“I’m not naïve. I know there are problems to overcome, but nothing is more important than claiming our mate. Did you ever think that just maybe, claiming her will make a lot of those other problems go away?”
“Eric, you don’t even know if she’d be willing to go back to Montana with us. What if she’s determined to go back to her teaching job in Oregon? What are we gonna do then?”
“Why borrow trouble? I say, face the problems we have now, and worry about everything else if it happens.”
“We have to get Remus’s permission to tell her about our beasts. Do you think he’s gonna be willing?”
“Alpha Remus would never stand in the way of a mating. He may ask us to wait until the problem with her father is settled, but he’d never forbid us from mating.”
“So how do you wanna proceed with wooing our mate?”
“I’ve been giving that a lot of thought. She told us that nobody had ever given her a good idea of what colors are. I say we change that.”
“What do you propose?”
“I say we give her a lesson in life she won’t soon forget.”
“You got something specific in mind?”
“Absolutely.”
The back door flew open with Eloise blocking the way, a wicked grin on her face. “Hey, guys, how’s it going?”
Eric growled, put his hands on her small waist, and steadily pushed her back into the kitchen. “How do you think it’s going, cousin? Torn from our nice, warm beds in the middle of the night to search through the cold, damp woods.”
She chuckled and ruffled Eric’s hair. “Losing a little sleep won’t kill you, unless of course you’re the one that woke Mom in the middle of the night.”
David shut the door. “Aunt Maddie upset?”
“That’s probably too tame a word for what she is.”
“What happened to Lyssa?” Eric asked.
“I don’t know the whole story. She’s in the study with Dad, Zebron, and Koril.”
David growled. “It was serious enough to bring in Koril?”
Eric barked out a laugh. “Hardly surprising considering he’s been head of security here for over thirty years.”
David leaned his arm on Eloise’s shoulder. “Okay, fess up, little wolf. What did you hear when you had your ear pressed to the door?”
Eloise flushed and glanced at Eric. “Not as much as I’d like. She says she got upset at the party, but she wouldn’t say what about. Then she supposedly decided to take a run. She’d tied her clothes in a bundle so she could slip her neck through and carry it along. She says the phone must have slipped out without her realizing it. Then she claims to have just wandered around the woods for a while and then took off down the mountain with time getting away from her.”
“I didn’t claim I wandered around the woods, your highness.” Lyssa stood in the kitchen door, her large brown eyes glaring at Eloise. “I wandered in the woods. Although, explain to me how any of this is your business?”
“It’s very much our business,” Eric said. “Especially considering we were traipsing through the woods looking for you.”
Lyssa curled up her lip and snarled. “Don’t cry to me. I wasn’t the one that dragged you out of bed, and as far as I’m concerned, you can go home and take your little playmate with you.”
“Have I done something to offend you?” Laynee pushed past Lyssa in the doorway, using a cane to find her way across the room.
“There’s our pretty lady.” Eric moved in close and put his arm around her shoulder. “Where’d you get the cane?”
Laynee smiled and leaned her head against his arm briefly. “Maddie gave it to me.”
David moved in close to slip his arm around her waist. “Has it made things easier?”
She blushed. “Much easier. Nobody has needed to guide me around the house, and I’ve not knocked over or broken anything since you’ve been gone.”
Lyssa moved toward the door, bumping into Eric’s arm. “Not true, little outsider. You barreled into me right after I arrived, and you were using the damn cane then.”
Laynee gritted her teeth and turned toward Lyssa. “And I apologized, several times if I recall.”
Remus entered the kitchen and glared at Lyssa. “That’s enough. Your father went out the front. I’m sure he’s expecting you to be home when he gets there, and I know your mother is worried sick. Go home, Lyssa, now.”
Lyssa flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder and walked out the kitchen door, slamming it hard enough to rattle the plaques on the wall. Remus chuckled. “Well, that was fun.”
“I’m sorry, Remus,” Laynee said. “It seems I just rub her the wrong way. She gets positively hostile every time I walk into the room.”
“You have nothing to apologize for, Laynee. Lyssa has always been a little high-strung. She was just having a bad morning, and you’re the only one she could get away with being mean to. The rest of the family would put her in her place real fast.
Laynee laughed. “In that case, the next time she and I meet, I’ll give her something to remember.”
Remus threw back his head and laughed heartily. “I hope I’m around to see that.” He turned to Eric. “Most everyone that lives away from the mountain is going home today. I’d rather you boys stick around until we get some word on Laynee’s father. Koril tells me that he should have a preliminary report later today.”
David nodded. “No problem, Remus. We already made arrangements to have the business covered for as long as we need. We’ve got good people working for us.”
Remus smiled and patted David on the shoulder. “I’m real proud of you boys.” He looked at Laynee and nodded. “I promise we’ll get this situation under control soon.”
“There’s our boys.”
Eric turned and watched his parents enter the kitchen. Before he could say anything, he was caught up in a hug from his fathers.
David laughed and then grunted as they turned and swept him up off the floor.
