On the Edge (Adirondack Pack Book 3)

by K. C. Stewart

  When she woke up, Kline insisted on calling someone for her. She refused. He called anyway.

  “Hey, Chuck. I think I’m going to be late today.”

  “Well, at least you’re still a smartass.” He grabbed the small chair in the corner and pulled it over to her bedside. “What happened?”

  There were two very good reasons as to why that conversation was not going to happen. First was because the walls that surrounded them were fabric. They were basically surrounded by glorified sheets. Anyone with ears could hear. Second was because if she told Chuck he would tell Owen and that…well, that was just never going to happen.

  “Passed out. Hit my head. I’m good. Really. Kline didn’t need to call.”

  “He did,” Chuck rebutted.

  Lee closed her eyes. The lights were too damn bright. “You going to tattle to Owen?”

  He grabbed her hand. “Look, I’m sorry. I was trying to help.”

  “That was not a yes or no and I’m pretty sure I asked a question with a yes or no answer.” She squeezed his hand. Chuck’s heart was in the right place. It was his mouth he needed to watch.

  “No. I won’t tell. I can’t promise that he won’t hear about it, though. This is Andora after all.”

  She shrugged and opened her eyes again. “True story. So are you here to spring me?”

  Concern for her was all she saw in his face. “If that’s what you want.”

  She nodded. “I want to get out of here.”

  “Home it is then.”

  She sat up and swung her legs off the bed.

  “What’s that face for?” Chuck tilted her chin up towards him. “You don’t want to go home?”

  God no. It was so quiet and lonely there. The only person she had to talk to was herself and Lee knew she wasn’t good company these days. “I’d rather not.”

  “You sure you’re ok?”

  She took his hand for support as she stood in case her legs weren’t as stable as they felt. “Yeah, just don’t want to go home.” Good old trusty legs held up with little wobble. There was a brief moment of vertigo but Chuck didn’t say anything. He scowled but that was all the complaint she got.

  “Alright, I’ll take you to the bar but you will not be serving. I’ll have you wrap silverware or something. People need to see you there anyway. I think if you didn’t show up today I’d have a revolt on my hands. People have been giving me the stink eye all day because they think I did something to make you quit. I mean, I did but they don’t need to take sides.”

  “Nosy bastards,” she supplied towards his frustration. Lee gave a wave to Kline as they left. He had a patient and knew she could take care of herself and would call if needed.

  “Damn straight.”

  The car ride was blessedly short. Most were if you were headed from one part of town to the other. Chuck got out and came to help her but she slapped his hands away. It was bad enough he knew what happened, kind of, but she didn’t need the entire town knowing she was functioning at forty percent.

  Chuck understood, the guy was intuitive. He let her get out of the car and shut the door behind her. He walked beside her. It was more like on top of her but at least he wasn’t touching her, supporting her. They took the kitchen entrance. No need to parade around on the bar floor. An annoyed meow came from beside the door. Chuck grumbled something about greedy cats as he pushed her inside. The mooch had Chucked wrapped around his little black paw. Lee smiled, Chuck was such a mama bear.

  “Hey, did he drag you in?” Zach asked as he put together a salad.

  “Yep. Hardass,” she said with a wink in Chuck’s direction.

  “Zach, the cat is back. Go give it some chicken or something.” With a light hand on her back, Chuck steered her to his excuse of an office. Closet was a better word for where he did his business end of things. She hadn’t been there when the desk was inserted into the small room but the rumor was, he actually built the desk inside the closet because there was no way to get it in.

  “Here,” he said handing her the apron she left on the bar the day before. “Don’t ever do that again.”

  “Pushy.”

  “Damn straight. Now go wrap silverware. You can serve the bar but I want you sitting more than standing today. Go easy. If you feel unsteady you come back here and chill. I’ll take you home whenever you want.”

  Lee kissed his cheek. “Ok, alright. Thanks for caring.”

  “Someone has to take care of you.”

