by Barb Shuler
I downed three glasses of water before I pulled out the eggs, bacon, and butter to make breakfast. The bread was already out so that was one less thing to find. I’d have her breakfast ready and I wanted to make a peace offering for Jayden. Muffins were a way to a girl’s heart, right? We had fresh fruit; I’d cut up some berries to go inside them.
I pulled down the baking ingredients, grabbed the big mixing bowl, and went to work. I had three muffin pans lined with those foil cups, which are a pain in the ass to get pulled apart, and ready to go in the oven.
By the time the bacon was finished cooking, the first pan of muffins was done. I pulled it out, slid the next tray in, and went to fix the toast and eggs. I heard the shower start earlier, so she should be almost done. Maybe I was trying for brownie points, but I wanted to have her wake up to something nice this morning. She could just relax and not stress before we went to the bar.
When she made her way into the kitchen, I grinned, scooped her up, ignoring her protest, and leaned in to capture her mouth. Her body pressed against mine as I gave her a gentle squeeze.
“Good morning.”
She grumped. “Morning. Coffee, please.”
She was adorable, though I’d never tell her that. She wasn’t a fan of being told she was cute or adorable. She would say, “That's for babies and puppies.” I liked my balls where they were. I chuckled to myself and moved to the pot to get her a mug filled, careful to not let the hot coffee slosh. Watching her take in the aroma of the coffee and then take that first sip was erotic as hell. I’d never had this reaction before, but today it was off the charts.
The oven beeped and I spun, grabbing a pot holder. I opened the door, pulled out the muffins, and slid the last one in. Then I set out to make her eggs. Two scrambled, a side of bacon, and two pieces of toast cut on a diagonal with a pat of butter on each.
“What’s with the muffins? You turn into Betty Crocker overnight or something?” Her lips twitched.
“They’re a peace offering for Jayden. I know she’s not big on eating meat so I can’t go kill a deer for her. This was the next best thing. I will have to go with you to the grocery store because now we’re out of fresh berries.” I slid her plate beside her and handed her a fork. “Eat up, we have lots to do today. I have to get the entryway to the bar roped off into two lanes. The boys will need a good setup for tonight. Liam and I tweaked the security system and added a new camera, which he’ll be installing tonight in order to see the bar area itself. This way we can see if the girls are safe.”
I watched as she put her fork down and eyed me.
“What?”
“I told you they can’t come into the bar. Only you and Liam!”
“No shifter other than Jayden, Liam, and myself will be in the building at all. We will be behind the scenes as much as possible. The pack will be set up outside. They’ll be holding down the front door. This way no one else slips in unnoticed. Simon and his men, all of which are human, will be inside, two in the club/bar area, out of the way, and the other on the back entrance.
“Angus will be in charge of what’s done and not done in the club/bar. I trust him with you and the girls. He’s really stepped up and been willing to take our advice, and the training has gone great. Nick will be stationed closer to the bar to watch the girls, and Max will be on patrol of the perimeter. He’s been told to be invisible.” I smiled as I leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “We’ll not break your rules, but we will do what’s necessary to keep you all safe and in business. Did I mention, safe?” As I spoke the last words I pressed kisses to her cheeks.
“You think you’re smart, don’t you?” She was fighting a smile.
“Well, I do have these moments of genius clarity. They don’t happen often but—” The oven beeped. Turning, I pulled it open, grabbed the pot holder, and removed the tray.
“Thirty-six berry filled muffins says ‘I’m sorry,’ right?” I looked at the muffins that had already been pulled from the pan, cooled and ready to put in something in order to get them to the bar.
“She knows you didn’t mean to be an asshole.”
“I—he scared her. I never meant to do that. I lost control and it almost ended badly. He’s settled now that the bond is complete.” I pressed myself against the cabinet as I leaned into her. “I guess it’s a good thing she had enough of her senses working to grab the water sprayer. By the way, that water is fucking cold.”
Mia laughed and shook her head, wrapping her arms around my neck. “If she hadn’t have done that, I’d have stopped you; it just would’ve hurt more.”
“I’m glad it didn’t come to that, I hurt enough already. This old body isn’t what it used to be,” I joked, grinning.
“Old, huh? You didn’t seem very old last night.”
“Hmm…” I leaned in and kissed her softly, a growl rumbling through me. “Last night was…fun. I hope to have many repeat performances.”
“If you’re a good puppy, maybe.”
My eyes blazed as the wolf in me took note of the challenge in her voice. I leaned in, brushing my lips down her neck, nipping at the scar there. “Mine.”
I was interrupted by my cell chiming. Ugh. I was going to skin someone. I pulled the phone from the charger and brought it closer. It was a message from Satan, which meant it was Sy. I grinned to myself. I was a clever puppy.
I fought back the need to roll my eyes. Now I was calling myself a puppy. What were these girls doing to me?
Satan: Transfer in progress. Be in NC in 1 week.
I flipped the phone around and showed it to her. “Sy will be here in a week… Yay.” I did a fake, half assed, halfhearted cheer. Mia slapped my chest and sighed.
