Authors: Lynn Hagen
Clyde’s truck pulled into the parking lot at that very moment. He could see that Clyde was returning the kids and the two juveniles. The werebear got out, followed by Trisha and Peanut. Miguel climbed from the truck, his gaze on Nate and Sasha. The toddler walked halfway to where they were standing and then stopped, staring at them curiously.
“Lucy, I’m home. You have some ’
splaining
to do!” Benito yelled as he hopped from the truck. “Did you guys—” Benito looked from Sasha to Nate, his eyes widening. “What in the hell did I miss?”
“Our lovely family having a reunion,” Miguel said as he tossed an arm over Benito’s shoulder. “We should have made T-shirts. I would love to have one of Sasha trying to eat Nate. It can be our family emblem.”
“Did we come at a bad time?” Clyde asked. “You’re speaking Spanish with a scowl on your face, and your hands are flying all over the place. Who do you want me to kill?”
“No one,” Rick said. He turned back to Nate. “Release Sasha.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Nate bellowed just as Sasha shifted back into his wereleopard form.
“No, I’m not.” Rick closed the distance and grabbed Peanut’s hand just as Nate released the latch and Sasha jumped free, knocking Nate to the ground.
Rick paused in walking and turned to see that Sasha had Nate’s head in a vise grip between his extremely long canines. “Kill him and you’ll regret it, Sasha. Mark my words.”
Selene was standing there with her gun aimed at Sasha’s head and Rick could tell she wanted to pull the trigger.
“Is the kitty cat going to eat the man?” Peanut asked.
Rick quirked a brow at Sasha. The wereleopard alpha slowly removed his canines from pressing into Nate’s skull.
“We need to talk. Go see Freedman about some clothes,” Rick said before walking away with Peanut.
Master vampire Kraven Rubinsky sat on the phone as he strummed his fingers on the desk. “Let me get this straight. You want me to head up the Death Squad? Might I ask when you lost your mind? Have you forgotten I cannot come out in daylight? That career move is not the smartest idea you have had thus far.”
“Are you backing out on our deal?” O’Hanlon asked indignantly. “You told me you would take care of Enrique if all else failed.”
“But risking my very own life was not part of the bargain!” Kraven argued. He had his own agenda for keeping Enrique Marcelo alive. He couldn’t let O’Hanlon have his way and talk him into killing Enrique. He knew that if the Death Squad killed the werewolf alpha, they would come after the vampires next.
Not only that, but Enrique was leading the fight in the rebellion. He was taking care of Kraven’s enemies. If Enrique died, then Kraven would have to take over, and he really did not want to waste his energy on fighting.
He didn’t care enough to fight for the nonhumans. Maybe he needed to feed Enrique a little bit of information. It couldn’t hurt to have his enemy go after O’Hanlon. They might kill each other, and then Kraven would be a happy vampire.
“Then I suggest you come up with someone. It seems humans don’t stand a chance against him. I need someone who equals him in strength and power.”
Yeah, good luck finding that person
. The only people Kraven could think of were vampires, and he wasn’t allowing his species to get involved.
They couldn’t get involved. If the vampires started fighting, then the Death Squad would come after them.
Kraven couldn’t risk that. A thought came to mind, and Kraven damn near laughed out loud at the brilliance. Maybe he could get rid of three people at once. “I can send you the werehyena alpha. Tyson McGovern would be more than happy to hunt Enrique down.”
“Then send him. I need this taken care of immediately. Have him meet me in our usual meeting spot.”
“I’ll send him right to you,” Kraven practically sang as he hung up. Sometimes he was too brilliant for words. If all three of them killed each other, Kraven would throw a celebration.
He wanted to let it slip about O’Hanlon to Enrique, but Kraven knew the werewolf alpha wouldn’t believe a word he said. He had to think of a way that wouldn’t look like Kraven was giving the man the lowdown.
Ah, yes, Kraven did have a guest staying at the club who would be the perfect mole. He could promise Ian regular fixes if the man let him know what was going on with Enrique.
Kraven would send the
Mãos da Morte
, but he used them sparingly. Sooner or later the boogeymen would want blood, and Kraven couldn’t risk killing Enrique. The man was too valuable right now. Once he killed O’Hanlon and Tyson, Kraven would send his special little gifts the werewolf alpha’s way.
Kraven picked the phone up and dialed Tyson’s number. Convincing the man to track down and kill Enrique wasn’t going to be hard. Not when Kraven would remind the man that Edward Costello could possibly be with him.
Some days it paid to be brilliant.
* * * *
Willow grabbed Peanut from Rick and hugged her as she laughed with joy. “I missed you! Why does it look like you’ve grown overnight?”
“’Cause Uncle Clyde made me eat my vegetables. Tell him I don’t have to eat them again!”
Willow smiled as she ran her hands over Harmony’s dark-brown hair. “He’s right.”
“Told ya,” Clyde said as he stuck his tongue out at Peanut, who in turn gave him a raspberry.
“I see Uncle Clyde has taught you a few more things,” Willow said as she set her niece down.
