by Tl Reeve
Everett, finally done with his smoke, tossed it to the ground, smashing out the ember glow with his heel. He then reached into his front pocket, pulled out a set of keys, and proceeded to twirl them around his fingers a couple times. Like he had all the time in the world.
Caden had at one time known Everett almost as well as he knew his brothers. That’s how close they had been. Everett’s defection to the Quincy pack was just another person in the long list of people who had let him down. After a while, he closed himself down to everyone. It had been one of his worst habits, besides trying to solve all of his problems on his own. He was learning the hard way, sometimes, he needed a brother to lean on.
After what seemed like freaking forever, Everett stepped down, making his way toward his truck. Only to pause for another second and turn and look over his shoulder, right where Kalkin and he crouched. No way Everett could miss them. They were sitting ducks from their position.
Caden’s muscles tensed, preparing for Everett to call out to the trio fucking in the trailer. Instead Everett opened the truck door, slid inside, and started the truck. He backed out of the driveway without saying a word or alerting anyone to Caden and Kalkin’s arrival.
“What the fuck just happened?” Caden whispered.
“No discussing it out here where our voices will carry. We need to get back to the kid. Make sure he’s not doing something stupid, like radioing Loraine or stealing my guns from the trunk,” Kalkin replied.
Caden chuckled. “He’s stupid, but he doesn’t have a death wish.”
“He’s a boy and a kid. They’re all stupid.” Kalkin strode through the overgrown grass and debris.
Caden smiled. “You’ve got one of them yourself.”
“Shut the fuck up. You’ve got two. I’ve at least got my sweet Ella,” Kal grumbled.
Caden frowned. He had a sweet girl once too. “Till she shows up with a mate and you realize they’re doing the same thing you and your mate are doing at night.”
“Fuck you. My Ella won’t ever have a mate. She’ll live with us till we pass, and she’ll never have sex. You think they have nunneries for shifters?” Kalkin held his hand up. “Never mind, we have shit to deal with.”
“You need to a get a grip. You’re going to have to beat the boys off with a stick,” Caden warned.
Kalkin snorted. “Like anyone has enough balls to step foot on my property with the intent to take my baby girl away.”
“Does Keeley have any clue how fucking crazy you truly are?” Caden opened the door to his cruiser.
“Keeley knows. She’ll agree to whatever I say. One day, you’ll understand,” his brother promised.
“Not if I get as nuts as you,” he retorted, shoving the errant feelings of loss away.
Nico patiently waited in the driver’s seat of Caden’s cruiser, playing a game on the department’s laptop. How the hell had the kid cracked his password? “I thought I told you about having those stupid games on your laptop?”
“The games are the least of our worries.” Caden wrapped his hand around Nico’s upper arm, pulling him from his car. “It’s against the law to hack a police officer’s computer, kid. You want to go to lock up, again?”
Nico chuckled, pointing a finger at Kalkin. “Blame his wife. She’s been teaching the orphans computer skills. Specifically hacking skills. You seriously need your mate to update the security on the department. It sucks.”
“I’ll get right on it, after I’m done dealing with a hemorrhoid by the name of Raymond Quincy,” Kal said.
“Don’t piss him off, Nico. He’s already in a bad mood,” Caden warned.
Nico snorted.
“Drop the kid off at Mrs. Martin’s, then meet me at the station. I’ll call the rest of the team in, and we’ll figure out a game plan.” Kalkin jerked his truck door open, almost tearing it off the hinges. He started the vehicle after getting in then drove away, kicking up a trail of dust in his wake.
Chapter Eight
When Caden arrived at the Sheriff’s department—after dropping Nico off with Mrs. Martin with explicit instructions to stay put—Caden went straight to Kalkin’s office. They were due for a talk. Whereas he suspected it would have come on the way to the office a few hours beforehand, following what they witnessed at the trailer park, Caden had to tell Kalkin everything, including what he had in store for Danielle.
