by Renee Rose
She reached over and touched his thigh. “Well, of course it was too much. You already had to take over at Stone and you were probably still grieving his death to boot.”
Ben’s eyes shot over to her, a muscle jumping in his cheek. He looked slightly alarmed, as if shocked she understood him. At least she hoped she’d understood him. But he picked up her hand and moved it from his leg, which made her want to crawl under her seat for the rest of the drive.
Why couldn’t she touch his leg when he’d just mashed her against the car and kissed the living daylights out of her? She slumped back in her seat and stared at the headlights of the cars passing them. Too much had happened that day for her to even try to make sense of it all.
* * *
He pulled into his brother’s circular drive in Golden, a western suburb of Denver. Nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, Leon’s back yard featured spectacular views and even a natural, rocky mountain spring-fed creek running through. Motion-sensing lights went off, lighting the sidewalk.
“Am I coming in?” Ashley asked as he opened his car door.
“Yeah.”
She climbed out and smoothed her rumpled skirt, holding her blouse closed.
He rang the bell.
After a long time, Shayla spoke from behind the closed door. “Ben?”
“Yeah, it’s me. Sorry it’s so late, but I have to talk to you.”
She opened the door, her face tight, but she offered her cheeks for South American-style kisses. A female alpha, Shayla might be petite in human form, but was large, sleek, and fast as a wolf, with tan fur and yellow eyes.
“This is Ashley Bell. She’s my assistant at Stone.”
Shayla gaped at Ashley’s torn and bloody blouse. “What happened?”
“May we come in?”
“Oh, of course, I’m sorry,” she said, standing back to let them in. “What’s going on, Ben?”
He rubbed his face. He knew Shayla didn’t appreciate having drama dumped at her doorstep in the middle of the night when she had two kids asleep in their beds. Leon had been a perfect husband to her—providing her the lifestyle she wanted to be a stay-at-home mother. When he’d asked Ben to be their godfather, he’d made it clear that if anything happened to him, Ben’s top priority was to run Stone Tech to provide the same luxury and comfort his family had grown accustomed to.
He also knew Shayla didn’t necessarily approve of him and the way he’d handled things since Leon’s death. He could practically feel the judgment rolling off her in waves right now, and unfortunately, he probably deserved it all. God, did she know it was his fault Leon was dead? He hadn’t been able to look her in the eye since the day they buried the mangled remains of his brother’s body, which had been flown back to the States for the funeral.
“So why are you here?”
“May I sit?” he asked pointedly, although it was rude of him to highlight her lack of graciousness, considering he was the one crashing down her door when her kids were already in bed.
She blushed as he knew she would, and gestured toward the table. “Would you like something to drink? Some tea, maybe?”
He looked at Ashley.
“No, thank you,” she said, “but you wouldn’t have a shirt I could borrow, would you?”
He cursed inwardly. He should have asked Shayla for clothes for Ashley. What the hell was wrong with him? He should be more thoughtful about his woman’s needs.
“Of course,” Shayla said and disappeared into her room, returning with a small, mauve t-shirt, which looked almost child-size. She handed it to Ashley. “I hope this will fit,” his petite sister-in-law said.
Ashley unfolded it and held it up to her chest. “Thanks,” she said. “Is there a restroom I could use to clean up?”
“I’ll show her,” he said, trying to redeem himself. He led her to the hall bathroom and ushered her in, shutting the door behind him.
She turned to face him. “You don’t trust me?”
He didn’t sense any hurt from her, just a question at face value. “I don’t trust my own judgment where you’re concerned,” he said, stepping forward and unbuttoning the only remaining button on her blouse, the one between her breasts. The blouse fell open and he went dizzy at the sight of her lacy purple bra. It matched the panties he’d seen earlier. Her perky breasts filled it completely, flesh pushing forward out of its confines.
His cock thickened, pressing against his jeans zipper.
