Seven Years s-1

by Dannika Dark

  Jericho waltzed by me and lifted a box of matches from the bar. “Emphatically. It’s his wolf I don’t trust. Denver has control over his animal and doesn’t shift on emotions, so she’s safe with him. But don’t ever let that child near his wolf. He’s loco.”

  * * *

  I decompressed in the shower and allowed the hot water to rinse away my salty tears. While I had no physical marks from the attack, the emotional ones left behind became fingerprints that would never wash away.

  I’d never seen it coming.

  I kept analyzing our relationship to see if there were any signs that Beckett was capable of that level of violence, but he’d only been aggressive with other men. He obsessed over professional wrestling, and sometimes I wondered if he took the job as a bouncer just to push people around and feel superior. Off the clock is when he got in the most fights, and usually it was after a few beers if he spotted some guy talking to me. But he never actually pushed me around, quite the opposite, in fact. Outside of his infidelity, I thought Beckett loved me.

  Maybe too much.

  His behavior had started to change after we split, with phone calls and confrontations. Losing me didn’t seem to push him over the edge as much as the thought of another man in my life. And being as drunk as he was…

  Then the memory of his death slammed into me like a train. I shouldn’t have felt guilty for someone who tried to choke me on a blanket of rose petals and glass, but I did. Then I got angry and threw a bottle of shampoo against the wall, hating him with every fiber of my being. Rage poured through me as I shut the water off and tore down the shower curtain—the rod clamoring on the tile. I growled, sobbed, and made guttural noises—gripping the edge of the tub and letting the pain consume me.

  Denver called my name from outside the door and I heard Austin’s wolf viciously snarl.

  “You okay in there?” he yelled.

  Was I?

  Had Austin not showed up and forced me to shift, I would have died. My mother would have had to bury another child.

  I kept to myself for the rest of the morning before talking with my mom. She seemed to accept the facts more easily than I did on what I was. Later that afternoon, she put on a brisket, preparing to floor these men with her world-class cooking. I stirred the potato salad while sitting at the table, but I was in no mood to cook. It was also hard maneuvering around the kitchen with Austin’s wolf at my feet.

  He never once left my side since the moment I woke up.

  Denver said Austin had showed up at my apartment to keep an eye on me. I wondered if he felt guilty and that’s why he wouldn’t shift back. When I asked Denver why he thought I didn’t shift during the attack, he shrugged. Said it happens sometimes with the new ones, especially when mixed signals are sent to the wolf.

  Once the brisket was in the oven, Mom went to take a nap with Maizy. It was hot that day, and the cicadas were singing in rhythm as the afternoon sun baked everything in sight. I sat in a lawn chair in the front yard with my legs browning in the sun, trying to shake off the attack. I noticed someone had parked my car next to Denver’s yellow truck and had given it a wax and shine.

  It was then I decided my mom would have to stay with Austin. Until my father was caught and this whole thing was resolved, she wouldn’t be safe living by herself. Judging by the way he had treated Maizy, my dad wanted nothing to do with his kids.

  At the end of the road, a white car approached and Austin’s wolf trotted off the porch with his head low. The car parked on the right side of the driveway and a man who looked to be in his fifties waited inside, staring at the wolf apprehensively.

  “Austin,” I called out. “Let him out so we can see who it is.”

  His black wolf hopped on the porch and sat beside me. Denver was the only other pack member on the property, and he was snoozing in the atrium with his earbuds on.

  A stocky man wearing a pale blue dress shirt and red tie stepped out of the car. “I’m looking for Alexia Knight.”

  “Who wants to know?”

  He shut the door, leaning against the hood as he stared at the wolf. “My name is Tom Gardner and I’m Charles Langston’s attorney,” he said with a southern drawl. His refined accent that told me he was from money. “I spoke with your neighbor, Miss James, after talking with one of your coworkers. It took a little convincing, but she gave me this address. I need to speak with you on legal matters. Do you mind locking your dog away?”

