“And what about you?”
“I’ll worry about me,” Edward growled.
Skye could not help but feel like Edward had something else in mind entirely, but what? It was hard to say what kind of assets existed in the King family coffers. They were one of the richest families in Texas. They were certainly the richest in Dallas. Who knew what would happen if their mother and her possible-but-maybe-not-lover were caught doing something nefarious. Was there a life insurance policy on Mac King? Was that what Edward was banking on? Or did he have another idea entirely?
“Rich people,” Skye muttered to herself. She picked up a potato wedge and shoved it into her mouth. “You live lives that the rest of us cannot even imagine.”
Skye was still contemplating this notion when the front door of the pub opened and Carolyn Phillips strolled in with a man that Skye did not recognize. Her heart nearly stopped beating. She should not be seen sitting here with Jason and Edward King! She couldn’t!
Skye sank low in her seat and squashed herself up close to Jason’s side. He looked down at her in consternation. She felt ten kinds of silly, but what else was she supposed to do? If her editor saw her out with these two King men Skye was never going to hear the end of it. Carolyn would demand some kind of exclusive and then it would be totally over. As in, Carolyn would know that Skye was getting her information directly from the family and would probably want to throw them under the bus at any given moment just for the benefit of the stupid society column.
“My editor,” Skye whispered. “Don’t look at me! Pretend that I’m not here. I don’t want her to know that I know you. It would be catastrophic for us all!”
Now Edward was laughing. “I think this is the first time I’ve seen a reporter hiding from her editor for that kind of reason. Usually they want to be seen with people like us so that they can get some kind of recognition or kickback.”
“Let’s just say that Carolyn Phillips believes that the public cares more about reality TV voting than the American political process,” Skye whispered as she peeked above the level of the table to see where Carolyn had decided to sit.
Edward made a low noise of disgust and reached for a potato wedge. “I can’t say I actually disagree with her at this point.”
“Yeah, but she wants to encourage that and keep it that way because it makes people easier to lead around by their eyeballs and she thinks that drama and sex sell so much better than any other kind of news that she refuses to report anything else!”
“Okay.” Edward seemed to reconsider his statement. “I think I can understand your concern. And I appreciate your honesty. Obviously you aren’t out to sell our family secrets to your newspaper for whatever you can get.”
“Nope.” Aha! Carolyn was in a booth way across the pub. Skye started to inch her way above the table level to try and act like a semi normal person again. “I don’t think I want the whole world to assume that I’m crazy. Can you imagine trying to write a story for a society column about something that sounds as though it came right out of a fictional novel? People would definitely read it, but my sanity would also be questioned.”
Edward looked absolutely fascinated. “You know I don’t think I’ve ever actually looked at it quite like that. But you’re not wrong. It would be quite difficult to get people to believe you. They would all simply assume that you were off your rocker.”
“Not that I’m suggesting you guys start popping off in public and just turning into wolves.” Skye tried not to sound too snarky or sarcastic but considering the topic it was rather difficult. “But yes. That’s kind of what I’m getting at. I don’t think there’s really much for you to worry about if someone like me finds out.” Of course, then Skye’s mind went right to the next logical question. “When did your mother find out anyway? How do you know it’s the right time to tell someone that sort of secret? I mean, wow! I’ve got a few skeletons in my closet. I think we all do, right? But nothing like that!”
Neither brother answered her right away and Skye thought at first that she had made them more than a little angry. Then she realized that they were both looking rather uncomfortable. It occurred to her that Big Mac King might have made that age old mistake that lovers often do.
“Well,” Jason said with a wry smile. “I believe the way my mother tells it, Dad pulled that one out on the wedding night as what he considered a sort of gift.”
A gift? Oh boy. That sort of explained a few things when it came to what was obviously a long-term issue for Tisha Olivares-King.
Chapter Seventeen
The King home in University Park was lit up as though the family was expecting to have some kind of party. As Jason parked behind Edward in the enormous driveway he could not help but look with new eyes on the giant, seven-thousand-square-foot monster house that his parents had called home for the duration of their marriage.
The pale sand stucco and red Spanish tile roof were pretty classic Dallas from a style perspective, but Jason could not stop thinking about Skye’s comments about his father and his mother and the way that Mac King had decided to break the news about his true nature to his blushing bride. No wonder Tisha Olivares-King had demanded a house here in Dallas proper. She was the first King bride to hyphenate her name and she was the first one to convince a King to move away from the ranch and all the way into the city. Apparently the price of not telling your brand new spouse something really shocking was pretty steep. As in thirteen-plus million dollars steep.
By the time Jason exited his car Edward was already waiting for him at the bottom of the front steps. Edward looked nervous. “Are you sure we want to do this?”
“Do you honestly think there’s another option?” Edward sounded dry and almost leaden.
Jason held up the items that he’d gotten back from Skye before leaving her at the pub. “Do you want to flash the cell phone, the appointment book, or the receipts?”
“Gee. Give me the cell phone.” Edward reached for the little smartphone in its glitzy pink case. “Since I’ve known for days now that she lost it even though she wouldn’t admit the truth.”