To his surprise, her small hands appeared inside his shirt, sliding up his abdomen, shoving up the fabric.
He sucked in his breath at the shock of her skin against his. “What are you doing?” he croaked.
“Didn’t you get shot tonight?” she asked, pulling the shirt higher to examine him.
“Oh, yeah,” he said, blinking to steady himself, He twisted to look in the mirror. The bullets had risen to the surface, ready to come out. He squeezed one of the wounds and it popped out.
Ashley caught it, turning it over in her fingers in awe. He repeated the action with the other.
“Shifters heal fast.”
“So I see,” she said, dropping the bullets on the counter and bringing her palms back to his torso. Everywhere she touched created a fire under his skin, his self-control ebbing with each passing second.
“Don’t,” he said, covering her hands with his own and pulling them away from him. This time, it was his hands that shook.
“Why not?” she asked, her voice husky.
“I’m losing control,” he said, picking up the shirt Shayla had given her and pulling it over her head.
She slid her arms through the holes and pulled the shirt down. It was too small—the fit was skin-tight, showcasing her perky breasts and flat tummy, making her look like a Playboy bunny. He couldn’t stay locked in the bathroom with her a moment longer. He turned and walked out, no longer concerned about what she might do in there. He vaguely heard the sound of running water as he walked away, trying to clear his head.
Shayla had put the teakettle on, despite their refusal of her offer, and was preparing the tea when he returned to the kitchen. He filled Shayla in on the evening’s events, glossing over Ashley’s part in the plot.
“Did you call Stanley?” Shayla asked tightly.
He blew out his breath. “Yeah. Mark Ruhl helped me with the bomb and Stanley and some guys met me at headquarters, but Stanley wasn’t thrilled about me asking for favors.”
Shayla traced a line on the table. “He never wanted to lead the pack,” she said without lifting her eyes.
He heard the blame in her voice.
“He only stepped up to keep the Boulder pack from taking over, and already, their alpha Bruce is poaching all our members who are dissatisfied with weak leadership.”
“You think my leadership would be any less weak?” he snapped, then immediately regretted it. It wasn’t her fault he didn’t have the balls to do what he’d been expected to do. “Never mind, forget I asked.”
“Why are you here, Ben?”
He rubbed his eyes. “I have a suspicion who’s behind this.”
Ashley appeared in the doorway, eyes wide.
“Who?” Shayla asked.
“Well, one person knew about Ashley’s new role and that she’d have the opportunity to switch out my laptop. And that same person would know the importance of what’s encoded on the laptop.”
“Jack.”
“Yeah.”
Ben had come to Shayla, because if it was Jack, he needed to know how much affection she had for the man who had been her husband’s best friend and business partner.
She seemed to understand because she said, “Do what you need to do,” in a hard voice.
He raised his eyebrows. “Are you sure?”
She nodded once, decisively. “If Leon had trusted him, he would’ve left the running of Stone to him. After all, Jack knew everything there is to know about it and he’s been there from the ground up. Why would he choose you? I mean, yes, you hav
e a business degree from Harvard, but you’d never even worked for him.”
And he’d been gallivanting around like a party boy while Leon had worked his ass off to build a multi-million dollar company.
She left that part unsaid, but even so, it lay between them, along with all his other failures to meet his brother’s expectations. The teapot whistled and Shayla and Ashley had some conversation about which kind of tea she preferred while he wallowed in a moment of self-hatred.
“Mama?”
He whirled to see his little niece padding in her footed pajamas. “Ellie,” he said, jumping from his chair and swinging her up into his arms.
“Tío,” she exclaimed, wrapping her tiny arms around his neck in a strangling hold.
He pretended to eat her neck, making chomping sounds.
She squealed in delight. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, I came to make sure you were in bed. What are you doing out of bed, young lady?”
She laughed, not taking his mock sternness seriously for a minute. “You woke me up,” she said.
“I’m sorry, mi amor. I’ll tell you what—how about if I read you a story and put you back to bed?”
