by Maddy Barone
“What could?” he asked, playing with the ends of her hair in front of her ear.
“Sex,” she said. “Sometimes it’s long and slow, and sometimes, like this morning, it’s wild and crazy.”
“Did I hurt you?”
The quick anxiety in his voice made her smile, almost wonderingly. He really cared. “No. Sex is great, whichever way we do it.”
He shook his head. “That was lovemaking.” He slid his hands over her cheeks, cradling her face between his palms. “I’ve been in this business long enough to know the difference. What we share is lovemaking, not sex.”
“Okay. I guess you do have more experience in that area.” To show him she was just teasing, she gave him another kiss. “It’s daylight. I guess we better get up. I can use a shower.”
He cocked his head. “Sara and Stone are in there right now.”
“In the shower? Together? You mean at the same time?”
“Yes, in the shower, together, at the same time.” He laughed and shook his head, probably reading her mind. “Someday we’ll shower together, but not this morning, princess.”
She nodded. Maybe tomorrow. She dipped her head in the direction of the bathroom. “Do they sound, um, happy?”
The quick glance he sent her was full of amazement. “You really can’t hear them?”
Even straining brought her only a faint hiss of the shower. “No. What are they saying?”
He arranged his expression into serious lines. “Well, Stone said,” he dropped his voice to a very bad imitation of Stone, “Dang it, quit squirming, Sara. You’re too soapy to hold on to.” He raised his voice to a scratchy soprano. “Put it in me, Stone. Hurry up. Oh, Stone. Oh, Stone! Stone!”
Rose convulsed with laughter, smothering it against Sky’s chest. “You’re making that up,” she accused when she regained control of herself.
“I’m not, I swear.” He wore an odd smile when he stroked her hair. “You are even more beautiful when you laugh.”
“When my face is beet red and my nose is running because I laugh so hard I’m crying?” she retorted, wiping her nose on the back of her wrist.
“Yes, then.” He leaned to open the drawer on the bedside table. He took out a handkerchief and handed it to her, all without tossing her off his chest. “Can Stone still smell lies?”
“Yeah, he can tell when someone is lying. Why?”
“And can you still find things just by thinking about them?”
She blew her nose. “Not always. Carla and Ellie ask me where the kids are all the time, and sometimes I know. But like when I knew where my suitcase was after the crash? I can’t do that anymore.”
“Ah. Where is the mayor right now?”
She gave him a doubtful look before closing her eyes and concentrating on Mayor McGrath. “No clue. Sorry. Why?”
“Just getting a count of any and all possible weapons in this fight.”
“You’re so sure there will be a fight? When will it start?”
“It could be any time from next week to next year, but I’m betting within the next few weeks.” He gave her a quick kiss. “The bathroom is open now. Do you want to shower first?”
War came sooner than he expected. When they finished showering—separately, to her disappointment—and went downstairs, they found Jocelyn sitting at the dining room table, her hair a curly tangle tipped with blood. Sara sat with her, a bowl of pinkish water on the table. Sky strode forward, concern and anger thinning his mouth.
“What happened? Jocelyn, are you okay?” he asked.
Rose glanced around the room. She could almost smell suppressed fury mingling with the scent of fried ham from the buffet. Seated around the table were Taye, Shadow, Tracker, Snake, and Quill on one side, and White Horse, Sand, Stone, and Rye Thomas on the other. Neil Marsolak, Sky’s head of security, stood against the wall, arms folded over his chest. Most of the men in the room were expressionless, but Rose knew them too well to accept that at face value. Shadow looked almost placid. Those who didn’t know him might think he was only mildly interested in what was going on, but that was the expression he wore when he was controlling his temper. Anyone who threatened his wife, his daughter, or any other woman he considered family would find out what kind of temper Shadow had. Jocelyn was a member of his little brother’s Pack, so that made her family. Tracker’s face was cold, which told Rose he was at his most dangerous. Taye had one elbow on the table leaning forward, his stare fixed on Sara and Jocelyn. He looked neither as cold as Tracker nor as mild as Shadow. The last time Rose had seen that expression on his face, he had been getting ready to leave to rescue his cousin Ellie. He killed half a dozen men during that rescue; nothing but blood would have satisfied Taye at that point. Rose wondered how many men’s deaths it would take to satisfy Taye now.
