Finding them proved to be harder than he thought it should be. But he did find his mom and sister. Christ, she looked and acted like a five year old the way that she danced around in the open field. Once when she fell down, there were as many as five big men there to help her up. All of them laughing right along with her as if she was normal.
“Thomas. What do you think you’re doing here? I thought I told you not to come here.” Thomas looked at the big man and felt his balls shrink to about the size of a dime. “If you’re here for the wedding, you’d better behave yourself, or I’ll have to have my family take care of you.”
“Are you threatening me?” He told him no. “Good. I mean, it would be really stupid on your part to threaten someone that is related to you now. Not with all these witnesses around. Where is my niece?”
“Getting dressed. And I didn’t threaten you, Thomas, I promise you, when I have to take care of you it will happen. You never answered me. Why are you—?”
“Thomas. You’re here. How I’ve missed you.” Jaclyn started to embrace him, but he moved back out of her way. “You’re not still mad at me because of me running away, are you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jaclyn moved back from him when he spoke to her. He knew that he was being harsh, but she’d actually tried to touch him. “Why aren’t you locked up where you should be, Jaclyn? I mean, you’re nothing but an embarrassment to everyone around you.”
“Thomas Wayne. What the hell is wrong with you? Tell your sister you’re sorry right now.”
Turning to his mom, he slapped her hard on the face. As soon as she hit the ground, he knew as surely as he stood there in the dead silence of the day that he’d made a fatal mistake. The men that had been with his sister helping her up took a step toward him. Thomas, knowing that he’d never survive any one of them coming after him, looked for any sort of help from the crowd.
“She startled me. That’s all it was. I didn’t mean to hit her. She just spoke harshly behind me, and I reacted.” When he hit something behind him, he turned and saw his niece. She stared at him as if she had not one clue as to who he was. “Tell them, Anna. Tell them that I’d never hit my own mother.”
“Yes, you would. And you have before. Tell me something, Thomas, why did you look to me to save your ass? I dislike you much more than any of these men do at the moment.” His palm itched to knock that smirk off her face. “Do it, and you’ll never take another breath. And it won’t be one of my family here that kills you, I will. And you can bet your entire being on that fact. And like Blake told you, that’s a promise you can take to the bank.”
“I’ve never been treated so poorly before.” He put out his hand and hoped that one of them would take it so that they could start over. The only person that looked at him like they thought he might be a nice person was his dumbass sister. “You’re not going to have Jaclyn here, are you? What if she has one of her fits and starts screaming out like a kid? The one time that I heard her do that, I thought for sure she was bringing on the banshees before I had to slap some sense into her.”
“So, not only do you slap around your mother, but defenseless handicapped women too. My my, Thomas, you’re batting a thousand here. And so you’re aware, you’re making a bigger ass of yourself than Mom ever has.” He glared at Anna, hating her for every word that came out of her mouth. “You’re in deep shit here, Thomas. I’d be thinking of some sort of apology rather than pissing off my family more.”
“I’m your uncle, not some man that you’ve only just met. You’ll call me uncle, as it is my title to you, young lady.” Anna looked at him before she threw back her head in laughter. “What the hell do you find so funny? I’m telling you right now, Anna, when I’m in the White House, I’m going to make your new family pay. I do not have to take this shit from anyone.”
“So you think to be running for the presidency? Well, I have to tell you, Thomas, now that I’ve met you, I’m not so worried about my competition. I’m Adrian Whitfield. The man who is going to be president.”
Thomas just stared at the man and the incredibly beautiful woman that stood next to him. Were they all put together with limestone and granite? Did all the women, including Anna, look as if they could be nudie models? It seemed to him at that moment that not only would this man beat him in the race toward the White House, but he’d do it simply by being something that women would drool after, and the men would drool after his wife.
