by K. N. Banet
“Jacqueline, what can I help you with?” By the tone of her voice, I could imagine her regally lying on a long couch. I didn’t know if she had an office and certainly couldn’t picture her in one as I could with Hasan. I could see her poolside, eating cool fruits and having someone fan her. While it was probably a fantasy, it was the image I got nearly every time I spoke to her.
“I wanted to ask you about Oliver. Why him? Also, I had a werecat drift into my territory for a moment today, and there are some other questions I need answered about what to do with my employees if I lose my territory.” Not wanting a lengthy conversation, I got to the point but realized my error and quickly corrected it. “Also, hi, Zuri. It’s nice to speak to you this evening. Well, it would be closer to morning for you, wouldn’t it?”
“It would, but I was awake, don’t worry,” she replied, a smile in her voice. “A late night, you see. I was about to retire.”
“Of course. Now—”
“Oliver,” she said with a sigh, cutting me off. “Yes. He’s been a small problem for both Davor and me in the last year. Not that any of it was his fault but a problem, nonetheless.”
“Care to elaborate?” I asked, leaning back and getting more comfortable.
“No. He wasn’t at fault, but we felt it was best to send him away for a little while, then Father gave us that chance.”
“So, you’re going to offer me even less information than Niko about the bartender he sent.”
“Oh, we all know about Dirk,” Zuri said with barely concealed annoyance.
“You don’t like him?”
“His mother was a maid at Niko’s home in Berlin, not that he ever used it, who had terrible taste in men. Niko didn’t let it bother him that she was pregnant with a drunk’s child, but after she had the boy, she fell ill. She passed away when he was about a year old, so the boy went to his father. Niko didn’t want to step in unless he couldn’t shape up and be a father.” Zuri sighed again. “Of course, the father and the boy moved out of the country, and Niko lost track of them. A couple of years later, he went hunting and found Dirk in the care of the local government, so he took Dirk in, feeling responsible.”
“Niko raised him?” I said softly, confused. “He’s Niko’s…” I almost said son. Typically, if a werecat raised a young human, they became parent and child.
“Yes. He’s Niko’s, in whatever context you want to think about it. Dirk isn’t the first and won’t be the last human one of the family has taken in. From my understanding, he’s always been a good human and loyal to Niko, loyal to the only father he’s ever known. A very good son, for the most part.”
“But you called him a pain in the ass.”
“To Niko, who had to deal with helping the boy grow up. All teenage boys are a pain.”
“How would you know?” I asked, smirking. “You’ve never raised one, and stereotypes are rude.”
“Don’t make assumptions, and I do have a twin brother,” she retorted. “I know young men. Pains, all of them.”
“While I’m glad for more information about Dirk, I really want to talk about Oliver,” I said, trying to get us back on track. “I know why Dirk is here. Niko already told me.” And now I had even more of a reason to understand why he was seemed upset.
Niko didn’t mention that he had raised Dirk, though. That was rude. The human is practically family. Hell, he’s been family longer than I have.
“Oliver’s enthusiastic and bright, but things happen,” she said enigmatically. “And he’s there to rebuild the confidence I know he has. Running a small bar with a stubborn owner is a good place for him. Not many employees to deal with and no overbearing father.”
That gave me a clue.
“His father? He said he worked with his father.”
“He did, but again, this is his story,” Zuri repeated. “Take good care of him. He’s a wonderful boy, and he’ll do great things for your little bar if you let him. Now, you have a second problem you wanted to speak about? Something to do with losing your territory? Is there something wrong?”
“Like I said, a werecat drifted into my territory earlier today. What am I supposed to do if I lose a fight, and they’re here?”
“You put in place in a protocol, a group text, or a code word. If an intruder comes into the territory, you send it to them before you deal with the intruder. It will initiate an escape plan. They’ll pack up and drive out of the territory until you give them the all clear or find them at the meeting location. If you are chased out, I would expect you to have them both meet you close to Dallas, so you can put them back on planes to us, where we can protect them while you find a new home or just stay rogue, like Mischa. I would assume Dirk knows all about it. Oliver’s family has never had a reason to learn since they’re outside employees, away from our homes.”
“That all sounds much less complicated than it probably is,” I said, leaning over. “This is why I didn’t want employees, Zuri.”
“Talk to Father about that. He made the decision. I only used it as a chance to help a young man who has spent his entire life hoping to work for one of us. He’s new, you’re new. It seemed like a good fit.”
“Are you worried about me losing my territory?”
“Does Carey still live there?”
I wondered for a moment how much Jabari had told Zuri about my little charge, my only real friend. If Heath and Landon weren’t around, I wondered if I would be in a similar position as Niko. Maybe that was why Zuri made it a point to remember Carey’s name.
“Yes.”
“Then no, I’m not overly worried. A werecat with a charge will fight more viciously than a werecat without anything relying on it keeping the territory. It’s actually not common for a young werecat to get overly attached to their home for the first century or so. Sometimes, older werecats will take the territory just to prove a point.”
Haha. Great. A big male werecat might want to upset my life by forcing me out, just to annoy me. That would be some fucking bullshit.
