“That is enough!” Toni bellowed over the continuing screams and threats while she held her fifteen-year-old sister in a nice little choke hold. “I mean it!”
That seemed to calm them all down, and she pushed her sister away before facing Cooper and Cherise. “Where’s Mom and Dad?”
“They went out with Aunt Irene.”
“When?”
Coop looked off, clearly embarrassed, and admitted, “Fifteen min—”
“Fifteen? You couldn’t keep them under control for fifteen minutes?”
“It’s not his fault,” Cherise chimed in from behind Coop.
“He was practicing and I told him I’d take care of the kids, but things spiraled so quickly . . .”
Toni folded her arms over her chest and gazed down at her feet.
“Hey,” Coop said, putting his hand on Toni’s shoulder. “It’s not a big deal. We’ll figure this out. We’ll make it work. Just give us a little more—”
“Time?” Toni asked, looking up at her brother. “We don’t have time. I’m going to Russia tonight. For work.”
“You’re deserting us?” Kyle scrambled to his feet and gawked at his sister. “You’re deserting us for that ridiculous job?”
In that second, Ricky saw Toni begin to waffle. She didn’t want to desert her family.
She began to speak, probably to change her mind, but Cherise came around Cooper and stood by Toni’s side. “Yes, she is going. Toni’s going to Russia. Without us.” Cherise smiled and it was a very pretty smile. She should do it more often so she didn’t always look so terrified. “And we’re going to be very proud of her when she goes.”
“But Kyle the idiot is right.” Oriana glared at her brother. “As much as I loathe to admit it.” She focused on the rest of them. “She can’t just go off and leave us! Nothing has been organized. Mom and Dad don’t know what they’re doing. Coop is busy preparing for his next concert, and his agent is constantly calling here about another record deal with the London Philharmonic, and Cherise is just goddamn hopeless.”
Cherise frowned. “Hey.”
“And you think you can just leave?” Oriana demanded of her eldest sister.
Toni looked over the faces of her siblings before replying, “Well—” she began, but that’s when Ricky grabbed her around the waist and walked out of the room.
“Excuse us, y’all.”
“Hey, country western fellow!” Kyle barked. “Where are you going with our sister?”
Ricky took Toni out into the hall and to the stairs. “Go upstairs. Pack.”
“But—”
“No, ‘but,’ woman. Just do it.”
Freddy walked around Ricky and took his sister’s hand. “Come on, Toni. I’ll help you pack.”
The little boy started up the stairs, glancing back at Ricky and winking at him.
At least one of her siblings thought about someone other than himself. It was a nice change.
Ricky returned to the large living room and faced the children. “Now, y’all,” he began, “I know it’s hard to let your sister go when you need her so badly. But you really have to let her do this. You have to grow up a little and show your sister what big boys and girls you are.” He gave them his best smile. “Right?”
After all the pups stared back at him, it was Kyle who dramatically threw his arms up in the air, rolled his eyes, and fell back on the couch behind him while Troy muttered, “And the common man speaks.”
“You should bring something pretty,” Freddy told Toni while he watched her pack, his little body on top of her dressing table.
“Why?”
“Because.” He gave her an adorable closed-mouth smile and looked up at the ceiling.
“Frederick Jean-Louis Parker . . . what are you getting at?”
“I may be a kid, Toni, but I’m not a child.” Yes, he was. “That wolf likes you. And you like him. But you have to look pretty. To keep his interest. So you two can be boyfriend and girlfriend and he can give you things that you can sell for profit.”
Chuckling to herself, Toni folded another pair of jeans. “Where do you get this stuff from, Freddy?” She knew it wasn’t from their mother or Aunt Irene. And it definitely wasn’t from their dad, who to this day referred to himself as a male feminist, “because I have too many girls of my own now not to be.”
“Delilah.”
Toni froze in midpack at Freddy’s answer, her folded jeans held over her case. “You’ve been spending time with Delilah?”
