by Dannika Dark
“What the hell, Aus? Chill out. The chicks went to redecorate. They were so excited about buying curtains and shit that Reno drove them out to Walmart about a half hour ago. The twins went to the house to crank on the air, and I’ve just been waiting for you to get your ass out of bed so we can meet up with them.”
“It’s not nice to say bad words,” Maizy reminded him without taking her eyes off the TV. She was already dressed as if she were going somewhere.
Denver’s face turned a little red and he stretched his arms behind his head and set the bowl of cereal down on the end table. “You ready? And PS, the next time you want someone to mark a hundred acres of territory, that’s all you.” Denver shot him a hostile glare before slinging his legs off the sofa and getting up, then walking barefoot toward the bedrooms. “Jericho said he might stop by, but I doubt it. You know how he gets after one of his shows; probably lying in bed drunk and stoned with two hot babes on each arm. Lucky bastard,” he murmured.
The clock read 4:35 a.m. Ordinarily, the men would have slept in, but Lynn was already working her magic to whip some of these lazyasses into shape. Now Austin was starting to look like the slacker.
When Austin sat down to put on his shoes, he looked over at Maizy who leaned back on her hands. The mark on her shoulder blade concerned him as to what fate lay ahead of her. Most of the younger generations of Breed wouldn’t know what it meant, but some would. Austin had never felt so fiercely protective of a child, and that’s when he knew Lynn and Maizy had to stay with him, even if Lexi chose not to.
Human or not, they were his pack.
Maizy peered over her shoulder. “I like you.”
His face softened and his chest tightened a little bit. She might not have looked like Wes, but damn if she didn’t have his smile with the dimples.
Austin walked over, squatted down on one knee, and tied her loose shoelace. “I like you too.”
Chapter 27
After I fixed a plate of scrambled eggs and maple bacon for Maizy’s breakfast, I relaxed on the concrete porch step with a glass of orange juice, taking a moment to savor the early morning sunshine before the heat settled in.
In Texas, that meant around ten in the morning.
I had Austin’s cell phone tucked in the back pocket of my shorts so he could get a hold of me if needed. I stressed that he not let my mother overwork herself, but I was glad she had something to keep her occupied after everything that had happened. When my father left us, it destroyed her, and I was worried she might slip into a state of depression like before.
Quite the opposite, in fact. Her ability to find strength through all this allowed me to focus on other matters.
After spending an hour reviewing the documents Charlie left for me, I uploaded the flash drive onto a computer in Austin’s house and emailed a few files to April. I considered having Wheeler review some of the bookkeeping stuff if he had any expertise in this area, which I’m sure he did.
People never got why I liked working at the candy store, and maybe at the time, neither did I. But pieces were locking into place, and now I understood what I didn’t then.
I loved the store, plain and simple. It felt like home. Charlie had been grooming April for the manager position—I could see that now.
Little did I know he had something bigger in store for me. It explained why he’d left me in charge to make decisions I shouldn’t have been making.
My legs were quickly browning in the sun, so I finished my coffee and went inside. Maizy wanted me to paint her nails shell pink. I braided a few strands of my hair, wishing I could wear it more like Ivy did. It suited her in an elegant and lovely way, whereas I would just look childish. I put a few braids in Maizy’s hair because we were going to graduate from Pretty Pigtail Day to Salon Day. After our trip to the Salon of Lexi, we devoured a homemade cheese pizza for lunch.
Austin called to check on me and we chatted for a little while. I laughed when he told me my mom was running the show like a drill sergeant, giving orders on where to paint and what not to touch. She had put Denver in charge of scrubbing the floors.
Austin told me he’d been able to secure the new house so quickly because the couple had moved out a year ago. They hadn’t gone through a realtor, so he’d bought it from them directly.
In cash.
That pretty much earned him the key on day one after signing a few papers and shaking hands.
A few minutes after Maizy went to her room with a book, I dozed off on the brown sofa. I missed lawnmowers, dogs barking, and passing cars—all the vibrant sound effects associated with living in the city.
The phone in my back pocket startled me and I answered in my sleepy voice. “Hello?”
“I hoped you would answer,” Lorenzo replied.
“Hi, cousin,” I grumbled, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. I walked into the atrium and closed the sliding glass door behind me so I wouldn’t bother my sister with our conversation, in case she had fallen asleep. “Why are you calling Austin’s number?”
“Because you returned my phone and I had no way to get in touch with you. I was going to give Cole a piece of my mind, but I’m glad it’s you. Is he taking care of your needs?”
“I take care of myself,” I said, crossing my ankles and leaning back in the lawn chair.
“I hope you took care of yourself when you were in heat. Is that over?”
I held the phone away from my ear and looked up at the sky with my palms up. Why me? These guys thought my libido was appropriate table conversation to bring up while discussing their favorite beer or what’s on TV.
“Alexia?” he called out.
“I’m here. All that’s over with so, yeah. I don’t really want to discuss it.”
“Fair enough, but one day, you’re going to tell me everything that happened. I hope Austin warned you that you shouldn’t have sex while in heat unless you want to get pregnant. That’s what your body is preparing for, and a baby will tie you to him permanently.”