Eavesdropping on the conversation between Tiffany and Raymond only solidified Caden’s need to claim his mate. No way in hell he’d let a Quincy piece of trash touch her, let alone try to take his kids away. Aiden had been nothing to Tiffany. Even now, he suspected the only reason she wanted the pup back was to cover her tracks, which had been the same reason she’d killed Aiden’s brothers. The idea of his son losing pieces of him due to her bullshit, tore Caden up inside.
He wrestled with his emotions about Aiden for a long time. He went over every scenario. Could they have worked something out if they’d known the truth? Would they have still taken the pups from Tiffany if Emmitt had been found? Shit, too many what ifs. He could spend hours pulling the situation apart and putting it back together. Each time he’d done so, someone else would have gotten hurt. No, he’d done the right thing. He couldn’t keep second-guessing himself.
Kneeling beside Kalkin while Tiffany and Raymond spewed their vile nastiness left a sour taste in his mouth and proved his point. Then to hear them fucking... His wolf curled its lip in detestation. He didn’t think he’d ever get the fetid stench out of his sense.
Caden needed to breath in the clean smell of his mate. The soft hints of her arousal. The thought made his mouth water and his dick harden. He groaned, adjusting himself. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about fucking his mate or her decadent perfume, yet, since he’d spent the night with her, he couldn’t think about anything else—especially when she readily kissed him back. The moment she gave him an inch after everything left hanging between them, he felt like he won the best prize ever, his mate.
So, they had to get rid of the threat plaguing them. Fuck, they should have listened to Jeffery last year when he said Quincy would be back. But, why would he? Kalkin had made it clear all those years ago when Mackenzie disappeared, if any member of the Quincy pack showed up on their land, he’d kill them. Now, it appeared Raymond hadn’t taken the threat nor had Caden taken the announcement seriously enough. Quincy was coming. At least, once again, they would have the upper hand—if everything worked out accordingly.
He tapped on the frosted glass pane of Kalkin’s office door before entering the room. Kalkin sat in his chair behind his desk, his back to Caden. “Yeah, listen, keep this low key. I don’t need you getting your ass strung out.” Kalkin laughed. “Report back when you hear something. Thanks.”
Caden sat in the chair across from his brother, waiting for Kalkin to finish his call. Moments later, his brother turned to face him and placed his phone on the table. “Who was that?”
“Don’t worry about it,” his brother answered. “It’s best right now you don’t know.”
The hairs on the back of Caden’s neck stood on end. The urge to stand up and tell his brother to fuck off rose within him. The irrational anger had been another thing he still had to work out. However, he took the blame for it too. There wouldn’t be secrets or half-truths if he hadn’t been a dumb shit. “I would have accepted your lame ass answer a year ago. Today isn’t the day to fuck around.”
Kal tilted his head to the side. He stared at Caden for a moment. “What happened last night?”
Instead of attacking the situation sitting between them, his brother wanted to know about a non-situation? He snorted, crossing his arms. He wouldn’t tell his brother about jerking off in the spare bathroom while Danielle bathed, because he could remember what she looked like naked. He wouldn’t tell him about marking his fucking territory like a dog in heat. Nope, that shit stayed with him. “Nothing. I took care of Aiden and Nicolas.” Besides, two could play this game.
“You’re a
fucking idiot.” Kalkin stood. “I thought you would have figured out by now, there are things I have to do as Alpha to protect what’s mine. Including your ignorant ass. I can’t tell you what’s going on or else it will blow the fucking mission.” He paced over to the window. “It’s for recon.”
Caden opened his mouth.
“No, I won’t tell you where or who.”
“You’re an asshole,” Caden muttered. “There’s nothing to tell about last night.”
“Bullshit,” Kalkin replied. “What changed?”
Everything. Nothing. He shrugged, not exactly liking the scrutiny in his brother’s gaze. “I saw something.”
“What?”
Fuck. He’d been prepared for the third-degree earlier. For some reason, he clammed up now. “Just little things.” Caden shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Stop trying to compel me to talk, asshole.”