“A little. She’s nice and fun.”
Toni forced herself to continue packing and to keep her voice casual. She knew if she overreacted, Freddy would panic. Freddy and panic were two words that were very bad together. Very bad.
“She’s fun? Really? What have you two been doing?”
“Making money for the orphans. First at home, but she said we’d start here now. A lot more orphans in New York.”
Unable to keep packing, Toni turned and gazed at her baby brother. “Making money for orphans?”
“Uh-huh.”
“How have you been doing that?”
Freddy looked at the open bedroom door. “I’m not supposed to tell,” he whispered.
“You can tell me. You know that.”
Freddy’s trusting smile broke her heart. “I know I can.” He motioned her close. When she stood right by him, his little knees pressed against her hips, he said, “Sometimes we just sit in the park and I look sad and Delilah asks people for money. Sometimes they don’t want to give it to her or they want her to go somewhere with them to give her money, but she doesn’t want to do that. So she makes up stories to tell them. I know that you and Daddy say we shouldn’t lie, but to help orphans, I think it’s okay. Don’t you?”
Instead of replying to that, Toni asked, “What do you two do other times?”
“Delilah gives me this little TV to watch and a headphone that I can talk into while she plays cards with some people. Then I . . . I . . . I . . .” His little face screwed up as he tried to think of the right words.
“Count cards?”
“That’s it!” He grinned. “It’s easy for me.”
“No one notices what she’s doing?”
“No. But I think that’s because they’re mostly men and they stare right at her, but they don’t see the thing she wears in her ear. They stare at her a lot. Probably because she’s so pretty.” Freddy frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Toni lied. “But you’re starting classes on Monday. You won’t have time for all this once that happens. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Hey.” She placed her hands on either side of his hips and leaned in. “Will you do me a big favor?”
“Sure!”
“I’ll need travel supplies. The good stuff.”
“You want me to hit Mom’s stash of those fancy chocolates?”
“You read my mind.”
She quickly gripped her brother’s nose with her lips and twisted around while he giggled and pushed at her. Then she wrapped her arms around his waist, kissed his neck, and lifted him off the dresser. She spun him around once before putting him on the floor.
“And when I’m gone—”
“I know. Don’t let Kyle make me feel like a loser because I’m not an artist. And don’t let Troy make me feel like a loser because he’s older and thinks he’s smarter than me.”
“And?”
“Don’t steal. Don’t set the house on fire.”
“Good man. Now get what you can and bag it for me.”
“Okay!” He charged out the door, and when Toni heard his little feet hit the stairs, she started for the doorway. That’s when she was grabbed from behind and dragged back toward her bed.
She wasn’t really startled by that grab, because she’d known that Livy had been asleep under her bed the entire time. Livy wasn’t the normal guest that people had over. She really liked that feeling of sneaking around someone’s home even when she’d been invited, an
d no one in the entire Jean-Louis Parker family gave a shit.
“Don’t even think about it, Antonella,” Livy said in her ear as she wrestled Toni back.
“I’m going to twist that bitch’s neck until it snaps,” Toni snarled, desperately fighting the strong little arms wrapped around her. “I’m going to put her down like the sick pup she is!”
Toni was thrown on the bed, and Livy climbed up on her chest, pinning her down.
“You’re not being rational,” Livy said calmly.
“Fuck rational! She dies tonight!”
“Uh . . .” Ricky said from the doorway. “Is everything all right?”
Livy motioned Ricky in with a tilt of her head and said, “Get in here and close the door.”
Ricky’s grin was huge. “Well, all right then.”
“This isn’t about you, hillbilly.” Livy looked down at Toni. “You need to calm down. You can’t go around killing your relatives. Even when they deserve it. As you know, I’ve tried and it just didn’t work out well for me. Those ankle bracelets they use to monitor your movements are really not comfortable.”