“Thomas hurt me too.” Everyone that wasn’t already looking at him turned to do so as soon as Jaclyn spoke. “He tied me up in the basement and told me that I should die. That the world would be better off with me not in it. I might not remember a lot of things, but I remember him doing that. Then I saved a baby.”
“You saved my little girl. And took her to see Mason, didn’t you, honey?” Jaclyn was speaking like she did before she got stupid. And what the hell was this about saving a baby? “I never told the rest of you what happened that day. But when Jaclyn came into the house to use the bathroom, she caught the nanny we had then smacking poor little Beatrice on the bottom. Hard enough that had she been human, it would have left her with a broken leg or more. Had it not been for Jaclyn taking fast action, there is no telling what she might have done with my daughter. But I’m happy to say, she’s been taken care of.”
The finality of the way it was said made shivers go down his spine. As he stared at the woman who spoke, he didn’t know her name, you’d think that she’d been related to Jaclyn instead of him. When they both turned to him, he couldn’t help it, he laughed. Then laughed more when his sister stomped her foot at him.
“I don’t know why you’re not all laughing. This is the funniest shit that has happened to me in a long time. I mean, really? You’ve all been having fun with me, haven’t you?” Anna asked him what he was going on about. “You know, you getting married. To this family, no less. My sister having a moment of clarity. I bet you guys had to teach her that more than a dozen times before she finally was able to say that. Also, this crap about making me feel like I was as close to death as one could get? And you? Running for president? Where did they get you guys? Some modeling agency? On top of all that, I heard someone tell me that my niece is some up and coming artist. Man, you guys had me there for a minute. Next thing you’re going to tell me is that you’re wolves or something.”
The woman standing with the rest of them laughed. When she did, the others, including his mom, joined them. They got it now. They were having a fun time at his expense. Well, he could take a good joke as well as the next person could. But he wanted answers and money.
“I was wondering if you could point me to the real Adrian Whitfield. Since he’s not running for the presidency. I mean, what man would who has someone to warm his bed nightly and blow him off when he wants.” His mom backed from him, taking Jaclyn with her. “Come on, Mom. A joke is a joke. Where are the people that live here?”
The woman that had laughed first spoke. “You might be interested to know that we’re not wolves. There are a few of them here, but we’re not them.” He was still laughing when he nodded. “However, I can tell you what we are and who I am. I’m Dylan Whitfield. The real one, as are all these wonderful people with me. And no, as I said, we’re not wolves, but tigers. And I’m their leader. I have several questions to ask of you. You will not lie to me. Understand?”
“Yeah, sure. But just so you know, I don’t tell anyone the truth.” He bit his lips, trying to keep himself from saying too much. He’d heard of this crap. Compulsion, he thought it was called. “Just ask them, and I’ll take care of my family here.”
“Did you kidnap Jaclyn and hold her in a place where she had no water or food, with the intentions of killing her?” He said yes, but it hurt him because he fought against it so hard. “Did you kill Shadow’s first husband because he found out that you were stealing money from your mother’s pension and using it for y
our own personal gain?”
“Yes, but he was going to tell my family what I was doing. I know my mother well enough to know that she’d have turned me into the police, and I’d be in jail right now. He didn’t love Anna anyway.” Dylan asked him if he’d murdered James Louis, a man that had been working at the grocery store where he lived as a teenager. “I did. But again, he was going to turn me in for robbing his account. Damn it, how did you find out about him?”
“I have my ways. Last question. Did you murder your father when he wouldn’t leave the business to you so that you could sell it off and make millions off of it?” He had no idea how she’d found out anything, but he was nodding before he could stop himself. Thomas looked at his mother, who was crying now. “I, Dylan Whitfield of the Whitfield Tigers, sentence you to death for the murders of my family members and the attempted murder of one.”
The low growl behind him had his laughter cut off so quickly that it felt like it was stuck in his throat. He thought it funny that she thought she could have him killed. Not only that, but he knew that he was into something he shouldn’t have been. The growls came again, this time closer than they’d been before. As he was looking for help from anyone, the skin on the men started to move and shift. Then, as if he’d blinked for too long and someone had pulled out the people and put tigers in their place, the men were gone, and tigers, as big as small cars were there.
