Wolf Bite (Wolf Cove #2) (5 page)

“No. He’ll know I’m hiding you. Fucking suspicious old man,”
he mutters.

“Sounds like a
smart
suspicious old man,” I correct.
“So, where do you want me?”

When I glance up to see the smirk on his face, I immediately
hear the potential innuendo in my question. “Stop it!”

“Okay. Okay. You’re right. You need to start behaving, Abbi.
This is getting to be too much.”

I roll my eyes. “I’m suddenly feeling very ill. I should go rest
for the day.”

“Or, you know what? Better yet, get one of the Outdoor crew guys
to drive you over to the old cabin.”

I frown. “Your grandparents’ place?” The one we were at just
yesterday?

“Yeah. Some of the media wants to see the original Wolf
family cabin that inspired all this, so Paige sent a team over this morning to
clean and stage it for tomorrow. Make it look less abandoned. I want you to head
over there to keep an eye on things.”

“Until when?”

“Until you hear from me. Stay until the last of them leave. If
they’re done early and you have to come back, you can take the rest of the day off.
I’ll be holed up with my father until late tonight, anyway.”

“And tomorrow, for breakfast and the entire morning,” I
remind him. I’m the one who slotted that into Henry’s calendar.

“Fuck. I can’t wait until he’s back on his helicopter and
gone,” he mutters as we round a bend in the covered path.

Two stone-faced men are strolling down the path toward us.

I hear a quiet hiss of “shit,” under Henry’s breath. He
speeds up to meet them head-on, leaving me in the background.

“I hope you’ve been more cordial to your guests than you
have your own family.” The older man, who bears a remarkable resemblance to
Henry only with silver hair, calls out, his strides toward us measured and
purposeful, his suit falling gracefully with each step. It’s Mr. William Wolf.
I recognize his voice from the phone call, and he sounds no less annoyed now.

“You’re early.” Henry reaches out to clasp hands with his
father before shifting his attention to the younger man standing next to him. “And
you’re not supposed to be here yet.”

This has to be Henry’s brother, Scott. Aka the weasel. Aka the
interrogator. Aside from the same chestnut-brown hair, they bear no resemblance
to each other. Scott is attractive in his own right, but it’s more of an
average boy-next-door appeal, his jawline less pronounced, his eyes more
sloped, and his nose daintier.

Scott smiles easily up at him, as if the noticeable height
difference—
at least
six inches, I’d peg Scott at five foot eight—doesn’t
bother him in the least. “I wasn’t going to, but with the nightmare our company
is facing thanks to you, I thought it would be wise.”

“Right.” Henry’s tone drips with irritation. “Belinda has
you both set up in the main lodge. We need the cabins for media this weekend.”

“Is that where you’re staying?” The scornful smirk on Scott’s
face tells me he already knows the answer and is just trying to stir the pot.

Henry simply glares at him.

God, the tension radiating around these three men is enough
to choke a horse.

Henry turns slightly toward me. “That’ll be all, Abbi.”

Up until now, I’ve felt like an invisible bystander.
Thankfully. But now two fresh sets of eyes have landed on me and are sliding over
my body, scrutinizing every curve.

“Yes, Mr. Wolf.” I dart around them, happy to get far away.

From behind me, I hear his father ask, “Who is that?”

“Her name is Abbi Mitchell,” Henry answers calmly.

There’s a pause and then, “You’re kidding me. Right? Is this
a joke?”

I’m around the bend and, thankfully, out of earshot of
Henry’s answer.

Chapter Five

The maintenance truck chugs along the service
road, splashing through the ruts. Rain swept through the area in the early
hours, leaving puddles that likely won’t dry out for days, thanks to the cool
spring temps.

In the back of the truck are two mattresses stacked side by
side, still in their packaging. It’s heading toward the gates, so I have to
assume it’s going to the cabin. There’s really nowhere else for anyone to go.

A stir of nerves flutters in my stomach as I take in the two
male figures sitting inside. I can’t see their faces but I can feel their eyes
on me all the way from here as I wait for them. I’ve always been nervous under
the scrutiny of males. Or anyone, really. I’m not one for attention.