  That made her smile. Loyal as fuck that Chuck. Lee went out the door and was greeted with a few cheers. Her regulars had missed her.

  “Who needs a drink?”

  *****

  Vince smiled at Lee’s unexpected appearance behind the bar. He was happy to see her back. The woman was strong. She had a weak moment but still had the guts to come back. He admired that.

  As he watched her move behind the bar, he noticed how pale she looked. Dragging a tub of silverware down the counter to the corner spot by the kitchen, she sat and began to roll spoons, forks and knives into paper napkins. Chuck was across the bar pouring a beer with a frown as he watched her. Actually, most of the patrons looked at her. Beyond looking like death, she was still wearing her scrubs from the clinic. Usually, she changed, he’d never seen her in there dressed like that.

  Not his problem, he reminded himself. Right now he had enough of his own. The Canidae fucks who hunted and killed the hiker also deemed it necessary to call in an anonymous tip to the police. Owen was neck deep in bullshit right now. At least Officer Riley didn’t seem convinced Owen did the damage. Small favors and all that.

  Vince had spent the day dealing with the aftermath of finding the body. He had just finished up rounds with all the pups’ families. Everyone seemed to be taking it well and he didn’t think it scarred anyone for life.

  Again, small favors.

  There was one other problem he had and that was of his own making. He had snapped at Glilee last night. Snapped hard enough to break skin. He owed her an apology and would have preferred to do so in person but that couldn’t happen. He needed a name for that to be possible and didn’t that just take him full circle? How hard was it to say her name? Why was she so scared of that simple little word?

  He figured that he would wear her down eventually but that didn’t seem the case anymore. Glilee would hold onto her identity to the grave. It sucked. The one woman whose personality attracted him like no one else’s didn’t want anything to do with him in reality, just in fantasy.

  Looking up he caught Lee chatting with Zach. And the one woman he was physically attracted to could barely talk and be civilized with him.

  “Refill?” Chuck asked with a pitcher of water.

  He nodded. “She came back?”

  “Looks like.”

  “Is it just me or is she looking a little pale today?”

  Chuck’s eyes flashed with amusement. “You’ve got a good eye.” He filled his cup to the brim. “If you’re curious, though, you’re going to have to ask her.”

  Right, because Lee would voluntarily chat with Vince about her health. “Maybe later.”

  The hearty laugh that came from Chuck caused a few head to turn. Including Lee’s. “She has no idea what she’s missing out on. The girl is smart but when it comes to attraction, serious attraction, she is deaf, dumb and blind.”

  It was presumptuous of him to assume serious attraction. “Not sure what you’re talking about Chuck.”

  His smirk told Vince he wasn’t fooling anyone. “Of course not.”

  “Owen see her yet?”

  “No, too caught up in his own problems. Any more word on the hiker?”

  “Police took over. Miles is understandably pissed. They messed up the smells at the scene and he’s having trouble finding the thread that leads to Canidae.”

  “I pity the Canidae member that finds himself in his clutches. That man has some serious darkness in him. It’s focused for now but when that breaks we are going to have an entir
ely different kind of problem.”

  Chuck had a good take on the Enforcer. The man was more obsessed with finding and ending Canidae than even Owen. Vince had spent a few nights with the man bonding over a beer. His wife had been seduced by the group and taken in the night as Miles dealt with a pack issue. He had no word on her since. It happened years ago but he has never given up his search. The man’s Canidae interrogations were legendary. If his wife was still alive and was still in her right mind, not having been corrupted by the group, Vince would cut off his left hand.

  There were only two real routes this would go. Either she was alive and one of them, having been brainwashed into their beliefs, or she was dead. Whatever news came of her would be his demise. Miles was a bomb waiting to detonate.

  “Can’t argue with you there.”

  Vince looked over Chuck’s shoulder and found Lee waiting a few feet away. Her eyes were glazed over as she watched Vince. Sorrow in all of her features. Surprise must have shown on his face because Chuck turned. “Lee?”

