“I will.” Dell nodded, still feeling like this was a joke of some kind, and Marcus, along with Hunter, would come in pointing and laughing at him because he was believing it. But that didn’t happen. “I’m meeting up with everyone at the coffee shop to go over the plan for tomorrow. You want to be there, or is there anything you want me to tell them?”
“No, I trust you to take care of what needs to be taken care of,” Garrett responded, as he walked toward Dell with his hand outstretched. When Dell took his hand in a shake, a crooked smile formed on his lips. “And if we were to fight for alpha status, I would kick your ass. Never doubt that.”
Dell squeezed Garrett’s hand, a smile of his own forming. “Hope it never comes to finding out if that’s true or not.” Dell let go of Garrett’s hand. “I have too much respect for you to prove you wrong.”
Garrett laughed loudly, as did Dell. Both men knew they would never throw a punch at each other; they respected the other way too much for that. But both really did have alpha in their blood, so a little competition was never out of the question.
Chapter 4
Roslyn sat in the coffee shop listening to the guys talk, but didn’t participate in the conversation. She usually didn’t. The only person she really talked to was Taz, but he seemed to be preoccupied and moody, so she sat alone in the back corner. She didn’t mind. She kept to herself a lot; it was her normal.
Devon was telling them a tale about how he fought off six shifters at once. She even saw Taz roll his eyes before he went back to staring off, obviously deep in thought. At least until Leda came in the door.
Roslyn watched as Leda glanced toward Taz, then quickly looked away before heading toward her table.
“Hey.” Leda sat down hard. “Man, I thought I was going to be late. Where’s Dell?”
“Said he had to talk to Garrett,” Roslyn replied. She noticed Taz looking at Leda. When he saw Roslyn had seen him, he continued to stare. Wow, he had it bad. Roslyn tried not to grin. They would definitely make a cute couple. Taz seemed a little older than Leda, who was on the brink of womanhood. After Steve’s last visit, Leda had become very quiet for a few weeks, had seemed sad, and then one day, she shook off whatever had her down. One thing Roslyn never did was butt into anyone else’s business. If a person needed to talk to her or tell her anything, then they would. Until then, she just made herself available to talk.
“So what are you going as tomorrow night?” Leda interrupted her thoughts. “I’m going as Little Red Riding Hood.” Leda grinned with a chuckle.
“And who’s going as the big bad wolf?” Roslyn smirked with a wink.
Leda’s cheeks heated as she shook her head. “I’m done with guys for a while.”
“I’m sorry.” Roslyn touched her hand. She understood about heartbreak. “I’m here if you ever need to talk. I mean, I know you have Janna, but I just wanted to let you know that if you need an ear, I’m a good listener.”
“Thanks. Janna has her hands full at the moment with the twins.” Leda chuckled, then looked at her with wide eyes. “I’m really happy for Steve, but I miss him.”
“Can’t you be friends?” Roslyn didn’t know the full extent of their relationship.
“I want to be, but I don’t know how his new girlfriend or mate will feel about that.” Leda frowned, her eyes glistening. “It’s not like I want him back or anything. I just miss his friendship. Steve is a special person.”
“Then call him. Talk to him.” Roslyn nodded at her, hoping to give her encouragement. “Talk to her even.”
“No way!” Leda sat back, shocked. “Steve would freak.”
Roslyn smiled. “Listen, if you want to remain friends, then put everything out there. Let his girl know you don’t want her man. If she’s worth his love, then she’ll be fine, and you guys may even become friends.”
“You think so?” Leda’s shocked expression melted from her face, replaced with hope.
“You’ll never know until you try.” Roslyn shrugged a shoulder. “But to me, it would be worth a try. What do you have to lose?”
Before Leda could respond, the door opened and in walked Dell. His eyes quickly surveyed the room, landing on her, then away. Roxy had him a coffee ready on the counter and he headed that way.
