Billion Dollar Wolves: Boxset Bks 1-5

by Dee Bridgnorth

  Then Gemini moved his gaze from Kami to Devon. “She’s not what I would have expected of someone like you.”

  “No?” Devon was willing to reserve judgment on this comment. But the second Gemini made a disparaging mark about Kami, Devon was going to rip his lungs out. “What would you have expected?”

  “Kami Delgado is real,” Gemini murmured. He scratched his neck as though he were struggling to find the right words. “She’s the sort of woman who works her ass off and fights for every single scrap. I respect that. You know?”

  “Yes. So do I.” Devon wanted to be clear about that. “I’ve respected that since the minute I met her years and years ago when she nearly ran me down with a trashcan on wheels right outside my office door.”

  Zane started laughing. “I’d pay money to see that. You’ve gotten a lot less stuffy over the years, you know? Now I know that it’s because of Kami here and not because you’ve been trying to pull the stick out of your ass.”

  “Thanks, Zane. You’ve just got such a way with words.” Devon realized that they were all talking about Kami and the hypothetical stick up Devon’s ass just to avoid the elephant in the room. So finally Devon sighed and took the plunge. He gazed straight at Gemini. “So?”

  Gemini waited one long, long moment before speaking. Finally he exhaled a long sigh and seemed to settle on the words he wanted to use. “Your mother is the biggest bitch on the planet.”

  “Yeah?” Zane snorted and shrugged. “I think we figured that out a long time ago. I believe my brother was referring to the bullshit board meeting.”

  “She wants the company.” Gemini seemed to think that this was enough information. “She’s planning to sell it.”

  “What?” Devon was pretty sure that he was about to fall over in shock. “She wants to sell? Why?”

  “Come on,” Gemini chided. “You didn’t honestly think that woman wanted to run it. Right? What has she been doing? Sabotaging, right? Stealing payroll, funneling funds away from essential operations, ignoring contract negotiations, and keeping all of you so distracted that you’re not able to focus on it either.”

  Damn. Gemini was absolutely right. Devon could not believe he had never considered this particular angle. He shook his head and suddenly the pain in his arm was almost unnoticeable. “So did she come right out and say that?”

  “No. She’s not saying anything. She’s just being argumentative, belligerent, demeaning, distracting, and pretty much all the other ings.” Gemini shook his head. “If you get my drift.”

  Zane folded his arms and tugged thoughtfully at his lower lip. He was a lot more business savvy than anyone gave him credit for. Devon could only imagine where Zane’s mind was headed now. “And Orion?” Zane pressed. “What did he have to say?”

  “He seems oblivious,” Gemini admitted. He bobbed his head from side to side as though he weren’t sure he wanted to say all of this out loud just yet. “I don’t know if he hasn’t figured it out yet, or if he’s just not sure what he really wants to do or if he cares.”

  “Cares?” Devon could not help it. The word came out like a yelp of surprise and anger. “Of course he cares!”

  Gemini gazed at Devon for a very long moment. Devon felt the man’s perusal almost like a physical thing. And perhaps that was when Devon realized that he was kidding himself. “You’re right. I don’t know if Orion cares or not either. He’s tired. He’s been taking the brunt of our mother’s bullshit for a long time. She rides him like a bull at the rodeo and there’s almost nothing he can do about it. Mom snaps her fingers and Orion has to jump.”

  “Why?” Gemini asked the question, and Devon realized that he didn’t actually have an answer.

  Zane seemed at a loss too. “I’ve never quite figured that out. Orion feels a lot of empathy for our mother because Dad cheated on her.” Zane offered Gemini an apologetic look. “You weren’t exactly a happy surprise to the rest of us. Oh, by the way, your father was cheating on your mother.”

  “Your mother was cheating on your father.” Gemini made the bald statement as though they were all idiots. “He knew about it. He spoke about it. I remember him telling me that no matter what, I needed to make sure that I knew the woman I was marrying. He didn’t want me to marry for money or position or status. He told me to marry a woman who could love both sides of me.”

