Grave Legacy

by Lori Drake

  He conducted a head count automatically, and frowned as he came up one short. “Where’s Jess?”

  Ben’s pained expression told him everything he needed to know. Jessica hadn’t come home with them. Chris shook his head, which, fortunately, was feeling less full of cotton by now, and headed for the stairs. He didn’t believe Jessica would abandon him like that, but he also wasn’t sure what her angle might be. Inside man? Inside what, exactly? He couldn’t make the pieces fit, but reasoned it might be the lingering concussion.

  An hour later, he was showered, stitched, bandaged, and surrounded by his pack. They crowded around him, offering support and comfort in their own way. It was the last thing he wanted, the last thing he felt he deserved, but he recognized it was what they needed, so… he could give them that.

  There had been no question where the displaced Grant pack would go. His pack had taken them in without a word from him, some giving up their rooms to double up in order to make room. Dean was out of town, tending to a personal matter, so his room being available helped. Someone had gone into town to pick up breakfast for everyone, since the kitchen was still mid-remodel. Someone else had made endless pots of coffee to make sure everyone who wanted a cup got one. Yes, Chris’s pack had run like a well-oiled machine even while he was out of commission. Like they didn’t need him at all.

  Chris shoved away the thought, but not before it’d done its damage. Somewhere in the house, Joey and her pack were meeting, no doubt discussing what would come next for them. Apparently, he hadn’t been invited. He’d barely caught a glimpse of Joey since they got back, and hadn’t had the courage to seek her out, afraid of how that inevitable conversation would go.

  Adam’s voice curtailed Chris’s pity party. “Hey, boss, I know you wanted to wait until after the remodel to install the security system, but do you want me to get started on that now?”

  “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” Chris replied.

  “I’m going to make a few calls.” Adam detached himself from the group and slipped out of the room.

  Chris noticed the way Lucy followed her twin’s movements with her eyes. “You can go with him if you want. I’ll be okay.”

  Lucy shook her head and tightened her hold on Chris. She’d been the first to come over and snuggle against him, which had sparked a domino effect leading to a dog pile on the floor of his office. Someone behind him shifted, bumping his injured shoulder. He winced but said nothing.

  “It’s gonna be okay,” Lucy whispered. “You’ll see.”

  Chris leaned his head against hers and closed his eyes. He didn’t have the heart to agree, but he’d never lied to them before and he wasn’t about to start now.

  The Grants convened in the master suite rather than filing into one of the smaller bedrooms. No one had claimed the room after Eric, the Granite Falls pack’s former Alpha, had cleared out. Joey knew Chris had cleared Adam to turn it into a media room, but it looked like the young beta hadn’t started yet. The room still smelled annoyingly like Eric, and all his shit was still there. He’d left the house without so much as packing a bag, probably planning to return for it. She still didn’t know how he’d ended up in Nevada, in cahoots with Marcus Madrigal.

  It hardly seemed important now.

  Joey stood with her back in a corner, arms folded as she half listened to the conversation taking place around her. Considering the conversation centered on the future of her pack, she probably should’ve been paying more attention.

  “We can’t stay here, not long term. There’s not enough room,” Jon said, leaning forward in his seat.

  “But for now, it’s where we need to be,” Sam said. “Joey was right. There’s safety in numbers, with a hunter around. Once that’s dealt with, we’ll figure out where to go from there.”

  “Either way, it’s only a week. You’re going to challenge him, right?” Ben asked.

  “Yeah,” Sam said.

  Joey said, “No,” at the same time. All eyes turned to her. “If anyone’s going to challenge him, it’s going to be me. I’m not going to hide behind anyone else again.”

  “You wouldn’t be,” Sam said. “Because when I challenge him, I become Alpha.”

  Joey met her brother’s eyes from afar and didn’t like what she saw. For so long, Sam had been on the sidelines, first with their mother and then with her. He was done with it now. The only surprise should’ve been that it’d taken him so long to get to this point. “So that’s how it’s gonna be, eh?”

