by Becca Van
Carter grabbed the bottle of wine from the fridge and poured her another drink. He and Crag began to fill more orders, and when he saw that Tammy’s eyes were glazing over, he knew that she’d had more than enough to drink. She was now sitting with her gaze on her glass and frowning. When she looked up, he could see tears in her eyes.
“What’s wrong, Tammy? Are you in pain? Do you want me to call a doctor?”
“I’m okay.”
“What happened to you, darlin’?” Crag asked, and Carter heard him mutter under his breath something like “stupid.”
Tammy sniffed, and when she looked up at him and then Crag with such pain in her eyes, his heart broke for her. This time he couldn’t stay away from her. He rushed around the end of the bar and lifted her from the stool onto her feet and into his arms. She felt so damn right in his arms and he never wanted to let her go. The top of her head only came up to his shoulders, and the scent of her hair was driving him insane, but he couldn’t help but inhale time and again to keep her wonderful aroma in his olfactory senses.
“My stepfather hit me.”
“What?” Carter asked through clenched teeth.
“He’s been acting really strange lately. My mom died two years ago from ovarian cancer.” Tammy sniffed again and then reached up and clutched Carter’s T-shirt in her small hands. “I expected the grief and anger at first. I thought he would get better, but he hasn’t. He’s only gotten worse.
“He started drinking every night, and I hid in my room because he got really mean and argumentative while he was drinking. For a time there, I thought he was getting better, but then all of a sudden he began to yell as soon as we walked in the door from work.”
“Damn, Tammy, I’m sorry.” Carter ran a hand up and down her back.
“I can’t even get away from him during the day.” Carter knew Tammy was crying. He could smell the salt from her tears and his shirt was getting wet, but he didn’t care. All that mattered was that he comforted his mate.
When Alyson came back behind the bar to help serve after she’d cleared the tables, Crag hurried out to the other side, too. He moved in close to Tammy until his front was pressed against her back.
“My stepfather is an insurance broker, and stupid me, I accepted the position of his personal assistant after I finished college. That was the worst decision of my life. Working with family is not a good thing to do, and now that he is being such a bastard, I want to walk away but feel guilty about leaving him in the lurch. You know?”
“Why did he hit you, baby?” Carter asked, glad that she felt comfortable enough to spill her guts to him and Crag, but he was still having trouble keeping his rage at bay at what her stepfather had done to her.
“I was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner and one of the plates slipped from my hand.” Tammy was sobbing in earnest now, and Carter decided it was time to move her to somewhere more private. Thank God, Crag was thinking the same thing because between the two of them they maneuvered her toward the hall and down the corridor to the office. Tarkyn looked up as soon as he saw them and sniffed the air. He frowned at Tammy but rose from his seat and hurried from the room, closing the door behind him.
“It was one of my mom’s plates, although it wasn’t a treasured heirloom or anything.” Tammy lifted her head to look at him, and she looked so damn forlorn he wanted to go and find her stepfather and rip his throat out. But he knew he couldn’t, because if he did something to someone she cared about, he and Crag wouldn’t have a chance in hell of courting her.
“Anyway, the plate smashed on the floor. He roared with rage, got up from the table so fast his chair went crashing to floor, and then he struck me across the face.” Tears were streaming down her face. She tried to wipe them away, but it was a futile action.
“Fucking arsehole,” Crag said through clenched teeth.
“I fell to the floor, and I was so shocked I just sat amidst the broken plate and couldn’t move. He punched me a couple of times, and then all of a sudden he seemed to realize what he was doing. He got this really guilty, contrite look on his face, and when he reached out, I suspect to help me up, I flinched. He spun on his heels and went to his room.
“I couldn’t face him after what he’d done to me. I didn’t go into work yesterday or today, and when I heard him go to bed, I got into my car, started driving, and ended up here.”
Carter pulled her back into his arms until her tears slowed and finally stopped. She slumped against him as if in utter dejection and exhaustion. Carter decided it was time to take her home so she could get a good night’s rest. He was sure the dark smudges under her eyes were from two sleepless nights.
“Crag, go and see Tarkyn and ask if he can get someone else to cover the rest of our shift.”
“On it.” Crag caressed Tammy’s shoulder and then bent down to kiss her on the head before he went looking for Tarkyn.
“Are you all right, honey?”
“Yeah,” Tammy sighed and then stepped away with her back to him.
Even though Carter wanted to continue holding her, he let her go. She swiped her hands down her cheeks and then turned to face him again. “I’m sorry that I cried all over you. I hate to cry and don’t usually.”
“You had every reason to cry, baby. Don’t apologize.”
“God, Carter. It just hurts so bad.” Tammy wiped her eyes again. “And not just what he did to me. It hurts in here.” Tammy placed a hand between her breasts and rubbed her chest as if it was aching, and he knew it probably was.
He moved in closer again and placed both hands on her shoulders. “If I could take your pain away, I would without any hesitation.”
Carter pulled her back into his arms, and she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him back. “You and Crag have been so nice to me. Thank you. I didn’t think strangers helped people out anymore.”
