by Milly Taiden
“All right, my friend, but remember that sometimes we find something we’re not expecting in people. Don’t make me send you a shovel to dig yourself out of deep shit with Lily. She’s not the type to easily forget anything.”
It was Thane’s turn to laugh. “I’m going on a thousand years old. I forget nothing.”
He hung up the phone and thought about Lily and grinned. Ms. Cruz was about to breathe fire like the dragon he had inside. He was glad she didn’t have wings or she’d show up at his place and burn his cabin down.
3
Lily slammed the files in her hand on her desk. That motherfucker. This was it. She wasn’t taking this crap anymore. She’d been hired to do a job and Thane ‘Asshole’ Dreki decided to make it near impossible for her.
His latest request made her grind her teeth. To send the actual printed proposal to him. To his cabin. In the middle of no-fucking-where.
She took the files with her and left the office. It was time for dinner with her cousin Valentina, also known as Tina. It was Tina’s girls’ night which meant her mate, Brett, stayed home with their babies while she went to dinner with Lily at one of their favorite Italian restaurants and talked books, movies, and Tina’s kids.
Maybe if she talked out her frustrations about Thane Dreki, she’d be able to handle the situation with more maturity than wanting to stick out her tongue at his every email.
Cold hit her hard as she left the office building and rushed to her car. She’d worn a wrap dress that clung to her very curvy frame and tied neatly at the waist. Of course, that meant the lightweight material let the cold seep right through. Dammit.
She’d left her coat in her car since the morning temperature had been so warm. She should’ve known better. In this part of the country, it was normal to wake up in the sixties and have low forties by dinner time.
She shivered and was glad for her heated seats the moment she got in her car. Thane Dreki seemed to be bored as fuck in his cabin and was clearly taking his frustration out on her. Now that Stephanie was on bed rest, there was no way in hell she’d get that temp to handle his needs.
The restaurant wasn’t a long drive. It was close to the office and not far from Tina’s new house.
This time she didn’t leave her coat behind when she left the car. She rushed into Patricia’s and grinned as Vinnie, the maître d’, greeted her with a smile.
“Welcome, Ms. Cruz. Mrs. Night is waiting at your usual booth,” he said and held out a hand to take her coat.
“Thanks, Vinnie. How’s the family?” she asked, shoving her long curly hair away from her face and wishing she had makeup to hide the fact she hadn’t been sleeping lately.
“Great, Ms. Cruz. Lucy said thank you for those tickets to Disney on Ice,” he whispered and stopped for a moment which forced her to stop and glance at him. “Thank you so much for that.”
She patted his arm. “It’s not a big deal, Vinnie. I got them with points. Happy Lucy was able to enjoy them.”
“Still,” he said. “My wife and I really appreciate it. They were the best seats. We couldn’t have done that.”
She smiled wider. “I’m glad you all enjoyed the outing.”
“If there is anything you ever need, Ms. Cruz, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
They started walking again. “Don’t worry, Vinnie. I’m just happy Lucy liked it.”
They reached the booth where Tina sat with a glass of wine in her hand.
“Thanks for bringing her over, Vinnie,” Tina said and motioned for Lily to slide into the booth and hug her.
Lily hugged her tightly and sighed. A good inhale and she reared back and blinked at her cousin. “Should you be drinking wine?”
Tina laughed. “Dammit! I forgot you’re like me and can sniff the change, too. One glass won’t kill me. Though I am a shifter and can have more, I’ll play it safe.”
They hugged with renewed purpose. “I’m so happy for you!”
Tina’s eyes were bright with excitement and what looked like tears. “I can see that look in your eyes. I’m fine. I am just at the super emotional phase.”
“Is this the reason you wouldn’t meet up with me the past few weeks?” Lily asked with a frown. She watched their waiter fill her wine glass before glancing at Tina again.
“Yes,” Tina grinned. “I was feeling sick. Brett was out of town and he didn’t know.”