  Sam shrugged, as if to say, “You had your chance, and you blew it.”

  She couldn’t even tell herself that he was wrong. She had blown it. Joey shook her head and looked away.

  “Let’s not be hasty,” Sara said quietly. “Joey was doing just fine before Lucas came along.”

  Joey’s brows lifted in surprise. She hadn’t expected her submissive sister-in-law to rise to her defense.

  “This is how it works, darlin’.” Jon patted his wife’s hand. “If an Alpha isn’t strong enough to hold their position against challengers, they don’t deserve it.”

  “But she didn’t have a chance, not really,” Sara said. “She can’t shift. You all know that.”

  “I agree with Sara,” Ben said.

  Joey groaned inwardly. “Knock it off.” The last thing she wanted was to divide the family, force them to choose sides. She wasn’t even sure she wanted to be Alpha anymore. She wanted to kick Lucas’s ass, but she couldn’t say it was about anything more than proving to herself—and everyone else—that she could. “Sam and I will settle this between ourselves. Right now, we have more pressing concerns. Namely, finding and stopping the hunter, preferably without rescheduling the funeral.”

  “Why are you so against rescheduling?” Jon asked.

  “I’m not,” Joey admitted. “Chris is. He thinks we owe it to Mom to give her a proper send-off. But if we can’t find this guy with a quickness, we’re not going to have a choice. There’s too much exposure at the cemetery, too much opportunity for an attack.”

  “He’s not likely to stroll into the cemetery with an AK-47 loaded with silver,” Jon said.

  “No, but we know he’s a good shot with a rifle. He could hide himself in a nearby building and start taking potshots at us. Use your head, Jon.”

  Jon snorted. “You’ve seen too many action movies.”

  Joey’s already frayed nerves unraveled a little more, and she pushed off the wall, standing straighter. Jon had never been a complete yes man, but he was pushing her today. “Watch the attitude. I don’t have to shift to kick your ass.”

  “Enough,” Sam said. The word was quiet, but there was power behind it. It rolled across the room, and Joey slumped back against the wall, deflated.

  “What we need is a plan,” Justin said, finally breaking his silence. It was no doubt an uncomfortable position for him, being the only non-family member of the pack. “For dealing with the hunter.”

  Sam nodded. “I’m open to suggestions.”

  Finally, something Joey could sink her teeth into and distract herself from the fucked-up mess her life had become. “Even from me?” she asked, with perhaps a bit too much sarcasm. Sam arched a brow at her, so she continued. “We need to flush him out and take the fight to him.”

  “How?” Ben asked. “Other than his picture, we don’t know a damn thing about him.”

  “We set a trap,” Joey said. “Subtly, of course. Something he won’t be able to resist.”

  “Like what?” Justin asked.

  “I’m still working on that,” Joey admitted, rubbing the back of her neck.

  “It’s as good a place to start as any,” Sam said. “Everyone think about it and we’ll brainstorm later. For now, go get settled in and make nice with the locals.”

  Everyone stood and headed for the exit, and Joey pushed off the wall to follow.

  “Joey, a moment.”

  Sam’s words stopped Joey in her tracks, and for a moment she considered defying him and leaving
anyway. He wasn’t the boss of her, even if he wanted to be. But if they were going to have it out, it might as well be now. She turned back to him, waiting until she heard the door close before speaking. “So, you’re calling the shots now?”

  Sam walked over to stand in front of her, meeting and holding her eyes. “Someone has to, and you’re not Alpha anymore.”

  “That challenge was bullshit, Sam. He took advantage of me. He knew I couldn’t shift.” Joey met the dominance in his gaze with her own, refusing to back down.

  “You made your choice, and now you have to live with it.”

  Joey barked a laugh. “So that’s what this is about. You’re pissed that I named Chris instead of you.”

  He leaned closer, opening his mouth to respond, but he stopped himself and backed off, shaking his head. “No, Joey. I’m pissed that I knew you were going to do it, and I didn’t try to stop you. No matter what you tell yourself, Chris didn’t have a chance. Lucas has sixty years on him, and he didn’t spend them all raising horses.”