Jason slapped the little phone into his brother’s hand. “All right then. I’ll take the appointment book and we can use the receipts when it seems like the time is right.”
“Are we sure anyone is home?” Edward was staring at the front door. “The house looks like it’s trying too hard to look occupied.”
“It could be,” Jason muttered. “There’s no way to tell until you pop your head inside.”
“Yeah, no thanks.” Edward made a face. “You live here. You have a reason to walk inside unannounced.”
Jason heaved a giant sigh and walked right in. “Fine. I’ll go in first.” When he reached the top step Jason turned around and made a face at his brother. “But if Mother shoots me you have to promise to avenge my death.”
“Oh totally,” Edward said drily. “I’ll bury you in the backyard and keep your portion of the inheritance just so I can remember your sacrifice every day.”
“Thanks.” Jason snorted as he opened the front door and walked inside.
Jason was carrying not only his mother’s appointment book, but also the file folder from Reese Herrera’s office and the receipts from the surveyor and the appraiser that had been recovered from the coffee shop diaper incident.
The scene certainly was not what Jason expected when he walked in. The giant house had an appropriate foyer with a huge table centered in the marble floor. An enormous floral display sat on the table and just to the right was a formal dining room. Behind that was a butler’s pantry and then the kitchen. The other side of the main floor was all den and living room. But what had Jason’s attention at the moment was the sight of his other three brothers gathered around their mother at the kitchen counter.
“Shit,” Jason muttered.
Edward closed the front door quietly behind them. “What?”
“I don’t know, but it involves Mother, Orion, Zane, and Devon and probably a so
b story about us being mean bastards who did something unmentionable to our poor mother.”
“Oh. She’s trying to pull a coup, is she?”
To his credit, Edward didn’t balk. He marched right toward the kitchen through the butler’s pantry. Jason followed his brother and tried not to let himself feel too nervous. It wasn’t like he had anything to be ashamed of. He hadn’t done anything wrong. He’d only been looking for information. His mother was the one who had failed to be honest with her sons or her husband.
“Oh my God!” Tisha Olivares-King pointed at Jason as he walked into the kitchen behind Edward. “How can you show your face after what you’ve done?”
“What I’ve done?” Jason was utterly confused, but wary. “Tell me. What have I done now?”
Tisha took a breath to speak, but Edward cut her off. He leaned in and held up her phone right in front of her face. “Yeah, Mother, why don’t you tell us what Jason did this time. Because I’m really not sure how he could possibly be responsible for the crap that I’ve just become aware of in the last few hours.”
Orion cleared his throat. “Why does Edward have your phone, Mother?”
“I thought you said it was in your purse,” Devon murmured. Then Devon jerked his chin at Edward. “Where did you find it?”
“I think if you were to pull up that viral video of the coffee shop incident you would see that there were a few things left on that table when Mother went storming out of the shop,” Edward told his brothers. He handed their mother her phone. Then he gestured to Jason. “Go ahead and give her back her appointment book, Jase.”
“Here you go.” Jason handed Tisha her big black book. “The woman you were threatening to sue is a friend of mine. She was nice enough to call me and give these back.”
“The reporter?” Tisha’s voice shot up several octaves until it made Jason’s ears hurt. “You’re friends with that bitch?”
“Skye Kincaid is not a bitch,” Jason said, trying to remain calm. “She’s a very nice person who has been cursed with the job of writing stories about the ridiculousness that goes on in this city’s social whirl. You’re just pissed because your behavior lately has put you right in the crosshairs. But that isn’t Skye’s fault.”
“Okay, stop.” Orion put up his hands. Then he pointed at Jason. “What do you know about some bullshit land deal to sell the ranch right out from under us? Why would you do that? Are you that pissed about the business?”
Jason was utterly taken aback. “Me? What are you talking about? You think I was going to sell that land to a developer? I’m the one who doesn’t want it touched!”
Orion started to speak but was stopped by Edward’s laughter. It was pervasive and loud and it made everyone in the room turn to stare at him. Finally he exhaled a huge sigh and looked at their mother. “I have to hand it to you, Mother. You’re pretty good. You tried to cover your ass the only way you know how.” Edward’s smile disappeared. “By throwing one of your other family members under the bus.”
“What do you mean?” Zane reached out and smacked Edward’s arm. “Some real estate agent called Mom to say that he needed to get a verification on the land deal.”
“Yeah, I bet he did.” Jason could not believe the balls on his mother. And normally that was not a phrase he applied to any woman in general, but in this situation it fit perfectly. “Did he also mention that the verification he needs is some kind of assurance from all of us heirs that Dad truly intended to develop the land.”
“Excuse me?” Orion frowned. He kept looking back and forth between Edward, Jason, and their mother. “What are you talking about?”
Jason lifted the file folder. “Well, Edward and I are pretty sure that this isn’t Dad’s signature, but it was certainly signed, scanned, and sent to the land office in order to start a deal that will apparently allow them to start clearing our ranch land next week in order to put in a bunch of condos.”
