Billion Dollar Wolves: Boxset Bks 1-5

by Dee Bridgnorth

  “A little stressed out, are we?” Edward said, trying to sound about as lighthearted and teasing as he could manage.

  Orion growled and launched himself at Edward. His beer fell to the tile floor and shattered. Orion’s forearm smashed against Edward’s throat. Edward found himself slammed up against the cabinet beside the fridge. He heard the tinkle of breaking glass inside as the contents were shoved around hard enough to break them. The contact with his brother was painful, but the physical pain wasn’t the worst part.

  “What are you doing?” Edward ground the words out between gritted teeth. He pushed back hard, bringing his arms up underneath Orion’s and finally managing to dislodge his brother’s arm. “Let go of me or I’ll rip your arm off. Do you hear me?”

  “First your little girlfriend and now you?” Orion said in a rough uneven voice. “Don’t you know better than to poke at me? I don’t have to put up with this shit! I don’t have to put up with it at all.”

  “Orion!” Tisha said shrilly as she ran into the kitchen from the direction of the dining room. “What are you doing? You’re ruining my kitchen! Look at this mess! Look at it!”

  Orion suddenly backed off. He seemed to glance around at all of them as though he were waking up from a dream. Edward stared at his brother and could not help but wonder what was wrong with him. Then Tisha pointed to the beer on the floor. Her face started to turn bright red and it was pretty damned obvious she was gearing up for a tantrum.

  “How many?” Tisha demanded in a low voice.

  Edward drew back in surprise. He’d never seen that particular expression on his older brother’s face. It was almost sulky as though he were pouting about something. What was going on in this house? Since Edward had moved out he realized that he was very much out of touch with his older brothers and their situations.

  Orion snatched up a towel and started mopping up the mess on the floor. He did not speak a word to his mother. He didn’t say a word to Edward. It was almost as though he were hiding from them all.

  A moment later the caterer’s people seemed to swarm the kitchen. Someone in a black uniform helped Orion sweep up the broken glass. They finished cleaning up the beer and the dinner party appetizers started appearing from a van parked right outside the back door. Edward wandered out of the kitchen with his bottle of soda still in hand. He felt confused and maybe even a little worried.

  “Hello, Edward.”

  In the midst of the secret insanity going on back in the kitchen, Edward had apparently escaped the kitchen only to come face to face with the dinner party guests in the front room of his mother’s house. A few months ago or so Edward had attended a dinner party here with his brother Jason at his mother’s irrefutable request. What Edward was looking at right now was a repeat of that guest list.

  His manners kicked in almost without a second thought. The greeting had come from a man named Michael who was the henpecked live-in boyfriend of Tisha’s lifelong best friend, Alaina. Edward extended his hand to Michael and realized that the man was actually relieved to see Edward. How odd.

  “I’m terribly sorry,” Edward told the seven guests enjoying cocktails in the front room as they chatted amongst themselves. “I didn’t realize that anyone was here yet.”

  A couple named Joseph and Francesca Orville gave Edward a look down their nose. Francesca elbowed her husband and he barely managed to keep himself from an eye roll as he extended a hand to Edward. “I believe you are the reason we have been repeating this dinner party over and over again. My wife and I are just grateful that you finally decided to grace us with your presence.”

  “Excuse me?” Edward almost couldn’t believe Joseph Orville was choosing to be that rude almost from the get go. “I’m terribly sorry. Since my father’s death the company has required quite a lot of extra—ah—tweaking. It’s not given me a lot of time for dinner parties and the like. In fact, I feel as though I haven’t even had much time for eating away from my desk or sleeping somewhere other than the breakroom couch.”

  “Oh!” A young woman put her hand against her chest. “That sounds awful, Edward. I hope that won’t last for very long? Has Orion been sleeping at the office too? I know he’s essentially the one in charge now that both Mac King and Tex Johnson are gone.”

  Eleni Ariosa had dark brown hair that was so fine and so straight that it seemed to fall straight down her back. But Edward was pretty sure the girl had been sporting curly hair the last time he’d seen her. Not that he understood the vagaries of female hair practices that left them looking one way today and completely different tomorrow. Eleni’s eyes were dark and almond shaped. She had a vaguely exotic look to her that Edward was absolutely certain some people found very attractive. He was not one of them.

  “Actually, I’m not entirely sure what’s going on with Orion lately,” Edward mused. This was more to himself than to the gathered guests, but his mother heard it as she swept into the front room from the direction of the kitchen.

  “Edward, don’t be silly!” Tisha gushed the words as she grabbed hold of Edward’s arm and nearly dragged it off as she towed him toward Eleni. “He’s just saying that because all of my sons are just working so hard lately! They’ve been grinding their fingers to the bone.”

  “I hardly think it involves manual labor,” Edward snorted. He hated the way his mother had to take over and monopolize every single conversation. It got old so very quickly. “It’s mostly pencil pushing and number crunching really.” Edward looked around at the people in the room and perversely satisfied to see their eyes glaze over with boredom.

  “Oh, look! The appetizers have arrived!” Tisha practically shouted the words.

