Abby's Heart (Bryant Station Curves)

by Rachels, Rayne

  Abby’s Heart

  Bryant Station Curves

  Rayne Rachels

  Kindle Edition

  Copyright © 2014 Rayne Rachels

  All rights reserved.

  For more information about the author, please visit http://raynerachels.blogspot.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are the product of the Author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 1

  No! This wasn’t happening!

  The dark figure crushed the papers in his fist as he stepped further back into the shadows. The lawyer would pay for this. He should never have sold the buildings. The dark figure’s eyes narrowed. The lawyer knew selling the buildings were non-negotiable. They were not for sale. He could sell anything except the buildings. The man would pay.

  The dark figure watched the woman reach for something in the back seat of the silver truck. The name Abby flickered through his brain.

  He had not thought about her in years.

  Why was she here?

  Memories flickered through his mind. His lips turned up, creating an eerily evil grin.

  Abby had been devastated when she ran away. It was perfect. He had driven her away, preventing fate from protecting those damn shifters.

  The man laughed at the memory. It had felt so good ripping Abby from her destined mate. The pain and humiliation radiating from her had tasted so delicious. Too bad, he had not taken the time to fully appreciate the whole, delicious package. Her ample breasts called to him. His hands itched to squeeze and pinch them. He moaned with pleasure at the thought of sinking his teeth into the lovely globes. Her screams of pain and fear would taste so good.

  He shook his head.

  He watched at Abby as she walked toward the building. She would ruin all of his plans. He could not let her find her mate, and he could not let her discover his secret. He glanced at the crumpled paper in his hand.

  The lawyer would pay for selling the buildings, and Abby would pay for coming to Bryant Station and interfering in his life. Images of what he would do to her before she died made him hard. He rubbed his dick, imagining her screams as he pounded into her warm flesh.

  His eyes glittered.

  This time he would play with her.

  He squeezed the crumpled paper tighter. A flame erupted and disappeared. He opened his hand and let the ashes scatter in the breeze.

  He watched Abby go into the basement. He stepped into the darkest recesses of the shadows and disappeared.

  Abby flipped the switch, but nothing happened. “Great! The lights down here aren’t working either. Are you sure the electricity is on?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure. I turned it on myself. It’s probably a dead fuse or two, if we’re lucky.”

  Abby shook her head. It was always something with these old buildings. “Grab some fuses out of the truck and get down here.” She pulled a flashlight out of her back pocket and made sure the batteries in it were good. She hated finding herself in tight dark places with a dead flashlight. It wouldn’t be so bad if she could see in the dark like rest of her family. “And bring another flashlight.”

  “I’m already ahead of you.” A tall, broad shouldered man appeared at the basement doorway. “Do you have your hardhat?”

  Abby rolled her eyes. “What do you think? This isn’t my first rodeo.”

  “I just don’t want the Alpha yelling at me if you end up with any holes in your skull or if you get knocked out again like you did on the Jamison project.”

  “And whose fault was that?”

  The man shrugged his shoulders. “I told you to duck. You were just too slow.”

  “You told me to duck after the beam fell. Besides, what were you doing crawling around the first floor? I told you, and everyone else, it was not stable. Too many of the support beams were rotted, but did you listen?”

  “I could have sworn you said it was stable.”

  “Billy, I swear! For a wolf you have lousy hearing.” Abby handed her cousin one of the digital recorders she was carrying. She always carried a backup, just in case something went wrong with the first recorder. In these old buildings, you couldn’t be too careful. She had experienced too many strange events over the years that had wreaked havoc on her electronics.

  “My hearing is fine. You need to speak clearer.” Billy took the recorder, turned it on, and made a couple of adjustments.

  Abby glared at her cousin. “Whatever!” She took the tablet out from under her arm and pushed the button at the bottom causing the screen to come on. Abby tap in her password and flipped through the apps until she found what she was looking for. Two seconds later, the blueprints, of the building they were standing in, filled the screen.

  “So where do we start boss?” Billy winked at her.

  “Will you knock it off and get serious?”

  “I am serious.”

  Abby raised an eyebrow at her cousin. At 5’5’’, she had to look up at him. Like most wolves, Billy was over 6 feet of lean muscle. There was not one ounce of fat on his body even though he constantly ate. She envied the wolf metabolism. She hated watching what she ate, but she could not afford any more padding on her size eighteen body. She already stuck out in the pack like a sore thumb.

  Luckily, no one in the pack teased her about her weight, but that was probably because of the Alpha, who happened to be her stepdad, and the fact her younger brothers looked and acted like huge bodyguards. She was surprised one of them did not insist on coming with her and Billy while she did the initial building inspections.