“Did you find him?” Trisha asked. Willow could see the tension in the lines around the teenager’s eyes.
Willow nodded quickly as she grabbed Trisha’s and Peanut’s hands and pulled them inside the motel room. Deluca was on the bed playing peekaboo with Kell. He looked charming as his hands covered his eyes and then the man said
boo
. Kell squealed with laughter, which only made Willow’s heart melt at the scene in front of her and the sounds of the two guys she adored.
Brooke was outside with the others, and Willow wished he was in here with them. Her family was finally coming together.
“He’s handsome,” Trisha said as she dropped down on the bed next to Deluca. Willow was shocked the teenager was comfortable being around the human. Garrett had filled her head with so much garbage that Willow had feared that Trisha would hate everyone except those from her pack.
But the girl sat there next to Deluca playing with Kell. Deluca shot her a smile and then glanced over at Trisha—who gave Deluca a wobbly smile.
Well, at least the girl was trying. It was more than Willow had hoped for.
“My turn!” Peanut yelled. She jumped up onto the bed, but wasn’t very successful. Deluca had to reach down and pull her the rest of the way up. Peanut began to play peekaboo, and Willow laughed when Kell squealed once more.
Deluca was like one of the kids, goofing around and playing with both Kell and Peanut. Trisha was a little stand-offish, but Willow could see the interest to be a part of their play in the teenager’s eyes.
“Okay,” Brooke said as he entered their motel room. “I just talked with Rick and let him know that we are heading to my mom’s house.”
“We are?” Willow asked. Butterflies began to flutter inside her belly. Brooke was taking her home to meet his family. Willow still feared she wouldn’t measure up to Laura’s inspection.
“Yes,” Brooke answered. “I think it would be the safest place for us to go. Me, Deluca, and my family will protect you and the kids.”
“But—” Willow wasn’t quite sure how to say what was on her mind without offending Brooke and Deluca.
“But they are only human?” Brooke guessed. Willow could feel her entire body blushing with embarrassment as she gave a slight nod.
Brooke pulled Willow into his arms, placing a chaste kiss on her lips. “We may only be human, but trust me, dad and pappy don’t mess around when it comes to kids. I feel sorry for anyone who tries to hurt you or them.” Brooke nodded toward the bed.
Willow wanted to argue, but she knew she wasn’t going to win by the determination shining in Brooke’s amethyst eyes. The man was resolute about taking them to his parents’ house.
She knew in her heart that she would always blame herself if anything happened to Brooke’s family. Willow didn’t want to get them involved, but knew Brooke wasn’t going to be swayed into another option.
Patting Brooke on his chest, Willow mustered up a smile. “Then we go to your parents.”
“My mom is going to be thrilled.”
Willow wished she could feel as excited as Brooke sounded. This was a war. The humans were hunting not only her, but Kell, Trisha, and Peanut. This wasn’t going to be a happy reunion. Willow was going to worry constantly that she was putting the nice family in danger, but she couldn’t think of a way out of this.
“Are Benito and Miguel coming?” Trisha asked.
“Sorry, honey,” Brooke said. “But Rick needs them here. You’ll see them again.”
Trisha didn’t look convinced but nodded. Her long mahogany hair fell over one eye—which seemed the way she liked to wear it lately. Willow hated to see any part of Trisha’s face covered, but knew teenagers liked to find their own style.
“Then let’s get the Humvee loaded and get out of here,” Brooke said as he released Willow. “You can ride shotgun,” he added for Trisha’s benefit. It seemed Willow wasn’t the only one who saw how disappointed Trisha was that Benito and Miguel weren’t coming along for the ride.
Willow grabbed Kell’s belongings and grabbed Peanut’s hand as she walked from the motel room. Deluca had Kell in his arms as Brooke walked out with Trisha.
“No one has heard from your aunt,” Brooke said to Trisha.
“Good,” she replied. “I don’t want to go back to her anyway.”
Willow gave a slight shake of her head, telling Brooke to leave it alone. She was going to have to tell them about Sarah. It wasn’t like the woman could fight for custody of Trisha in court, and she was an unfit guardian anyway. The teenager was better off with them.
“You are more than welcome to stay at my parents’ for as long as you want,” Brooke said as he opened the passenger door for Trisha. “Besides, my mom would love to have you helping her in the kitchen.”
“I’m a pretty good cook,” Trisha admitted and then bit her lower lip. “But I’m not sure you guys eat what we cooked in the mountains.”
“Mom is always looking for new recipes.” He winked at her before Trisha climbed in.
“Thank you,” Willow said as she helped Peanut get into her seat. “She hasn’t had the best life being raised by Sarah. It should do her good to be around a whole slew of people who care about her. I’ve tried over the years, but I’m not sure how much help I’ve been.”
“You’d be amazed, sugar. When you were taken, Trisha damn near lost her mind. She loves you, and whether you know it or not, you’ve been a big influence in her life.”
