Night of the Billionaire Wolf

by Terry Spear

  “I will. Okay, Dad, if everything is going well, I’m going to get back to setting up this party. Tell Mom I’ll call her afterward.”

  “Will do. And congratulations. She’s out back putting in a flower garden and left her phone in the living room. I just came in to get us some refreshments, but I’ll tell her.”

  “Thanks, bye, Dad. Love you.” Lexi turned to Ryder. “Hey, if you haven’t had a chance to tell your parents we’re mated, I’ll take over from you and you can call them.”

  “Thanks, I’ll do that.” Ryder gave her a kiss. “Is everything all right with your family?”

  “Yeah. They both love it there.” She got a call and looked at the caller ID and smiled. “My mom. Hey, Mom.”

  * * *

  Lexi was wiping away tears while talking to her mom when Ryder called his parents. He gave her a hug, but then moved away so she could talk about wedding plans with her mom.

  “Hey, Mom, I just got mated,” Ryder said to his mother.

  His mom tsked. “You know, I figured you’d at least give us some warning.”

  “Like you did with your parents? We haven’t had any time.” He explained what had happened, how he and Lexi had met, and all about his new job.

  “That sounds like a wild adventure, but I should have known if anyone would have one, it would be you. However, I don’t like this business with Tremaine,” his mother said.

  “Yeah, but you know that comes with the job. I just have to be careful. All of us do. Now, we’re going to have a formal wedding, but we’ll have two of them.”

  “Wait, Lexi Summerfield, of Clair de Lune Cosmetics? Ohmigod,” his mom said.

  Smiling, Ryder had wondered when that would sink in. “Yeah, so did you want to come to both weddings, or just one of them?”

  “Both, of course. We want to meet Lexi’s family, and if Lexi’s agreeable, since her dad is supposed to be gone, your dad can walk her down the aisle at the other wedding.”

  Ryder agreed. “I’ll ask her.” He suspected Lexi would be thrilled, and he was delighted his parents would want to go to both weddings to show their love and support.

  “Can I tell my friends?” his mother asked.

  “Of course. She’ll be announcing it at a party this afternoon, and word will spread like wildfire.”

  “Hey,” Kate said, rushing out to the patio with a handful of sample bags. “The caterers are here.”

  Ryder said to his mom, “Listen, I’ve got to go, but we’ll talk later about everything.”

  “Okay, keep her safe, son. And congratulations. I’ll tell your dad. Love you.”

  “Love you, too, Mom.”

  Mike and Ryder went to check out the new arrivals, even though Ryder was supposed to stay with Lexi. He couldn’t help himself. He had to ensure the caterers were who they said they were, and he was checking the list twice. After Rafe had trouble with imposters at a party of his, Ryder knew not to fall for that ploy, and he wasn’t taking any chances.

  Lexi also joined them to make sure that everything was going okay, while Kate continued to set things up for the makeup session.

  The next thing Ryder knew, the guests were arriving. The women were wearing floral dresses or skirts from short to long to in-between, rhinestone sandals, flashy diamond rings, earrings, and necklaces. He was thinking they could really afford to put some meat on their bones. One of the women was a Jamaican actress, starring in a new CBS comedy, and another a Swedish actress he’d seen on the big screen numerous times. He was really impressed Lexi knew these women. He hadn’t expected to be so starstruck.

  Holly and Jade arrived, both blonds, though Holly had pretty, clear-blue eyes, while Jade’s were a beautiful, dark brown. He was glad to see the she-wolves, ready to protect them if any of the women got catty with them.

  Kate took everyone else out to the patio to party, while Lexi and Ryder spoke to Holly and Jade alone.

  “We’re mated,” Lexi said. “But we’re telling the world we’re married and will have the big wedding coming up. I’d love to have both of you as matrons-of-honor, and Kate as a bridesmaid.”

  The ladies smiled. “We’d be delighted,” Jade said.

  Holly agreed and hugged Lexi and Ryder. “You’re going to Rafe’s party tomorrow, right?”

  “We wouldn’t miss it for the world. Oh, and my parents wanted to thank Rafe for Edward and his men’s help with everything.”