“I’m not badly hurt.” Jocelyn waved a hand at Sky. “Don’t make a fuss.”
Sky propped one hip on the edge of the table and folded his arms over his chest. “I’m not fussing,” he said gently. “Please tell me what happened to you.”
Jocelyn heaved a heavy sigh. “All right, I’ll tell the story again. I decided to come back to work early this morning, and about two blocks from my house I ran into some men. They were young, in their twenties I believe, and they were wearing what I thought were uniforms of the City Guard. When they called for me to stop, I obeyed. They asked if I was Jocelyn Worth who worked at The Limit, but I could tell they already knew who I was. I said yes, and then they started to beat me up. One of them grabbed my neck and slammed my forehead into the street pole.” She raised her hand to indicate the blood still slowly oozing from the cut at her hairline.
Sara batted her hand away. “Leave that alone. I’m still cleaning it.”
“You said you thought they were wearing City Guard uniforms.” Sky leaned forward. “Was that wrong?”
Jocelyn nodded and then winced. “Captain Erikson chased them off and escorted me here.”
“Erikson? When was this? I need to have a word with him.”
Taye jerked his chin in the direction of the front door. “He’s waiting to talk to you.”
Sky looked at Neil. “Will you go bring him in?”
Rye Thomas began to stand up. Sky waved him back down.
“You’re fine. Dean Erikson is no enemy of yours.”
The captain of the City Guard followed Neil into the dining room. Other than a slight widening of his eyes, he didn’t say anything about the men from the pack. When he saw Rye Thomas, he froze in mid-step, but he didn’t say anything about him either. He settled into a soldier’s stance of parade rest, feet spread and hands clasped behind his back.
“Mr. Wolfe, I’d hoped to have a few words with you this morning.”
Sky nodded. “What happened this morning? From what Jocelyn has said, this wasn’t a random attack.”
“No,” Erikson said. “I don’t believe it was. I can’t verify it, but I think someone is targeting your people in an effort to make you react. If you retaliate, some people might use that as an excuse to attack your house and kill you.”
When any of the wolves growled it could be frightening, but when Shadow growled it was terrifying. The captain’s gaze shot to Shadow, but he didn’t break his military stance.
“The men who attacked Ms. Worth were not members of the City Guard,” the captain continued. “My men did manage to question one of them. It seems they were hired by a private citizen to cause trouble. I don’t believe this was the only group of men who were hired. More of your people might be in danger.”
Sky snapped upright. “Neil, I want men sent out to escort each of our ladies back to the house.” He looked at his brother and cousins. “I don’t have enough people here to be able to do that and guard the house. Will you help?”
Chairs scraped as they all stood up, ready to go at once.
“Thank you.” Sky’s voice held a note of relief. “Neil, will you coordinate and assign the escorts?”
Neil and the men from t
he Pack filed out. The captain looked at Sky with a strained, sober face.
“It’s already starting,” the captain said. “A fire was set in the southwest quadrant late last night. It spread to the residential neighborhoods. There have been twelve confirmed deaths and dozens of injuries.”
Sara paused in the act of taping gauze to Jocelyn’s forehead. “Oh, no. The hospital will be crowded with that.”
“That’s the area where most of the dissent is focused,” Sky said slowly, propping one hip on the table again. “That wasn’t an accident.”
“No, it wasn’t,” Erikson agreed grimly. “I spoke with some of the men there and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s more bloodshed before nightfall.”
Sara put her medical supplies into the bag on the floor by her chair. “I’ll be needed at the hospital.” She looked across the table at Stone. “Will you walk me there?”
“No.” There was flat finality in his voice.
“Stone,” she began.
“No. And I’m not talking about it here. We can discuss it later if you want to. Besides, Odell still needs you.”