  “And our mother has been trying to drum the wolf out of us our whole lives,” Zane muttered irritably. He made a vague gesture to Devon. “And for some of us it’s even worked.”

  “Hey! I resent that,” Devon snarled at his brother.

  “No,” Zane said with an arch stare. “You resemble that. It isn’t the same thing.”

  “Can we stop arguing like children?” Gemini actually sounded very teachery. How odd. His droll stare reminded Devon of Landry and her very teacher-like mode of dealing with Zane’s goofier personality traits. “Now. If we can get back to the topic at hand?”

  “Which is?” Devon could not help but feel like this whole thing was pointless. “If mother wants to sell the company I’m not even sure that I want to stop her. I’m tired of fighting.” Devon glanced at Zane. “Aren’t you?”

  “Here’s the thing.” Zane sounded suddenly clear and concise as though he should have become a lawyer. “If our mother sells the company, there will be no more salaries drawn from that source. She will get—what is it?—forty percent of any monies gained from a sale. The five of us would have to split the rest. It would actually be a disaster. Let’s be honest, shall we?” Zane spread his hands in front of him. “We all depend on the salaries that we draw from the company. Whether it’s because Devon and Orion are getting a huge chunk of the residual profits or because the rest of us actually get a steady income, we need that money.”

  “He’s not wrong,” Gemini muttered. “You guys are stuck. And if that woman manages to convince Orion to sell then the rest of you are screwed.”

  “Actually, I believe the rest of us would have a shot at getting restitution in probate court,” Zane mused. “But it would certainly dilute the results. Wouldn’t it?”

  The repercussions of what they we suggesting were bad. Just bad. And yet there was no way for Devon to stop this runaway train. He could only dig in his heels and hope like hell it stopped before they all plunged over the cliff.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Kami gazed at the enormous pale stucco home with the red Spanish-tiled roof. It was imposing and so very pretentious. This time she was walking right up to the front door instead of entering through the staff entrance in the back of the house. Kami wasn’t dressed in her caterer’s clothes either.

  “What are you thinking?” Devon leaned down to whisper in her ear.

  Kami clung to his arm as he helped her up the steps. Even a week after the incident at her parents’ apartment Kami was still sore. “I was just wondering if your mother hired Armando’s catering service again. I think it’s going to be weird to be on this side of the serving tray—so to speak.”

  Behind Kami and Devon, sixteen-year-old Juana wasn’t doing such a grand job of keeping a lid on her amazement. “Wow!” Juana whispered. Then she poked Kami in the back. “Your husband is mega rich, Kami! This house is crazy big!”

  Kami sighed. She pressed her face to Devon’s arm and prayed for patience. Then she turned around to look right at Juana. “So help me God,” Kami whispered in terse Spanish. “If you embarrass me, I will kill you. You can’t be gawking at everything. At least try to act like you weren’t born in a barn.”

  “Right.” Juana was nodding her head. “I’ll just keep my mouth closed. I can do that. I think I can anyway. I mean, who will be there for me to talk to anyway?”

  Juana did not seem to realize that she was already talking a mile a minute as they prepared to walk into the house. Devon did not wait for anyone to answer the door. He just opened it and ushered them inside.

  The interior of the house was decorated in much the same way it had been on that fateful night when K
ami had first been introduced to her mother-in-law. How odd that now one week before Christmas she would be back here as a grudging guest. Grudging because there had been no doubt in Kami’s mind that Tisha Olivares-King had only issued the invitation because she was afraid of what other people would think if she shunned her son’s chosen bride.

  The rooms on the first floor of the King mansion were packed with people. Kami could not help but think about some of the novels she read that described parties as a crush. This most definitely qualified. People in sparkling Christmas-themed outfits with gems glittering in their hair and at their throats and wrists filled the house. Laughter rose above the din of conversation. Somewhere there were Christmas tunes playing on the built-in stereo system. The music seemed to come straight out of the walls.