  Jade hugged both of them too. “He was only too happy to offer their services. Okay, we’re ready for this party.”

  “Come on in then,” Lexi said.

  “Did you warn him about the wild women at this affair?” Jade asked.

  Lexi laughed and took Ryder’s hand as they walked to the patio. “That’s why I’m having Mike stay out front. I’ll protect Ryder.”

  Ryder smiled. Lexi went to visit with her guests while Kate started to apply makeup to one of the ladies. Two of the four caterers also started applying makeup to a couple more of the guests.

  “Kate and I trained them so they could apply makeup but do the catering, too, when we were done with the makeup sessions.” Lexi welcomed everyone to the party and announced, “Some of you might have been wondering. Ryder Gallagher is my husband, but we’ll be having a more formal wedding that you will all be invited to, the date to be determined.”

  “Wow, that was fast.” The dark-haired woman eyed Ryder with a small smirk on her face.

  “Yeah, we met each other while rescuing bear cubs together, and”—he shrugged—“it was one of those one-of-a-kind life experiences, and we just connected.”

  “Bear cubs? Oh, really.” The woman sounded as though she didn’t believe a word of it.

  “Yeah, in the redwoods.” Ryder ran his hand over Lexi’s back and wished he could just take her back to the bedroom now and make love to her.

  She smiled up at him, and he kissed her mouth.

  Several of the women started taking off their dresses, tops, and skirts, revealing bikinis and tankinis. They were drinking and eating, while some were having their makeup done. The ones who were made up left their chairs to get drinks and something to eat. Then one of those women slipped into the pool, a redhead whose hair was a little too bright to be the real deal.

  “This is a little different from working for Aidan and Holly,” Ryder told Lexi.

  “Yeah, watch that one in the pool though. I think she’s already had too much to drink, and we don’t want anyone drowning.”

  “I will.” Thankfully, Don hadn’t gotten word that Lexi was having a pool party. Ryder could just imagine the guy showing up and giving them grief.

  Lexi began applying makeup on another of the ladies, so there were four of them being made up at a time. Two of the women were taking pictures and taking notes.

  A couple more women hit the pool, and the redhead climbed out. She grabbed a drink off a caterer’s tray, finished it off, and walked over to see Ryder. “Refill it, won’t you, sweetie?” She held out her cup.

  Ryder didn’t recognize the woman, not that he watched TV or movies all that often. He noticed Lexi and Kate were watching him. If it hadn’t been for not wanting to get bad publicity over this, he would have told the woman she’d had enough to drink.

  She was leaning against him, getting him all wet. He took her plastic cup and motioned to one of the caterers to refill her drink.

  “I wanted you to get it for me,” the woman sulkily said.

  He didn’t figure the woman was a reviewer. She seemed like one of the actresses, though she could be a model.

  “That’s what I’m doing. Getting you a drink.” He asked the caterer to refill the woman’s cup.

  “You’re not really married to Lexi, are you?” the woman asked, her refilled drink in hand.

  “Yeah, I am.” It seemed strange to say that. He hadn’t quite gotten used to
the concept yet. He figured word would spread and even Don would hear of it—and probably be miffed Ryder and Lexi had told him they weren’t a couple.

  The redhead smiled. “Seriously?” She glanced back at Lexi. “Well, she sure has kept the secret well. I’m surprised Don Morgan hasn’t published the story even yet, and he’s always first to get news like this.”

  “I’m sure he’ll hear about it soon enough.”

  The redhead shrugged and walked back to the pool.

  Ryder smiled at Lexi as she finished up the lady she was making up. “Sorry about that. I never have men here at my parties, and you looked like the perfect target.”

  “I don’t think she believes we’re married.”

  “I thought I was going to have to peel her wet body off yours and throw her in the pool,” Lexi said.

  Ryder chuckled, envisioning the she-wolf doing just that. “That might not be good for your promo efforts.”

  “No, but I’d have felt a whole lot better.”