  “He won’t hurt you,” I promised, grabbing a tuft of Austin’s fur. I should have reconsidered handling an alpha, but I needed to communicate to him that he had to behave. This guy didn’t seem like a threat. “Come up on the porch and have a seat,” I said, squinting at the afternoon sun.

  He tucked a brown satchel that looked a million years old beneath his arm and cautiously approached, not showing fear in front of the black wolf. But I could tell the sweat on his brow wasn’t from the sun. He took the farthest seat on the left and Austin’s wolf sat down in front of my chair.

  “It’s with great regret that I must inform you Mr. Langston is deceased.”

  My heart stammered and I covered my mouth. “What? Oh my God.”

  He gave me a moment to digest the news and I took a seat beside him, staring at my shoes, my forearms on my knees. “I just can’t believe it.”

  “He’s been ill for some time, and we’ve discussed his future at great length. I do apologize you had to hear it from me, but I seem to be the bearer of bad news today as I had to call up his sister this morning. Not the standard protocol, but we became friends and I was there in the end. Charles was a very well-liked guy around my office. He always brought the girls a little something from his store.” Mr. Gardner put the satchel on his lap and pulled out a short stack of clipped papers. “His only family is an estranged sister who lives out of state, and he’s expressed no desire to pass on any inheritance to her. Mr. Langston drew up a detailed last will and testament, which he wanted me to bring to your attention immediately upon his death. His fear was that you’d quit the shop and time is of the essence due to the nature of the company.”

  “What do you mean?” None of this was registering for me, because while I’d known Charlie for seven years, we’d never discussed anything beyond my paycheck when it came to the business.

  “I’m not here to gussy this up, ma’am. Mr. Langston signed over the business and most of his money to you. His house will go to a young family he met a year ago when donating to a homeless charity, along with enough money to pay bills and taxes for a year. After that, they can sell it for the money if they choose.”

  My jaw hung open and I barely heard the last words he said. “He left it all to me? I think you made a mistake.”

  “No,” he countered. “It’s all in these signed documents. He has quite a list of instructions and advice he left behind in print and on a flash drive.” Mr. Gardner reached in his back pocket and fished out a small plastic flash drive and placed it in my hand. Austin growled but made no attempt to move. “He wasn’t a rich man, so the money in his account won’t get you far with the business if you’re not pulling in a profit. Have you ever managed a company before?” he asked in a curious tone.

  I shook my head. And then the tears started to come. Charlie was the kind of guy I could have envisioned as my dad. We weren’t close, but he always gave me good advice and made sure I’d enjoyed working for him. He used to be in the shop four days a week, but in the last couple of years, Charlie felt it was time he allow us to manage things on our own so he could focus on other business matters.

  Little did I know that matter was cancer.

  Mr. Gardner continued. “He said there’s a bright young lady working in the shop who has a head for business that he suggested you keep around. He was concerned about you getting in a financial pitfall, which is why it’s imperative you read over his instructions. He was fairly confident the shop would stay afloat and was pulling in a decent profit. I have papers I need you to read carefully and sign
. I’ll leave them with you and you can schedule a meeting with me when you’re ready to discuss this further.”

  The sound of wind chimes in the distance floated in the breeze. A fly landed on his hand briefly before he shooed it away with a wave of his arm.

  I tried to swallow but my throat was dry. “Did they bury him already?”

  “He asked to be cremated; didn’t want anyone fussing over him and he didn’t think anyone would have come to the funeral.”

  I covered my face with my hands and quietly wept. Mr. Gardner’s voice couldn’t have been less somber, which made delivering the news even sharper against my heart. Austin’s wolf licked my fingers and I finally wiped my cheeks and pulled a strand of long hair away from my wet lashes.

  “He wanted his ashes to be spread across the Grand Canyon.” Mr. Gardner stretched his legs out and watched a lone cloud painted against the blue sky. “He talked about how that river carved away the land and he wanted to be a part of something that’s everlasting.”