  “Kami!”

  Kami turned and could just make out a hand waving above the sea of people that seemed to spread before them. It took her a minute to register the familiar face of Skye Kincaid peeking through the crowd.

  “Holy crap,” Devon muttered. “I think my mother was trying to make a point with her guest list. I see two judges and the mayor.”

  “Really?” Kami frowned as she half dragged him toward Skye. Actually, she was considering using Devon’s big broad body as a battering ram to get through the mass of humanity cluttering up the living room. “Why would they bother? Or why would she bother?”

  “You’ll find that important people don’t necessarily care who throws the party as long as they can be seen by the right people in the right places.” Devon skillfully dragged them through the mass of people toward Skye and Jason. A closer inspection of that corner revealed Zane and Landry as well.

  Kami spotted a guy she had seen on television named as the chief of the Dallas municipal police force. “Do you think they all smell blood in the water?”

  Kami still found it difficult to believe that Tisha Olivares-King would want to sell the company. Without it she would be nothing but a momentarily wealthy widow. How could that possibly satisfy someone like her?

  “Oh, excuse me!” A man and his wife were coming the opposite direction as though they were trying to get to the exit. For a moment the man stared up at Devon as though he were trying to place him, then the older man’s face brightened. “Devon King! Good to see you!”

  Devon actually paused and took the man’s hand. “Joseph Orville, right?”

  Kami felt the need to gape. Behind her she wondered if Juana had realized who they were talking to right now. Joseph Orville owned the largest chain of department stores in the Dallas area. Orville’s was a place that was so far out of the Delgado’s price range that they almost never went there even to window shop.

  “Yes!” Joseph Orville was pumping Devon’s hand up and down. “I just spoke with your brother Edward yesterday! He and Diana are doing really well and they’ve found us the most amazing little vineyard to purchase right in the center of Tuscany.”

  “That’s great.” Devon was nodding as though he were truly happy for the couple. “And Mrs. Orville? What do you think about moving to Italy?”

  “I’m ready to sell the store and all the drama that goes with it,” Francesca Orville assured Devon. “But you were asking me the other day about the Santa Service.”

  “Yes.” Devon glanced over his shoulder at Kami. “I didn’t actually have a chance to discuss it with my beautiful wife, but I think that would be the best option for us to make sure that her younger brothers and sister have the best Christmas they’ve ever experienced.”

  Kami felt as though her mouth were actually hanging open to the floor. The Santa Service? Behind Kami, Juana was now grabbing her arm and bouncing up and down with eagerness. “You would do that for my family?” Kami asked Devon.

  He bobbed his head. “Absolutely. Mrs. Orville is the one who puts that together. Francesca, this is my wife, Kami, and her sister, Juana. I will have them call you tomorrow at the store to give you the names, ages, and sizes of the kids. Will that pretty much seal the deal?”

  “Yes, that would be perfect!” Mrs. Orville gushed. “That way we can have one of our personal shoppers pull the merchandise and start the gift wrapping! I can’t believe just how close we are to Christmas already! Our flight to Italy leaves before New Year’s and we are just so excited to go. But first we need to finish out this last Christmas season.”

  “Thank you!” Kami grabbed the woman’s hand and gave it a light squeeze. “My family will be thrilled!”

  “Thank your lovely husband,” Francesca told Kami. “Anyone who marries a King brother is just about the luckiest girl on the face of the earth.”

  “I certainly won’t disagree with that!” Kami beamed at the couple as she clung to her husband’s arm.

  This was turning out to be a really great night in spite of the craziness of the party and the crowdedness of the house. Kami and Devon said their goodbyes to the Orvilles and then finally managed to make their way to the corner where the other King siblings had congregated. By that time Kami noticed almost immediately that Juana seemed to have been misplaced in the crowded room.

  “It’s so good to see you here!” Landry reached out to hug Kami. “I know that last time the party wasn’t a very good experience. This time I’m hoping you’ll at least get to stay until you want to leave.”

