by Barb Shuler
“Have you seen him since?”
“He came in a few times. After the last time, my team was told that he was not allowed in again.”
“What happened the last time?”
“He was relentlessly trying to get me to sell the bar back to him. I don’t think he was at all happy that I had succeeded where he had failed. He offered me more money, almost double the original price. I told him no and that if hell froze over and I did sell it back to him, then the staff I had hired would be coming with me. He could put his criminals and sleazy assholes back on. Angus had been watching us and when Peter went to take a step toward me, Angus took him out the door.”
“Does Dalton know about this?”
“Do you think he would still be breathing if he did? Can I ask, what is this all about?”
“It’s still too early to tell. I have been going over months of footage, emails, and anything else I can find since I got in yesterday. I think he might have had something to do with Josh, but I just can’t find the link between the two. I also don’t know how the one who hurt you fits into this. None of them seem to have ever crossed paths. I need to look deeper into them all.”
I nodded. I didn’t like the feeling that was now lingering. Liam got up and left my office, passing Dalton on his way out the door.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, boss, just had to ask Mia a few things.” They looked at each other in a moment of silent communication, then Liam said he needed to get back to the office next door. Dalton followed after him, obviously not liking the lack of explanation.
“I’ll be back, baby, then we can go home and relax.”
I nodded, but I knew as soon as he was gone, I was out of this chair. There was something I wasn’t being told and I had a feeling that I needed to know it. They just didn’t think I could handle it. Walking out into the hall, I quietly moved to the door and listened.
“What are you not saying, Liam?”
“I didn’t want to worry her, not without you taking the brunt of it first. The guy who was sent here to cause trouble? If you go down to the local post office, you’ll see his photo on the Most Wanted board. He’s wanted for raping and murdering women all across America. I’m trying to find the link, and I’m almost certain it stems back to the old owner of this place, but I needed a little more information out of Mia first.”
“Like fucking what?”
“A motive. He doesn’t like being told no. He found someone else who didn’t like that either. Any money, one of them would have been out there waiting for her after her shift.”
I heard Dalton growl.
“Fucking find them. Now! I’m taking her home where I can keep an eye on her.”
“Boss, she isn’t going to like that. Are you going to tell her why you’re holding her hostage at least?”
“Nope.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I gave him a ‘busted’ look when the door opened fully and they saw me standing there.
“Oh, really? Is that how our relationship is going to work?”
“Don’t start, Mia, get your stuff. We’re going home.”
“Do not try and tell me what to do, Dalton. Remember who you are dealing with. I am not some pathetic little girl who needs the big bad wolf to save her.”
“Mia, this isn’t up for discussion. Neither is bringing in MY guys.”
“Oh, hell no! That is up for discussion! It’s not happening, Dalton. Have them surrounding the place, I don’t care. They are not to step foot in this place, okay! I mean it. They do and you will seem like a fucking puppy compared to me! I am not doing that to Jayden!”
“So you want me to risk everyone’s safety? For reasons you won’t tell me?”
“I can’t tell you, Dalton, it is not my story to tell. She can’t be around shifters she doesn’t know. You need to just accept that and leave it as you and Liam in here.”
“What am I supposed to do?! Leave it?”
“No, I told you, have them stay outside. Guard from the outside if you insist on bringing them in. Don’t make me tell the guys to refuse them entry. They may be your men, but this is still MY bar. You want to come in and run things? Over my dead body. While my name is on that deed, I control who comes in and who doesn’t. Keep. Them. Outside!”
“Mia, I can’t. I’m sorry.”
“Not yet, but you will be.”
Turning on my heel, I walked into my office and slammed the door shut. I stalked over to my bookcase and pulled down a book. It was a leather-bound book that was more than met the eye. If anyone else was looking, their eyes would skim straight over this as if it wasn’t there. I flipped it open to the page I was looking for. I had used this spell once before. It kept anyone of Supernatural blood out of the location that I put it on. I would have to alter this to allow Dalton and Liam access, but mind you, with the way I was feeling about Dalton, he could stay out there with the rest of his pack for all I cared. He was forcing my hand.
Moving to my desk, I unlocked and opened my bottom drawer. Moving some things out of the way, I put a smaller key into a compartment and pulled out a map of this place, placing it down on my desk. I set a candle down on top of it, which had been infused with a few oils that would aid in keeping them out. I lit the candlewick and crossed my legs under me. Dalton knew not to come near me when I was pissed off, so it would buy me a little time. Closing my eyes, I let myself fall into a deep meditation, clearing my mind of everything. I opened them back up again and looked into the flame, thinking the words of my spell. I knew if I said them out loud, the door would be open before I could finish. I needed to do this. I needed to keep Jayden safe. Not that these guys would hurt her, but if put in the situation, she could go into a major panic attack and hurt herself. I had protected her for too long. Taking a deep breath, I started.
Thank you, Goddess, for giving me your power. I ask that you watch over me and guide me in my ritual. I ask for your help in keeping my sister safe. Not only from others but from herself. I call upon the ancient lines to help keep this space free of Supernatural blood that is not invited in by me. I ask that they not be allowed to enter the line around the perimeter without my permission. I call upon you now to seek help in strengthening the protection on this bar and the people inside it.