Roslyn watched him as he crossed the room. Just going for coffee, he stalked as if hunting prey. For a large man, his body flowed easily, flawlessly, and it was spellbinding. She glanced around to see if anyone else was as infatuated as her, but no one was even watching him. She looked toward Leda, who stared at her with a large knowing grin.
“Interesting.” Leda chuckled, but before she could continue, Dell demanded their attention.
“Does anyone have any questions about tomorrow?” Dell didn’t pull punches, hold hands, or show he gave a shit. He was on point with what he wanted from them. When no one answered, he continued. “Every year we go into the main town with the kids for their haunted trail, and to let the kids get their candy. We’ve never had a issue, but then again, no one knew what we were at that time. Garrett has reached out, and we’ve been told there is no concern with us coming this year. That doesn’t mean there isn’t going to be some good old boy who has a problem with it. If you see an issue or you have a situation, myself, Garrett, Hunter, Marcus, and Jonah will be available, so come and find us before thinking you know what the fuck you’re doing. We don’t want a shit show because some asshole thinks he’s going to be funny or show off for his friends.”
Everyone gave a nod of understanding.
“You can wear a costume as long as it doesn’t interfere with you doing your job,” Dell added with a deep frown. “This is for everyone to have fun, but this year is a little different than the past years. As long as you all understand that, then I trust in what you decide to do.”
Dell took a long drink of his coffee before continuing. “Tonight I’m switching the detail a little bit.” Dell nodded toward Devon. “I’m taking Ross off watch and want you to take her place with Taz.”
“No problem, boss,” Devon replied quickly.
“Uh, I have a problem with that.” Roslyn spoke up. “Why am I being taken off rotation?”
Dell ignored her, finishing off his coffee and taking the cup back to the counter and thanking Roxy. “Meet out front tomorrow at five thirty. Don’t be late.”
Everyone got up and headed for the door, except for Roslyn. Dell was checking his phone. Roxy walked over to clear the cups and wipe the tables, her eyes on Roslyn.
“Give him hell.” Roxy tossed her a wink, then headed in the back.
Leda stood up slowly. “You want me to stay?” she whispered.
Roslyn shook her head, giving Leda a smile of thanks before her eyes went back to Dell. As soon as the room was empty, she stood. “Why are you taking me off rotation?” Roslyn repeated the question that had been ignored. “I can do my job.”
“I never said you couldn’t,” Dell said without looking up from his phone. “You’re just not doing it tonight.”
“You’re punishing me?” Roslyn felt her temper surface.
Finally, he looked up at her, his eyes narrowed. “No, I’m giving you the night off.”
“That is punishing me.” Roslyn almost stomped her foot, but refrained and instead, glared at him.
“Usually people who are given time off, thank the person.” Dell cocked his eyebrow. “So, you’re welcome.”
Dell went back to looking at his phone as he leaned against the counter, totally blowing her off, and that took her to a pissed off level she hadn’t visited in a while. Turning, she quickly headed toward the door.
“This is bullshit!” She slammed out the door, wishing Dell hadn’t found her on the cliff. Okay, that wasn’t really true. She was glad he had been there because if not, she’d be dead. At the time she’d felt helpless, not really knowing if her dead stepbrother had contacted Cylus or not, letting him know where she was. But at that last moment, as she’d gone over the cliff, her mind and heart h
ad screamed for life, her life, and the man she wanted to smack had given it back to her. But now she was paying for her almost deadly mistake, and it wasn’t fair.
Rushing through town, she headed down the dirt road that led to the house. She couldn’t call it her own, but it was shelter. Something she hadn’t had in a long time.
“Hey, Ross!” Little Sam ran up to her with his dog, Pepper, following him. “You g-g-going tomorrow?”
Roslyn stopped. “Yes, I am.” She couldn’t help but smile down at him. “What are you dressing up for Halloween as?”
“A vampire,” he answered quickly without his usual stutter.
“Oh, I bet you’ll make an awesome vampire.” Roslyn had a special place in her heart for kids. They had no secret hidden agendas. What you saw was what you got. She trusted a child way more than she trusted adults.
“Wh-what about you?” Sam asked excitedly, practically jumping up and down.