  The males of the pack were very protective of the females, but especially her because she was human, and even more so after what happened to her at college. Abby shook her head and mentally slammed the door on that particular memory. She was not going there, especially not today. She needed her mind clear so she could focus on the job she had to do. The lives of her crew depended on her assessment and recommendations.

  “Are you okay?”

  Abby heard the concern in Billy’s voice. “I’m fine. Are you ready?”

  Billy frowned. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I said I was okay. Do you have everything?” Abby clenched her jaw. Sometimes she really hated wolf senses. They made it hard to keep secrets.

  “Video camera. Check. Flashlight. Check. Extra fuses. Check and double check. Yelp, I’m ready.” Billy grinned at Abby, flashing several white teeth in the process.

  “You’re such a comedian.”

  Billy’s grin grew bigger. “Have you heard the joke about the woman who walked into the bar with a—”

  “No, and I don’t want to hear it.”

  “You know you do. It’s killing you not to know the punch line.”


  “No, I don’t.” Abby shook her head.

  “Come on, you know you want to hear the joke. It will make you laugh, and I think you could use a good laugh.”

  “Grow up and act your age.” Abby turned and started down the stairs.

  “Really Abby, you need to loosen up and have some fun.” Billy turned on a flashlight as he followed her down the stairs.

  “I have plenty of fun, but right now is not the time for fun. We have a job to do, and you know it.”

  “You don’t have to remind me.” Billy curled up his lip to growl at her.

  “And don’t you dare growl at me.”

  “Freak.”

  “Hairball.”

  “Hey, I’m a cute hairball.” Billy puffed out his chest.

  “You sniff butts and lick your own balls. That’s not cute.” Abby pulled out her flashlight and aimed it into the dark. “I really wish the lights were working. The hair on the back of my neck is standing up.”

  “Don’t be jealous. Besides, I may sniff butts, but I’ll protect you from whatever is down here.”

  Abby rolled her eyes. “As long as it’s not the way you protected me on the Jamison project.”

  “Hey, I did tell you to duck.”

  “Whatever!”

  “But I did warn you. Doesn’t that count for anything?” asked Billy.

  “Look up at the top of this column.” Abby focused her flashlight toward the top of the first of several columns she needed to check. “I think some of the bricks may be loose. Make sure you get several shots of it.” She pulled a knife out of her pocket and opened it.

  “It doesn’t look like anyone has touched it since it was built.” Billy used his flashlight as he filmed the column.

  Abby scrapped the mortar holding the bricks together with the blade of her knife. She frowned at the powder and small chunks coming off the column. “It has to be reinforced. I’ve got a bad feeling we’re going to find more of the same.”

  “Did you expect anything less?”

  Abby sighed. “I was hoping someone at some point had come in and reinforced them.”

  “You mean, you wanted someone to actually take care of the building?”

  “Yeah, that would be nice for a change. These buildings are architectural gems.” Abby’s voice reflected her love for the old buildings.

  “If they did, you wouldn’t have a job.” Billy raised an eyebrow at her, even though he knew she couldn’t see it. “Do the blueprints show where the fuse box is supposed to be?”

  Abby studied the blueprints. “There should be a small service room over there.” She gestured in the general direction with her hand.

  “A service room? Are you kidding me? These old buildings don’t have service rooms.”

  “Most don’t, but this building has one. From the blueprints, it is not very big, but it might be a huge plus if we can turn it into the central point for the electrical.”

  “I’ve got fuses. Show me the fuse box.” Billy patted his pocket, making the glass fuses clink.

  Abby led the way, panning her flashlight in front of her. Several feet before they reached the service room, Abby abruptly stopped. She swung her flashlight to her left. The light illuminated a wall. She stared at her tablet, and moved the blueprints several different directions.

  “What’s wrong?” Billy looked over her shoulder at the tablet.

  “That wall shouldn’t be there.” Abby moved her flashlight across the wall. “This should be an open area all the way to the small room.”

  “Someone probably put it up sometime during the last couple of decades.” Billy shrugged his shoulders. “No big deal. We’ll knock it down and open the area back up.”

  Abby opened several documents and skimmed through them. She shook her head. “There’s nothing in any of the old documents or permits about a section of the basement being walled off.” She ran her flashlight the length of the wall. “Someone did this on the sly. He or she didn’t want anyone to know.”

  “Interesting! Do you think we’ll find something valuable behind it?”

  “Probably not, but even if we do, it doesn’t belong to us. It belongs to Theo Willis, the owner of these buildings.”

  “You had to remind me and burst my bubble.” Billy sighed. “What do you want to do?”

  Abby narrowed her eyes as she stared at the wall. “I want to know what’s behind it. I doubt it’s load bearing, so it shouldn’t be a problem when we take it down.”