“That horrible bitch is using my baby brother to scam people.”
“Who?” Ricky asked.
Livy smirked. “Delilah.”
“The blonde?”
“Yeah,” Livy replied. “And what really bothers you,” Livy said to Toni, “isn’t that it’s just one of your siblings, but that it’s Freddy.”
“Because Freddy’s the only one she could scam into doing this. Kyle and Oriana won’t go near her. Zia and Zoe cry whenever she’s around. Troy could do it and probably would, but he’s such a ballbuster, he’d want hard cash from counting cards. And he’d never believe that orphans story.”
Hands in the front pockets of his jeans, Ricky asked, “Isn’t Troy, like . . . nine?”
“Your point?” Livy asked.
“And not to be indelicate, but . . . aren’t y’all kind of rich?”
“Kind of rich?” Toni pushed Livy off her and dragged herself up until she was sitting. “My mother could buy the property we’re currently sitting in outright . . . and in cash. But my sister likes to scam people for money. Do you know why?”
“Just another bored rich girl?”
“I wish. The twins are bored little rich girls. I can handle bored little rich girls.”
“But sociopaths . . .” Livy muttered.
“Now come on,” Ricky said. “I took psychology in college—”
“You went to college?” Livy asked, which got her a punch in the ribs from Toni. “Ow! It was just a goddamn question.”
“—and y’all shouldn’t be bantering around words like sociopath when you’re talking about a family member.”
“Believe what you want.” Toni swung her legs over the edge of the bed so that she and Livy were sitting right next to each other. Toni thought a minute and decided what she had to do.
“I’ve made my decision. I obviously can’t go on this trip. I can’t go.”
That’s when Livy slammed Toni to the floor and pinned her there—because the woman simply didn’t know the meaning of the word subtle.
Ricky grabbed the small but surprisingly strong and vicious female off of Toni.
“Tell her,” Livy ordered him once he’d gotten her off Toni. “Tell her that she is going.”
“How can I go now?” Toni shot back. “At first I thought I just needed to deal with the schedule issue, which is challenge enough. But now . . . after what I’ve found out about Delilah?”
“Excuses!” Livy accused, pointing a damning finger at Toni. “You’re using bullshit excuses to get out of this. Because you’re scared.”
“They’re bears! Of course I’m scared!”
“Not of the bears, you idiot.” Livy swung her arms until Ricky was forced to drop her. Then she re-adjusted her T-shirt and denim mini-skirt. “You’re scared of change. You’re scared of taking this chance and going out on your own.”
“They need me.”
“Because you’ve made them helpless. Which, I’d like to remind you, is not your job. Your job as the eldest jackal sibling is to prepare them for life on their own.”
“But what about Delilah?” Toni demanded. “She’s a problem all on her own.”
“Isn’t that something your parents should be concerned with?” Ricky asked.
“My parents are in denial. I’m not.”
“I’ll watch out for Freddy,” Livy said.
“I can’t ask you to—”
“I’ll watch out for Freddy, so just suck-it-the-fuck-up already.”
“Don’t curse at me, whore!”
“Birthing cow!”
“All right!” Ricky cut in before he was hurt trying to stop these two females from getting into a claw match. “That’s it!” He focused on Toni. “The bottom line is, if you don’t take this trip, I can assure you that Cella Malone is going to fire your ass, no matter whose cousin you are.”
“I don’t care,” Toni said, her voice firm. “Let her fire me. I’m not leaving. At least not until we get things . . . organized.”
“Organized?”
“Right. Once I get their schedules organized, everything will be fine. That’ll just take me a couple of days. Cella won’t mind that, I’m sure.”
Toni walked out, leaving Ricky and Livy standing there, gazing at the open door.
“Will that Cella Malone chick mind that?” Livy asked him.
“She sure will.”
“Then we have to take away her excuses.”
Ricky shrugged. “I may have an idea.” He pulled out his phone. “But my baby brother won’t like it.”