The words repeated in my head three times before the candle snuffed out. Putting everything back in the drawer, I locked it up again and put my files over the top of it. Closing the book in front of me, I returned it to the shelf. Dalton would find out and he was gonna be pissed. I know he was just trying to keep me and the girls safe, but he and Liam could do that. There was no getting him to see reason when he was like this. I told him he would be sorry. I warned him not to push me. I did what I had to do.
Dalton and I kept our distance from each other. The more stubborn I was, the more he would push back. Right now, I was digging in and refusing to budge. I almost didn’t want to be in the same town as him when he found out what I had done because he was going to lose it and there would be no calming him down. I wasn’t sorry for my actions, though. I would do it again in a heartbeat. It was about time he learned how to compromise. He had one guy on the inside, two if you included him. The rest were just fine out the outside. If Dalton and Liam couldn’t handle it, then we had bigger problems than a spell I put on the place.
The drive home was silent. Once we hit the house, I was thankful we didn’t have neighbors because round two started again. We were talking in circles, going over the same shit, and neither of us were backing down. This only pissed me off more. I tried to get him to calm the fuck down and go for a run, but the son of a bitch was being a stubborn bastard. He wanted to be in my face, pushing my buttons. Until he was in my face, kissing the fight right out of me.
Once our lips connected in a heated kiss, my body pressed against him as his fingers dug into my hips. I left my nails digging into his back as we made up.
Two days of making up that made me thankful that I didn’
t open the bar at the beginning of the week so that I could enjoy Dalton and our bed. That was, until he found out what I had done...
13
Dalton
Over the last two days, Mia and I have made up many times, and I have been able to pull my wolf back into control. I can’t guarantee he’ll stay that way, but as Kody would joke, I made the bastard heel for now. Shaking my head, I slid on the black tactical gear Ty had thrown my way. One thing I could say about my guys, they were always prepared. I’d left Liam at the bar, in the office watching monitors and keeping an eye on the girls. Simon and his men were on a rotation of inside and outside perimeters, and I had Max and Kody watching outside. If anything happened, I had plenty of men on hand to handle it.
Using the information Liam had, we now knew where this Peter Sinclair lived. Ty and I were going to do a little recon, get a good look around his home office, and see if we could find some dirt on him. We needed a tie to Josh and the asshole that hurt Mia. We found the note in the locker Josh had used, so that much was at least true, but the tone of the note led me to believe that Josh knew more than he’d told us…and since my wolf shredded him, we’d not uncover those secrets.
We parked on the outskirts of town, a half mile from our target, which sat off the main highway leading in and out of Stark Creek. It wasn’t much to look at, but from the satellite images Liam acquired, there were three out buildings set back from the house, along with a detached two car garage.
The man had to sell his business, yet he lived on all this acreage with cars and SUVs in and out all day. I smell bullshit. I gave in and called Sy. I wanted him to know what was going on before we went in. Just in case things went south.
“Dalton, how's it hangin’, bro?”
“First off, I ain’t your bro. Secondly, it’s hanging bigger and heavier than yours. Look, we are about to do a B&E at Peter Sinclair’s house. This is just a courtesy call in case Mia calls you later to help us out of a jam.”
“She told me she was doing good. Though it’s been a few days since I talked to her. Maybe—”
“Sylvester, stay with me here,” I growled. “We think Peter Sinclair is trying to run Mia out of her bar. Be on the ready in case we need you.”
“You can’t just go breaking into someone’s house. For fuck—”
I ended the call and slid my phone into my pocket. I didn’t need him to tell me what I could and couldn’t do. He wasn’t a part of this equation.
With a chin lift, I took off toward the tree line. We ran, our footfalls silent as we jumped the bushes and the fence on the edge of the property. I scanned the yard, while Ty did the same at my side. No one was out here, no heartbeats sounded from inside.
We moved across the yard slowly to the back door. Ty dropped to one knee, pulled out his kit, and went to work on the lock.
This place was as neat as a show home, but one thing was for sure; this asshole had a lot to hide. No one lived this clean. No one had desks worth more than a rent check if they were broke and selling off assets. Something was fishy here.
I searched the bookcases - nothing. The safe, which was open, had nothing of importance. The last place to check was the desk. This monster had drawers and doors and everything was nice and neat…but I knew better. I crawled up under it and mashed, pressing my fingers into the back of each door and cupboard. That’s when I found it.
He definitely had something to hide. I was elbow deep on the desk’s back hidden drawer when I heard Ty curse. His angry growl had me hurrying to see what was happening. I’d just grabbed a handful of papers when he came into the office. His loud steps echoed in the room.
“Wait. Max! Shut the fuck up for a minute. Jesus!”
“What’s going on?” I asked, getting to my feet.
“I can’t fucking get into the bar! You don’t understand. Something is keeping me out. There were women screaming, people rushing out. I can’t get in!”
“What the hell happened?”
“There’s a fight or something going on. I don’t fucking know. Liam isn’t answering me! Kody can’t get in either!”