  After wiping my nose and regaining my composure, I looked apprehensively at the balding attorney. “I need time to look this over. I’m just not sure Charlie was in his right frame of mind when he made this decision.”

  “Well, if it’s any consolation, he thought highly of you. It wasn’t like he was forced to pass off the business; he had other options. But that was his first request and he wanted to make it happen. He said you had a…” Mr. Gardner reached for the right words. “He said you had a nose for business. Mr. Langston felt you could take it wherever it needed to go, and only wished he could have stuck around to see what you’ll do with it. Well, I need to head out.”

  He glanced at his watch and stood up, eyeing the wolf. “My number is on the card clipped on the top. Regardless of what you decide, we’ll have another meeting to discuss this in detail with any questions you might have. Oh, and something else,” he began with a short chuckle. “He told me to tell you that you don’t have to wear those fruity earrings anymore if you don’t want to. I’m not sure what that means, but he wanted me to let you know.”

  Tom hesitated, waiting for the wolf to move and I motioned Austin with my eyes and he complied, allowing the lawyer to pass.

  “Y’all have a good afternoon,” he said, walking back to his car and wiping his sweaty forehead with a handkerchief.

  My heart ached for Charlie, and I only wished I could have seen him one last time. I wondered if he knew how much he meant to me. But why did he do this? How could he leave something so important in my incapable hands? That got me scared, and I needed to talk to April. She would be able to keep me from going into a full-blown freak-out.

  I leaned back and stared at Austin. He rested his chin on the arm of my chair and I got lost in his clear blue eyes.

  “How long are you going to stay that way? Because I’m starting to feel like you’re avoiding me.” I patted his nose. “Anyone ever tell you that your breath stinks?” Nothing riled him up. “I could take you to the pet store and have them clip your toenails and paint them pink.”

  He snorted angrily and grunted, circling around the porch.

  Then I suddenly felt a tingle between my legs and slid down in my chair a little bit. Maybe it was the hot afternoon sun, but damn if I didn’t feel… turned on. Austin’s wolf was making a peculiar sound of distress while pacing back and forth, as if he were guarding me from invisible predators.

  When it passed, I took the papers inside and laid down for a nap.

  Chapter 24

  Everyone gathered in the kitchen to devour Mom’s succulent homemade brisket. The small table only seated six, so Ben and Wheeler ate at the counter while the rest of us sat down. Austin’s wolf trotted out of the room.

  Mom was still shaken up about Maizy having been left on the side of the road and every so often, I caught that look in her eyes a mother gets when they’ve come close to losing the most precious thing to them. I admired her courage and resilience for all she had been through in the last week, and I guess like me, she valued family even more because of it.

  During dinner, I noticed Maizy hiding her meat beneath her mashed potatoes. Denver waltzed over to the microwave and heated up a hot dog. Her eyes brightened when he dropped it on her plate and she hunched over with a big smile on her face, looking like she had just gotten away with something. Maybe she had. He appeared satisfied with himself, although he tried to hide it from the guys. Maybe it wasn’t a “cool guy” thing to have a little girl think you were the best thing since peanut butter and jelly. Despite his idiotic methods, I trusted Denver with her more than I did the others. Reno was too rough around the edges and I still didn’t know what to make of the twins. Wheeler was the smarter of the two, though you’d never know it by all the tattoos, not to mention he seemed to be a moodier guy than his brother.

  Jericho mentioned getting another tattoo and my mom told him he already had one too many.

  “Boys, we’re going to be staying the night out,” Austin announced, walking into the room with a swagger I couldn’t help but admire. His dark jeans were loose (in a good way) and his tight black shirt was tucked in, showing off a nice leather belt with a silver buckle.

  Jericho whistled mockingly.

  “Who’s we?” I asked.

  “Me and you. Let’s go.” He flicked an icy glare at Jericho, who had scooted his chair right beside me—so close our arms touched. Reno took the spot on my left and everyone else looked spread out. I guess I didn’t think about how it might look to be sandwiched between his brothers until Austin came in and made me aware of it.