He was trying to get me to fess up either way on what happened. I decided to whistle instead.
A deep chuckle filled the other end of the line. “I get the point. Have you decided if you want to join a pack or are you stalling?”
“What do you have to offer?”
I was only kidding, but Lorenzo switched to his business voice and decided to give me his best sales pitch. “My property is five hundred acres and I own two more lots on the other side of the city. As I’ve told you before, I control a large pack. That means safety and protection for the females who live among us. My men follow orders or there are consequences. I left two of those consequences on your porch the other day.” He paused so I could get his full meaning. “We have sixteen bitches in the pack and eleven are mated.”
“To you?” I asked in an irritated tone.
“No one is mated to me, but three share my bed when they are willing. No other male can touch the ones I’ve claimed. There’s a code we follow and no one is forced to do anything against their will.”
“One isn’t enough?”
I heard the clicking of his teeth. I’m sure he was figuring out how to answer that one without digging himself in a hole, because Lorenzo didn’t really know my stance on such things. He’d never asked me out on a date or bothered to question what my favorite food was or what I enjoyed doing on the weekends.
“All I’m saying, Lorenzo, is that most women don’t want to share any more than you men want to share. They may seem okay with it, but if you married one of them, I can guarantee you she wouldn’t be okay with it. It’s not in our nature to share our man.”
“Which is why I haven’t mated. I’m not asking you to be my life mate, Alexia. I want you to keep my bed warm.”
“Not if someone else has kept it warm for me. And besides that—”
“If you bring up the cousin thing one more time, I’m going to come over there, throw you over my shoulder, and bring you home with me. We’re not related by blood, so let’s drop it. Are you wearing
shorts?”
I glanced down. “Uh, yeah. Why?”
He laughed darkly. “I just wanted the mental image of what you’d be wearing while I was wearing you over my shoulder.”
“Someday you’re going to find a woman who doesn’t like it when you talk like that.”
“Suffice it to say I’ve never had any complaints from a woman when it comes to the private words I whisper in her ear.”
I glanced up at a red-tailed hawk spreading his wings across the blue sky and piercing the silence with a scream.
“This is who I am,” he continued. “I have yet to meet a woman who doesn’t accept that I’m a feared and respected man.”
“Oh? Is that the kind of man you think women desire? I guess you’re not the same person who wrote that poetic message on the card that came with my roses.”
“Touché,” he replied. “We are all more than who we portray ourselves to be. So, Alexia Knight, who are you?”
Suddenly, I wanted to start singing an old classic rock song to those words. “I am a plethora of knowledge when it comes to rock and roll music. I love my family, rum makes me sick, my favorite sport to watch is soccer, and I’m a business owner.”
Wow. It felt amazing to say that last part.
“Impressive. Business owner?”
“Sweet Treats. It’s mine now. The owner recently died and left me the company.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Wouldn’t you prefer to sell it to someone with experience?”
“Not really.” The comment needled me and I pulled at a frayed piece of material on the chair.
“That’s more than a woman can handle. There’s too much involved with operating a business, and I can speak from experience because being a Packmaster is not much different.”
That peeved me. “What’s the matter, don’t like your women with a mind of their own? For your information, Austin supports me and thinks I should do it.” I heard a car pull up out front and I glanced inside. “Listen, I need to go. Don’t call me back on this phone because Austin will probably be the next person to answer, and he won’t like that.”
“Ah, but I will. If you need anything, you know how to reach me.”
Something must have happened for Austin and his brothers to come back so soon. They had planned to stay until dark and when I last talked to him, he said Reno had left to pick up a sack of burgers and fries. That let me off the hook of having to drive across town to deliver their lunch.
The hawk cried out again before disappearing. While sitting in the atrium, I’d come to the decision I wanted to move in with Austin. I didn’t know where it would lead, but I was absolutely certain of it now. My family needed protection and Austin had an accommodating house. It required enough work to keep my mom happy, right along with feeding five hungry men, who would eventually grow into a larger pack.
Then there was Maizy, who needed all kinds of protection if what Austin said was true. What if some pervert wanted to keep her as a little girl, like a Mage or something? I didn’t know much about other Breeds, but there were some twisted people in this world. I was going to have to make sure she concealed the mark and didn’t speak to anyone about it. Once she was old enough to understand, it wouldn’t be a big concern.
I’d have to break the lease at my apartment, and hopefully any evidence of blood had been cleaned up. Even if I didn’t remain with Austin, I’d never be able to go home again. I got chills just thinking about Beckett going savage and all those crimson rose petals scattered across the floor.
A high-pitched scream blared like a siren and I shot up out of my chair, flipping it over. My heart raced as I pulled open the sliding door and ran inside the house.
There was my father, holding Maizy under one arm like he was hauling a sack of potatoes out the door.
“Put her down!” I shouted.
Maizy’s eyes were ripe with fear.
I couldn’t believe it. After all these years, there was the man who had raised me, five seconds from kidnapping my sister.