  Joey frowned. “What are you trying to say?”

  “I know Lucas. We spent a summer together when we were teenagers. You know what he liked to do for fun? Compete in underground dog-fighting matches. He roped me into it, got me to pretend to be his handler and place bets. We made thousands of dollars, until his father found out and put a stop to it.”

  Joey gaped, but it only took a few seconds for anger to flare. She shoved him, hard. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”

  Sam looked her squarely in the eye. “I’ve always been there for you, Joey. I was Mom’s right hand for decades, but from the moment you were born, I knew you were the one. I watched you grow up, knowing that one day you were going to take my place at her side. And when it happened, I never held it against you.” He paused. “Okay, maybe a little bit. But I put it aside. I supported you, and after Mom died I helped shore you up even though I knew you weren’t ready. That’s on me. But this… this is on you. You can get pissed that I didn’t volunteer the information if you want, but you never once sought me out. I was your second in practice, if not in name. After everything I did for you, you didn’t once think to ask what I thought.”

  It was the most she could remember her eldest brother saying at one time, and the depth of his hurt over her actions stunned her. Of all her brothers, Sam was the least emotional. Even now, there was tension in his shoulders and his eyes flashed with annoyance, but he hadn’t lost control. “You’re right, I—I didn’t think. I’m sorry, but you still should’ve warned me.”

  “I can’t protect you forever, Joey. At some point, you have to be free to make your own mistakes.”

  “And this was the hill you decided to stand on? Shit, man…” Joey pinched the bridge of her nose, not looking up when his hand landed on her shoulder.

  “Look. I’m not saying it has to be forever, but for now… stand down and let me take care of things.”

  Joey’s eyes stung, and she couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes. She couldn’t figure out if she was more angry or sad. The scope of her failure just kept getting bigger, and now she had a tough row to hoe if she was going to redeem herself in the eyes of her pack. At the moment, she didn’t even know if she wanted to. This whole mess was her fault. If only she hadn’t exposed her weakness to the enemy. If only she’d sought Sam’s counsel. If only she hadn’t sent Chris into that fight instead of Sam. If, if, if.

  Joey pulled herself together and looked into Sam’s eyes again. “Fine. But I still want to take Lucas down myself.”

  “We’ll see.” He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. It was hardly agreement, but it was the best she was going to get.

  She’d win him over, somehow, because she didn’t give a shit how many dogs Lucas had fought. The most dangerous opponent was one with nothing left to lose.

  17

  Chris looked up from the journal he’d been pretending to read when a figure darkened his office doorway.

  “Hey,” Joey said. She looked like shit, her eyes bloodshot and red-rimmed.

  The sight of her tightened his chest, and he lowered his eyes. “Hey.”

  An awkward silence ensued while she lingered in the doorway and he fiddled with the edges of the pages of the journal. Should he invite her in? She’d never needed an invitation before.

  “Is this a bad time?” Joey eventually asked.

  Chris shifted in his chair, pushing himself up to sit a little straighter and wincing as the movement pulled on the stitches in his shoulder. Ben would probably be able to take them out by the end of the day, but they were deemed necessary for holding the flesh together for it to knit properly. “No, come on in.” He removed his feet from the folding chair that’d been serving as a footstool and motioned her in.

  Joey ignored the chair and sat on the arm of his chair. “How are you doing?”

  “Ben says I’ll be fine. No broken bones, just flesh wounds and bruised ribs.” He looked up at her but avoided meeting her eyes.

  “So, on the whole, better off than your last challenge.” She quirked a smile, but it was hollow.

  The memory of that success was bittersweet when tempered by the sting of today’s failure. Chris looked away. “Yeah, something like that.”

  Silence descended again. He didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry” felt insufficient. But at least she was there, no longer avoiding him. He placed a tentative hand on her leg, and she covered it with her own. They sat in silence for a time before she spoke again.

