Col couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so carefree. When he was the boy’s size, he was already learning to feint and thrust with a wooden sword. Every misstep was met with a blow and a curse from his father. The thought of “play” would have been as foreign to him then as the idea of airplanes and cell phones.
And yet these little cubs charmed him, coaxed laughter out of him, even as they climbed over his body, treating it as a tree.
Even so, he was ever mindful of the loveliness that was Katie Cooper. She was pleased with the flowers, and his heart sang with the delight it had brought her. In the harsh light of the restaurant, she looked radiantly beautiful. She looked…like a woman — mayhap the only woman — he wanted to bear his young, with that glow in her smile as the two children pulled at him, drawing out more laughter.
Everything she did was mesmerizing. He watched, riveted, as she patted her mouth with a napkin after eating her third slice of pizza. Those fingers, that had caressed him. Those soft, sweet lips, that had kissed him.
She smiled at him mischievously. “Penny for your thoughts.”
He replied with a baffled look. “That is a common saying among this time – this place, I mean. One small copper coin that is valued at one-hundredth of an American dollar bill, is that correct?” And then he returned her smile. “But I am thinking of something that has value far beyond mere coin.” His smile turned feral, and she blushed hotly. It was very clear what he was thinking about.
“I’m almost glad Aylwyn couldn’t make it tonight. Please tell him I hope he feels better.”
Yes, he had spoken untruths to Katie Cooper as well. And if it meant that she would not be spending time with the eternally japing whelp, then he had no regrets.
Too soon, their time had come to an end. Katie Cooper’s voice was filled with regret, but he understood. The young needed their sleep. He had offered to bring them back, but Katie had shaken her head sadly. The car that Simon had lent to her was already outfitted with the required seats for the children.
And it would be improper for him to visit her in the young’s domicile. He was beginning to understand the nuances of propriety; in this way, Simon’s hope for this evening was realized, albeit for Col and not with Aylwyn. In the same way, he knew that she would be disquieted to hear in front of the children that he had visited her in her room last night. He had learned with great relief that she had been with the little boy and little girl, and not with Aylwyn, or Barric, or any male that he would have to kill.
He kept that relief he felt to himself, just as he sensed that there were things that she remained silent on, due to the presence of the younglings.
There would be time enough to talk. For now, it was enough to simply be with her, sharing this moment of happiness and laughter together.
The twins had already nodded off in the back seat, thankfully. Against her better judgment, she had let them drink sugary soft drinks and have ice cream for dessert after the pizza. They had been all over Col, sugar-powered for even more mayhem.
And he was absolutely wonderful with them. He spoke to them as he did with anyone, and they responded surprisingly well to that. It made sense in a sad sort of way, Lily supposed. With their father in prison, they were probably hungry for male parental authority. He was strong enough to simply lift them away from any disaster they were about to create, yet gentle enough that they felt completely safe and at ease with him. Lily had never realized it before, but Clover was a daddy’s girl. And she was utterly smitten with Col.
Aren’t we all?
Not that Brady was immune either. By the time the sugar high had worn off, the boy had fallen asleep against Col’s chest, cradled in one of those muscled arms that Lily had longed to touch again all night. Clover had been curled up against Col’s side, a tiny version of where Lily had been the other night.
And when he helped place them in their car seats, Lily was surprised that her melted heart wasn’t spilling onto the asphalt of the parking lot.
He had kissed her softly, gently against the car, before watching her drive away. It took every cell of willpower she had not to ask him to follow them.
But she couldn’t disrespect Rosa like that. The woman trusted her with her children and her residence. Lily wasn’t going to behave like a teenage babysitter, inviting her boyfriend over for a lil’ somethin’ somethin’. With the kids sleeping only a few yards away
Eew.
And Col. It would be disrespecting him too. Something special was happening between them. Something she was simultaneously thrilled about, and fearful too.
Something that was making it hard to think about leaving.
Lily pulled into the gravel in front of Rosa’s single-wide, her headlights illuminating the shabby exterior. She had learned that Rosa’s husband had locked them into some kind of sub-lease agreement that made it near impossible for Rosa to break without severe penalties. That was why Rosa was still here, instead of seeking housing on-site. Lily was going to try to find some way to talk to Simon about it, see if there was anything he could do.
She felt she had gotten to know him well enough that he’d want to be alerted to something like this, and want to help.
Lily switched off the headlights, and sat for a moment in the car, preparing herself for the next task of getting two sleeping preschoolers out of their car seats, into the house, into pajamas and then into bed.
At least in Staff Childcare, she would have put them in the pajamas that Rosa had packed for them, before they settled in at 8:30 in their cots.
Deep breath. You can do this, Lil. After all, this is what Rosa had to contend with each night by herself.
She squared her shoulders. Maybe the smart thing to do would be to go turn on the lights inside, prop the door open, and bring in the twins one at a time. If only Col were here….
But there was a really good reason why he wasn’t, she reminded herself. She could do this.
She opened the car door and stepped down, making certain not to trip on her long skirt. Something was off. She could feel it. It wasn’t the sensation of being watched, as she had the previous night. Just the intuition that something just wasn’t right.