  “So we knock it down right now. I’ll go get the sledgehammer.” Excitement filled Billy’s voice.

  “Get the drill, not the sledgehammer.”

  “You just don’t know how to have any fun.”

  “I just don’t want the wall coming down on top of us when you start beating it with a sledgehammer. There’s always the chance that any vibrations we make could start a chain reaction, and that wouldn’t be good.”

  “You think?”

  “Just go get the drill, and bring back the pen camera.”

  “Yes, boss.” Billy saluted her, even though she could not see him in the dark.

  Abby heard Billy go up the stairs. She stared at the wall. Without Billy, the basement went quiet—too quiet. Abby held her breath and listened. She frowned and let slowly blew the air out of her mouth.

  Something was off.

  The normal creaks and moans that buildings this age made were not there. She didn’t even hear the skittering noises of mice.

  The building was silent—abnormally silent.

  “I’ve got the drill and the pen camera. Do you have a spot picked out?” Billy stopped next to Abby. He watched her study the wall and the darkness surrounding them. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m not sure. Just listen, and tell me what you hear.”

  Billy listened. After a couple of minutes, he frowned. “I don’t hear anything.”

  “And with your hearing, you should have heard something.”

  “I don’t like this,” said Billy.

  His wolf let out a low growl. Do you feel it?

  Do you mean the heaviness hanging in the air? Billy asked his wolf.

  It is the darkness. This is not a good place. His wolf growled again.

  “Billy?”

  “Maybe we should leave. My wolf doesn’t like it here either.” Billy sniffed the air, but the only scents he caught were coming from Abby’s anxiety and the constant pain and sadness that surrounded her ever since she came home from college in the middle of the semester all those years ago. She refused to talk about what had happened, and she refused to go back. She ended up transferring to another college on the opposite side of Texas.

  He knew whatever had happened was bad, because Abby worked hard to get high grades. Anything below a B was unacceptable in her mind, and leaving college in the middle of the semester had cost Abby her average. Abby would not talk to anyone about what had happened. Billy was not even sure if the Alpha and Abby’s mom knew the truth. If they did, they were not saying anything. The wolves just knew they had to protect her.

  Abby shook her head. “Let’s get the hole drilled and put in the camera. With a little luck, there’s nothing there that will cause any kind of delays. I want to get the reinforcements in place by the end of the month so we can start gutting the buildings by the middle of next month. I’ve got too many people already lined up to have any delays.”

  Billy smiled.

  Abby’s love of old buildings and her engineering degree had convinced the Alpha to expand the construction company into renovation. Abby’s innovations and her eye for details caused the renovation side of the company to expand, and it was now number one in profits of all the Wolfe Enterprises companies. They could select what projects they wanted to do from the multiple requests they received each month.

  Abby walked up and down the wall, studying it. “I think this may be the best place.” She looked up. The wall went all the way up to the ceiling of the basement. “Take it slow when you drill. Don’t force it,�
� she said as she looked over at Billy. He was standing just outside the light, but she could see his shadowed outline.

  Billy handed Abby the pen camera case and set the plastic drill case on the floor several feet from the wall. As soon as he took out the drill and a couple of drill bits, Abby put her tablet into the drill case and closed it. She opened the camera case, pulled out the pen camera, and set it up.

  “Are you ready?”

  Abby glanced over at her cousin. “I’m ready.” She pointed her flashlight to the section of wall she wanted him to drill into.

  Billy nodded. He stepped up to the wall and started drilling a hole into it.

  The wall made several strange popping and cracking noises as he drilled through it, but not one chunk fell. After several minutes, the drill bit broke through the other side of the wall. Billy stepped back and put the drill down. “You want me to do that?” he asked Abby.

  “I’ve got it.” She stepped forward and slowly pushed the pen camera into the opening Billy had made. The wall made several loud pops.

  “Abby get away from the wall!”

  She heard Billy’s warning and looked up. Abby dropped the pen camera and jumped back just as the wall fell, burying her under bricks and plaster.

  Chapter 2

  Skylar put the file into the file cabinet and closed the drawer. He looked around the office. His desk was finally clear of paperwork and receipts. It had only taken him all morning, but it was done.

  “I really need to hire a new secretary to take care of all the paperwork,” he said aloud. “Too bad she’s not here to put the notice in the newspaper.”

  He grabbed his yellow hardhat off the top of the file cabinet and plopped it onto his head. Without another look back, he opened the door and stepped out of the trailer that served as his office on construction sites. Closing and locking the door, Skylar went down the steps.

  He took a deep breath and looked up at the sky as he slowly let it out. He really hated being cooped up inside with paperwork. Skylar looked around the construction site. The apartment buildings were in various stages of completion. The whole place buzzed with activity.