Rose wondered if Sara heard the refusal beneath his reasonable tone. If so, the other woman didn’t argue.
During this short exchange, the captain had shifted his attention to Rye. He looked like he was trying to suppress some strong emotion. “Where have you been, man?”
Rye leaned back in his chair so it teetered on two legs, arms folded over his chest. “Out West. Trying to make a living.”
“God, I’m glad you’re here. You picked the perfect time to come back.”
Rye’s chair thudded back onto all four legs. “No. No way. I’m out of here the first chance I get.”
Erikson abandoned his military pose to stride down the table and grab Rye’s plaid collar. “We need you. We’ve never needed you more than we need you right now. Don’t leave us.”
The trader disengaged his collar with a jerk. “And what do you think I can do for you?” Rye’s low chuckle was bleak rather than amused. “I’ve been gone for almost fifteen years. I don’t know Omaha anymore, and Omaha doesn’t know me. I’ve got a business out West to get back to. There are men out there who depend on me for their jobs.”
The captain shot back, “There are people here whose lives depend on you. You can make a difference in Omaha.”
“No.” Rye tightened his arms over his chest. “No, it’s nothing to do with me.”
Sky glanced over at Sara. “You saw Odell this morning. How is she? Is she up for some visitors?”
Sara didn’t blink at this abrupt topic change or ask how he knew she’d been out to check on Odell. “She’s doing better. A short visit would be okay.”
“Good.” Sky nodded at Paint and Stone. “Let’s introduce Mr. Thomas to Miss Graham.”
Rye took one look at the men flanking him and stood up without their urging. Sara led them all out back to the women’s dorm, Rose bringing up the rear. She stayed out in the hall but by craning her neck she was able to see everything inside the room. Snow sat in a chair on the right side of Odell’s bed, and Katelyn stood on the left. Katelyn’s head rose sharply when she noticed the men crowding into the room. Wild terror showed plainly on her face, but when Paint pushed his way to her side she relaxed. Snow stood up, placing himself protectively between his mate and the visitors. When Sky told him to step aside, Snow appeared to debate with himself for a moment before crouching beside the bed and taking Odell’s hand.
Rose didn’t need to have a wolf’s sense of smell to identify Odell’s fear. The girl’s face was still hideously swollen, and blotches of purple black bruises masked her face. Only one of her eyes opened enough for her to see them, but the white of her eye was nearly solidly red.
“Take a good look, Thomas.” Sky’s voice was soft, almost casual to someone who didn’t know him. Rose knew him. Odell’s fear sharpened his fury to a razor’s edge. “This is Odell Graham. Her family doesn’t have much money, but they scrimped and saved to pay the Single Status Tariff when she turned eighteen. But they couldn’t pay it again when she turned nineteen so she was forced to go to work in a house. According to the law your father created, every woman between the ages of eighteen and forty must pay a tax. She has to pay to remain single. Or she has to pay to be married. If she can’t afford either of those, she has to become a whore.” Sky’s voice took on a rough edge. “We usually call them businesswomen because that sounds less degrading, but let’s call it what it is. Thirty-five percent of what she earns goes to the city. Actually, it goes directly to the mayor, and he shares some of it with his friends.”
Rye jerked his gaze from Odell to Sky. “What happened to her? Did one of her customers beat her up?”
Snow growled, his upper lip rising in a snarl. “One of her rapists, you mean?”
Sky flattened his hand in a gesture to calm Snow. “A few days ago, Odell ran away from her place of employment.” Bitter sarcasm marked the last words. “Her father and her brothers tried to protect her. They tried to keep her home with them, but she was dragged back. Do you want me to tell you how she was punished? Do you want to know how many men raped her and beat her?”
Rye held up his hands in surrender. “No. Just tell me they’re in jail.”
Dean Erikson spoke for the first time. “They’re not in jail. Your father doesn’t punish his friends. As long as the woman’s employer doesn’t file a complaint, it’s not considered a crime.”