  * * *

  Two hours later, the party was winding down, and another one of the ladies joined them, flashing her eyelashes at Ryder. She said to Lexi, “If you ever want to loan him out, I’d be willing to take him off your hands.”

  Everyone thanked them for the lovely party with promises of great reviews, especially since no one’s makeup ran or smeared during the pool play.

  The redheaded actress smiled blatantly at Ryder, then left with the others.

  “You know she doesn’t really believe you’ll be faithful to me if she keeps making a play for you,” Lexi said.

  “Just don’t invite her back,” Ryder said.

  “She’s off the guest list,” Kate said. “We don’t need any trouble from the likes of her, and there are plenty of other celebs waiting to be invited.”

  Holly and Jade were the last guests to leave the party, wanting to have a private word with Lexi and Ryder.

  “I had fun,” Holly said. “I can’t wait to tell Aidan the news about your mating, but I suspect he realized what was up from the beginning when Lexi called to verify who you were, Ryder.”

  Lexi smiled. “It’s always important to be sure.”

  Ryder wrapped his arm around Lexi’s shoulders. “I’m glad you did.”

  Jade said, “It was so much fun. Bring your swimsuits to our party, if you’d like. Rafe will have enough bodyguards posted so we can all swim. And congratulations, you two.”

  Holly and Jade hugged Lexi and Ryder again before they left.

  Lexi got a call on her phone and checked the ID. “Don.” She answered the phone. “Lexi Summerfield, how may I help you?”

  “This is Don Morgan. Why didn’t you tell me you and Ryder were getting hitched? I should have had the exclusive story. Doesn’t matter. I’d already sent the story in.”

  “When we told you not to?” Lexi knew he wouldn’t have listened to them.

  “Aw, come on. I knew you were going to do it, and you did too. So when’s the wedding?” Don asked.

  “You’ll be the first to know.”

  “Right. Hey, I got Silky to drop the bad reviews she wrote for you products, remember that.”

  “Ryder saved your life when you were in your burning car, remember that.”

  “Uh, yeah. You have my wife’s seal of approval, by the way. She loved the video of me and your men’s skin-care line. It’s had over a million views. And I’ve become a celebrity in my own right.”

  Not surprised, Lexi smiled.

  “My girls said it was silly, but they’re only six and eight. What do they know? I’ve even had a couple model offers.”

  “Really. Well, let me know how that works out.”

  “I like what I do.”

  “Harassing people,” Lexi said.

  “I’m not just another beautiful face,” Don said. “Maybe I’ll get into more serious investigative work.”

  “You’d be good at it.”

  Don laughed. “I think I’ll stick to trying to learn when your big wedding will be.”

  “I’ll be sure to send you and your family an invitation. And you’ll be the only journalist who is actually invited.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. I’ve got to go,” Lexi said. “Take care of yourself.”

  “I’ll be waiting for the invitation, but I hope you still will give me a heads-up first. Talk later.”

  “You’re inviting Don to the wedding?” Kate asked when Lexi put her phone down.

  “Yeah. He’ll be there anyway. This way, he’ll be there with his wife and daughters and maybe that will help keep him from being a paparazzo at the wedding.”

  After she ended the call with Don, Lexi got a surprise text. “You won’t believe who I just got a text from. Silky Spring.”

  Chapter 26

  Lexi didn’t know what to think when Silky texted her.

  It’s urgent. I need to talk to you about my dad.

  Lexi wasn’t sure if she trusted the woman, though Silky had removed all the bad reviews on their product lines and the promo videos. Lexi texted back: What’s going on?

  I have something to confess to you. I can’t tell anyone else. Please, come see me at my house.

  Wary of the situation, Lexi told the others what Silky had shared with her. “What do you all think?”

  “Sounds suspicious to me,” Kate said, “though she did what she had to do about the reviews. I still don’t trust her.”

  “Sounds questionable to me too,” Ryder said.

  “There are three of us, if anyone should try to ambush us,” Mike said.

  “But if she’s in with Tremaine on this, she would have told him how many of us would be coming,” Lexi said.

  “So what do you want us to do?” Ryder asked.