There was silence all around, except for the unfamiliar nighttime noises of insects chirping, the leaves rustling with the breeze, the crunch of the gravel beneath her feet as she shifted her weight nervously.
It was probably her mind playing tricks. Lord knows she had her share of sugary drinks and a too-romantic sharing of a strawberry shortcake sundae with Col. Her own sugar high was probably starting to wear off.
Silly Lily. She looked at the kids. Still asleep in their car seats. They were so knocked out that maybe she’d skip the pajamas and just take off their shoes. OK, she had a plan of action.
She walked towards the trailer. Crunch, crunch, crunch as each step pushed down on more gravel. The key went in easily, turning, unlocking. So far so good. Door opening, the rubber stop right where it was supposed to be, wedging into place with the nudging of one foot.
She felt along the wall by the door where the light switch was, and found it. A simple flick and the light went on. She let out a gasp.
The trailer was completely trashed.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Micah’s face wavered, flickered, and then stabilized into his usual cocky countenance on Cadmus’s computer screen. Perhaps it was picking up on Cadmus’s inner turmoil, as he listened to that brown-noser prattle on. But then Cadmus sat at attention, every cell in his body instantly alert.
“I’m sorry, you went out there for a bit,” Cadmus smoothly lied. ”Would you repeat that again?”
Micah grinned. It was a look that said he saw through Cadmus, but he was going to play along. For now.
“I said HTM wants to come out to Gardendale and check it out for himself. After he heard all the things that I said about it, he’s intrigued. So what’s the progress so far on finding out about the properties you talked about?”
Cadmus grimaced as if the co
mputer was acting up again, to buy himself a little time. He needed to think fast, find a way to hedge. It could be deadly to admit failure or reveal vulnerability to the younger man, who would be all too quick to exploit it. He had trained Micah himself, after all.
Cadmus should have killed him when he had the chance. Before his skills made him indispensable to the Merciless, his cunning channeled towards his ambition.
“The realtor who had the information I was looking for met with…an untimely death, so I have to retrace some of my steps.” Cadmus prayed that Micah didn’t push deeper. “And with the holiday coming up, there will likely be delays until afterwards, so to make best use of His Terrible Majesty’s time, perhaps he could delay his visit until then, when I have more concrete information as to which properties are available?”
Micah quirked an eyebrow. “Oh right, July 4th. There’s a spectacular fireworks celebration that HTM would want to see a few miles from here that we heard about, so yeah, maybe we’ll swing by afterwards.”
“Then perhaps I can rent a larger place that would be more suitable to His Terrible Majesty’s taste and needs.” Cadmus purred. “Although you found the decor of my rental…charming…I was merely looking for something serviceable at the time.”
And Cadmus would make sure he could stay there too during His Terrible Majesty’s visit, if only to defend himself against what Micah no doubt had been saying about him. But most importantly, the delay would buy Cadmus the time to snare that man-wolf for His Terrible Majesty, and return Micah to the irrelevance he should rightfully occupy in His Terrible Majesty’s eyes.
“All good points, Cad-man. Glad to hear you’re staying sharp out there, and haven’t succumbed to whatever it was that was bugging you when I saw you.”
You. You’re the one bugging me. Cadmus smiled anemically. “No, it was something passing, after all.”
“OK, so we’ll plan on coming down after July 4th.”
“Sounds good,” Cadmus jabbed at the keystroke that ended the call. It was a tiny, petty satisfaction that he was the one to hang up on Micah, but those were the types of victories he had to settle for these days.
Until he got the man-wolf. And now the clock was ticking.
“How was your date, thief?” Aylwyn’s mocking voice greeted Col as he walked into Simon’s large living room. The four Bredhren, Miller and Simon all stopped what they were doing to stare at Col.
And then Merek started a slow, loud hand clapping. “You stole the evening from Aylwyn. Well done.”
Barric growled. “I am angered that I have admiration for you for this maneuver.” Of course he was.
Col grinned at Aylwyn. “Did you like the joke I played on you?” And watched as everyone’s jaw dropped open.
He couldn’t tell if it was at the uncharacteristic expression on his face, or the even more out-of-character-for-him claiming to have played a joke.
It didn’t matter. He had an unforgettable evening, and the novel experience of…fun. With children, no less. It was worth any consequence that happened now. His wolf was even behaving, as if having spent time pleasing Katie Cooper had soothed it.
It was altogether unsettling, but for the first time, the confusion was a happy one.
Look at him, talking about being happy. No wonder the others were acting as if he had been swapped out like a changeling.
Simon cleared his throat. “I was telling the others that I’ve spent the past couple of days poring over the admissions and security footage from the Faire, as well as looking at details from Brad’s, uh, office.”
“Including some of the information that I was able to get from the police.” Miller added. He had been fortunate that the detective who had arrived at the scene was a friend of his, a woman who also shared a military background and keen instincts.
Unfortunately the information wasn’t much more than what they could have guessed. No one in the restaurant below heard anything because of the loud music that was playing, and the time of death was narrowed based on the coroner’s assessment and when one of Brad’s agents recalled saying goodbye to him on her way out to meet with a client.