“What?” Orion looked as though he had just choked on his tongue. He swung around to face their mother. “You didn’t say anything about condos!”
“Well, that was an idea,” Tisha murmured. She examined her manicure, which she had apparently managed to get done in spite of not having her phone or calendar and being late for her appointment. “I don’t know that it was the final idea.”
Jason narrowed his gaze at her and wished that he could just spit on her and be done. “Are you kidding me? You didn’t know that it was the final idea? You were the one behind the whole thing!”
“No. I wasn’t.”
“Then who was?” Edward put up a hand to forestall any more comments from Jason.
It chafed to be hushed like that, but at the moment Jason realized that his brother was actually on his side. What a novel idea. Jason watched with his other brothers as their mother’s face went through a fantastically quick transition of expressions. She had no idea what to say about this development. That much was immediately obvious.
Orion had snatched the file folder from Jason and was flipping through those contracts as though he were skimming them at a preternatural rate. His countenance grew darker and darker as he continued to read through what had been intended for the ranch land that had been in the King family for so many generations. By the time that developer was done there would not be a tree or a bush left of the original property. The creek would be gone. The cottonwoods would be bulldozed under and the whole thing would be a planned community complete with a clubhouse and two swimming pools and a driving range for the residents. The only thing good that could be said about the entire condo idea was that at least they weren’t low end places. The median price to buy into the condo association was something like three hundred grand, which in and of itself was ridiculous for that zip code. It was like Tisha had completely lost touch with reality when it came to real estate and money.
“Well, it was my idea initially,” Tisha finally admitted. She was now gnawing on a cuticle in spite of her brand spanking new manicure.
Zane growled. He sounded as though he could shift at any moment. “So you’re lying now! You were absolutely going to repurpose our family property for your own use! You were planning on just spending the profits from this condo deal and sort of pretending it never happened!”
“You don’t understand!” Tisha went from uncertain to shouting shrew in three seconds flat. “I hate that werewolf bullshit! I hate it!”
The words ran through Jason’s heart much like a pike. “Wow. That’s always nice to hear. A mother hates her sons because of their true nature, but pretends to like them as long as they toe the line of humanity and pretend not to be what they are.”
“And we aren’t werewolves,” Edward added in a voice filled with loathing. “Seriously! After this long married to Dad and raising five sons who are just like him, you can’t grasp that? We’re not werewolves. We. Are. Shifters! We don’t turn into wolves on the full moon. We aren’t controlled by moon cycles or some master werewolf who bit us way back when. We aren’t infected with some disease. This is our nature and it’s what we are.”
“We were born this way,” Devon said quietly. He was shaking his head. “Did you honestly believe that by taking away the place where we’ve run together as a pack for our whole lives you would stomp that out?”
“Yes!” Tisha shouted back. She put her hands on her hips and turned a slow circle to glare at them all. “Yes! I did. Why would I not? If that horrible place is gone maybe you will all realize that you are humans and not animals.”
“We know that anyway,” Orion said dismissively. “And we’re sorry that our father was an arrogant bastard who didn’t tell the truth about his true nature until your wedding night. I think we’ve all heard the tale. It doesn’t need to be told again.”
But Orion’s warning went completely unheeded. Tisha began wagging her index finger in the air. Tears filled her eyes and she looked almost ready to bawl. “You have no idea what it was like! My wedding night!” Tisha swung around to look at Zane as though t
his had some kind of importance for him. “The night I was supposed to become a real wife my husband turned into a wolf right there in the bedroom! He turned back into a man and laughed at me! He laughed!” Tisha moaned and sobbed as though she were the most profound victim of all time. “Then he turned into a wolf again and just ran off. He ran off to go howl like a lunatic with his father in the backyard. Then he came back in hours later and just expected me to be happy!”
Even Jason had to cringe at the callous disregard of their father for their mother. But that did not mean he was ready to give up his own heritage. “I like how you just assume we would all do the same thing.”
“You would!” Tisha rounded on Jason. She pointed at him. “And you would be the worst. You with that slutty reporter that you’re dating! You can’t possibly tell her the truth.”
“Dating?” Edward snorted. “Mother, you’re getting ahead of yourself. I’ve met Skye Kincaid and she’s a delightful human being with a fantastic head on her shoulders. Jason would be only too lucky if that girl agreed to go out with him.” Edward made a face at Jason. “But I doubt she will.”
“Thanks,” Jason shot back sarcastically. “I appreciate your support.”
Mother was staring at Jason and he did not like the look on her face. She had gone from victim to calculating aggressor in only a few seconds flat. That was frightening. Tisha Olivares-King was one of those people who would never be safe to be around. She would always have something up her sleeve.
“Tex Johnson was the one who signed those contracts,” Tisha said in a sudden and quiet voice.
Her words had the effect of a sonic boom. The kitchen went dead quiet as all five brothers attempted to add this to their bank of knowledge. Jason’s brain was spinning. It wasn’t like he and Edward hadn’t already considered it, but the confirmation was a bit startling. And it opened the biggest question yet. Why?
Billion Dollar Wolves: Boxset Bks 1-5 Page 13