“Your baby brother? Was that the other wolf who was in the office with us?”
“Yep.”
“Then I don’t give a shit he won’t like it.”
Ricky laughed and began making calls.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Paul stepped out of the cab and held his hand out so that Jackie could grab it. He helped her out and then held his hand out for Irene. She, as always, completely ignored it, and got out on her own. He didn’t take that personally, though. He never had. It was one of the main reasons they’d gotten along so well. Paul never took anything Irene did personally. She was so brutally direct and unwaveringly honest, it didn’t make sense to get all worked up when she said things like, “I’d prefer you not touch me” or “Are you staring at me because you have a question or because you’re planning to kill me at your earliest convenience?”
Paul, the first and only born of his hippie mom, loved that directness. He loved that he knew his beautiful mate would always be safe around Irene Conridge because she never bothered to lie. And, when they started having pups, that his kids would be safe around her. He hadn’t been crazy about the wolves that became part of their lives when Irene had hooked up with Niles Van Holtz, but it made sense. Irene simply didn’t fit in with full-humans even though she was one. She needed a predator for a mate . . . even if that predator was an obsessive-compulsive wolf.
And, over time, Paul and Van had become buddies. Sort of. And Van treated all the Jean-Louis Parker kids as family and Pack, which meant a lot. So it had all worked out.
Like now. Having Irene around while they were staying in New York was great because it kept Jackie happy. The pair of them could sit around gabbing or making fun of the kids or obsessing over the future of the kids’ educations. And while they did that, Paul could do what he really loved to do . . . watch TV, read a book, and fix up old cars.
It was turning out to be a really nice summer with Irene around.
The trio reached the stone steps outside of their rental house and began to climb. Paul glanced over his shoulder and saw a limo parked a bit down the street. He didn’t know why it was there or why he noticed it.
Jackie pulled out her keys and had them in the lock when the door opened and that country wolf was standing there. Man, this kid was really making a hard run at Paul’s baby girl. Someth
ing that would normally set Paul’s hair on fire, but after that last idiot had made her miserable, the wolf seemed like a good way to transition away from that past relationship and into more promising ones.
“Richard Reed?” Irene said, because she wasn’t about to call anyone Ricky Lee. “Why are you here?”
“Miss Irene. Miss Jackie. Mr. Paul.”
“Please don’t call me that,” Paul practically begged as they all moved into the hallway and Paul closed the door. He felt old enough without adding “mister” before his first name like he should be wearing an ascot.
“I need y’all to do me a favor and just go along with what’s about to happen.”
Paul blinked. “Why? What’s about to happen?”
There was a knock on the door Paul had just closed and he pulled it open again. “Good Lord,” he muttered, staring up at the behemoth standing in his doorway. He looked at Ricky. “Toni’s bringing stray hockey players home with her now?”
“Actually I asked Mr. Novikov here. To help out.”
“Help out with what?” Irene asked, her gaze locked on the man lumbering into their home. “Are you planning to kill all the children so they’ll no longer be a bother?”
“Irene,” Jackie chastised. “Not the right response.”
“Because it’s morally wrong or because you’re afraid he’ll get mad and kill us, too?”
“Both!” Jackie snapped.
“Hi!” A pretty black woman popped out from behind Novikov. She had a bright, wide smile and adorable dimples, but Paul didn’t understand why she was here or why Novikov was here. What the hell was going on?
“I’m Blayne. Bo’s fiancée. I’m here to help, too.”
“Except I didn’t ask her here to help,” Novikov replied, his cold blue eyes looking around the hallway like he was trying to figure out how to destroy the walls to get to the weak pups within. “But she’s worried I’ll make your kids cry.”
“No, no,” his fiancée quickly cut in, trying to laugh it off. “He’s very good with children. He has to be.” The wolfdog gripped his thick arm with very strong-looking hands. “You have to be.”
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