I wasn’t going to pretend I liked him. I didn’t. I didn’t trust him fully. There was something about him that just rubbed me the wrong way.
“Guess he’ll be up my butt…”
“Behave. He’s good at his job.”
“I know, now eat up and get dressed. We have things to do.”
With another quick kiss, I turned to the mess I’d made and started cleaning up the kitchen.
16
Mia
While talking to the girls about the new security plan, I tried to ignore the glances between Melody and Phoenix. I hadn’t told them why, just that I was beefing up security and that was all they really needed to know. I didn’t want to stress them out by telling them I’d had a close encounter with a serial killer. We had filled Jayden in on everything when we gave her a heads up about the changes to the door so that she could steer clear. Dalton gave her his peace offering of muffins, which I had put in a basket for him rather than just putting them into a container. As a gesture, she asked me to take them out to the boys to see if they wanted one because she would never eat them all on her own.
My phone vibrated in my back pocket. I pulled it out and saw Sy’s name on the screen. D had told me that he was moving here in a week, so I had been waiting for this call.
“Sy, how are you?”
“Mia, my darling. I’m good, how are you?”
“I’m good, just getting my girls ready for work. We’ve changed things a little, so I’m filling them in.”
“How’s the bar doing?”
“We’ve had a few issues over the past few nights, but nothing that my security can’t handle.”
“Well, I can see for myself in a week’s time.”
“Mmmhm.” I don’t know what it was about that sentence that made me uncomfortable. He’d helped me find this place, but that didn’t mean he had a right to come in and check on me.
“I need your help.”
“Oh, with what?”
“Would you be able to check out a few places for me? I trust your judgement, and if you like the look of one of them, I’ll sign the lease.”
“I guess I could make some time tomorrow before I come in to work. Worst case, you can stay in my spare room.”
“Where will Dalton sleep?”
“I
n my bed…with me.”
“When did this happen?”
“It’s been a long time coming, but the move to NC solidified what we already had.” My hand moved to my neck and I couldn’t help but smile. Last night we had taken that final step and I had let his wolf claim me. Just thinking about it made my stomach flip. When Dalton walked in the door, our eyes met and I felt my body relax. “Text me the addresses and I’ll go see them. I’ll let you know what I think. I have to get ready to open, so I’ll call you after I take a look.”
“Okay. Thanks, Mia. I appreciate that.”
I hung up the phone and slid it back in my pocket. I wasn’t sure how I was going to take Dalton and Sy being in the same room again. D forced himself to play nice for my sake, but the battle of the egos often got involved. I hoped now that he and his wolf had claimed me as their own, he would relax a little.
“Who was that?” Dalton asked as he joined me. I pressed my lips against his, wrapping my arms around him.
“Sy. He asked me to check out a few places for him before he signed the lease. I may have kinda, sorta told him that if he doesn’t find anything then he could crash in your old room till he does.” Dalton growled and I kissed him again. “You’ll be in bed with me, so I didn’t think it would matter.”
“Does he know that?”
“Yep, and when he asked where you would be, I told him with me.” I pressed my lips to his jaw, my hands moving to rest on his ass. “Relax, love. I’ll go check out a few places for him, rave about one of them so that he signs the lease, and make sure it’s on the other side of town from us.” As I nuzzled into his neck, I closed my eyes. I wasn’t big on public displays of affection, but I just couldn’t keep away from him. I wanted to take him and spend the night back at home, but we both had a job to do. Reluctantly I pulled away from him after the wolf whistles and “get a room” comments. After a quick peck on the lips, I moved over to the bar.
“Oh, quiet, you lot, and get ready. We’re about to start letting in customers.”
The week that followed was quiet. I managed to find a place for Sy to move into, and he messaged me when he got into town. I ignored it because my mornings were for Dalton. We had breakfast and I had coffee, and then we would deal with the outside world unless it was important. I went in to let everyone in then locked myself away in the office. I had some work to finish up and needed to concentrate on that. I hadn’t had any more incidents with my orders since Liam had come in and looked around my computer, so what he had done worked. I was happy about that. I heard a knock on my door and looked up to see Angus standing there. I raised a brow.
“Hey, everything okay?”
“Yeah, boss, I just have someone here who says he knows you and insists on speaking with you.” Oh, really now? I stood up and motioned for him to let them in. Sy stood there with a big grin on his face; I smiled. “Thanks, Angus.” He closed the door behind him and went back to work.
“Mia, love, are you avoiding me?”
“Not at all!” I moved to give him a quick hug before walking back to my desk. “Sorry, it’s been crazy busy here lately. Just catching up on some work.”
“All work and no play, we can’t have that. Come have a drink with me?”
“I would and will, but I really need to get this stuff done tonight. Why don’t you go into the bar and see one of the girls for a drink? I’ll be out as soon as I can.”
“I didn’t come here to see them, Mia; I came in to see you. I’m hurt that you don’t want to spend some time with me.” He moved a step closer to me and I took one step back, a feeling of unease sitting in my stomach.
“I’ll be out soon.” My back hit the wall, and he took one final step, pressing me back against it.
“I’ve missed you, Mia.” I pressed my hand against his chest, but before I could say anything, the door opened.