  Two different black-clad waiters appeared from the direction of the kitchen. Each man was heavily laden with trays. They set the trays on a long buffet table and then excused themselves to go and get a few more items to complete the pre-dinner party food. Edward could not help but wonder if anyone would be hungry after this enormous offering of appetizer food. It seemed unlikely in his opinion. Although perhaps crab puffs and pate were not enough to fill the gullets of Dallas’s most affluent citizens.

  “Edward,” Tisha said expectantly. She was still holding onto his arm. It was horrible. “Why don’t you ask Eleni if she needs any food or perhaps a refresher on her cocktail.”

  “I don’t drink,” Eleni said flatly. She offered Tisha a cool look of near disdain. “I believe I’ve explained this to you every single night this week so far.”

  Tisha’s smile was looking a little forced. Interesting. She made a vague gesture to Eleni’s glass. “I keep hoping that you’ll change your mind, dear. It would make you so much more fun if you would just indulge a little with the rest of us.”

  “Oh, I see.” Eleni snorted and shook her head. She sipped the soda water in her glass. At least that was what Edward’s sensitive nose sniffed out in her glass. But Eleni wasn’t done with her attempt to put Tisha Olivares-King in her place. “So basically what you’re saying is that I need alcohol to render me enough fun to be in your company?”

  Edward could now officially feel his mother vibrating with the force of her anger. It was all very fascinating. Alaina and Tisha were friends. Alaina’s daughter very obviously disliked Tisha. Tisha disliked Alaina’s daughter. And yet both women were determined to marry off their offspring. Why? What was in if for them?

  “Eleni, would you like to step outside onto the patio and get some air?” Edward asked suddenly. He knew his mother would never thwart an opportunity for him to be alone with Eleni. This might be an opportunity for them both to get away.

  Eleni flashed him a grateful look. “Yes. Yes I would. Thank you.”

  “Mother, I hope you and your guests will excuse us young people for a moment.”

  “Of course!” Tisha exchanged a very loaded look with Alaina. “You two take as long as you like. We will come and find you when dinner is served.”

  “Thank you.” Edward very gently took Eleni’s arm and steere
d her toward the double French doors that led to the patio that wrapped around the sides and back of the house.

  The cool late October air was a welcome relief from the hot and stuffy interior of the house. The humidity was not prohibitively awful and soon enough a light breeze brought the scent of wood smoke drifting their way. It brought to mind fire pits and crackling logs and those wonderful lazy evenings spent back at the ranch with Edward’s father and his brothers as the six of them swapped stories before shifting to their wolf forms and taking a long run through the trees and across the streams as they enjoyed the feeling of being a true pack.

  They did not feel like a pack right now. The King brothers felt like a bunch of strangers who could not seem to get their act together. Edward chuffed out a long sigh of irritation as he thought about what that could mean for his life as a shifter.

  “Are you all right?”

  Edward had actually forgotten that Eleni was standing there. How awkward. He nodded to her and forced himself to smile. “I’m just fine. It’s been quite a busy and confusing last few months. I’m so sorry that you’ve gotten dragged into this situation. That isn’t fair. I cannot begin to wrap my mind around what our mothers are thinking when it comes to making pairs.”

  “I know what my mother is thinking,” Eleni said darkly. “She is realizing that my sister Embry and her husband Joseph back in there sipping cocktails”—Eleni jerked her chin toward the front room—“don’t have nearly the income that will allow them to support my mother in the style to which she has become accustomed.”

  “What about that Michael guy?” Edward was a bit confused. “I thought he was your mother’s boyfriend. Doesn’t he support her?”

  “Not like she feels she deserves.” Eleni gave a bitter shake of her head. “My mother is determined for me to marry wealthy enough that she will be taken care of for good.”

  “I see.” Edward chuckled. He thought of the current state of the inheritance situation and wondered if Alaina and Tisha were deliberately screwing each other over or if they were simply not communicating. “So that’s why it doesn’t matter to your mother if my mother is swapping out brothers every other minute?”

  “Not really,” Eleni said sarcastically. “My mother just wants the money.”

  Edward stared down at the young woman, curious as to whether or not she wanted the money as well. “And you? Do you want to be taken care of as well?”

  “I don’t need to be taken care of.” Eleni shrugged. “I have a good teaching job. I make my own money. I pay my own bills and live in my own place. I just don’t make enough money to give my mother what she wants.”

  “That’s rather disgusting actually,” Edward murmured. Then he thought of his mother. “I suppose we have that in common at least.”

  “Then let’s just pretend for a while,” Eleni suggested. “Please? It would be so much better if we could stop coming to these ridiculous dinner parties. I suggested this to your brother Jason before. You and I could say that we’re going to date. We’ll just keep putting it off because we’re busy. But if our mothers believe we’re at least interested they might just back off.”

  Edward could not decide if this was diabolical or deluded. But for now what other choice did he have? He did not want to keep coming back for these stupid parties. That meant he needed to engage in some sort of plan to keep his mother satisfied and off his back.

  Chapter Seven

  Diana knew that she was probably flirting with disaster to go back to the The Corner Shop with the sole intention of finding Skye Kincaid. The shop was busy with the morning rush when Diana got there. She had a dozen different appointments today and really there was no time to sit around in a coffee shop and shoot the breeze with a woman she barely knew, but there were some things that Diana desperately wanted to know and she had a feeling that Skye was probably her best source of information at this point.