“What do they think they’re going to do?” Dylan told them that they were waiting. “On what? Me to say something? If so, you tell me what it is, and I’ll do it right now. I no longer think this is funny just so you know.”
“Neither did I when you hit Grannie. Who does that to their own mother? Nor when you took your sister from her home and put her in a place so that she’d die of starvation. And especially murdering Shadow’s husband and her grandda. How could you do that to them?” He asked her what they were going to do to him. “Why, they’re going to kill you.”
And just like that, as if every day she would say that to someone, he felt the first claw as it went along the back of his legs. The people in front of him parted, and Thomas took off running. He knew his mistake the moment that one of the powerful cats jumped on his back, taking him to the ground.
They tore at his flesh, teeth sinking deeply into his muscle, breaking bones and hurting him. When he saw his mom standing by, he tried his best to get her to come to his aid. Anything to make them stop. But all his mom did was watch them before she too turned her back on him. It was the last thing he saw, being left behind by his own mother to die.
Thomas knew they were playing with him, tossing him up in the air and letting him fall before doing it again. His hand was missing along a few of his fingers on the other hand, he noticed. Thomas knew that death would have been faster had he not said a word about his sister and mom. When his death was upon him—he could feel blood pouring from his body so quickly that it was making him sick—they left him to die all alone. Thomas didn’t even have the strength to call for help anymore. He was, as they had planned, as good as dead.
Chapter 7
Blake found Shadow in the house, in his office on the phone. While he knew that she’d not seen the worst of the killing of her uncle, she’d seen enough to have her come in here before it was all over. Sitting on the edge of the desk, he waited for her to be finished before he spoke to her.
“Yes, I understand what you’re telling me, but if you keep selling off the pieces before the opening tomorrow night, what is it that you’re going to be able to show to people?” He must have told her that is was fine, because her next statement wasn’t having it. “It’s not fine. I can’t just whip up another few pieces for you before tomorrow night. As it is now, you’ve got almost everything I’ve made.”
Blake knew she’d been caught when he heard Huff ask her in an excited voice if she had any more things to put out. Without a word, she handed Blake the phone. Blake had to wait a moment for Huff to breathe before he was able to speak to him. Shadow sat there looking as shell shocked as he’d ever seen her.
“Huff.” Blake heard his mouth shut together, and his teeth hit. “You’re overwhelming her again. Didn’t we talk about this? That you were to treat her with calm voices and no shouting at her?”
“You did. You did, Blake, but she’s got some in reserve. I want this to be a success.” He asked him how many pieces he had sold as yet. “All but one, but she forbade me to sell it. She said it was her very first horse. Oh Blake, with that knowledge alone, I could make tens of thousands of dollars from it. Even the smaller pieces that she gave me are bringing such an interest that I could have sold them ten times over.”
“I know. But this is her first show, and remember what I told you about not upsetting my future wife?” Huff laughed and said he’d gotten excited. “I know you do, Huff, and I want this to work for Shadow as much as you do. If you don’t upset her anymore until after the showing, I’ll make sure that you’re in charge of her next showing. How about that?”
“Oh, Blake, yes. That would be wonderful. Before you came along, I was ready to shut up the place and walk away.” Blake looked at Shadow when she sat up in the chair. He’d not told her that part as yet. “You’ve saved this old man. You and that beautiful woman and her amazing talent have saved me from a life of crime, I tell you.”
After hanging up, with a promise from Huff telling him that he’d not call again, Blake pulled Shadow up from the seat and held her in his arms. After telling her how much he loved her, he simply held her like she was the spun glass that she worked with.