Eric took Laynee’s hand and pulled her over to his adoptive mother. “Laynee, I want you to meet our parents. This is our mother, Kitania Wind River, and our fathers, Ethan and Latan Wind River.” He pulled her close to his side. “And this is Laynee Conners.”
Laynee blushed. “I’m very pleased to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you and your family.”
Kitania stepped forward and hugged Laynee. “It’s a great pleasure to meet you, Laynee. I look forward to getting to know you.”
“Hugs are not only for mothers.” Latan stepped up and hugged Laynee, lifting her clean off the floor. As soon as he put her down, Ethan took his place.
Laynee giggled. “It’s gonna take some time to get accustomed to your family. I’m not used to all the hugging that goes on with this one.”
Kitania frowned. “I’m sorry, have we embarrassed you?”
“Oh, no, ma’am. I think it’s wonderful. It’s been a long time since I was around a normal family.”
Ethan whacked Latan on the back when he choked.
“I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?” Laynee asked.
Kitania rolled her eyes. “No, honey, you didn’t say anything wrong. These men are just plumb worn out. We’d only just arrived when the search party went out, so we joined it. We’ve been up for almost forty-eight hours now.”
Ethan grabbed Kitania’s arm and pulled her toward the door. “We’re all done in. We’ll be saying good-bye for now so we can get some sleep, and we’ll look forward to seeing more of you later. You boys bring her around so your mother can make dinner for all of us. There’s a lot we need to discuss.”
Eric waved as his fathers dragged his mother out the door. “What do you think he wants to discuss?”
“He wants us to move home,” said David.
“Ahh, well, we’ll cross that bridge when the road runs out. But they have the right idea.” He put his arm around Laynee. “Let’s take our woman home and get some sleep.”
* * * *
&nbs
p; Maddie knocked on the door to Remus’s office and stuck her head inside. “Koril and Macon are here to see you.”
“Send them in.”
“If it’s about Laynee, I wanna stick around.”
Remus grinned. “Absolutely, Alpha Femm. You’re entitled to sit in on any business regarding the pack’s females.”
Maddie turned away. “Damn straight!”
A minute later, Koril walked in followed closely by Macon and Maddie. “Please sit down, gentlemen, and tell me what you’ve discovered.”
Koril took the chair closest to the desk. “You’re not gonna like it. The young lady’s father definitely tried to kill her.”
“Why,” Maddie asked. “How could a parent do anything to harm their child?”
Koril looked at Macon. “You did the legwork on this one. Go ahead and tell them what you found out.”
Remus watched the young man and marveled at how his pack had changed since his brothers mated with Kitania. They’d brought a whole new dimension to their family. This slender, blond man resembled a child, even though he was nearing his thirtieth year. He’d only seen him shift a few times, and the sight of his hawk in flight never failed to take his breath away. He could see the young man trembling slightly. “Relax, Macon. You’re doing a fine job for the pack, and I couldn’t be more pleased with your work. Tell me what you found out about Laynee’s father.”
Macon nodded, took a deep breath, and relaxed back into his chair. “Basically, it boils down to one word. Money! The young lady’s grandfather recently died and left her his entire estate.” He leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees. “We’re not talking about leaving her his stamp collection. The man left her his estate in St. Paul, stock and bonds, and a bank account bringing his total worth to somewhere in the neighborhood of three million dollars.”
“Holy cow!” Maddie cried. “That’s a pretty nice neighborhood.”
“That’s a pretty valid reason for wanting to get rid of her.” Remus tapped his pen on his desk. “I’m guessing he’s her only living relative and would inherit if she dies.”
“Yes, sir. But there’s more.” Macon glanced at Koril and then back at Remus. “Seems Daddy likes to gamble. Horses, cars, blackjack, doesn’t matter what. He just likes gambling. Unfortunately, he sucks at it.”
Remus chuckled. “How much?”
“Right now, a quarter of a million, but that amount grows almost daily. He’s staying ahead of the payments, but he’s got nowhere near enough to pay them off.”
“How’s he staying ahead?” asked Remus.
“Well, some of this is theory at this point, but I should have proof by the weekend. I believe he’s been playing footsie with some of the larger accounts at that brokerage firm he works for. I think he had good intentions of paying them back before the old man died, but he got careless and somebody stumbled on to his creative bookkeeping.”
“Who?” Remus asked.
“One of his associates, Jeremy Poole.”
Remus threw down his pen. “What makes you think Jeremy was onto him?”
“I discreetly talked to some of the secretaries there, and they thought it was strange that out of the blue, Jeremy and Robert started spending a lot of time together. I think that once Jeremy found the discrepancies, he confronted Robert Conners and demanded hush money.” Macon pulled a small tablet from his shirt pocket and flipped it open. “Jeremy has made three ten-thousand-dollar cash deposits to his personal account in the last two months.” He looked up at Remus. “I think he’s blackmailing Laynee’s father. With the threat of his crimes going public, the old guy must have been jumping for joy when his father-in-law died.”
Koril laid his hand on Macon’s arm. “Tell him about the lawyer.”
