Ken retrieved a sheaf of papers from his laptop case and handed them across the desk to Beck. “Jarome Drexler’s history.”
He flipped through them. “Wait…what?” He glared at Dewi. “How long have you known this? Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”
“The night you came back with her license plate number. And we didn’t tell you because you said you wanted to take things slowly with her. If we’d handed all that to you from the start, don’t tell me you wouldn’t have been racing in there to find out what the hell you could do to erase him from her life.”
Beck slumped back in his chair. “Yeah,” he muttered. “You’re right.”
“Duh.” She rubbed at her eyes and turned to Badger. “Please call Jackson Coltrane for me and put it off till next week.”
“No,” Beck said. “That needs to happen first.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.” He dropped the papers onto the desk. “Do you think you’ll be back by Wednesday night?”
“Probably.”
“Okay. Let’s agree to do Wednesday night dinner here. I’ll make sure her sisters and her brother-in-law can make it.”
“So, to make it clear, you’re wanting me to go Prime on him? On the little brother?”
He nodded.
“You realize that’s not something Peyton and Trent would be happy about, right? Nami and her family are not yet part of the pack.”
“Dewi, please? The guy’s a criminal. Her brother has a chance to have a good life if he can stay out of his father’s influence. You can’t tell me that’s a bad thing. It’s not like I’m asking you to make Nami or her family like me. How is this any different than using your powers on witnesses to influence their stories about something we’ve done?”
Badger clucked. “He’s got a point, Dewi. Ye’ve done it yerself. So have I. And I’m guessing Nami’s siblings will all be in agreement that the brother shouldn’t be in contact with the arsehole. So it’s not like yer trying to sway him into something wrong. I don’t see any harm in it.”
“Then I expect you to back me up if Peyton tries to chew me a new one.”
“We will,” Martin added. “I’m not a Prime, but I don’t see a bad side to this. Nami and her family will see you and us adding our two cents to the conversation. It’s not like you’ll have to do anything extraordinary to sway him. They’ll never know, Nami and her sisters will be relieved, and it might help Beck make up his damn mind to claim her sooner.” He shot a pointed glare at Beck.
“What?” Beck said. “I’m sorry, but my mind is made up there.”
“I don’t understand,” Martin said, “how if she is your mate you can not claim her.”
“It isn’t easy, trust me. If I didn’t think it was important, I wouldn’t be making a big deal about it.”
“We’re getting off-topic,” Ken said, returning his focus to Beck. “Wednesday night, dinner, here, eight o’clock. Done?”
Beck nodded. “Done. Well, when I talk to Nami I’ll confirm it.”
Dewi nodded. “Keep me posted. Martin, we need to roll earlier rather than later. Let’s go find us a damn Georgia meth-head and clean his clock.”
* * * *
Nami felt like the day would never end. As soon as she was back in her car, she called Beck, relieved when he immediately answered.
“It’s all arranged. Eight o’clock, dinner at Dewi’s.”
“How is this going to help anything?”
“It’s the first step. It’ll be a family intervention. Your sisters and brother-in-law are welcomed, too, of course.”
“I need to get Jarome Drexler away from Da’von.”
“And we will. But first, we need to break through to Da’von. If he doesn’t understand why, and Drexler just disappears from his life, it’ll leave him wondering and looking for him.”
“Oh.”
“Dewi and I have had to deal with situations like this before, more than once. And always with success. Trust me when I tell you we’ve got a system that works.”
She took a deep breath and let it out. “Please, don’t let me down, Beck. You have no idea how badly I’m counting on you.”
“Baby, I won’t. I swear. Can you get your sisters there?”
“I will. Can you come pick the three of us up? I’ll have Lu’ana and Reggie meet us there. Oh, can they bring the baby? I don’t know if they’ll have a babysitter or not.” She’d have to ask Reggie and Lu’ana to change their plans, but for the sake of Da’von, she suspected they would.