“I think that’s everything,” I said, ready to get off the phone. “Thank you for talking to me.”
“I would have gotten back to you sooner, but I was handling something with my territory in Cameroon. A rogue wandered through and thought she could freeload for a time. One of my staff saw the tracks, and I had to go in and chase her off.”
“It’s almost comforting to know you still deal with rogues like a normal werecat,” I said, snorting.
“Yes. There’s always one, maybe coming in from a different part of the world or too young to really understand we’re in charge and why, so we have to put them back in their place.” She sounded amused. “Now, I am going to sleep, little sister. Good night.”
“Good night,” I barely said before she hung up.
6
Chapter Six
Jacky: You couldn’t tell me he was your kid?
Niko: He asked me not to. Did he tell you?
Jacky: No, Zuri had to tell me. Why didn’t I know you raised a kid?
Niko: You weren’t speaking to us, and I’m very private about Dirk. Hasan let our siblings know, but I don’t parade him around for the family. Don’t call him nephew, he’d hate it.
Jacky: Has he ever met any of the family?
Niko: You’re the first. I think it’s best since you’re a similar age.
I sighed and looked across the bar at my new bartender. Only someone in the supernatural world would think thirty-seven and twenty-four were similar ages. Humans would see two people from different generations with very little in common due to being at different stages in their lives.
And Dirk, even raised by Niko, was a human. Which struck me as odd as I watched him do inventory before we opened for the week. He was already twenty-four. The time to Change him in his prime was right now. Sometime between twenty and thirty was the choice of most to Change.
Dirk caught me staring, and his eyes narrowed.
“Yes?”
“Nothing,” I
said, looking back down at my phone, then remembered. “I don’t have your number. Or Oliver’s. We need to set in place some safety protocols. Should have done them Sunday, but I’m new to this.”
“Niko said you were,” he said patiently. “Let me get Oliver.”
“Thank you.” I played with my phone as I waited, and when they sat down in front of me, I slid the phone to them. “Were each of you given U.S. cell phones, or am I responsible for those?”
“We called the car ride company to take us out yesterday to pick some up,” Oliver answered. “While you were with Miss Everson.”
“That’s good. I need your numbers. If there’s an emergency, I want to be able to let you know.”
“What’s our meet up location?” Dirk asked.
“Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport,” I answered, looking up at him. “If it’s necessary, I want to be able to put you both on planes out of the country. If it’s not, you can just drive the two or so hours home.”
“What are we talking about?” Oliver looked between Dirk and me, obviously lost.
“We live in a werecat’s territory. If she’s challenged, she could lose the entire region, and we wouldn’t be safe. So, she’s going to let us know if someone shows up, and we’ll leave, so we’re not caught in the crossfire,” Dirk explained before I could. “It’ll be fine. She’s one of the Family. I don’t think any of them have ever lost.”
“Don’t have too much faith in me. I’m not that old,” I said, trying to keep it light with a smile. “I’m closer to you two in age than I am to any of my siblings. It’s good to have this in place because only yesterday, I had a werecat step in my territory. Nothing happened, and they left without incident, but it makes the point clear. We need a safety plan for the two of you.”
“I’ll make sure Oliver gets out with me,” Dirk said, handing my phone to the young manager. “I plan on buying a car this coming weekend.”
“Great. Oliver?”
“I don’t know how to drive. If Dirk is fine coming to get me, I’ll go whenever and wherever you need me to,” he said, looking up from my screen. He looked back down and punched in his information, then held it out. “Here you are. I didn’t know this was a concern. I feel a bit foolish.”
“Zuri said you’ve never worked in werecat territory. Consider this a bigger learning experience than you thought it would be. It’s one for me, too,” I said, trying to ease the nerves at the table. What Dirk and I talked about was scaring Oliver. I could smell it in the air, even if he covered it up well. “We’ll be fine. I don’t keep prime territory with great resources.”
“That’s good,” Oliver said, a wobbling smile forming. “Thank you for looking out for us.”
“You’re here. You’re my responsibility. Now, let’s get this bar open and get the week started.” I thumped my hand on the booth table which I had claimed to work. Oliver took the finance books from me and ran up the back stairs, and Dirk went back behind the bar and continued his daily inventory. I unlocked the door and looked for a place to go.
“You can head out. Kick Shot doesn’t need you hanging around,” Dirk said, watching me wander. “We’ve got it covered.”
“Yeah…” I hated that. I’d started working at Kick Shot to fight boredom and have my own meager income away from the millions Hasan had gifted me.
Now, it seemed I was back to twiddling my thumbs. I flipped my phone around in my hands, wondering if there was a good movie playing, or if I could go out to dinner. I almost considered calling Heath or texting Carey to see if they wanted to do something, but I felt like I was intruding even considering it. It wasn’t my schedule to see them on a Tuesday.
I admitted defeat and walked out the back, heading for my house. I went to my home office and sat down at my gaming computer, booting it up to kill some time—a lot of time since I had nothing to do unless they called me. I didn’t want to stay and hover when they were both capable, especially Dirk, who would be handling the customers all night.