Roslyn looked around like she had a big secret, then leaned closer to him. “A shifter.”
Sam’s eyes had been wide until he heard her answer, then squinted in disappointment. “Ah, man! Yo… yo… you can’t be something you al… al… al… already are.”
“She isn’t,” Leda replied from behind her. “Come on. Emily has costumes at the Feed Store.”
Roslyn wasn’t comfortable with this at all, but let Leda pull her along because, in all honesty, she didn’t want to be alone. Her eyes shot toward the coffee shop where Dell leaned against the building watching her. She gave him a narrowed glare, just to let him know she felt him taking her off rotation was bullshit. His response was another cocked eyebrow. She was the first to look away, and she wasn’t proud of that fact, but that man set her nerves on edge.
Once inside the Feed Store, she followed Leda toward the back where Emily was stocking shelves.
“Hey, you guys.” Emily smiled over her shoulder. “What can I help you with?”
“Ross needs a costume for tomorrow night,” Leda said, as she started going through what was left over of the costumes.
“I really don’t want to dress up.” Roslyn frowned, then shook her head when Leda held up a slutty-looking nurse’s uniform. Leda frowned, looking at it before putting it back, and dug for something else.
“Emily said they all dress up.” Leda picked up another then tossed it aside. “Man, these are really picked through. You sure the slutty nurse doesn’t do it for you?”
“Ah, no,” Roslyn replied.
“I bet it would do it for Dell.” Leda turned to glance at her with an overexaggerated wink.
“Dell?” Emily had walked over to start looking too. “Oh, girl, he is a fine man.”
“Dell is my—” Roslyn wondered exactly what Dell really was to her. Both Emily and Leda stopped searching to stare at her. “Boss,” she quickly added.
Leda snorted. “Yeah, right. I saw how you were looking at him, and I noticed his eyeballs were going to you quite a bit.”
“Honey, you could do much worse than Dell Farris.” Emily stopped looking through the pile of costumes. “Well, if I wasn’t head over heels in love with Hunter, I’d be clawing your eyes out for Dell.”
Leda laughed. “A lot of women will probably want to claw your eyes out, so just be prepared.”
“There’s nothing to prepare for,” Roslyn said quickly. “He’s my—”
“Boss.” Leda rolled her eyes. “Yeah, we heard ya. Just don’t believe ya.”
The door opened, and all the women looked that way. Taz walked in. His eyes went first to Leda, stayed for a second too long and then to Roslyn. “We’re doing a run. I know the boss—”
“See.” Roslyn thumbed toward Taz. “Boss.”
“—took you off rotation, but I figured you could run the perimeter,” Taz finished.
Leda held up another sleazy costume with a hopeful look.
“Sure, I would love to.” Roslyn frowned at the costume, then shook her head at Leda.
“You want to come?” Taz asked Leda, just as she passed Taz.
“No, I’m good,” Leda replied with a sigh. “I have to help Janna anyway.”
Roslyn noticed the disappointment on Taz’s face before he hid it.
As they hurried down the steps, she looked to see Dell had disappeared from the coffee shop and wondered if she wore the same disappointed look Taz had just worn on his face. With a curse, she met up with the rest of the guys, and took off. Dell might be able to take her off rotation, but he couldn’t stop her from working the perimeter on her own time.
As they passed the garage, she had the sensation of being watched. Slowing, she looked only to see Dell leaning against the door frame of his car shop, his eyes following her. The intensity of his stare pulled at her, but instead of stopping, she gave him a defiant glare and continued along the track. Following the guys, she was relieved to hit the woods away from Dell’s watchful eyes. With grace, she shifted in mid-run, passing the guys. She was fast and was a good runner. Something she had learned the hard way.
Chapter 5
Leda headed toward the house to help Janna with the twins. Garrett was just coming out of the house as she hit the steps.
“Hey!” Leda went to pass him, but he stopped her.
“They’re sleeping so, please be quiet,” Garrett pleaded, looking tired.
“Handful, are they?” She snickered when he sighed, then rolled his eyes.