Carter kissed her temple. “You don’t feel like a stranger to me, baby. I feel like I’ve known you forever.”
Tammy released her hold on his waist and leaned back to look him in the eyes. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying. The tip of her nose was a little red, but to him she looked absolutely perfect.
“You do?”
“Yes, Tammy, I do.”
Crag came back and gave him a nod.
“How about we get you home so you can get a good night’s rest?”
“Okay,” Tammy sighed. “Thank you both for helping me. There is no way I can drive after drinking, and to be honest, I don’t think I could have made it back home even if I hadn’t had any alcohol. I’m just so tired.”
“It’s the emotional stress, darlin’.” Crag took one of her hands in his. “You’ll feel better in the morning.”
“God, I hope so. I feel like I’m about to fall asleep on my feet.”
Crag led Tammy out of the office, into the kitchen, and out the backdoor to the short alley before heading to the parking lot.
“Which car is yours, Tammy?” Carter asked.
She pointed to a small, late-model, four-door sedan.
“Give me your keys and I’ll drive your car back to our place. I can’t see Crag fitting in your car, can you?”
Tammy giggled and then reached into the pocket of her jeans for her car keys. Carter loved the light sound of her humor and was glad she wasn’t still too upset to laugh. If he had his way, she would be laughing all the time. But he had to take one step at a time. He didn’t want to come on too strong and scare her away.
“Do you want to come with me or go with Crag?” Carter asked as he took her keys and unlocked her car.
“With you.”
Tammy moved toward her car, but Carter beat her to the door and opened it for her. She gave him an appreciative smile and then got into the passenger seat. After closing her door, he hurried around to the driver’s side, adjusted the seat, and then got in. He was too tall to be comfortable with the pedals and his head was brushing against the roof of the car, but there was nothing he could do about it. All
that mattered to him was getting Tammy back to the pack house and into their suite of rooms. He just hoped like hell she would stick around long enough for him and Crag to woo her and not run away screaming when they told her they were werewolves.
* * * *
Tammy felt a little better now that she’d unloaded her problems and had a good cry. She turned in her seat to study Carter and hoped she wasn’t freaking him out by looking at him. He glanced at her for a moment, gave her a smile, and looked back to the road.
“Are you okay, baby?”
She loved the way he called her baby and Crag called her darlin’. It made her feel special and almost cherished, but she wasn’t about to read too much into their endearments. They probably called all women that.
There was something about the two bar attendants that called to her. She felt almost drawn to them, and it wasn’t because they were muscular and handsome, although that helped. They were veritable eye candy, and she couldn’t keep her eyes off of them. There was just something…She couldn’t have explained it, even if she’d been offered a million bucks to do so.
She loved Carter’s blond hair and blue eyes, and even though he was handsome, kind, and caring, Tammy suspected underneath that gentleness was a steel core. She’d felt and seen how angry both men had become when she had told them what her stepfather had done to her. Their whole bodies had tensed in anger, and it had looked like they were about to rip someone’s head off. But what amazed her the most was the way both men’s eyes had changed from their normal colors of green and blue to a glowing golden color. She’d never seen anything like that in her life, and they weren’t even related.
Tammy wondered if it was an anomaly both men had been born with, but she’d never heard of such a thing before. She really appreciated the way they were helping her out, and even though she knew she couldn’t stay with them forever, she had a yearning deep down inside to do just that. But eventually she would have to get a backbone and head back home to face her stepfather.
She shuddered as she remembered him standing over her in such an intimidating manner with his fists raised, and after only laying into her three or four times, he’d looked close to tears and hurried away from her. Maybe he was sick? Maybe the death of her mother and the loneliness had caused him to flip over the edge of reality? Or maybe he was drinking much more than she actually saw him drink. He’d been really secretive lately. He often spent more time in the kitchen of the office building than actually working. Ralph probably had a stash of alcohol in there, too.
Tammy sat up when Carter slowed her car and then turned into an open gated driveway. Crag must have had a remote to open the gates automatically because he hadn’t gotten out of his truck and she could see the taillights already halfway up the drive.
“Wow, those gates are really big.” Tammy turned just in time to see them closing by themselves. Yep, definitely automatic.
“You should see the house,” Carter said.
“What do you mean?” Tammy leaned forward and peered through the darkness, but the trees lining the driveway obstructed her view.
“The house is a colonial-style mansion and all our family live there. We each have our own suite of rooms, but we also have a communal kitchen, dining room, and living room. I have too many cousins to count, and we all live and work together. My cousins share their suites with their ma…wives, and everyone works in various aspects of the businesses.”
“That would be so cool,” Tammy replied and then gasped when the house came into view.
Carter hadn’t been lying. The house was massive. There was a fountain in the middle of the round drive, and the four columns on either side of the covered porch were huge. It put her in mind of the old-style plantation homes from the South with its brightly painted window shutters, and it was three stories high.