“Her father tried to sign the papers with the attorney handling the old man’s estate, claiming to be her legal guardian since she was disabled. Up until a few weeks ago, he actually was her guardian. She turned twenty-one, and she’s working for wages at that fancy school she grew up in. In any court, that would make her responsible for herself, and he wouldn’t give her father access to her funds.”
“How’d you find out about that?” Maddie asked. “Lawyers are usually notorious for keeping confidentiality.”
“And secretaries are notorious for spilling their guts over a free lunch.”
Remus snickered. “So our newest pack member is rich. That’s gonna cause trouble for the three of them.”
“Why would that be trouble?” Maddie asked.
“Because she’s gonna want to spend money on them, and they’re not gonna want to touch her funds. It’s gonna get ugly at some point.” Remus turned to Koril. “Suggestions, gentlemen?”
“We need to know for certain that Macon’s scenario is right, and then we need to expose the crime so he goes down for it. The only way she’ll feel safe is if he’s behind bars.”
“What about Jeremy?” asked Remus. “He was there when they left her to die.” Macon looked at Koril, a question in his eyes. “Just tell me what you’re thinking, Macon. You don’t need Koril’s permission to speak your mind. I wanna know what you’d do about the situation.”
Macon turned a hard look on Remus. “I’d take them both out of the picture. Any man who’d leave a defenseless blind girl in the woods for the wild animals to dispose of doesn’t deserve to live. They’re expendable.”
Remus watched the young security officer for any signs of doubt. His eyes were bright, his hands steady. He couldn’t ask for a better pack security officer. “Koril, do you concur?” He knew that disposing of their enemies was always Koril’s first reaction, but the wanted it said so the young man knew he had their backing.
“Eliminate them. It’s the best for everybody involved.”
“What about Laynee?” asked Maddie. “Are you gonna tell her you’re executing her father?”
Remus’s eyes widened in surprise when Macon turned to his mate. “I’ll make sure it looks like an accident, and you won’t have to say a thing.”
“No, son, that’s not the way to handle this.”
“What’d you have in mind, Maddie?” asked Remus.
“It’s not our decision to make. Laynee’s an adult, and it should be her decision.”
* * * *
Laynee draped her towel over the bar behind the door and reached for the clothes she’d left beside the sink. She’d spent the day with David and Eric, even agreeing to take a nap with them in the early part of the afternoon, although she hadn’t closed her eyes. If she didn’t know better, she’d think the two of them were producing heavy pheromones. She’d never been so physically attracted to anyone. When the three of them returned from their long walk, David had marched her straight to the bedroom with orders for her to relax in a warm bath, and they would have a surprise for her when she came out.
Quickly, she pulled the borrowed shirt over her head and sighed. “I wish I had my own clothes. I don’t even know if what I’m wearing matches or not.” Still, it was really nice of Maddie to loan her so many things. Eric and David had such a nice family, well, all except for Lyssa. “I wonder if they realize just how lucky they are.” She thought back to her last encounter with Lyssa. “Not sure what her problem is, but she was sure different when she came back to the house.” When she touched her, she didn’t feel sad anymore. It was more like satisfaction, or a sense of accomplishment. “I wonder what happened to get rid of her deep-seated sadness.”
She’d just finished getting dressed when a knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.
“Hey, pretty lady. Are you about done?” David asked.
“Just give me a minute to run a comb through my hair and I’ll be right there.”
The door opened. “Would you let me do that for you?”
She smiled and held out the comb. “Sure, if you’d like.”
He took the comb from her hand and moved to stand behind her. He started at the bottom and began working the tangles out little at a time. “You have b
eautiful hair, Laynee. There are dozens of different shades of yellow that all blend together and fall sensuously down your back.”
Lyssa laughed awkwardly. “I’ve never heard it described quite that way. My instructors have been after me to cut it for quite a while now, but I’m not willing to do that.”
“Why would they want you to cut your hair?”
“Probably because I haven’t mastered the art of braiding it on my own. They don’t think it’s dignified for a teacher to run around with hair falling over her shoulders, and they don’t like fixing my braids when they don’t come out just right.”
“I don’t mean this in a bad way, but why would they even care? Aren’t your students blind?”
“Yes, so that leaves me with the conclusion that the teachers don’t like the way I look. Lucky for me, they haven’t pressed the issue.” She let her head fall back as the plastic teeth of the comb scraped gently over her scalp, giving her goose bumps. The rhythmic pull felt so good. She sighed and stifled a groan when he let his fingers run through the strands, stopping to massage the base of her neck.
“I left a rubber band on the sink. Could you hand it to me?”
“Here you go.”
She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and used the rubber band to hold it in place.
He leaned close to her ear, his lips brushing the lobe as he whispered. “You ready for a little dinner? Eric and I have set up a picnic in front of the fireplace.”
She shivered. “That sounds really romantic. Let’s go.”
His fingers closed around her arm at the same time one of his hands slid around her back. He urged her forward. “We’ve definitely got romance on our minds.”
When they entered the living room, she heard the crackle and pop of the fire right before she smelled the smoke from the wood blaze.
“Bring our pretty dinner companion over here, David. I’ve made a nice, soft place for her to relax while we serve her.”
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