“That’s an understatement.” He snorted.
“Well, Janna asked me to help, but if they’re sleeping, I’ll come back later,” Leda replied. “Unless you need me to do anything.”
“Nah, we’re good.” Garrett pulled her in for a hug. “You’ve done enough to help us. Enjoy your day off. Tomorrow’s going to be busy.”
“I’ll go catch up with the guys and run the perimeter, but tell Janna if she needs me later, I’ll be back to help with Maria and Max.” Leda headed down the steps, hoping to catch up with the rest of them.
Jogging down the road toward the cutoff through the woods, she saw Dell working on one of the cars at his shop. He looked up over the hood, and she waved. “They go this way?” She pointed toward their usual path. When he nodded, she tossed him another wave of thanks and headed that way.
Once inside the woods, she usually shifted, but instead, she slowed down and decided to take her time. In truth, she wasn’t in the mood to shift and run the perimeter. If she caught up with them, fine, but she just wanted to be alone.
Just as she was going deeper into the woods, her phone in her back pocket went off. Crap, she forgot to leave it so she couldn’t have shifted anyway, unless she hid it somewhere. The problem with that was she always forgot where she hid it. Garrett warned her that he would not buy her any more phones and to leave it at home when she knew she was going to shift.
Pulling it out of her back pocket, she glanced down and couldn’t help but smile as it continued to ring with the name Sexy Vamp showing up on her screen. A title Steve gave himself when he took her phone one day to give her his number.
“Hey, stranger!” she answered with a genuine chuckle. Yeah, she missed him and knew for certain it was more like missing an old friend. The butterflies didn’t flutter throughout her stomach or chest at the sight of his number, just an excitement to talk to him again.
“What’s up, fur ball?” Steve laughed over the phone.
“Oh, you know, just doing the wolf thing now and then.” Leda found a rock to sit on. “How are you doing? It seems like forever since I talked to you.” Leda knew exactly the last time she had talked to him. The day he came into town to break it off with her.
“Miss me?” Steve teased in his usual manner.
“Actually, yes, I do.” Leda grinned, then rolled her eyes. “How can I not miss you? You were probably the best friend I’ve ever had.”
The line went silent as Leda toed the dirt with her shoe.
“I’m sorry,” Steve finally said, his voice no longer teasing.
Leda shrug
ged like he could see her. “Stop it. I’m fine. There’s nothing for you to be sorry for.” Leda closed her eyes for a long minute. “I just really miss my friend.”
“I’m right here, Leda,” Steve replied, his voice low. “I’ll always be your friend.”
Leda took the phone away from her ear, looked to the sky and took a deep breath before putting the phone back to her ear.
“What’s her name?” There, she’d asked. Whatever she and Steve had was over, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t remain friends, but she had to make nice with the new girl in his life, and this was the first step.
“Mira,” Steve answered, and she could tell he was uncomfortable. “She has a little girl, Drew.”
Emotions swirled through her at that news, but then she smiled. “You’ll make the best dad.”
“I’m trying.” He chuckled. “Though changing shitty diapers is not my strong suit. I gag every fucking time. She did one that actually made me puke. It was all runny and smelled like—”
“Yo, Steve.” Leda frowned. “Way too much information. Believe me, I know what baby crap looks and smells like. I’ve been helping Janna with the twins.”
The line went silent again. The awkward silence made Leda wonder if she and Steve would ever get back to where they were, minus the kissing and such.
“So how’s Tax?” Steve’s voice finally broke the silence.
“Taz.” Leda rolled her eyes.
“Whatever,” Steve grunted. “You guys an item?”
“Really?” Leda actually stood. “You have the balls to ask me that?”
“Actually, yeah, I do,” Steve replied, his voice also raising. “He just seems way too intense for you, and he has a stupid name.”
There was no way she was going to have this conversation with Steve. She really didn’t know her feelings for Taz and, yes, he was intense. Yet she was attracted to his intensity. “His name isn’t stupid, and I’m not discussing this with you.”
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