Lily blinked. “How could he not know? Don’t they always know?”
Tina laughed. “We had a bit of a rushed last second situation before he went to the airport.”
“Ah. This must have been new. You knowing before him.”
“Yes! It was kind of devious of me, but I made him wait until he got home end of last week.”
Damn, that’s right. Brett had been on the other side of the world checking up on their newest stores. That was the longest he’d ever been gone from his wife. “Was it really hard to be without each other?”
Tina glanced at her wine glass and then back at Lily. “Yeah. I sound like a love-obsessed teen, but it’s true. My tigress missed him, the kids missed him, and I missed him enough to keep me crying every day.”
“Oh, honey, why didn’t you call me?”
Tina waved her hand. “Stop. It was fine. Brett’s mom came to visit and we had a lovely time. She’s really the reason why I didn’t meet up with you for a bit. We were spending time together. She loves the kids and thinks of me as a daughter, so I wanted to give her my full attention.”
Lily wished her once mother-in-law would have been like that. Instead, she’d encouraged her pathetic excuse for a husband to mistreat Lily.
“Ladies,” their waiter returned, “have you had a chance to look at the menu?”
They hadn’t but both knew what they wanted. Once he left, Lily gave Tina a squeeze of the hand.
“As long as you’re feeling good, I’m okay waiting as long as you need.” She glanced down at her cell phone and saw the email follow-up from Thane Dreki asking what time he should expect the proposal at his place.
“Are you okay? You’re growling.” Tina giggled. “I’ve never seen you growl. Not even when you were married to Asshole and he treated you so poorly. Not that it lasted long either, but for those six months he made you miserable and even then you didn’t growl.”
4
She glanced up and Tina gasped. “What?”
“You are super pissed.” Tina’s brows slowly lowered. “Who did it?”
“This man is going to make me tear him limb from limb,” she hissed.
“Don’t do it. I don’t think our company insurance covers dismemberment.” Tina lifted the glass of wine to her lips and stared at her with curiosity. “What is he’s doing and who is he?”
“Thane Dreki.”
Just thinking the name did something to her. When they’d spoken on the phone, the sound of his voice had made her tigress purr. No fucking way she’d talk to him on the phone again. It took her three days to stop dreaming of him saying dirty things to her just from hearing him once. She couldn’t go through that again.
“Oh!” Tina gasped and gave her the same look Stephanie had earlier. Like she’d spoken some rock star’s name.
“What?”
“Have you met Thane?”
“No, so?”
Tina grinned. “I love my husband and my heart is only his, but holy crap, Thane Dreki is hot. He’s like one giant Viking you want pillaging and plundering you.”
Lily almost choked on her wine. “Seriously?”
Tina shrugged. “What can I say? I like big men with that domineering look. It’s what won me over from Brett.”
“Um, isn’t he your mate?”
“Yeah, but that’s just part of me. The human side wanted a strong man that loved me. Wait ‘til you meet Thane and you’ll see what I mean.”
She wasn’t impressed. “Oh, I’ll be meeting him, all right. Then I’m giving him a piece of my mind.”
They stopped their conversation whe
n their food arrived. There was a moment of quiet before Tina spoke again. “Come on, tell me what he did.”
“He’s treating me like I am to bow at his feet for whatever he wants. And if that isn’t bad enough, Royce told him about the newest proposal I have and he wants me to send the damn file to his home.”
Tina stopped her fork mid-flight to her lips. “The cabin in the Cranwood Mountains?”
She nodded and bit down on the piece of steak with a lot more force than necessary. “Yes. Who in their right mind would go up there?”
“Well, we have a helicopter messenger that would go if you needed, but I think you should go personally.”
She gulped her sip of wine and put the glass down. “What?”
“Yes,” Tina said with more conviction in her voice. “He’s clearly treating you in a way you dislike. You should go up there, take the files, and tell him to stop acting like a dick.”