“No,” the four-year-old said stubbornly. “I want to stay up with you.”
“Well, I’m not staying, angelita. I just came to ask your mommy something and now I’m leaving. What do you say, want that book?”
The child looked indecisive. “Did you bring your girlfriend?” she asked, changing the subject and staring at Ashley.
He ought to tell her Ashley was his employee, not his girlfriend. But the idea of having Ashley really being his mate, having her at his side at family functions, the way Shayla had been Leon’s, hit him with such a stroke of longing that he just wanted to pretend, even if it was only for a moment. “This is Ashley, muñeca. Es muy bonita, verdad?”
Ellie giggled. “Tío has a girlfriend, Tío has a girlfriend!” she chanted.
“Ya, mi amor. Let’s get you to bed.”
“No,” she squealed, kicking her feet.
“I’ll take her,” Shayla interrupted, reaching for his niece. “You should probably go.”
“I’m sorry,” he said to Shayla as Ashley sprang to her feet.
“It’s fine,” she said in a voice that really meant it wasn’t. “I think you should talk to Stanley again.”
He didn’t answer. He had a whole heap of shoulds hanging over his head as it was.
Chapter Five
Zolla’s house was dark and quiet. Ben knocked on the door, but no one answered and his wolf senses didn’t detect anyone inside. He sighed and called the phone number Mark had given him for the omega. An omega was the lowest ranking in a wolf pack, usually because of size or some other weakness.
Zolla answered the phone by saying, “Ben Stone,” with a note of surprise. Obviously he had Ben’s phone number programmed into his phone, which would seem odd, except that the wolf was the kind of guy who was all about information.
“Hey, are you around? I was wondering if I could meet with you tonight.”
“Oh, yeah? I’m not home right now, I’m at El Parador, the salsa club on Speer.”
“I’ll meet you there in twenty minutes.” He hung up and ushered Ashley back to her car.
“Now where are we going?” she asked.
“Salsa dancing.”
“Really?”
He didn’t answer.
“Wait… really?” she repeated. “Are you serious?”
“Well, we’re going to a salsa joint.”
“Do you know how to salsa? Well, of course you do, you’re from South America. You probably were born dancing.”
“Pretty much,” he said. In Latin America, every party had dancing, even the most simple get-togethers. He hadn’t meant they would actually be dancing, but she seemed so stunned by it, he found himself asking, “Do you?”
“Um, not exactly, but I’d really like to learn. Will you teach me?”
His skin prickled at the thought of holding her close to him on the dance floor. It would be too much. But he couldn’t make himself say no to her—she looked so cute looking over at him with pleading eyes. “We’ll see,” he said.
They arrived at El Parador and went inside. Ashley tugged at her too short t-shirt, looking embarrassed.
“You look fine,” he said. In fact, she looked smoking hot. Still in her tight little work skirt and high heels, the t-shirt took away the business look of the outfit, leaving pure feminine pizzazz.
A band was playing on the stage and people were out on the dance floor. Tables were scattered around the perimeter and couples sat together, heads inclined toward each other. He didn’t see any sign of Zolla.
He swept the room again, stopping short when he realized the omega was playing conga drums in the band. Zolla lifted his chin in greeting. Ben picked a table and sat down, ordering them drinks in Spanish.
When the song ended, Zolla appeared at their table. He wore a faded t-shirt with what looked like a coffee stain on the front. His hair needed cutting, hanging in his eyes and curling over his ears. He looked from one to the other of them.
Ben waved him into a chair.
“Okay, why are you here?”
“I need your help,” Ben said.
“I’m not in your pack anymore.”
“I don’t have a pack. Someone’s trying to kill me and they kidnapped Ashley’s sister. I’m hoping you can trace a call and a license plate.”
Zolla’s eyes turned to Ashley, naturally dropping to her tight shirt.
He tensed. “Don’t look at her,” he said, trying to keep the menace he felt from his voice.