“Mia! We need change in the bar! Can you—” I heard Jayden’s voice, but it was cut off when she looked up and saw the sight in front of her. “What the fuck are you doing?” She moved into the room and pulled him away from me.
“Minding my own business, Jayden, you should try it some time.”
“Like fuck I will! Mia, are you okay?” I opened my mouth to speak, but Sy cut me off.
“She’s fine, go back to work and you’ll see her later. We’re catching up.”
“I’m not going anywhere, not without Mia,” she growled.
“Both of you need to leave. I have work to do. Sylvester, if you don’t want to go out and get a drink, go home and I’ll call you tomorrow or something.”
“You’re the owner, Mia, you can take the night off. Come have dinner with me.”
I was quickly losing my patience with him.
“She isn’t going anywhere with you, not unless you want Dalton joining you five seconds after you leave.”
“Jayden, fuck off. No one is asking for your input in this. It’s between Mia and I. Dalton clearly doesn’t care or he would be here.”
“Sylvester. Enough. You will not speak to her like that. You need to leave now before I get security back in here. I’ve already told you, I’m busy with work and I’ll call you later. Saturday night is a busy night for us and I am needed here.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jayden leave when he turned his back to her. I put my desk between us. I was about to pick up my phone when he stepped closer.
“I’m. Not. Leaving.”
“Oh, yes, you are!” Dalton growled. He stood at my door, his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at Sylvester. It took all I had not to run over to him. I wasn’t using my powers because that would lead to questions that I couldn’t answer. Not just about me, but about Dalton and Jayden.
“Dalton, can you please escort Sylvester out of the bar? Have the guys make sure that he doesn’t come back?”
“It would be my pleasure.”
Sylvester just looked at me.
“You heard me, it’s time to leave. I don’t welcome people who can’t take no for an answer in my establishment.” I let out a sigh of relief when he finally turned and left, followed by Dalton and Liam. Sitting down in my chair, I closed my eyes and leaned my head back.
“Mia, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Jay, thank you for coming in when you did. I don’t want to think about what would have happened.”
“I got you, babe, you know that.” She moved over and wrapped her arms around me, hugging me. Running my hand along her arm, I leaned into her.
“Can you take the change out? It’s in the safe. Code is my age and yours when we met.”
“Sure thing, babe.” She let me go and moved over to the painting on the wall. Pulling it back, she opened the safe and pulled out the change she and the girls needed and left me alone. I opened my eyes when Dalton stepped back into the room.
“Are you okay?”
I nodded. The only thing hurt was my pride. Jay and Dalton tried to warn me, but I didn’t listen. I thought I knew better. Dalton moved into the room, shutting the door. He sat down on my desk, and I shifted my chair so that I was closer to him and laid my head in his lap.
“I don’t want him here again. If he steps foot through that door, I will light him on fire.”
“I won’t stop you.”
I let out a sigh and lifted my head. Turning back to my computer, I pulled up the cameras outside the bar. Before I knew what was happening, I was up and out of my chair, Dalton moving to sit where I had just been. He wrapped his arms around me. “Don’t torture yourself. The boys were making sure that he left, and Ty was going to keep an eye on him until I drop you home.”
“You should go be with him.”
“No, I’m staying here. They can deal for a minute.” Deciding not to fight him on it, I laid my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes.
“I have work I need to finish.”
“I’m not stopping you.”
“No, you aren’t, but you are making me want to stay right here.”
“Nothing stopping
you.” His lips pressed against my head. I let myself relax in his warmth, trying to push what happened out of my head.
“Any updates on the guy that attacked me?”
“Liam is still tracking his movements. He isn’t staying in one place too long, so he knows what he is doing. Don’t worry, we won’t let him hurt anyone again.”
“I trust you.”
He moved his hand to rest on my neck, squeezing it softly before he moved to massage my shoulders. “Just relax, I’ve got you.”
17
Dalton
The perimeter of the club’s property had two new cameras, one on the back parking lot and one in the alley. It may have been overkill when there were shifters about, but after Sy’s little visit the other night I had a niggling feeling this may be needed. I always listened to my instincts. Always.
Following Liam back inside, I cut through the building, gave the bar one last spot check, and went through the front doors. Ty and Kody were all on the way in. They’d gone for a run this morning and were tracing down some tracks around two more kills that were just left out in the open.
I really wanted to find out who or what was doing that. Was it someone messing with us or was it a new shifter that had no control? Neither were good options.
“Boss,” Max said with a salute. I chuckled as he shoved a donut in his mouth before coming over and holding the box open to me.
“Why are you buttering me up with fresh donuts, Maximus? What did you do?” I asked as I took two from the box.
“He wants inside to have a better look at the drunk girls,” Liam supplied. His hand dipped in to grab some donuts.
“Don’t you have a hair ball to cough up or something?” Max growled.
“Children,” I shook my head and grabbed another donut.
“It’s not my fault that Mia has gorgeous employees.” He shrugged and set the box on the small table by the door. “But that’s not why I got the sugar rush. I promised Kody I’d bring some, I just didn’t tell him there wouldn’t be any left by the time he got here.”