“Of course they can. Kids love Badger. He’s great with them. He can watch her while we’re all talking.”
She stared out her windshield for a minute. “Do you have any idea how hard this is for me?” she asked. “How far out on a limb I’m going to ask for your help?”
“I do. Do you want me to come get you tonight?”
“No, I need to talk to the others.”
“Then I’ll pick you up at a quarter after seven Wednesday. If anything changes between now and then, call me immediately, no matter what time of day or night. Understand?”
“Yeah.” I won’t cry. I won’t cry. I won’t cry. “I’m scared of losing my baby brother. I’m scared of losing him to that asshole.”
“We won’t lose him.”
After getting off the phone with him, she started crying, resting her head against the steering wheel and letting it out.
Because of what Beck had said.
We won’t lose him.
After giving herself a few minutes to get it out of her system, she finally took a couple of deep breaths, dug a tissue out of her purse and blew her nose, and headed off to Lu’ana’s.
* * * *
Unfortunately, Nami’s sister almost blew the plan right there. Nami had taken her into their bedroom and shut the door to talk with her.
“Shh!” Nami warned, trying to calm her. “He’ll hear you!”
“I damn well hope he’ll hear—”
“Please, let’s do this my way.”
Lu’ana looked enraged. “For starters, how long you been seeing this guy?”
“Not long, but I’ve met his family. They’re good people, and they can help us. They’ve dealt with situations like this before. Do you really want to risk us doing the wrong thing and losing him? Before, he wasn’t eighteen. We had power. Now he’s almost twenty. If he decides to pack his stuff and move out, I can’t stop him. Do you understand how terrified I am right now?”
Lu’ana sat on the bed next to her and hugged her. “So you’re saying I can’t go grab my skillet and beat him within an inch of his life?”
Nami snorted. “Da’von, or Jarome?”
“Both of their sorry asses.”
“Please, let’s do things this way.”
Finally, Lu’ana let out an aggravated sigh. “All right, fine. I won’t say anything until then. But your new guy better be a miracle worker is all I can say. I’ll have Reggie tell them we won’t be there Wednesday night.”
“Thank you. You know I don’t ask for help unless I really think I need it.”
“I know, sis. That’s why I won’t fight you on this. We’ll be there. Just give me the address.”
On the way home, Nami tried to talk with Da’von, but he kept answering texts.
She didn’t know for sure but strongly suspected he was texting with Jarome.
As much as she seethed inside, she knew she had to follow the plan.
She had to trust Beck.
Because, right now, he was her only hope to save her brother’s future.
Chapter Nineteen
Beck headed over to pick up Nami, Malyah, and Da’von from their apartment Wednesday evening. Lu’ana and her husband would meet them at Dewi’s. Beck had given them the gate code so they wouldn’t have any trouble getting in.
Beck had to reassure Nami several times, in text and on the phone, to stick with the plan.
If I claimed her, this would be a non-issue.
Hopefully,
successfully getting through this would go a long way to bridging the increasingly narrow gap of trust remaining between her and him. If this didn’t show her how much he loved her, there was little he could do to reassure her.
And once he claimed Nami, he and Dewi would go pay Drexler a personal visit and ensure the man never even thought about the children he fathered, much less contacted them again.
It was good to have not one, but two Prime Alpha wolves close at hand. They decided Dewi would focus on the little brother, while Badger would handle the other siblings so they would only have fuzzy memories of the evening beyond the basic theme of an intervention with their little brother.
Just to be on the safe side.
Ken and Martin would add support where needed, but there wouldn’t be a lot they could do except sit back and add their own thoughts to the discussions.
When Beck arrived at Nami’s apartment, his initial knock on the door went unanswered, likely due to the loud voices he heard inside.
Crap.
He’d thought about having Badger come meet him there in case of this sort of problem. Getting Da’von into the car to go to dinner might be an issue if he decided he didn’t want to go.
He knocked harder, hearing Nami’s voice respond, “Hold on!”