“He called here to tell me that he would like to have ten more horses. Like I was going to be able to pull them from my ass.” Blake wisely kept himself from laughing. “I’ve decided that I’ll do two more carousels, but there won’t be just horses on them. I have an itch to get out there and make a giraffe and a bear. But then it hit me that I could have so much more fun making things like griffins and unicorns on one. What do you think?”
“If you need models for those things, let me know. I have a friend that is a griffin. And I know a couple of places we can go to see unicorns if you want. They’re not as white nor as colorful as they’re portrayed to children.” She stared at him. “All the creatures that you’ve heard about in fairy tales, love, are as real as you and I are. Anytime you wish to see them, you let me know. All right?”
“All right. But even if I just wanted to see them, just for fun, could you take me there? I think it would be a wonderful honeymoon place.” Blake told her that their honeymoon was already taken care of. “Spoilsport. By the way, I’ve been meaning to tell you this for a couple of days. I love you, Blake Allen Whitfield.”
When the sting to his face sort of woke him up, he stared at Adam as he stood in front of him. He asked him why he’d hit him and so hard.
“I said your name like a dozen times. I thought that you were a zombie or something. And hitting you hard was a perk of waking you up and telling you it was time to get ready to be married.” Blake told his brother what Shadow had told him. “Well, duh. We all knew that. And the fact that she’s having your baby makes us all believe that she’s going to keep you on the straight and narrow. Are you planning to get ready?”
“I am.” He pulled his tux out of the closet of his parents’ room, where they were all getting dressed. The first thing he did was make sure his best men were getting ready and didn’t need a washup again. His sons, soon to be their sons, were on top of it. As he pulled on his pants after undressing, he thought of the sale today. “Do you know how well it went?”
“Nope. Don’t care, either. I mean, it must have gone well enough to have Andrew dancing. But then, that’s not much of a sign. He dances everywhere he goes. If you really want to know, I can ask, but I thought this would be taking up most of your brain cells.” Blake told him he needed a distraction. “All right. How’s this for a distraction? Your pants are on inside o
ut.”
As he redressed, Joey came to him and watched him pull on his pants again. Bennett was there as well, but he was more of the observer type rather than getting to the bottom of things. He waited on Joey to decide to speak.
“You’re our dad now, right?” Blake told him that he was. “And when you marry Shadow, she’ll be our mom, right?”
“She will. And it’s on the top of her list to adopt the two of you too if you want.” They both nodded. When he had his pants on, right this time, he got down on his knees and straightened Joey’s tie. “Shadow has fallen in love with you two as much as I have. And now that we’re going to have a baby, we’ll be even happier, don’t you think?”
“Do you think it will be a little girl?” Blake told Bennett that they’d not know for a little while yet. “I hope so. It sure is nice to hold Beatrice. She smells pretty too. I’d like a sister.”
Joey huffed before speaking. “You messed me all up, Bennett. I wanted to ask Dad if we could go ahead and call Shadow Mom now. See what you did?” Blake felt his heart melt, and his fingers that were still fussing with his tie sort of burn with the need to hug the little boy. “Are you all right, Dad?”
“Yes.”
Even to his ears, it sounded strangled and funny sounding. Joey laughed, and he and Bennett went to the door where his grandda was calling for them. The two of them were to escort his aunt Bea and mom to their seats. Blake was still down on his knees when his dad came to ask him if he was going to make it. Blake nodded.
“Feels good, doesn’t it? To have one of them call you Dad for the very first time. It never got any different when each of you boys said it to me. Each of you called me that, and I got all mushy inside until I thought I was going to be a muddy puddle on the floor. Gets you right in the feels, don’t it, son?” Blake nodded again and stood up when Dad told him to. “You’re all mushy inside, but you’re going to have to be a strong man to take care of this family you got yourself. They’re a hoot, I have to tell you. And that Joey, he sure has a lot of questions about stuff. But I couldn’t love them any more if they were from your own body, I tell you.”
Blake: The Whitfield Rancher – Tiger Shapeshifter Romance Page 8