  Lexi sighed. “Let’s see what she has to say. She sounded really upset, and if I can help her, then I want to. You three can protect me. If you believe it’s doable. Unless you think we should meet somewhere else.”

  “Tell her we’ll meet her at her home in two hours, but we’ll go now to make sure no one gets there before we do and sets up an ambush. I’ll be in the house with you. Kate and Mike can remain hidden outside behind those tall shrubs and let us know if we have any trouble,” Ryder said. “Let’s go.”

  Armed for battle, they took off for Silky’s house while Lexi texted her that they’d arrive in a couple of hours. She hoped Silky would be there when she and the others arrived at her place. Once they were there, they parked down the street from the house. Silky wouldn’t see the vehicle that way.

  Lexi rang the doorbell, and then Silky opened the door. “I thought you said you wouldn’t be here for about two hours. Come in.”

  “We decided to come early because we have some other stuff we need to do after this,” Lexi said.

  “Okay. That’s fine. I’d hoped you would come right away. Where are the others? It’s just you and your one bodyguard?” Silky escorted them to her living room where the calico cat wound around Lexi’s legs, and the black and white cat jumped up on the back of the floral sofa and watched them, his tail waving up and down, looking like he was the king of the beasts.

  “They couldn’t come.” Lexi didn’t feel bad about the lie. She had to give them some advantage if Silky had set a trap for them. She glanced around at the eclectic living room—a hodgepodge of decorator items sitting on white shelves, from a jade-green Buddha to a pink metal flamingo, a conch shell, and little framed pictures of a waterfall, a winter scene, and a palm tree.

  A wooden rocking chair was covered in pink and white flamingo cushions; a wrought-iron chair covered in sunflower-on-blue cushions. The sofa was covered in white floral chintz. White box cubes served as a coffee table, and more decorator items filled the boxes. Despite the riot of colors, the decor had a fun vibe and made Lexi feel like she was in a fa
ncy gift shop. She sat on the sunflower chair while Silky took a seat on the sofa. Ryder stood at the window, looking out and listening to their conversation.

  “So what is this all about?” Lexi asked Silky.

  “I killed the DA,” Silky said, her voice soft.

  “Why would you even say that? And why would you have done it anyway?” Lexi couldn’t believe it. Was Silky thinking she could sway Tremaine into saying she was his daughter if she pleaded guilty to the crime? She had to be nuts. Lexi noticed Ryder had shifted his attention from the window to Silky, probably just as shocked to hear the admission of guilt.

  “The DA was after my dad for drug-trafficking and murder. All right? The DA put my mother away when she killed that man in self-defense.”

  “So you wanted the DA dead because he put both Tremaine and your mother in prison? I don’t believe it.” Though it could be motivation. “Except for one thing. My father witnessed Tremaine kill the DA.” Lexi knew her father wouldn’t have fabricated what he’d seen.

  “Yeah, sure, that’s what your dad saw. My dad did shoot the DA, but he wasn’t dead. Not then. Not until I shot him.”

  “That’s why they said two different guns were used,” Lexi said. “Tremaine saw that my father had been a witness to the shooting, and my father ran before Tremaine could kill him. If Tremaine had run off, my father would have gone to the DA’s aid instead.” It was possible Silky had shot the DA after all. Lexi hadn’t been at the trial because her father wanted her to stay far away from it. Instead, she and her father had been pretending they hadn’t had anything to do with each other for years. They didn’t share family photos anywhere, so Tremaine wouldn’t have been able to learn it wasn’t true.

  “If you did kill the DA, why tell me this now? Why not tell the police and get Tremaine off so you could go to prison instead?” Lexi still didn’t believe it.

  “My dad went into hiding to begin with. I didn’t think they’d find him. And they didn’t know about me.” Silky shrugged. “Why should I go to prison if they think he did it and they can’t trace it back to me? He can stay out of jail on his own because he’s got so many people working for him that can make it happen. I don’t. I thought if he’d admit I was his daughter, I’d have his protection. I didn’t expect them to catch him, for your dad to testify—no one ever lives to do that—and that he’d be convicted.”