Zolla’s eyes immediately lowered submissively. He held out his hand. “Gimme the phone.”
Ben nodded to Ashley, who dug it out of her purse and handed it to him.
Zolla started scrolling through the screens. He was an omega because of his size. In human form, he stood at five-eight, tops, and while his body was all lean muscle, he was scrawny. As a wolf, he was the size of a canine, while most shifters stood at least half again as tall as an ordinary wolf. He freelanced as a computer programmer, and specialized in security, which made him an excellent hacker. He had set up the internal security software at Stone under Leon’s direction.
Ben didn’t know Zolla well, but he had a distinct memory of his brother praising him in front of the whole pack for removing the tracking devices from all their phones and providing other technology help to the pack. Leon had been good about signaling out individuals’ achievements, showing his appreciation where all could hear and see it.
A heavy stone sank in his gut as he realized he had done none of that since he’d taken over Leon’s company. No wonder the managers had lost interest in achievement. Had this been what Ashley had been trying to help him do by including people in meetings? Giving them buy-in and empowering them? He stabbed his fingers through his hair. God, he was awful at all of this. Having a dominant personality didn’t make him a decent leader. In fact, he’d been the worst kind. He’d been like his father—a dictator. Well, at least he hadn’t tried to lead the pack, or he would’ve run them into the ground, too.
“This phone was tappable and traceable,” Zolla announced.
“Yeah, I figured. Can you clean it up?”
“Not if you want me to be able to trace calls that come into it.”
“Oh, right. So can you? Trace incoming calls?”
“I can try, yes. Not from here, but from home,” he said, without looking up. “And it depends on if they’ve removed their location software.”
He exhaled. “Great, thanks.” Writing down the license number he’d memorized from the car in the parking lot, he slid the paper across to Zolla. “This is the license plate.”
Zolla nodded. “That will be easy to trace.”
“Thanks.”
Zolla looked at him speculatively. “So what happens to me if it’s Bruce, my new alpha, who’s trying to kill you?”
<
br /> Ben’s eyebrows shot up. “Why would he want me dead?”
“Come on, Stone. A lone wolf who’s alpha material? Every pack leader around will be thinking you’re angling to steal his pack. Maybe it’s Stanley, have you thought of that?”
“It’s not Stanley. And I’m not interested in stealing any pack.”
“I know that, but what if Bruce thinks you are? What if I’m acting against him by helping you right now? Are you going to have my back?”
Ashley was listening intently. Zolla’s eyes went to her and Ben growled.
The omega dropped his eyes again. “You should really mark her if you’re that territorial.”
“Consider what you just said to me and tell me that’s a good idea,” he said.
Zolla looked thoughtful and then nodded. “I see.”
A wolf didn’t put his mate into danger, and Ben was a walking target. If he even set foot in Venezuela again, he had no doubt he’d be marked for death by Sandoval, the pack leader and drug tycoon who took down his father’s pack. And here in the States, someone had already ordered his death. Whether they were human or shifter didn’t matter. He wasn’t about to tangle Ashley in it any more than she already was.
“Well, we’re back to my original question, then,” Zolla said, levelling him as much of a challenging look as subordinate wolf would dare.
Ben blew out his breath. He didn’t want to be responsible for anyone. He could barely handle his own screwed-up life, and now he had Ashley to protect and deliver from evil, too. He definitely didn’t need anyone else on his tab. But what choice did he have?
“Yeah, I’ll protect you.”
Zolla grinned. “Pack of two, then.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You’re leaving your pack to follow me? You must be nuts.”
“Nah. I’ve always known you were my pack leader. I’ve just been waiting for you to come around.”
A strange sensation ran through Ben’s body—a shudder of something—recognition? Acceptance of his fate? He didn’t know. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat. “Thanks,” he said.
Zolla nodded. “I’ll search the data from the phone and keep tabs on future calls. Do you two want to stay at my place tonight?”