try talking to her. Maybe, I don’t know, tell her that she’s your mate and that you love her.”
“It’s not that simple, pup.”
“Well, why the hell not? It’s the truth and she has the right to know. Perhaps that will put an end to her fear about this Gia nonsense.”
“How the hell did you hear about that? You’ve been in town for all of five minutes.”
“Actually, Kelsey was my first stop when I got into town. She and I had a delightful conversation over lunch.”
Jamie’s demeanor changes from relaxed to rigid in mere seconds. His hands clench into fists, his jaw tightens to the point that a noticeable tick can be seen. Shit.
“You went on a date with my woman?” His low, menacing growl rolls over my body, warning bells sound in my head as every hair on my body stands at attention. I’ve just pissed off the wrong male.
“Calm down, big guy, Kelsey and I are just friends. I would never encroach on another man’s relationship.”
Messing around with unavailable women isn’t my style. I tend to attract women who are in desperate need of a self-esteem boost. Women who have been dumped, cheated on, or been made to feel lacking in some sort of way. All they need is some TLC and to be shown that good men actually do exist and not just in books or movies. It’s a service I happily provide to them and because there is no shortage of broken hearts, I am never lacking for bed partners.
“Good, because I’d hate to kill you,” Jamie states without a trace humor.
“I’d hate to be killed.” I laugh sarcastically. “Can I give you some advice?”
Jamie sighs in a show of indifference.
“You need to open up to her. Allow yourself to be vulnerable. Tell her things that no one else knows, be her friend as well as her lover. And for the love of all that is holy, would you please take a moment and explain our customs to her, so there won’t be any more of these misunderstandings.”
As Jamie sits in quiet contemplation, I suddenly fear that I may have pushed him too far. It’s obvious that this man is in love with Kelsey, it was written all over his face at my brother’s wedding. I just don’t understand why he won’t admit his feelings and claim his female.
“I don’t know if I can do that, pup. I have issues when it comes to expressing my emotions. What would I do if Kelsey demanded to know about my past? She would be horrified by what she’d learn and would probably want nothing more to do with me. Either that or she’d pity me and I’m not sure which one would be worse.”
My heart clenches in my chest as I contemplate what could have happened to Jamie to make him shut down emotionally. My father had mentioned that the Trudeau brothers had a violent childhood and by all accounts, they should have gone over to the dark side. The fact that both men fight on the side of good only raises my respect for them.
“Hell, none of it matters anyways, after what Kelsey witnessed last night, I’ll be lucky if she ever looks at me again.”
“Listen, Jamie, I can’t guarantee that whatever you tell Kelsey won’t upset her, but I know that she cares for you. Telling her everything might be the best thing for the both of you. You can’t carry all of that pain inside of you forever. It’s not healthy. Give her a chance to help you heal. Compassion isn’t the same as pity.”
Jamie’s dark eyes meet mine and the pain I see is so profound I find myself gasping for air. I’ve never felt such agony, or despair before. It’s almost crippling with its intensity.
“Thanks, Landon, you’re a good man.”
Jamie clears his throat, it’s clear that he is struggling to hold himself together.
“So what sort of trouble is my girl up to today?”
Happy to switch to a lighter topic, I relay all of the information I learned this morning.
“I spoke to one of Kelsey’s co-workers at the community center and he informed me that not only does she volunteer full-time to teach dance to children from low income families, but she holds seats on several charitable organizations. It appears she has a knack for sweet-talking the wealthier members of the community out of their money. She is solely responsible for the new playground that will be constructed in the spring. She helped put together a fireman calendar and all of the proceeds went toward a battered woman’s shelter, last year she organized a lingerie fashion show to raise money for breast cancer, and last but certainly not least she spearheads the annual toy drive, which involves a local outlaw biker gang. How that woman talked a group of one per centers into dressing up like Santa and his band of merry elves and delivering toys to sick kids is beyond me.”
“Damn, I knew that woman was too good for me, but I had no idea that she was a saint in stilettos.” He laughs wholeheartedly.
Honestly, I wasn’t that surprised to learn about Kelsey’s big heart. That female may appear to be spoiled, but she doesn’t have a selfish bone in her body.
“Well, if you want my help with that saint, you need to get your ass upstairs and eat something. Then maybe I can talk you into a shower cause you smell like a distillery.”