“So the next steps are to go to the Faire tomorrow morning, and see if I can get footage from all the other entrances into the Faire.”
“Like the one we use,” Tybalt said.
“Yes, and pow-wow with Puma again, to get an update on any other unusual events that may have occurred, and follow up on all the other things that have been happening.”
“So Tybalt’s agreed that you five will be split between covering the Faire, and covering the grounds around here until further notice,” Miller said.
Col nodded, as did the others. He hoped that the additional footage would yield that man at last. He caught the Vixar’s eyes, and crossed his arms to thump his chest as assent. Tybalt dipped his head.
“We shall all go on a Pack Run right now,” Tybalt declared, and the there was much hooting and fist pumping at that. Miller smiled and pulled back the sliding door to the backyard.
Ripples of energy pushed out, and five large wolves ripped through the opening into the night air.
Hold it together, Lily. She wanted to freak out, but couldn’t. The twins were still in the car, so that was a small mercy. It was obvious they couldn’t stay here. And she couldn’t call the cops, otherwise the next stop for the kids would be Child Protective Services, especially with what she had found inside. Not that she wanted to draw their attention to her anyway.
She shuddered at the sight that had greeted her, the way the trailer’s contents had been trashed. Her mattress had been shredded to pieces, furniture upturned and bedding scattered everywhere. She had wanted to scream at what was dripping red on the wall near Rosa’s bed, a single word, BITCH. Thank God she found the emptied jar of red finger paint on the floor, so it wasn’t blood. But her pulse was still pounding at that.
Could it be someone after Rosa? It was entirely possible. Or was it meant for her? She didn’t know, and couldn’t speculate. Her priority had to be the kids’ safety. Like, now.
She couldn’t bring them to her room on the Fairgrounds either, not when she had felt that someone had been there. Whether or not it was connected to what happened tonight, or even if it was real. But even if that was just her imagination, she thought of how the kids had narrowly escaped getting injured earlier, bouncing on the bed that used to be Jordy’s, when her attention had slipped for just a moment. That would be all it took. No, that room was not an option.
One of them—Brady—stirred in his seat, which set off a movement in Clover as well. Shit. She’d have to make a decision, and fast. Staying overnight in the SUV was definitely not an option, either.
She had no choice.
They would have to stay in the first motel they could find that had a vacancy, that would accept cash. Even if it used up the remaining dollars in her purse, it had to be done. And in the morning she would figure something else out, maybe ask Rika for an advance on the money she had made so far.
The twins stirred again, the only reason why she wouldn’t let herself fall apart.
Keep it together, Lil. She had to focus on getting them safe. No matter what it took.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Lily had to wait as two other employees were ahead of her to talk with Rika. She knew that Rika was in the process of looking for more HR staff, and was given the go ahead to expand into a larger physical location, but the irony was that Rika had little time to do that with the resources she had right now. She wished she could help in some way, instead of adding to the woman’s headaches.
Finally it was her turn, and there was genuine warmth in the HR Director’s eyes as she greeted Lily.
“Katie,” she smiled. “Rosa called earlier. I was going to head over to Staff Childcare to tell you, but —”
“I can tell, you’ve been busy.” Lily acknowledged the people who had been waiting before her, and the people waiting after her.
A concerned look crossed
the older woman’s features. “It looks like Rosa is going to be there for a little longer. Unfortunately, she’s got pneumonia. And she needs to know if you’re still going to be able to watch Brady and Clover.”
Lily had felt panic flare up inside, and fought to keep it from showing in her face. Of course she would take care of Brady and Clover, but now it looked like they would have to continue staying at the motel. Lily had already debated it earlier this morning, before finally deciding not to tell Rika about the break-in at Rosa’s. That was for Rosa to tell, or not, and Lily didn’t want to take any chances in case Rika was obligated to report the situation to Child Protective Services.
And now she would have to worry about how to pay for the motel, when she had thought she was just going to ask Rika for an advance so that she would have more than the twenty bucks that was left over, after paying for last night’s stay.
Rika was still waiting for her answer. Lily steadied her voice.
“Of course I can take care of them. Is she ok otherwise? Should I bring the kids to visit her?”
“It’s sweet of you to offer, but she’s already said not to bring them. She doesn’t want to risk having them catch it. It’ll give her peace of mind to know that you’ll still be taking care of Brady and Clover.”
Lily nodded. Damn, damn, damn. Where would she stay?
“How are you holding up otherwise? Everything ok over Staff Childcare? And working with Simon?”
“I love doing both, and you know Simon’s great to work for.” Lily managed a smile, as worry chewed at her gut.
“Great to work with.” Rika said. “One of the cool things about him is that he’s big on staff feeling like collaborators instead of employees. And apparently to bake cookies with, too.”
Lily had made sure she brought over a batch of the cookies she had made with Simon and Miller over to Rika that morning following the impromptu baking session.
“So, unless you have more baked goods for me, what brings you in here other than the latest update from Rosa?”
Col: His Destined Mate Page 24