Rye Thomas closed his eyes and drew a long breath before he opened them and looked at Sky. “You didn’t file a complaint?”
“She doesn’t work for me. I paid all the gold I could scrape together to bribe Gabe to let her come here when I heard what happened to her. Then last night Mayor McGrath ordered me to return her.”
Snow didn’t speak, but his glare said Odell wasn’t going anywhere. Rye’s Adam’s apple went up and down his long throat when he swallowed. “And you think I can stop that? How? You think my father will just step aside because I ask him to? He’ll kill me just as fast as he’d kill you. He’s got that damned Guard eating out of his hand, obeying him like trained dogs.” He flung a hand out at Dean’s uniform. “If they knew you were here plotting like this, they would kill you.”
“Maybe,” Captain Erikson said evenly. “But in the last fifteen years some of the old Guards have retired, and a lot of the ones who are still in uniform have daughters or nieces who are old enough now to be subject to the law. That changes things for them.”
Rye’s mouth twisted in a sneer. “I bet.”
“And my generation doesn’t like everything they see happening in Omaha. They remember you, Ryan. They remember how you tried to stop things in the beginning. Give them a reason, show that you’re willing to change things, and they will follow you.” The captain put an urgent hand on Rye’s arm. “The regular people of Omaha, the ones who don’t want to see their daughters and their sisters forced into a career they don’t want, outnumber the wealthy ten to one. More than a third of the City Guard will back you if you asked; more will follow when they see how many of the people will support you. There are plenty like Miss Graham’s family who are already going to fight, whether you’re with us or not. But without a leader that everyone can support, victory will be useless, because once we get rid of the mayor and the City Council we’ll turn on each other. Ryan, you can change that.”
Rye closed his eyes again, his lips a thin white line. He shook his head slowly. “I don’t know.” When he opened his eyes, he blinked quickly to control the tears Rose could see welling up. “I have to think about this. I can’t decide this in five minutes. Give me time to think about it.”
“Then think about it.” Sky nudged him toward the door. “But don’t take too long. All hell is going to break loose any minute.”
Everyone left the room. Rose cast a glance behind her to see Sara lay her fingers over Odell’s wrist to take her pulse, and Snow holding her other hand.
“You’re safe,” she
heard him murmur. “I’ll make sure you’re okay. Don’t be scared.”
Katelyn followed her out and closed the door. She gripped Rose’s arm. “What is happening?”
Rose waited until they were past the steps of the dorm where Stone had taken up his guard post. She nodded at Paint and Rye, who were going to the men’s dorm where Rye would presumably think about what to do. “It’s starting. This morning Jocelyn was attacked on her way back here. Captain Erikson came to warn Sky that some people were targeting his employees.”
With his long legs, Paint had easily caught up with them. He put an arm around Katelyn’s shoulders. “So you,” he tapped a finger on her chin, “don’t leave the house for any reason.”
“I sleep in the dorm outside the house,” she pointed out.
“There will be a guard out here at all times.”
Rose was used to the overprotective wolves, but Katelyn huffed. Rose lengthened her stride to pull ahead of them to give them a little privacy. She found Sky in the dining room, shaking hands with Captain Erikson.
“I’ll do my best,” the captain said, evidently in response to something Sky said. He gave her a crisp nod and left.
Rose examined Sky’s face for any hint of what he was feeling. Nothing obvious showed on his face, but he had to be worried. “What are you going to do now?” she asked.
“The first thing is eat breakfast.”
Rose surveyed the congealed eggs on the buffet with a sigh. Cold eggs and bacon weren’t her favorite, but she wasn’t about to ask Kim to make more. “Right.”
After filling their plates, they sat in their usual chairs at the table. She wondered where everyone was, but this was the first moment they’d had alone since they’d left their room this morning, so she didn’t ask. “Do you think the mayor will send somebody to take Odell away?’
He swallowed eggs. “Probably. We’ll have to stall them. Say Odell is too injured to be moved right now. I want all my people safe in the house before any more trouble starts.”