I grunted. Ty’s eyes jerked up to meet mine then dropped again. I folded the papers and shoved them into my pocket, pulled my phone out and hit Mia’s number. By the time I was out of the office and heading for the back door, her voicemail was beeping. I hung up and called Liam. His call went to voicemail.
“Mia, what did you do!”
I was running back toward the truck before I knew what I was doing. Ty ran up behind me.
“I talked to Simon. There was a bar fight. Only person hurt was the asshole who started it. Cops are coming in to pick him up.”
I said nothing as I climbed into the truck. I was counting in my head, trying to keep my wolf from taking over. She and the girls could have been in trouble…I wasn’t there. I left fucking guards and she blocked them—keeping them out! I was going to tan that little witch’s butt!
My fists balled tight, my nails biting into my palms as they started to extend. She did a fucking spell. On my guys! How in the blue fuck was I going to keep the people in her care safe if she blocked out the men there to protect them! What the fuck was she thinking!
“Boss?”
I couldn’t open up. Not yet. My wolf was so close to the surface, one wrong blink and Ty would end up with a cab full of pissed-off wolf.
I shook my head. Didn’t we just run into this situation? I pulled my phone back out and hit Liam’s number.
“Boss. Every—”
“Where. Is. She?”
My words were a growl, but it wasn’t me still, it was my wolf. I was losing control of him again. The fleabag was really pissing me off, but Mia—oh, she had top spot right now.
“Boss, she’s safe. I swear it. She’s talking to the cops. Jayden and one of the other girls is with her giving a statement.”
He said my girl was fine. I trusted him to tell it to me straight. I took in a deep breath and let it out. That wasn’t working. I still felt as if I were about to burst out of my skin.
“Dalton,” Liam’s voice lowered slightly, “you need to get yourself together before you get back here. Don’t—”
“Don’t what!” I snarled.
“He’s trying to tell you to not go in there and act like a bossy bastard. Mia will light your ass on fire if you do. She must have a reason for being—for keeping them out.”
Ty gave me a hard look, but I shook my head. No, it wasn’t that simple. Not after everything that’s happened over the last few weeks.
“I don’t fucking understand her! She knows good and damn well that shits going up around her, and this is what she does? Someone tries to hurt her…a fucking serial rapist of all goddamn people, and she keeps out my guys, the pack. The men that I entrust to keep her safe!”
As my anger surged, my phone paid the price. It was crushed in my hand.
“Man, you need to calm down. I get it, I do, but Dalton, your wolf…”
I knew what he was not willing to say. My wolf was taking over again and I just couldn’t fight it anymore. I was strung tighter than a kite in a windstorm. How was I going to keep my girl, my mate, safe if she wouldn’t let me? What in the hell could I possibly do to make this any better?
When we turned onto the street leading to the bar, I saw the police lights were gone. There were a few cars in the lot, but it looked like everyone else was gone. Good. Less witnesses. When the truck was parked, I jumped out.
I was going to have a chat with a certain little witch.
Both Max and Kody started my way but came up short. I stalked to the back door, pressed in my code not once but twice, and the bastard door wouldn’t open. I took a calming breath, did it again, and let the scanner roll over my thumb before it finally unlocked. When I pulled the door open, I pulled a little too hard. Not only did I bend the handle, but the bottom of the door came off the hinges.
Fuck! I’d fix it later. Tyson tried to follow me in, but he too was blocked. An invisible wa
ll pushed them back.
“MIA!”
The snarl that accompanied her name vibrated across the walls as my boot steps pounded further up the hall toward the main bar area. My wolf was pushing me forward. He needed to see her—to see for myself that she was okay. Hug her. Spank her ass. Take her home and fuck her until she was as limp as a noodle.
I wrenched the door open separating the bar from the back, breaking off the handle as I stormed through.
“Boss!” Liam moved to stand in my path, worry written on his features. “The humans,” he said, his voice dropping to where only I could hear him.
“Where. Is. She?”
He didn’t have to answer, I saw her then, behind the bar with Jayden. My eyes narrowed and smartly he moved. The room quickly cleared of everyone but Mia and Jayden.
I felt when Liam came back in, but he stayed back. Shows you, cats can learn new tricks.
I stalked to the bar, my growl rumbling up through my chest as I got a good look at this defiant little witch of mine. She looked fine. Her cheeks were a little flushed, and she was glaring at me.
“Mia, come here, please.”
“Not happening.”
“We need to have a chat, my little witch.”
“Talk where you are.”
I moved closer, my hands pressing into the bar. It was taking all I had in me to keep on this side of the bar. I wanted to scoop her up and run her back home. I was fighting my own anger and the wolf’s. The bastard thought he had a say in this.
My eyes were burning and I knew he was looking out of them, inspecting every inch of her he could see.
“You’ve been a bad little witch!” I growled as I climbed up on the bar, ready to jump it and steal her away.
“Keep it up, wolf, and you’ll be kept outside too! This is my bar, I will protect it and my girls the way I need to! I told you, your guys can’t come in here! You didn’t ask, you ordered it. I don’t take orders from you!”