Hopefully, there wouldn’t be any fights.
I still thought it was interesting that Niko had raised the young man, but it wasn’t my place to get involved. It was the same in reverse. Outside of what I told any one of them, they wouldn’t get involved in my friendship with Carey.
I played around on my computer for thirty minutes before I gave up and sent a text to Heath, asking if I could come over or take everyone to the movies.
Heath: Let me guess. You’re letting them manage Kick Shot and have nothing to do. I thought cats were good at being lazy?
Jacky: You’re a very intelligent man, Heath Everson. Don’t push your luck.
Heath: We’re sitting down for dinner in thirty minutes. I’ll have Carey put a plate out for you.
I sagged in relief and went to get ready. I ran down the trail, wondering where the hell my dirt bike was since I hadn’t used it in three days.
Did I take it to the shop and forget about it? Maybe I do need an assistant.
I jumped into my car and flew out of the parking lot, ignoring the two lonely cars parked out front. A normal starting Tuesday for Kick Shot.
When I arrived at their home, Carey was already outside, waiting for me with the biggest smile.
“Hey!” I said, grinning at her as I got out of my car. “Hope you don’t mind me dropping in.”
“We’re having pot roast, and you’re going to sit next to me!” Carey ran forward and grabbed my hand, pulling me along to follow her. I couldn’t get rid of the smile. Carey’s welcome brightened my mood more, something I hadn’t even considered I needed.
“That sounds amazing.”
“Were you really that bored not being able to work?” she asked as she opened the front door, being a good, if short, host. I let her, knowing this was a special occasion to her. I didn’t come to hang out unless I was already invited. I never asked.
“I was. I’m used to working. Like you got bored last summer without school.”
“Yeah, but school sucks,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “I don’t know why I missed it. It’s really boring too.”
“Sometimes, work is like that, but it’s still what we do every day,” I reminded her. “So, when we suddenly don’t have it...”
“We miss it, even though it’s stupid?” She looked up at me, her eyes bright with knowledge and new ideas.
“Yes—”
“Carey, what did I say about calling things stupid?” Heath called loudly from the kitchen.
“Sorry!” she yelled back, then gave me a look. I could already see the teenager she was going to grow into, and that was a terrifying thing. She was smart, quick-witted, and a little defiant, ready to take on the world at the age of twelve.
She’s going to kill us all when she turns sixteen and gets her first car. I already know it.
I didn’t question anymore if they were still going to be living in my territory in a few years. With Heath’s new position as a representative and mine, it was more likely than not, we would live near each other at least for another decade, and I was surprisingly okay with it.
She led me into the dining room, where I could see Heath in the kitchen, wearing the most ridiculous apron I had ever seen. It said Zookeeper and had a cartoon piece of meat on it. I could only imagine it was a teasing reference to the zoo his family might have been once, with two adult werewolf sons and a precocious human daughter.
Honestly, it reminded me of the boxers I had seen in Washington. My face heated as I remembered them and the rest of my view during that trip.
Terrible place for that memory to pop up. Cool down before he notices. Or worse, Landon notices.
Heath looked up and smiled, and I knew by the smile he could scent something from across the room.
“How’re you this evening?” he asked, his voice betraying nothing.
“Bored. Thank you for having me.”
“I understand. Go ahead and have a seat. Carey, go get your brother. He’ll be outside.”
&n
bsp; “Okay!” Carey barreled through the back door into their massive backyard. The moment she was gone, Heath put down the very large knife he was holding and walked toward me. Once he was too close for comfort, I could hear him sniff the air around me, then he stepped back.
“Take a deep breath,” he ordered softly. “Landon is going to notice, but I’m certain he’s already gotten wind of it from me when I haven’t been paying attention. He’s not going to say anything, but you don’t like being embarrassed, and I know you will be. Take a deep breath and bring your pulse down. Think of something else and try to let go of the emotion.”
I followed his instructions, thinking of anything else, like what could possibly be going on in my bar at that moment.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “Landon’s not out back, is he?” I knew Heath could be a little devious when it came to his children and finding ways to get them to do what he wanted.
“No, he’s upstairs, but she wasn’t paying attention, and I wanted to distract her,” he said patiently. “What were you thinking about?”
“Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of the breathing exercise?”
“Possibly, but I’m curious.”
“Then I’m not telling you,” I said with a bit of sass that wasn’t like me at all. “Feeding your curiosity isn’t why I’m here.”
“It kind of is since I was curious to see what you would be like at dinner with my family, in my house, away from your comfortable place in the bar,” he retorted. “But fine. I’ll find out eventually.”
“No, I don’t think you will.” I had no intention of telling him I was thinking about his boxers. I took several more deep breaths as those memories came back, and I had to divert my thoughts to anything else, like Carey. She was stomping back in, looking annoyed. The back door slammed as she glared at her father.
“He’s not outside! You did that on purpose!”
“I did. I wanted to talk to Jacky about adult things,” he answered without a shred of guilt. Instead, he grinned mischievously and walked back into the kitchen. “Landon is upstairs in his office. He got a call from an old friend. Tell him dinner is about to go on the table.”