  “Hmm?” she asked snapping from her daze. “Oh, sorry. I’m going to head home.”

  His face softened. “Alright, let me grab my keys. I’ll drive you.”

  “You don’t have to. My car is only three blocks away. I’ll walk to the clinic and then head home.”

  “Lee,” he said in warning.

  “Chuck,” she responded with a smirk.

  “I’ll drive you,” Vince chimed in. “I’m heading home anyway. You are on the way there.”

  Lee’s face dropped right along with his stomach. “Oh no. You don’t have to.” She shook her head. “Really, I’m fine.”

  “I think that’s a great idea,” Chuck laughed.

  “It’s no problem, Lee.” Vince pulled out his wallet and dropped a twenty on the table. He slid out of the booth and grabbed his keys. “Ready?”

  Her paleness only increased until she had less color than a ghost. That look gutted him. He had never had any female fear him before. But this wasn’t physical. There was a difference between physical fear and emotional. The fear she had for him was all in her head.

  He stepped over to her and ran his thumb down her chin. “You have nothing to fear from me.”

  The strength he admired so much bubbled up in her. It straightened her back and hardened her eyes. It took her a moment longer before she agreed but she did. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Chuck.” The man saluted to her. When she turned her sights on him, her face was carefully guarded.

  “Well,” she said unamused. “Let’s go then.” Lee left him standing there, a laugh hidden in his chest.

  “Have fun with that,” Chuck nodded to where the bells over the door chimed as Lee left without him. “I wouldn’t wait too long. She might just walk to the clinic and leave without you.”

  Vince laughed now that she wasn’t within hearing distance. “I better run then.”

  Chapter Five

  “Owen, your house is beautiful.”

  “Thank you, Ann.” Owen stood with Mira at his side, arm fitted snuggly around his waist. He let his arm drape over Mira’s shoulders, keeping her close, exactly where she belonged. While Ann studied the carvings in the fireplace he leaned down and whispered, “This could be your home too, Rabbit.”

  Her free hand came up and slapped him in the stomach. “Not now,” she said between her teeth. “Mom,” being her one-word reasoning. Ann turned back, a knowing smile on her lips. Try as she might, her mother had heard.

  “Do you live here alone? This house is so big for one man.” Eyes sparkling with mischief he realized that Ann would be his ally in the fight to bring Mira home, and that would help immensely.

  “He doesn’t. Owen allows families in the area who need help getting back on their feet to stay here. It’s always bursting with life. The second floor is dedicated just to them while the third is his area.”

  “All this down here on the first floor is shareable space,” he added.

  “Good looking and generous too.” She smirked. “Mira, I think you found a keeper.”

  Instead of agreeing with the completely accurate description of him, Mira snorted. “God mom, please don’t add to the Brute’s ego.”

  “Rabbit, I think that was a very becoming description of my character. It wounds me to hear you laugh at it.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You are handsome, generous, caring, loving, funny and role model to everyone you meet. That doesn’t mean that I’m going to tell you all of that daily or that I will encourage others to tell you because you know all that already being Mr. Self Confidence and all. Soon this house won’t be able to fit that big head of yours.”

  He smiled. God, he loved this woman. “Well now, that deserves a kiss.” Knowing she had public display issues in front of her mother, he made sure he went in fast and held on tight. She barely had time to fight before he was there coaxing her into a kiss.

  “Oh you two,” Ann said bringing Mira back to her senses and pushing him away.

  “I just adore you Owen and this house.”

  “Thank you, Ann. I feel the same.”

  “So tell me,” she said taking the conversation back. Something Mira would be grateful for. “How did you come about the idea to use a large house in such a way?”

  He motioned for them to take a seat on one of the sofas, he drug Mira down beside him on another. She fell gracefully into his side and then elbowed him in the gut. Her sugary sweet “Sorry,” was anything but apologetic.

  “My father actually. This was his house before it was mine. I grew up with others living here and continued the practice after his death.”