Tammy began to feel a little uncomfortable. These people obviously had money, and lots of it, and she was just an everyday, run-of-the-mill, white-collar worker. Her parents had had to work hard to pay off their small three-bedroom house, and when her father had died in a factory accident, there still hadn’t been enough money from his small life insurance policy to cover paying off the mortgage. Her mom had had to go back to work, and that was how she had met her stepfather, Ralph. Her mother had ended up working for the man, and three years later they had married. She had only been fourteen at the time. Even though it had taken her a while to warm up to Ralph Binks, she had, but over the last twelve months or so, her stepfather had been on a downhill slide.
She didn’t want to go back home only to face more abuse. She’d tried to help Ralph and get him some help, but he had told her no at every turn. Still she hadn’t given up. Until now. Tammy knew there was no way to help someone unless they wanted to help themselves first.
She really liked Carter and Crag and thought that just maybe she could stay with them and get a job here. Surely there was someone in Aztec she could find employment with. Of course she would still need to go back home to get her stuff, but first she had to talk to Crag and Carter. They may not like the idea of her hanging around. With her taking up their spare room, she would probably be cramping their style with the ladies. If they brought women home to entertain, she would definitely end up feeling like a third wheel.
Carter parked her car behind Crag’s truck, and she began to get a little nervous. She was likely going to have to meet their families, and she wasn’t a very social person. Tammy liked her own company, and even though she went out now and then with a couple of acquaintances, she didn’t really have any best friends.
Maybe if these two men agreed for her to lease their spare room, she would make the effort to form stronger bonds with some new friends.
Tammy got out of the car and smiled at Crag. Both men were so courteous, and she really liked that. Carter came around and took one of her hands in his and Crag held the other. They led her toward the door off the massive carport, and for some reason, she was a little hesitant to step through the door when Carter opened it.
She was probably being ludicrous, but Tammy felt that as soon as she stepped across the threshold her whole life would change.
Chapter Five
“She looks so damn sad,” Crag said.
“I know,” Carter sighed. “Hopefully after she’s had some sleep she won’t be so sad. I don’t want her leaving, Crag. I want her here with us always.”
“I do, too, but we can’t go pushing her.”
“I know. One step at a time.”
Crag heard Tammy take a deep breath, and as she exhaled, she walked inside. She took in everything as she glanced about, and when she saw the staircase, her eyes widened. Crag could hear that a lot of the pack members were in the living room, and since he didn’t want anyone frightening his mate with their animal side, he used the common pack link to let everyone know there was a human present.
“Carter and I have just met our human female mate. She doesn’t know about us, so I would appreciate it if you kept your wolves hidden.”
“Come into the living room and meet everyone, baby.” Carter tugged on her hand, and Crag gave the other an encouraging squeeze before they guided her to the room.
There were still a few of the pack missing. Tarkyn, Rylan, and Chevy Friess and their mate, Alyson, were still at the club, but Carter was pleased to see that Blayk, Chris, and James Friess and their mate, Talia, were present. Blayk was a doctor, and Carter wanted Tammy to be examined to make sure she was really okay. She had a lot of bruising on her cheek and could even have fractured bones. He wanted to make sure she got medical treatment if that were the case.
Jonah, Mikhail, and Brock Friess, along with their mate, Michelle, had been at the club earlier, and as much as Carter wanted to introduce Tammy to everyone, he didn’t want to overwhelm her. He led her over to where Michelle was sitting with her mates and bowed his head to his Alphas and queen, and Crag did the same.
“Tammy, I’d like you to meet the…head of the family. This is Jonah, Mik
hail, and Brock, and their ma…wife, Michelle.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Tammy replied.
Michelle held out her hand to Tammy. “Hi, Tammy, nice to meet you, too. I know how overwhelming it can be to meet so many people, so I won’t even try and introduce you to everyone. They can tell you who they are when you’re more settled.”
“Oh, but I—”
“Thanks, Michelle,” Carter interrupted and then turned when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye.
Rochelle was walking toward them but looking back at her mates, Jarrod, Malcolm, and Braxton Friess, over her shoulder as she spoke to them, and she was on course with the coffee table. Carter was about to move and stop her before she hurt herself, for which she was renowned to do, but Jarrod moved, using his wolf speed, and caught his mate around the waist before she crashed into it.
Tammy had also turned to look, and she stood staring at the pair with her mouth gaping open.
“Damn it.” Carter ran a hand through his hair. “We’re going to have to tell her about us sooner than I wanted to.”
“Shit.”
Jarrod released Rochelle, and she skirted the coffee table and came to stand near Tammy. “Hi, I’m Rochelle. Sorry about that, but I seem to have a problem with klutziness. Thank God I have three mat…husbands to save me.”
“Um, yeah, I can see how that would be an advantage.” Tammy looked from Rochelle and her men who were standing not too far away and then to Michelle and her mates.
Carter could practically see the wheels turning in Tammy’s mind. When she swallowed, it was very audible, and he decided it was time to whisk his mate away from the family so they could explain things to her, but first he wanted Blayk to examine her.
“Blayk, can we have a few minutes of your time?”
Blayk rose to his feet, passed Talia, who had been sitting in his lap, to Chris, and then hurried over.
“Do you want me to examine her?”
“Please.”
“What the hell happened to her?” Michelle asked with a scowl on her face.