Kalkin laughed. “I’m not. It’s your own conscience eating at your gut. Now isn’t the time to be bashful.”
Caden growled. “Shut up.”
Kalkin sighed. “Look, we can’t protect our mates if we don’t talk about this. Now, what did you see? How did it go between you?” He eased down on the edge of the desk in front of Caden. “That kiss tells me it kind of went okay.”
Fuck. He hated when Kalkin did this shit. “We didn’t get a chance to talk at length. By the time she showered, Jace called.” And by then, he’d been out of his mind needing his mate. Instead, he played it cool with her. Gave her space. Allowed her to dictate the pace, even if it killed him. Hell, jerking off had only made the wild sensation of feeling out of control worse.
“So, you skipped the talking and went straight to the kissing portion of the evening?”
Caden grunted and shook his head. “No, jackass, it kind of just happened.” He couldn’t not do it. She’d laid her soul bare to him. If he’d been an asshole, he’d have stripped her naked and fucked with long, slow strokes. He would have imprinted himself on her and made sure she knew she belonged to him, always.
“What did you do? Trip and fall onto her mouth with yours?” Kalkin shook his head as Caden jerked in his chair. “If you don’t open up, I swear to fuck, I’m kicking your ass.”
Some things were meant to stay between mates. He didn’t want to confess the whispered words of promises made to Danielle. He didn’t want to talk about how bad things had gotten in her home. How much they’d all missed by him being so fucking stubborn, and an asshole. “Look, if you can’t look at Danielle and know what’s wrong, then you’re not a very good Alpha.”
Kalkin reared back, and a look of sorrow and surprise filled his features. “That’s the only jab you’re going to get.” He got into Caden’s personal space. “Despite what you want to believe, I have seen her. Nothing Keeley or I said got through to her. You, you self-righteous bastard, caused that. Not us.”
Point taken. He understood his shortcomings. He realized everything he’d done since the minute Simon walked into the station and, even the year before, changed his life, and Caden also knew he couldn’t continue to blame Simon. He had to take responsibility for all of it. “And, how many times have you gone to Mrs. Martin for milk? How many times have you opened Danielle’s fridge and seen an empty icebox? How many times have you opened a cupboard in her home and noticed it didn’t have all the things she loved to eat or drink?”
Kalkin stared at him. “She doesn’t let me in.”
Ah. Now it made sense to him. “Let me guess, Keeley didn’t tell you either?” He relaxed back into his chair. “She’s living like a beggar. I have a feeling it’s all self-imposed. Hell, maybe she hasn’t let Keeley see how bad it’s gotten. Tell me, is Danielle even keeping Keeley at arm’s length where her health is concerned?”
Kalkin frowned. “No, she usually comes to our house. Yesterday had been the first day in forever since Danielle invited her sister over. They had to work on the security office. Keeley and she had to discuss what Crow would need. Shit.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I shouldn’t be pissed at her, but I am. We have bent over backwards to help her.”
“I have a feeling, no matter what you and Keeley would have done, she wouldn’t have accepted it. She doesn’t believe she deserves anything you guys can give her.” Hell, he didn’t think she’d even take what he gave, which he couldn’t blame her for. He caused the shit after all, but he’d change it all now. He’d make sure of it.
“Fuck.”
“After she left, I took the boys to get something to eat. Like I told you earlier. All of her milk will be delivered from now on. I heard something in her voice...”
“I’m going to tell you, on one condition,” Kalkin said.
“Yeah? What?” Caden perked up. He’d been trying to figure out the best way to broach the subject with Danielle. If his brother could help, he’d take it.
“You never breathe a word of it to Danielle.”
He stared at his brother, surprised and a little confused. “Okay. I don’t understand.”
“Of course you don’t.” Kalkin shook his head. “Do I have your word?”
“Yes.” He’d agree to just about anything to understand what happened.