“Let me guess, Grace cornered you the minute you got here.”
“She’s worried about you. Now with that said let’s get our asses upst
airs before she puts us both into a timeout.”
***
Thirty minutes and a full stomach later, I place the last of the plates into the dishwasher. Grace had fussed when I had offered to help clean up, but then I gave her a stern look of my own and she finally caved. Offering to help a woman is like second nature to me. I am not one of those men who believe a woman’s place is to be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. On the contrary, I know damn well females are the stronger of the two sexes, but that doesn’t mean I have to abandon my principles and not open doors for them or pay for our meals.
My best friend Dmitri gives me shit for being chivalrous to a fault. I don’t bother to argue because he is right after all. My father had made sure that his sons knew how to treat the fairer sex. Speaking of siblings, my brother has finally dragged his sorry ass out of bed for sustenance.
“So, Landon, how long are you going to be in town?” my new sister in law asks over the rim of her coffee cup.
“I’m not sure, two weeks a month, maybe,” I lie.
I have no intentions of going back home to Bar Harbor unless it’s for a specific reason.
“I suppose I’ll skip my usual speech about how dangerous it is to be around me and how it will only paint a target on your back. You never listen to me anyways.”
I watch in amusement as my brother lifts his wife out of her seat and places her into his lap. Adam can’t seem to go two minutes without touching Andy in some small way. It’s as if he needs to have a constant connection to her. Man, he has it bad.
“I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that you are finally getting it, big brother.”
I love my brother and understand where he’s coming from, but the sooner he starts seeing me as a full-grown male instead of a small child, the better it will be for everyone.
“Hey, I hate to break up the family reunion, but Micah just called a meeting. He wants all of us in his office pronto,” Cass says as he leans his body against the wide doorframe.
Adam sighs as he slides his wife out of his lap.
“Landon, keep my wife company will ya?”
“He can’t, Micah wants Landon to join us.”
Adam stares in disbelief at the six foot four wolf in the doorway.
“Why the hell would Micah involve my brother in Enforcer business?”
Cass shrugs his massive shoulders. “Don’t know. I guess you’ll have to ask him yourself.”
My brother gives me a look I haven’t seen since we were pups. He knows something is up and he isn’t happy about it. I ignore him and follow Cass downstairs.
Micah’s office looks like a war room. Maps and charts cover almost every surface of the gray painted walls. A bank of computer monitors takes up the wall behind a massive antique mahogany desk. Every few seconds the images on the screens change to different areas of the property. Apparently, Micah didn’t enjoy being ambushed on his own turf and bumped up security.
Along the left wall sits a large brown wraparound leather sofa, which is currently occupied by Lincoln, Cass, and a freshly showered Jamie. To the right, there are two matching leather chairs, I take my seat next to my brother and wait for Micah to start the meeting. The wolf in question leans back in his comfy looking swivel chair and addresses the room.
“I’m sorry for the short notice, but something has been brought to my attention. I’m going to have Landon fill you in.”
All eyes are on me as I make my way toward the wall of maps.
“About a year ago, my father was approached by Edward Bennett on behalf of the vampire council. As you all know, my dad is the only pack master who has been successful in running a pack of not only shifters, but humans and vampires.”
That’s not to say that there aren’t plenty of other successful packs out there, but most shifters tend to congregate with their own kind and they most certainly don’t allow humans or vampires into the fold.
“Why would the vampire council care about what goes on in Bar Harbor? The town’s vampire residents don’t answer to the council, they answer to our father?” Adam says vehemently.
“Trust me they aren’t concerned with the day to day life of the pack. The only thing they are interested in is how our father manages to keep the peace between so many species, specifically with shifters and vampires. After receiving permission from Micah, we conducted a little experiment. For the last two months the Maine Enforcers have been working side by side with the Guardians, and so far it’s been successful.”
Of course I’m leaving out the fact that anytime you bring together a group of highly trained killers who have an overabundance of testosterone and arrogance you’re going to have some pissing contests. However, once the blood had dried and everyone had been patched up, things began to run smoothly. All in all it could have been worse.
“I don’t like where this is going,” Jamie groans.
Suddenly the room fills with angry voices.
“Let the pup finish,” Micah shouts, his commanding voice halts all other discussions. “Continue, Landon.”