  It really wasn’t a surprise to find Skye tucked into the corner of the shop in that same exact booth. She appeared to be having an animated discussion with the three older men about some topic of interest there in the city. Politics, the Dallas city budget, or some kind of educational bond. It was rather difficult to tell. The four of them were not only talking to each other, but also including an older couple from a nearby table that spoke with distinctive German accents. They appeared to be explaining how education worked in their homeland, which was apparently fascinating to Skye and her companions.

  “Ahem.”

  Diana turned and realized that she had moseyed through the line to the point where the man named Shawn was now waiting for her order. “Can I please get a large decaf nonfat latte?”

  “Of course.” Shawn rang up her order. “Would you like any breakfast with that?”

  “Oh.” The array of pastries in the case looked absolutely mouthwatering. “Well, I suppose I’ll have a croissant. Just the butter croissant, please. And heated up?”

  “Of course.” Shawn was saying the same words over and over again, and Diana got the feeling that he not only remembered her but didn’t really appreciate having her back in here.

  “Excuse me.” Diana was very aware of the line building up behind her. She didn’t want to make herself even more disliked in this place, but she needed to make sure Shawn understood what was happening here. “I’m not here to make trouble. I promise. I came to thank Skye. We have some friends in common that I didn’t realize and I owe her an apology.”

  “I see.” Shawn nodded. “Just so you know, Skye is one of our special status regulars here at The Corner Shop. That means we take it very seriously when another customer harasses her.”

  “Okay. Wow.” Diana raised her brows and tried to wrap her mind around the idea that someone could have that kind of status in a coffee shop. How much time did you have to spend in a place to achieve that? “Well, thanks for letting me know. I’ll—uh—watch my step.”

  “Good. Thank you. Have a nice day.” Shawn smiled pleasantly and Diana still got the feeling the guy wanted to stab out her eye with a straw.

  Diana meekly waited for her order at the end of the counter. Once she had her warm butter croissant on a plate and her nonfat decaf latte in her hand, Diana edged her way closer to the other end of the dining area where Skye and her friends were still holding court. Their happy banter and chatter wasn’t loud and yet it could be heard over the din of other conversations in the room.

  “I still think that schools spend far too much time teaching to the test and not nearly enough time actually teaching skills!” An older man with fading red hair tied back in a long ponytail said emphatically. “These kids can take a standardized test! Whoop dee doo!”

  “I think you’re right,” Skye agreed. She was bobbing her head with no small amount of emphasis. “So what do you think should happen? Should we somehow eliminate standardized tests? Because they aren’t really about teaching kids. They’re about evaluating educators. Right? So how do we balance those two things?”

  Diana felt like the worst sort of interloper. Were they actually ignoring her? It was almost impossible to tell. For just a moment she considered taking her stuff to go and just leaving. But her angry encounter with Orion and by extension—Edward—was making her feel as though she could not just go on without talking to someone who might have answers.

  “Well, look at that.” The man with the ponytail was talking, but his change of tone and volume told Diana in no uncertain terms that she had been spotted. “It’s the rich girl. Maybe she can give us her opinion on the state of education here in Dallas. Obviously, she is a product of the best schools and colleges. I’m sure she has an opinion to share.”

  Diana cleared her throat. This was so very awkward. She was being made fun of and really there was no reason for it other than the fact that the other day she had exhibited an unpopular—and okay—unwarranted opinion. So maybe she should just act normal as though the question had not been sarcastic in nature.

  “My personal experience in school was
that we had a lot of ridiculous advantages that weren’t deserved and for the most part weren’t appreciated or even taken proper advantage of. The students in my classes were usually entitled to a point where they expected pretty much everything—including the grades—to be handed to them.” Diana paused, but her audience actually acted as though they were interested in what she had to say. “And when I got to college it did not feel better. I felt more like my peers expected that since they were paying for the classes—or rather their parents were—that they were paying for the grades. It was all really unfair. They did significantly less work than I did and yet would get a grade that was absolutely similar. I felt as though I should have made a lot less effort, but that’s just not the way I’m wired.”

  “Aha!” The man with the fading red hair stuck out his hand to Diana. “My name is Lou. I used to be a professor of economics at Baylor, and let me tell you that I cannot agree with you more when it comes to what you’re saying about kids doing almost no work and expecting a good grade simply because they paid for the class. It’s like showing up is worth a perfect one hundred percent!”

  Diana took his hand and gave it a shake. She bit her lip. It was like suddenly being accepted somewhere like—well—high school. As ridiculous as it sounded there was certainly that sort of feeling about it. “I wanted to apologize for the other day.”

  “Actually, Skye explained things to us. We didn’t realize that you were an old friend of the King family.” Lou gave a careless shrug. “It’s all water under the bridge. But I’m assuming you would like to chat with Skye about something so the rest of us will leave you to it.”

  Skye snorted. “Yeah, as much as you ever do, meaning that you’ll be sitting over here eavesdropping and making comments whenever you want.”