The years had changed him and he had put on a little weight around the waist. But he still had the black mustache, bald head, and mean face. The kind of face that wasn’t afraid to look his teenage daughter in the eye and whip her with his belt. Maybe that’s why I didn’t have an emotional meltdown over him leaving. The only tears I had shed were for the destruction he left behind of a family shattered to pieces.
“Alexia, go back outside.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Your sister has something of mine,” he said, shaking her a little bit.
I stepped forward calmly. “How did you know we were here?” I was stalling, trying to figure out what to do.
He eyed the front door and sharpened his glance. “I followed you here yesterday from your job. Can’t believe you still work in that piece of shit kid store. Didn’t you ever grow up? Then again, you were never one of mine, so I always knew you wouldn’t amount to much.”
That stung. More than I should have allowed it to. When Maizy whined and Dad shook her with a violent jerk, I redirected my focus on staying calm. I couldn’t afford to shift and put her in danger.
“Maizy’s a smart little girl. She’s just the sweetest thing and has always been good about doing what she’s told. She’ll be going into first grade in the fall. You missed out on so much by leaving us, but don’t do this to her.”
“I know what you’re trying to do,” he ground out, rolling his eyes and shifting her in his arm again. “Save your breath.”
“Why do you want her? Let’s just sit down and figure it out.”
“She’s a thief,” he said accusingly, giving her another jostle. Maizy whimpered and I stepped forward again.
“Please don’t do this.” My heart sped out of control and my hands trembled. “I’ll help you with whatever you want. I’ll go with you if you just put her down.”
“Now why the hell would I want you? Wes was the only child who was mine, and now he’s dead.”
“Because of you.”
His eyes narrowed into thin slivers. “What did you say to me?”
“I know you did illegal stuff, but why would you want Wes to follow in your dishonorable footsteps? He knew about the Breed world and wanted to be immortal. Wes made a deal with a Mage for immortality and it cost him his life.”
Maizy slipped down from his arm, but he held a tuft of her shirt with a strong fist. “What the hell do you think this is all about, little girl?”
Now I was dumbfounded, shaking my head.
“I got paid jack shit for the level of work I did. Thirty years of busting my ass for that man, and when I asked for a higher salary, he told me I was getting greedy. Said I’d better watch my step, or he’d put me under like he did Wes. That’s when I knew it wasn’t an accident, that he had killed my son. I took his fucking diamonds right out from under his nose.”
“Great job, Dad. Now you’ve put your entire family in danger. Way to show him. McNeal stopped by to tell me the story. Wes was a hitman?”
“That was never the deal,” he interrupted, the pitch in his voice higher. “Wes was just a messenger.”
“No. The Mage hired him as a hitman in exchange for immortality that he’d never give him. But Wes didn’t go through with it. He was a tough kid, but he was no killer. When he backed out, McNeal had one of his men take him out and stage the crime scene as an accident, probably so you would keep working for him.”
My dad’s face paled as the truth found residence in his dark soul. Dad knew Wes had died, but obviously didn’t know the whole story.
“You always were a liar.”
My eyes widened. “Do you think I’m making this up? You know McCrazy killed him, but you didn’t bother to ask why. Did you ever tell Wes about my world? You’re an idiot to think he wouldn’t have eventually figured it out.”
He drew in a deep breath and his features tightened.
“That’s right, Dad. My world. I don’t think it’s a secret any lo
nger where I came from and what I am.”
“Wes would have found out eventually. Comes with the territory.”
“Why don’t you tell me a little bit about what happened to my real mother when you murdered her?” My lips thinned and I balled up my fists.
“That’s enough!” he roared, baring his teeth with a ferocious scowl. “Do you think I asked to take out a woman with a child? I never knew who my victims were until I arrived on their doorstep, and by then, it was too late to back out. I’ve never done a woman before or since. But don’t press your luck, because I just might decide a reunion is in order.”
I gasped.
Maizy’s expression was stoic, and it terrified me to see her withdrawing from reality.
“Get outside,” he said, pointing to the atrium.
“I’m going with you.”
“The hell you are. I don’t care if you are grown,” he said, actually unbuckling his belt like he was about to let me have it.
When it slid out of the loopholes of his pants, he expertly folded it with one hand.
“Think you scare me?”
His brow arched. “Maybe not, but I’ll sure scare the hell out of this one.” He gave Maizy a shake and I tethered the wolf in me from lunging—afraid I would hurt her inadvertently.
“Your own daughter?”
“She isn’t mine. No child of mine would ever steal from me.”
“Wes stole your alcohol all the time.”
Dad still got a facial tic when he was angry. “And my son isn’t here to defend himself and call you a liar, now is he?”
“What is this about?”
“The diamonds.”
I scratched the back of my neck and lowered my eyes to the floor. “Don’t you have them?”
“I had them the night I took your mother. After I dropped the excess baggage on the curb, they were gone,” he said, referring to Maizy. “By the time I noticed it the next day, I was too busy dodging a bunch of Shifters who were on my tail.”
I dropped to my knees and softened my voice. “Sweetie, did you take any pretty rocks from this man? If so, you need to give them back. Please, Maze, listen to Lexi and give him what you took. I know you didn’t mean it, and you’re not in trouble.”