Hmm. The idea had merit. After Louis, she refused to let any man treat her like she was less than him. While that wasn’t the impression she got from Thane Dreki, she disliked feeling like he thought she was some kind of joke. She glanced at her plate, most of her food sat untouched. Oh well, she’d make something later at home.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“It’s a great idea!” Tina said as their plates were cleared. She glanced up at the waiter and smiled. “We’re going to the share the chocolate lava cake and two mini cannoli.” She glanced at Lily but quickly turned back to the waiter. “Oh! And we’ll need two decaf lattes, as well.”
“Will be right out, ladies.” He chuckled and walked away.
“So,” Tina gave her that look that screamed Lily was going to get in trouble, “I can get you his address right now.”
“I have his address.” Was she really considering this? Yes, she was. She needed to explain to him she wasn’t his assistant. Okay, dammit. What she really wanted was to meet him now that both Tina and Stephanie had reacted so strangely fan-girl like about him. She was dying to see what he looked like.
And to know if that voice sounded just like she heard over the phone.
“Stop thinking so hard and do it,” Tina encouraged. “Besides, you looked pretty pissed when he sent you that message. Didn’t you say he was treating you like you were at his beck and call?”
She nodded.
“Then you need to put him in his place. Don’t stand for that stuff. You’re a strong woman.”
She giggled. “I know I am.”
Tina nodded vigorously. “And this would give you the chance to finally discuss the proposal Royce got before he did. Maybe talking to the guy in person would make a big difference.”
She was right. Lily hated phone calls. She hated phones period. Listening to Thane had already done weird things to her body. And the impersonal emails made things worse. Perhaps a face-to-face was the best thing.
The waiter put their desserts and coffees on the table and left the check, which Lily didn’t get a chance to grab before Tina snatched it out of her reach.
“Hey!”
“We’re celebrating my baby.” Tina grinned.
“Exactly. So it’s my treat.”
Tina rolled her eyes and blew a raspberry. “No way! I ate a lot more than you. Besides, you paid last time. Don’t think I forgot.”
She laughed at her cousin’s raised brow and put sugar in her latte. They ate their dessert while Tina continued to push her to go up the mountain to see Thane.
“You sound more invested in this than me.” Lily giggled. “You’d think he owes you money or something and you want me to get it.”
“No, but I think a live conversation with you both in the same room where there can be no more miscommunications about tone or text would be good.”
“You’re right.” She sipped the last of her latte and didn’t mention that Tina ate most of the cake and both cannoli. She was eating for two anyway.
Vinnie brought their coats a moment later. “It was lovely to have you both here tonight.”
Tina smiled and slid out of the booth. Lily did the same. “Same here, Vinnie.”
“All right, Lil. Get your butt in gear and go now.”
“Now?” Lily glanced at her clock. It was seven thirty. Wasn’t it too late to head up the mountain now?
“Yes. Now. If you talk to him tonight, you can take the morning off because it counts as a late night.”
That was true, but still. “I don’t know if I want to drive an hour and a half up that mountain.”
“Psssh,” Tina whistled. “It’s not that long. An hour tops. And besides, you’ll feel better afterward. I know you, Lily. You’ll keep thinking about this until it makes you crazy.”
Dammit! Tina knew her so well.
5
Lily glared at her speedometer. Why in the hell had she let Tina talk her into going up this mountain at night?
The sound of her ringing phone filled the inside of her Prius. She didn’t recognize the number displayed on her dash.
“Hello?”
“Lily?” said a voice she’d never wanted to hear again. A voice she had told herself not to hate but couldn’t stop the rage at the sound of it.
“Louis? What the hell do you want?”
“What do you think I want? Money,” he said with an attitude that made her wish he was in front of her so she could run over him, back up, and run over him again.
“We are divorced, you dick! I don’t owe you anything. You took all my money and left me broke. Even if I had some now, the last person I’d give it to is you.”