  “What a wonderful thing to do for your community. I haven’t seen the rest yet but it seems you could get a few packs of families in here without being on top of each other.”

  “No,” he said cautiously. Interesting choice of words she had there. “We all have plenty of space.” He looked down at Mira who hadn’t caught the wording. “Why don’t we head upstairs and eat. I figured we would have more privacy there.” They stood and Owen led the way to the stairs. Ann took in everything as they went up, even stopping off at the second floor to take a peek.

  In his suite, Mira and her mother chatted over wine while he plated up dinner. They had started a roast earlier, she had done the potatoes and he had added some asparagus to do its thing as well. It was a simple meal to complement the conversation.

  They ate and drank. The discussion always easy and never lacking. Over one of Sadie’s pies, they finished up. Tyson would be there soon to pick Ann up and take her back to their house for the night. His hesitation around Ann had dissipated with every day, now he was acting as her lap dog. Ann fussed over him like her own child, something Tyson needed in his life.

  “Do you have any pets around? I just feel a big man like you would have a big dog, wolf-sized even,” she said with a laugh. “Mira and Sadie always wanted dogs growing up but we never had any around. Pets were an expense that we didn’t have money for when they were younger.”

  This time, Mira stilled beside him. She had caught this one. The use of “pack” was one thing, a coincidence maybe but now talking about wolves? That meant something. He had no idea what but something was there.

  “No pets for me. I have enough caring for the families, we don’t need to add a dog, wolf-sized or not, to the mix. I do love animals, though, wouldn’t be a vet if I didn’t. Cats seem to be scared of me or I’d probably have one of those running around up here.”

  “I didn’t know that.” Mira smiled beside him. Her hand resting on top of his with a light squeeze.

  He shrugged. “Cats just hiss at me. Lee had one growing up that liked Tyson and I but it was hit by a car.”

  “How unfortunate. Cats can be picky. If you’re too much of a dominant personality they can get fussy.”

  Owen narrowed his eyes just slightly as he studied her. Ann was human, no doubt about that. But did she know about his kind?

  “So where are you from Ann?”
/>
  She smiled, light and easy. “We moved to Buffalo after Thomas died. The girls were born and raised in Maine up until Sadie was about three, Mira was only a few months old at that point. I moved to Buffalo for work and to be closer to my family. I needed help.”

  “Of course, you did,” Mira added. “Gramps and Grams took us in for the first year until Mom got us a place of our own, a small apartment we lived in till I was ten. Then you got the house.”

  “That’s right. I’ve been there ever since. Times were tight but we made it through.”

  Owen sipped his coffee while they shared a quiet moment down memory lane. “I’m sorry about your husband.”

  Ann gave a small smile. “I miss him but life goes on. I had to with Mira and Sadie needing me.”

  “Was he from Maine?” Owen knew the pack up there. He’d met the alpha a few dozen times.

  “Yes, his family lived there.”

  Mira made a face. Her nose scrunched up a little and her mouth quirked to the side. Ignoring the look, he asked, “Why didn’t you stay there after Thomas’s death?”

  Patting her daughter’s hand, she answered, “They weren’t exactly supportive of our marriage. I didn’t feel welcome there after he was gone.”

  “That’s unfortunate. I don’t know how anyone could not like you and the girls.”

  She smiled. “That’s kind.”

  “It’s the truth as I see it.”

  He heard the front door keypad beep and then open. Tyson came through, looking the best he had since Jenny’s death. He brightened when he saw them at the table. “Did I miss pie?”

  There were still a few slices left. “If I know my sister then I suspect she has one at home just for you. Why do you need ours?” Mira asked but cut him a piece anyway.

  “Because I’m addicted,” Tyson said without any hesitation. “Did you have fun?” he asked Ann.

  Dotting over him, she pushed his hair off of his forehead and out of his face. “I did. How was your date?”

  Tyson grinned around his bite of pie. “Great. Although she keeps reverting back to wedding details. You need to help me out here Mom and save me from such things.”