I clear my throat and proceed. “My father has a vision, one of a united front between the supernatural communities. He believes whole heartily that if we all worked together, we would not only be more efficient, but it would end our common grievances in a more timely fashion.”
Unfortunately, most shifters feel that vampires as a whole tend to look down at the shifter community and even though we are equally matched, vampires believe themselves to be the superior species.
“Has our father lost his ever loving mind?” Adam shouts as he jackknifes out of his seat and begins to furiously pace back and forth. “Next, you’ll be telling me that he thinks we should work with witches too.”
“Eventually, yes, the goal is to have ambassadors from each species work together to resolve conflicts. So far only shifters and vampires are willing to give this little experiment a try.”
“And what is your role in all of this, little brother?”
Concern radiates from my brother in pulsating waves. I suspect he already knows the answer, but wants to hear it from my own mouth. Oh well, if it’s the only way to bring these men on board then so be it. I raise my chin and speak with as much authority as I can muster.
“I’ve been named as the shifter ambassador.”
Adam shakes his head and picks up his feverish pace, although now he has added cursing me and my father in Italian. I can understand Adam’s trepidation, but like my father, I believe that this is the best way to achieve peace.
“Congratulations on the new title, pup, I have no doubt that you will make a fine diplomat. Now that being said, why don’t you cut the bullshit and tell us exactly what the council wants from us. I allowed my men in Maine to do this on a trial basis for the sole reason that I owed Dominick a favor. That debt is now paid.” Micah’s cerulean gaze apprises me with a shrewd knowing stare.
Nothing gets by this male and he’s letting me know it.
“Now for the reason why I’m here, before Tavish and Terric Shaw went underground, there had been some chatter about these two having ties with the IRA and Russian mafia. After the attack on Bar Harbor, my father and uncles obtained corroborating evidence supporting both claims.”
As if being in bed with one of these organizations wasn’t bad enough, but to have both of them at the Shaw’s beck and call is going to make our jobs even more impossible.
“The mob boss is a vampire named Ivan Savchenko. This guy has his hand in every cookie jar in Russia from human trafficking, drug smuggling, racketeering, and everything in between. Ivan is virtually untouchable and has been on the council’s hit list for centuries.”
The fact that this vampire has managed to remain hidden for so long is as impressive as it is terrifying. Nothing is sacred or off limits to him and that makes him extremely dangerous.
“We believe that Ivan is planning to expand his heroin trade to the states which means we’ll have Bratva soldiers and the DEA moving into the neighborhood.”
It’s hard enough to keep our existence from the average human populace let alone highly trained government agents.
“Tavish is getting his guns from a shifter named Ian McIntyre, he’s native to the highlands, but his mother’s family hails from Northern Ireland. The cougar is also Terric’s oldest and most trusted friend, so it’s no surprise that the man is known for his cruelty toward humans, especially women. Human trafficking and arms dealing are just some of his specialties.”
From what I’ve been told, this man is a sadist who gets off on inflicting pain and suffering on the weak. The number of his victims is astonishing to say the very least. The sooner we kill this cougar the better.
“Ian was spotted in Belfast three days ago with high ranking members of the IRA. Our guess is he’s planning to bring more guns into the states since you handed their last shipment over to the FBI. As of twelve hours ago, Ian’s back into the wind.”
“Great so we’re chasing a ghost,” Jamie grumbles.
“McIntyre is a hands-on type of guy who will most likely be overseeing the transport of the cargo personally. He’ll resurface once the guns have reached our shores and that is when we must attack. We can’t allow semi-automatic weapons to fall into the hands of gang bangers or worse, the Shaws.” I don’t even want to imagine the damage those wolves could do with that type of firepower.”
“Are you positive the guns will come over by ship?” Cass asks. “Depending on how many crates and types of weapons they could just as easily fly them here.”
I shake my head. “All of the Intel points toward them using boats with Boston being the intended destination, but just in case, my father has reached out to every pack master from Portsmouth to Miami.”
“Dom might want to add Mobile and Houston to the list,” Lincoln adds as an afterthought.
The only other point of entry would be New Orleans, but the only way Ian would get his hands on those weapons was if he were working with a necromancer or human and that is highly unlikely.
“How does working with Guardians fit into all of this?” Jamie asks as he lights up a smoke.