Willow leaned up and kissed Brooke on the cheek before sliding into the Humvee. She caught the smile on Brooke’s face before he closed the door. Willow knew the two men she had mated were just as clueless of what to do with her as she was about them. It wasn’t like she had a ton of experience in mating two guys. She was winging it just like they were.
Only Brooke and Deluca didn’t know Willow was clueless, and she planned on keeping it that way.
* * * *
Deluca was never so glad to be home in his life. He damn near whooped when Brooke turned down Marengo. Brooke’s parents’ raised center-hall cottage home sat on the corner, and was lit up just as beautifully as he remembered it.
It seemed things in the Garden District hadn’t been affected that much, which put him slightly at ease.
“You have a porch swing?” Trisha asked with excitement. “I’ve always wanted one of those!”
Deluca chuckled. It seemed it didn’t take much to make the girl happy. He knew she was trying her best, but he also knew Garrett had filled her head with bullshit. He, along with Brooke and his family, were going to have to show Trisha that humans weren’t all that bad.
“You haven’t seen anything yet, sweetie. Wait until you check out the secret garden.”
If Deluca had thought Trisha’s eyes were already huge enough, then he was sadly mistaken. Her dark-brown eyes damn near bulged from her head. “Please tell me you are not joking.”
“Nope,” Brooke said from beside the teenager. “And there are secret rooms in the house as well. I used to get lost in them when I was a kid.”
Trisha began to bounce in her seat. Deluca glanced at Willow to see her smiling so widely that it looked like her face was about to crack. He winked at her and then felt the excitement bubble in him as well when he opened the back door of the Humvee.
No sooner did Deluca pull Kell from the truck then the front French-style door swung open. Laura stood there smiling at him until she saw Kell.
“I know damn well you haven’t been gone that long to have a baby.”
“Yes, I did,” he defended. He climbed the fifteen steps it took to get to the wide-sweeping porch and kissed Laura on her cheek. “And I brought more.”
Laura’s eyes flickered to the truck and a smile tipped her lips when she saw Trisha and Peanut standing there. “Well, get up here, girls.” She waved her hand.
“And the woman with the hair of a siren is Willow.”
Laura nodded. “I suspect you’ll be telling me what’s going on soon enough.” Laura leaned in closer. “Do we need to lock this place down?”
Deluca nodded. “They’re werecoyotes and Willow is mine and Brooke’s mate.” Deluca didn’t feel odd referring to Kenneth by his last name. Dad and Pappy were military and called their son Brooke as well. Deluca wasn’t even used to Brooke’s first name anymore. It sounded weird when someone called his best friend Kenneth.
Laura gave him a grim nod. “Go let Dad and Pappy know.”
Deluca walked inside as Laura waited outside for the others. He glanced to his left to see the sitting room. There was a large overstuffed yellow couch and across from that were two red wingback chairs with a table in the middle. There was a large fireplace in the center wall.
To his right was the dining room. The table would be large enough to fit everyone at meals. He glanced in front of him to see the hallway. If he knew Dad and Pappy well enough, and he did, they were downstairs tinkering in the basement.
He walked down the steps, holding Kell tight in his arms. He didn’t want to fall and lose his grip. Not only would Willow kick his ass, but the entire family would take a piece out of him for hurting the baby.
He walked into the area Dad and Pappy had renovated for their work area. They both were retired from the military, but still loved their toys.
Dad was at his work bench putting together a miniature ship while Pappy was at his work bench cleaning his SAW, better known as a M249. He had the wire brush in his hand when he looked up. “I spotted you when you pulled up.” Pappy nodded toward the monitor. Even though Pappy was retired, he still acted as if a war was going to break out any minute.
Guess that came in handy now there was an actual war.
“Who’s the little fella?” Dad asked as he set his tools down and came around his work bench.
“This is Kell, mine and Brooke’s son.”
Pappy set the wire brush down and picked up a cloth to wipe his hands. “I have a grandson?”
“And two granddaughters.”
Pappy glanced over at Dad and smiled. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
Dad plucked Kell from Deluca’s arms and held him up for inspection. “He’s a big boy. How old is he?”
“Six months.”
“I can already see him playing high school football.”
“Yeah,” Pappy said as he grinned from ear to ear. “He’s going to be just like his dad.”
“His pappy isn’t a slouch,” Dad replied and then looked at Deluca. “Are you?”
“No, sir,” Deluca replied. “But I need to talk to both of you about something important.”
“Do we need to lock this place down?”
Deluca smiled. Laura, Mark, and Brennan had been together so long they were starting to sound like each other. “Laura seems to think so. Kell, along with his sisters Peanut and Trisha are werecoyote. Willow, mine and Brooke’s mate, is as well.”
Pappy nodded. “Get the girls inside, and Dad will take care of the rest.” Pappy began to walk up the steps. “Besides, I want to see my grandkids.”
That was what Deluca loved about Brooke’s parents. Pappy never asked were the kids theirs or why he was mated to a werecoyote. He accepted Brooke and Deluca’s decision and stood by it.
No one could ask for better parents.