“Due to the nature of Nicolas’ birth and the fact Danielle had been placed into a medical coma for a week after the pup’s birth, her milk never came in,” Kalkin said, glancing out the window of his office. “Even if it had, the medication to help fight off her infection and keep her pain at a minimum would have prevented her anyway. Can’t give a preemie tainted milk.”
Caden had the air knocked out of him. All the raw anguish and self-hatred he’d piled onto himself weighed heavily on his conscience. “I...why didn’t...” He snorted. “Fuck, I’m such a god damned loser. I should have fucking known. I should have—”
“Starting this spiral won’t fix a damn thing. Don’t let what I told you eat away at your gut. I only told you because Danielle won’t. As soon as Mrs. Martin found out about the boy, Annabelle brought the milk to the hospital,” Kalkin replied.
“Well, shit.” Caden scrubbed his head. “Anyway, I thought having the milk delivered would alleviate some of the pressure Danielle’s been placing on herself lately. As for not having food in the house, that too has been taken care of. I went to the store for her.”
“Looks like your decision came in handy, too. You’ll have to tell her about what happened today.”
“I’m well aware. It won’t be pretty. She deserves a bit of respite from all this bullshit. She can’t catch a break. About the only time she didn’t have to worry about someone coming after her ass was after Simon had been killed.” She had a different battle then. Keeping herself and Nicolas alive. Something she almost failed at, and again, it’d been his fault. He sat there for a moment, gathering up the courage for what he had to tell his brother next. He meant to move in with Danielle. She wouldn’t realize it at first, but he’d be there every morning and every night before she went to bed. Before long seeing him would be expected. It was a shitty way of doing things, but for now it was the only idea he could come up with.
“We can increase patrols around the orphanage as well,” Kalkin said. “We also need to put someone on Charisma.”
“Royce. He’s young. He lives near her. I think if it’s someone who isn’t imposing and unassuming, she’ll accept the help more readily.” After his conversation with Nico, it seemed appropriate to insert his nephew into the position. It just seemed logical. “What do you think about calling the good senator? If we could get a government guard it might be easier too. At least when Royce isn’t there someone else is.”
“You’re right,” Kalkin replied. “It’s perfect. College guy, a Raferty. She’d be more open to someone like him than one of us. I’ll talk to Blackhorn and see if he can get me an angle on the senator. Or at least a phone call. I’ll let Royce know to enroll himself into some courses at the college this afternoon. The summer term will begin in a couple of weeks. It’ll get him established and at leas
t on Charisma’s radar.”
“I need to get back into the house,” Caden blurted. So much for playing it smooth. “I’m not looking for permission.”
Kalkin chuckled. “Didn’t expect you to. What do you need from me?”
Everything? Anything? He sat there for a moment trying once again to find the words to say the things he wanted to say to his brother. So much had happened in the last year. So many missed chances. Stop dwelling on the past. It wouldn’t fix anything right then. All he could do was move forward and hope to hell he could repair the damage between them. “Everything?”
Kalkin laughed again. “Of course.” He crossed his arms taking up the same pose as Caden. “I have some stipulations for you.”
Instead of getting defensive, Caden inclined his chin. “Kind of figured as much. Lay it on me.”
“You have to be all in. No more staying in that fucking head of yours. No more drinking and no more shoving your feelings down. You have to prove yourself to Danielle. You can’t keep hurting her or yourself. If you can’t do that, I’ll fucking hand her over to Rapier. I’m sure she’ll keep his feline ass warm at night and he’ll be a fantastic father to your pups.”
Caden growled long and low. He gripped the arms of the chair so not to do something he would regret. “If you ever mention his name and Danielle’s together ever again, I will kill you. Brother or not. She is my mate. I don’t give a fuck.”
“Good to hear,” Kalkin said. “Now, this is what I’ll do for you. I will keep Keeley out of the way. You and Danielle need to deal with your shit without worrying about my mate trying to interfere. I will also make sure Jace stays away from the house at night and from now on, if something happens, I’ll also make sure Danielle turns to you first, not Rapier or Jace. You.”