“You’ll give me money, Lily.”
She hissed, her tigress ready to rip that smug grin off him. Even though he wasn’t in the car, she could hear it in his voice. “Yeah? What makes you think that?”
“Because you give two shits about the stupid shelter I’m on the board of.”
She frowned. There was only one shelter she cared about. The local wildlife shelter where displaced animals were taken when something happened and then reintroduced to their local habitats again. “What the fuck do you mean by that?”
“I mean, you’re going to get me some money or I’m going to make it my business to shut the place down.”
“You scumbag piece of shit!” she screamed inside her car, hating the sound of his laughter. “We’ve been divorced for a year. I owe you nothing.” She took a deep breath, trying to calm her tigress.
Louis was the worst fox. A lot smaller than her and clearly too full of himself to realize she wasn’t going to let him get away with whatever he had planned. He had no idea how lucky he truly was that she’d given him a chance to live after all he’d done to her. All because she’d felt stupid that she bothered with a different species. She should have never even tried to have a relationship with the rat bastard. Now she knew better.
Louis had even used the best lawyers in the city to get her last cent. She wondered why he needed anything from her when his grandfather led the largest crime family in the state. It amazed her to hear him calling her at all.
“Get me my money. All two hundred and fifty thousand of it. I know you keep a stash. You have a week, Lily, or say goodbye to your precious animals.”
The line went dead and she struggled to keep her eyes on the road instead of screaming at the top of her lungs. Her cat wanted out. She wanted to run wild and hunt. To kill and see blood flowing, imagining it was Louis. Soon enough. His time would come.
The falling snow caught her unawares. At first they fell in a few random flakes. But the closer she got to the top of the mountain, the harder and thicker the flakes got. Her visibility dropped to a few feet and she had to slow her car.
Thank goodness she was only minutes from the cabin or she might find herself stuck in the middle of the road. Suddenly, there it was. It was damn big for a cabin. At least two stories high and made of gorgeous wood and glass. She shut her car off and grabbed her bag, glad she’d worn her coat now that she realized it was damn near
freezing up there.
Shifters adapted to lower temperatures but when in her human body, she was still more likely to get cold than when in her tigress. Of course, that wouldn’t apply if she was in heat. Then she would happily walk around naked from how needy she’d be.
Her shoes sank into the foot of snow and her feet soaked. She ran to the front door and pounded loudly on it.
“Hello?”
There was no answer. She did it for several minutes until she realized the stupid man wasn’t home. Fuck. The storm was picking up, blowing flakes harder. She couldn’t simply leave the folder at his front door. It’d be buried in minutes, if not blown away first.
Against her better judgment, she turned the door’s knob. To her unhappy surprise, the door opened easily. Well, shit. What idiot left their front door unlocked when not home? Then again, it wasn’t likely that someone would drive up the side of a mountain to visit a recluse without calling. And why did she care? It was his stolen items.
Now what? Was it considered breaking and entering if there was no real breaking?
“Hello. Mr. Dreki, are you here?” She stepped inside and glanced around. Her cat didn’t smell anyone, but it sure as hell was hyper for some reason. She hoped to quickly find a place to leave the file so she could leave before the storm got worse. When she got home, the first thing she’d take was a nice hot bath and open the biggest bottle of wine in her fridge.
Thankfully, he’d left a nice warm fire going so she could sit and wait for him if she wanted to. Nah. Curiosity wouldn’t kill this cat, but she really wanted to know how Thane Dreki lived.
The cabin was bigger than it appeared from outside. With large comfortable brown sofas and wood furniture, it really brought the outside in. Plants were everywhere, too. Bamboo and some larger ones with braided leaves. No photos, though, something she found very peculiar.
She continued through the cabin, past the dining area where a massive wooden table with chairs sat. Upon close inspection, because she wasn’t doing a half-assed job of snooping, she realized the table didn’t appear used at all. Weird, didn’t the guy eat?