  Kami laughed off the memory of that disastrous party before tugging at Devon’s sleeve. “I have to go and find Juana. She’s disappeared.”

  “Okay.” Devon craned his neck around. He was so much taller that he could actually see over the heads of the other guests. “I think I see her right by the buffet table.”

  “Figures,” Kami sighed. She made a little wave to the others. “I’ll be right back. Letting my sister stay for Christmas vacation isn’t turning out to be the easiest task. It makes me glad that we’re not going to be dealing with teenagers of our own!”

  At under five feet tall Kami had no choice but to squeeze in and around the crowd almost blindly heading in the direction that Devon had indicated. By the time she got what she figured had to be at least halfway to the buffet tables where her sister had apparently disappeared, Kami found herself standing right beside Orion King and a beautiful woman with fine dark brown hair that had been curled to gently frame her face. Her eyes were dark brown and almond shaped. The slight tilt of her eyes and the tone of her complexion gave her a slightly exotic look. She seemed to be deeply in conversation with Orion.

  “I don’t know why your mother would want to sell King Security Services, but I honestly believe that’s what’s going on here, Orion.” The woman touched Orion’s arm. “Would you please listen to me? I’m worried about you. I don’t know why you’re acting like such an ass lately. I think you need help.”

  “I don’t need any freaking help.” Orion pulled his arm away from her. “You’re acting like a clingy girlfriend and we’re not even dating. Our mothers hate each other. Remember?”

  “Yeah, believe me I was surprised as hell to get an invitation to this soiree.” There was a pause as though the woman were trying to hold something back. “But I’m here and I came because I wanted to see you. I’m worried about you, Orion.”

  Kami blinked in shock. She had to give the girl some credit. It took major courage to say something like that to a man who was obviously trying like hell to blow you off. What was the nature of this relationship? And it was interesting that the woman was trying to convince Orion that Tisha was trying to force a sale of the company. Devon had already told Kami that he and his brothers believed that was a possibility too. So where did this woman get her information? Who was she and what was her angle? It was worth knowing in Kami’s opinion.

  Suddenly Kami spotted Juana. Her sister was holding a plate heaped with food and was chatting a mile a minute with a young man who was probably half a dozen years older than she was. Ugh! There was no way that Kami was going to parent. Not her sisters and brothers, and certainly not her own kids. This parenting crap was for the birds!
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br />   “Juana!” Kami called out. “Juana, come back here!”

  Juana spotted Kami. Kami knew that much. But Juana wasn’t about to leave her new friend. That much was obvious too. Maybe this was just how it was going to be. Juana was going to turn seventeen come February. Perhaps she was just social and eager to talk to others. It wasn’t exactly a bad thing. It was probably better for her to socialize here than it was for her to hang out with random kids who had no supervision and spent their time at the local convenience store smoking behind the dumpsters.

  “Juana!” Kami waved and finally got her sister’s attention. “Don’t you leave without us! Understand? We’re right over there!” Kami was pointing back to the corner where Devon and his siblings were. Or at least she thoughts he was pointing that direction.

  Juana nodded emphatically and gave Kami a thumbs up. At this point there was nothing else for Kami to do but go back to her group and try to enjoy herself. If they were lucky the food would make people sick enough to force them to go home.

  It was a ridiculous thought and Kami was still chuckling about it by the time she managed to crawl and push her way back to Devon’s side. She collapsed against him and exhaled a huge sigh of relief.

  “It’s pretty bad,” Skye agreed. “Did you find your sister?”

  “Yes. She’s chatting with just about anyone who will talk to her by the food.” Kami shrugged and looked up at Devon. “I figure she’ll probably get into less trouble here than at my folks’ place.”

  Devon nodded and then gave his family a sage look. “We’ve decided that after spending a few days with Juana as our fake child we are never having offspring.”

  “Ever,” Kami added emphatically.

  “What?” Landry looked shocked. “Never?”