She opened the door seconds later, and his focus homed in on her. The world disappeared as he stared into her eyes. She looked harried, worried, but was wearing a dress he wanted to slide off her body before taking her to bed.
He mentally shook himself. “Hey. Ready to go?”
“Da’von is being difficult.”
“Why?”
“I told him no phones tonight, that this was a family night, and he’s…upset.”
The tension in her voice and face told Beck she hadn’t revealed the true reason for the dinner to her brother. She let him in and led him to the living room.
“Da’von, Malyah, this is my friend, Dawson Beckett.”
Malyah smiled and walked over to him, extending her hand. “Hi. Nami’s told us a little about you, but not a lot. Pleased to finally meet you.”
Da’von glared at him. “Hi.”
“Da’von!” Nami barked. “I taught you better than that. Get your punk ass self over here right now.”
Grudgingly, the boy dragged himself off the couch and walked over, not looking up at Beck as he stuck out his hand to shake with him. “Hi.”
“Hey, Dewi’s house has Wi-Fi,” Beck said. “If you wanted to bring your laptop with you for your school work later, it’d be okay. Your sister said you’ve got a busy class schedule.” It was a shot in the dark.
“Not my laptop I’m mad about.” He glared at his sister.
“I’m sure Dewi wouldn’t mind you having your phone with you.” He squeezed Nami’s hand to forestall her protests. He wished he could tell her more, tell her why, but that would have to wait until after he’d claimed her. “But I’d really appreciate it if you’d keep it on silent mode during dinner, while we’re all talking.”
“See, Nami. He don’t mind if I bring it.”
Beck squeezed Nami’s hand again. He knew he could have tried their mental connection, but didn’t want to wig her out when she was already stressed enough.
“All right, fine. Be that way. I got to get my purse.” She headed down the hall.
Beck followed her. When they reached her bedroom door, she spun around. “Why did you say that?” she hissed.
“Do you trust me?” he whispered back.
She took a couple of breaths, as if to calm herself, before finally nodding.
“Then trust me when I say I know what I’m doing.”
“You better.”
Da’von sat in the backseat, behind Beck, and was head down over his phone the entire time. Beck enjoyed chatting with Malyah, who seemed bright, funny, and on the right track with her life.
Nami struggled to hold up her end of the conversation as she constantly glanced back at Da’von to see what he was doing.
Beck reached over with his free hand and laced his fingers through Nami’s, giving her hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze. He understood how hard this was for her, and it killed him that he couldn’t tell her why he knew the evening would be successful.
When they arrived, Dewi met them in the front hallway. Beck made the introductions and Dewi made a point of shaking hands with Da’von, placing her left hand on top of his.
Beck knew only he noticed the way Da’von’s eyes widened slightly as Dewi brightly smiled at the young man. “Very nice to meet you, Da’von. I hope you’ll have an enjoyable evening with us tonight. We’ve been looking forward to meeting you and your sisters.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
Beck relaxed. Dewi had used Prime on the kid already.
Nami let out a soft snort. “If he’ll keep his nose out of his phone.”
Dewi was always quick on the uptake, another thing Beck felt immensely grateful for. “Oh, I don’t think you’ll want to even look at your phone tonight, will you, Da’von?” she said, brightly smiling.
Da’von smiled back. “No, I won’t.”
“Ha. I’ll believe that when I see it,” Nami grumbled.
Beck draped his arm around her shoulders. “Shh,” he gently whispered in her ear.
“Well, come on in,” Dewi said. “Let me show you around.” She finally let go of Da’von.
Beck didn’t miss that the boy didn’t reach into his pocket for his phone to check it.
Malyah fell in step on Beck’s other side, following behind Dewi and Da’von. “Please tell me,” she whispered to Beck, “that Nami isn’t just being hopeful about tonight.”
Beck offered her a smile. “Dewi is very persuasive. One of the reasons she runs the family business in this region. People can’t help but listen to her when she pours on the charm.”