  The extra space at the table allowed them room to move down, but they chose to sit right beside me. I just thought they were being consolatory because of the recent attack.

  “Why should I go?” I looked at Austin and he gave me the look. I didn’t really need an answer because I knew where he was going with this. The tingling had been coming and going with more frequency over the past few hours. Maybe I was just hormonal, but either way, I didn’t want to stick around and find out.

  I got up from the table. “Going out, Mom. There’re a few movies in my bag if Maizy gets bored.”

  We had spent the past hour talking about my dad. She didn’t think he’d come back for her and even if he did, I doubted he stood a chance against the Cole brothers. Anyhow, he had no idea Austin was back in town, nor would he think to show up here.

  Damn, Austin was doing his lean on the frame of the kitchen doorway and I got the shivers again just looking at how snug his shirt was. I could almost see his abs through the thin fabric, and the bold ink patterns on his upper arms were so striking I wondered if it had hurt to get them.

  Jericho snaked his arm around my upper leg and nestled against me. “Stay with us,” he said in sweet, syrupy words, nuzzling into my shirt. “I’ll play my guitar and sing a song for you.”

  Austin crossed the room before I could reply. He gripped the back of Jericho’s chair and pulled it out, dumping him on the floor. “I think we all know what’s up, boys. You need to learn to put that in check, because our numbers will grow. And now that we have another female in the house, let me reiterate to you all that respect is something we live and die by when it comes to one of our own.”

  He meant Ivy. She’d passed on dinner and gone to lie down in one of the twin’s rooms. I had a feeling she was having adjustment problems and needed time to herself. The house really closed in on you after a while with all these men.

  “Come on, Lexi. Let’s go,” he said, holding out his hand.

  Something restrained flickered in his eyes—something hot. When I took his hand, I gasped at the warmth and saw a muscle twitch in his cheek. He had already packed an overnight bag for me and loaded up the car.

  When we drove off, I finally asked, “Where are you taking me?”

  “It’s a surprise.” Austin flipped on the radio and we listened to Bush singing about breathing in and breathing out. Which was exactly what I was doing. I rolled the window down, ho
ping if I was leaking any kind of sex perfume, the outside air would keep Austin from having to put up with it.

  He pulled up to a stretch of property that reminded me of how Ivan’s house was set up, with a generous amount of cleared land in front and a thicket of woods around the back. It looked like a mansion, but not pretentious. The square windows were fogged over and needed replacing. They showed signs of wear, as shutters were broken and pulled away by time. A covered porch ran along the front and around the sides with a balcony off one of the rooms on the second floor. It looked like there was an attic, but I couldn’t tell from the front. I could imagine how beautiful impatiens and roses would look on the top balcony in the springtime. It must have been a grand place in its prime.

  “Is this the house you were talking about buying?”

  “I bought it,” he confirmed, switching off the radio. He brushed a strand of hair away from my face and melted me with his pale eyes. “Are you okay? You know what I mean. We haven’t really talked about what happened with Beckett.”

  It wasn’t cold but I shivered. “I’m still trying to process it. I’m not sure I want to deal with it right now.”

  “Well, stuff like that messes with your head. So whenever you’re ready to talk, I’m here. Doesn’t matter if we can heal or not; some scars are beneath the skin and mark us in ways we least expect.”

  “Thanks.”

  He shut off the engine while I gaped at the house. “This is our new home,” he said. “You were right; the other place wasn’t me.”

  “Why were you at my apartment the night Beckett came over?”

  His fingers tightened around the steering wheel. “Just wanted to check up on you. Make sure you didn’t need anything.”

  “Is that all?” I glared at him because it sure didn’t feel like all. He clammed up and I got mad. “Tell me lies, Austin,” I said, mimicking the song we had listened to on the way over. I slammed the door and stormed up the steps.

  “Lexi, wait,” I heard him call out from behind. “Don’t run off before I explain.”