  “Sam’s Alpha now. Or, at least, I think that was the outcome of our conversation.”

  “How do you feel about that?”

  “I’m not sure, honestly. I’m trying not to think too hard about it.”

  “Sure, that makes sense. You know you’re all welcome here as long as need be, right? Adam’s getting the ball rolling on a security system. I don’t know how long it’ll take him to install it, but he should be able to get the exterior cameras up today, at least. And I know the place is a mess with the restoration and all, but…”

  “I’ll let Sam know. I think… even if they want to go elsewhere, I’d like to stay. If that’s okay with you.”

  “Of course it’s okay. C’mere.” Warmth spread through his chest, her words striking a spark of hope within him. She still wanted him, despite his inadequacy. He tugged on her hand, and she slid into his lap without protest. Ignoring the pain that flared in his shoulder, and the fact that she was now sitting on his father’s journal, Chris wrapped his arms around her and held her as she curled up and tucked her head under his chin. No longer able to stomach saying nothing, he said, “I’m sorry.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” she said quietly. Though the words lanced his heart, he respected her wish.

  Hours later, they sat across from each other at his desk with a map of the region spread out between them. The spoils of the twins’ burger run sat untouched nearby. Chris and Joey had been trying to come up with a way to trap the hunter with minimal exposure to whoever was playing bait. A list of the least shitty options had been scribbled on a notepad at Chris’s elbow, but the flaw in every plan still stuck in his mind.

  “No matter where we do this,” Chris said, “how do we get him there? It’s not like we can call him up and invite him. We have no idea if he’s watching us, and the fact that there haven’t been any incidents on trips into town suggests that he’s still focused on the lodge.”

  Joey leaned forward, palms planted on the desk. “Then we’ll have to go there, or something. Make a scene, get his attention. Mom told me once that a true master anticipates her opponent’s moves. We have to do that. Think one step ahead.”

  “It’d help if we knew anything about him. All we have is a weak profile of a psychopathic wolf killer.”

  “That’s not entirely true. We know he’s well trained. He knows how to break a scent trail, move through the woods without detection—even by us—and he’s good with a rifle. Sam said that the bullet Ben dug
out of Colt didn’t come from any old hunting rifle. He could be ex-military.”

  Chris rubbed his face and sat back in his chair. “Well, this keeps getting better and better. How does knowing—or speculating about—that help us?”

  “It means he values order. Routine. He has some sort of code of honor and won’t want to hurt innocents, so he’ll take steps to minimize collateral damage. He’s also a vigilante, working outside the system. The cops are as much of a threat to him as they are to us.”

  Chris took a moment to marvel at the beautiful thing that was her mind. His girl had always been so much more than a pretty face, and even today—which had to be up there in her list of worst days ever—she’d dusted herself off and was more focused on finding a solution than ever. “Sounds like retreating into the mountains wasn’t a great call, in retrospect.”

  Joey shrugged. “He got to Wesley at the hotel. Nowhere was truly safe, and we made the best call we could at the time. The house was more secure. Is more secure.”

  “Yeah. I mean, the only attack since the move was when we were on the way to the airport.”

  “We never did find out how he knew we’d be there, did we?”

  “Adam didn’t find any trace of any bugs or surveillance equipment, but he said he didn’t have everything he needed to do a full sweep either. So he couldn’t be sure.”

  “Okay, let’s back up.” Joey hooked the folding chair behind her with a foot and tugged it closer, then sat. “We know he followed Abby’s pack into town. He’s been after them for months. Then he took out Wesley… but Wesley had no affiliation with Abby’s pack. So how did he know he was a wolf?”

  “Maybe he followed you home the night Gina died.”

  “And Abby’s pack moved,” Joey said. “Maybe he lost them and decided to watch us a bit.”

  “We had the reception the next night…”

  “And he followed them back to the hotel?”

  Chris nodded. “It doesn’t explain how he knew Wesley was a wolf, but it’s the only thing that makes sense. Unless Wesley’s death was completely unrelated.”