Well, at least that’s not a lie. Technically.
* * * *
Nami nervously waited for Reggie and Lu’ana to arrive and join them. They would be bringing the baby with them, but Badger had already assured Nami that he’d watch her while the family had their talk.
She’d kept an eagle eye on Da’von, but either he was being exceedingly polite, or whatever mojo Beck insisted Dewi had was already at work. Her brother hadn’t checked his phone once since they’d walked in Dewi’s front door.
I will have to cut that woman some slack.
Beck’s ex or not, if they ended this evening with Da’von willingly cutting off all contact with Jarome Drexler, she’d gladly extend the olive branch of friendship and give Dewi every benefit of the doubt.
And pray it never came back to bite her in the ass.
They got through dinner without any difficulties. Da’von was actually friendlier than normal. Charming, even. When he learned about Ken’s current and past jobs, he was filled with questions for the man about his own studies.
Badger had even provided a high chair for Bebe and made sure they had some kid-friendly food with dinner.
It took every ounce of strength Nami had not to burst into tears of gratitude for what they were about to do for her family.
Badger got up and walked around the table to Lu’ana and Reggie. “How about I take the wee one into the living room? I can put on the TV for her in there. She looks a tad sleepy.” He rested his hands on their shoulders.
Lu’ana nodded. “Thank you very much. But what about the dishes?”
“Aw, leave ’em. We’ll take care of ’em later, no worries.” He also touched Malyah’s shoulder. “Did ye get enough to eat, lass?”
“Yes, thank you. I’m stuffed.”
Badger nodded at Dewi before scooping the toddler from the high chair. “Come on wit’ ye, little miss. I believe there’s a cartoon or two with yer name on ’em.”
Bebe giggled, reaching for Badger’s scruffy red hair. Nami had worried his scar might scare the baby, but the toddler had, uncharacteristically, been entranced by the man nearly upon sight. Bebe was a happy baby with
people she knew, but she always took a long time to warm up to strangers.
“Wow, she really likes him,” Lu’ana said, speaking Nami’s thoughts.
Dewi smiled. “Badger’s great with kids. He loves them.” She turned her attention to Da’von. “Now, for something else.” Nami noticed a subtle change in Dewi’s expression, something she couldn’t put her finger on, but felt on a visceral level. “Da’von, you’re not just here for dinner. Your sisters need to talk with you about something very important, and I want you to listen to what they have to say with an open mind. Understand?”
He looked confused but nodded.
Dewi motioned for Nami to start. Under the table, Beck reached over and laid a comforting hand on her thigh.
“Baby boy, this is hard for us to say, so I’m just going to say it. We know you’ve been talking to Jarome. And I need to know why, and I need you to stop doing it.”
She expected him to blow up but he stared at her.
Malyah jumped in. “How could you even think about having contact with him? He’s nothing but trouble. He’s not our father. He’s a sperm donor and nothing more. He was never there for us. Poor Momma died with her life wasted waiting for him to straighten up.”
Lu’ana had her turn. “I’m so disappointed in you, Da’von. You’ve worked so hard to do well in school. I thought that spell you went through in high school got that nonsense out of your system.”
“He’s not a man,” Reggie added. “Real men don’t do stuff like go to jail and leave their families struggling. He had kids to take care of and he couldn’t get his act together. As a father now, I can’t imagine ever putting Bebe through something like that.”
“Da’von,” Dewi said, “Can you tell them why?”
He looked nervous, embarrassed. He shrugged. “He found me on Facebook. Said he was sorry and just wanted to talk to me.”
“Then why didn’t he talk to us?” Nami asked.
“Because he said y’all didn’t want to talk to him.”
Something clicked in Nami’s mind. “Has he been giving you money? Is he the one you went out with Saturday night?”
“Yeah, just to talk, and dinner, okay? Nothing wrong with that.”
Geek Chic Page 15