Hugging my body against the spring chill, I distract myself
while I wait by focusing on the decorative fence and hedge that hides the
“work” part of the property from the magical guest side. It’s like the Wizard
of Oz here, with all service areas well hidden from guests’ view by curtains of
one kind or another.

The truck comes to a squeaky stop in front of me.

“Well, if it isn’t the Wolf’s right hand,” Connor drawls,
his brawny arm resting against the open window, grinning at me from behind
aviator glasses. He’s wearing the Wolf Cove t-shirt and seems unbothered by the
cool air. I shouldn’t be surprised given when I met him—the first night I was
here—he was flaunting that body of his through the staff village in nothing but
a towel, fresh from the shower room.

A guy sits beside him who I’ve never met, but I’ve noticed with
Connor plenty. He has haunting green eyes and buzzed dark hair, and seems to
gain as much notice from the female staff as Connor does when he swaggers
through the dining hall. I’m pretty sure the two of them are roommates. They’re
definitely attached at the hip.

“You waiting for us, boss?”

I burst out in a giggle, unexpectedly. “
Boss
?”

He shrugs and lifts his sunglasses. Pretty blue eyes the
color of cornflowers dip down my cleavage. Thank God for this blazer, at least.
“Like I said, you’re Wolf’s right hand. That gives you a lot of power around
here.”

I can’t help but sense he’s implying something sexual with
that hand reference. Seeing as I know exactly where mine have been lately, I
guess he wouldn’t be wrong. “Is there any chance you could give me a ride over
to the Wolf cabin?”

He opens the door and slides out, his poorly laced construction
boots hitting the dirt with a thud. “Perfect timing. Hop in.”

~ ~ ~

“I didn’t know you could get here by road.”

“Road” may not be the right word for this, I accept, as I
struggle to stay in my seat, sandwiched between these two guys, my arms folded
across my chest to help alleviate the jolt of pain every time we hit a rough
patch. I’m used to driving farm trucks over bumpy lanes, but this is a
claustrophobic one-lane path through dense bush, with tree branches scratching
against the truck’s paint most of the way.

“They cleared it three years ago when they started building
the hotel. It’s meant for maintenance, which is why it’s not in the best shape.
Best to come through here on an ATV, to be honest. It’s too narrow for more
than one car and it’s a real bitch when you get halfway down and meet another
truck.”

“That happened this morning. That’s why we’re using these
now.” The other guy, Ronan, holds up the maintenance crew walkie-talkie that he
radioed in to before we turned down the entrance, telling everyone on the
frequency that we were heading in.

“I guess people aren’t meant to drive to this cabin.” I
never noticed the entrance the day Henry and I went out to cut wood, but I’m
not surprised. The trees form an effective canopy to hide the newly built road.
Plus, I was entirely distracted by Henry.

“No, all these places around here are water entry only,”
Connor agrees.

They’re supposed to come up in their boats, look up and
marvel at the rustic cabin Henry’s grandfather, the great and powerful gold
mine and luxury hotel chain owner, built himself sixty years ago. Just like we
did, yesterday.

We hit an especially bad pothole and I wince, the pain
jarring to my chest. “How much longer?”

“Another minute or two.”

“Can you try to avoid the bumps? It can’t be good for the mattresses.”

“I’m trying my best, hun.” I feel Connor’s sideways glance
on me, on my chest, and my cheeks flush. It feels like high school track and
field all over again, with the girls running laps and the boys watching from
the bleachers. I made the mistake of asking Jed once why they liked to hang out
there and he explained the appeal of large-breasted girls and bouncing.

I’m beginning to think Connor’s hitting these bumps intentionally.

“So, how’s life under the big man?”

Stressful.

Amazing.

Disastrous.

Enlightening.

Frustrating.

What’s the right answer? All of the above?

I offer a weak smile to no one in particular. “It’s fine.”

“Is he really the asshole everyone is saying he is?” Ronan
asks, reaching up with a muscular tattooed arm to grip the handle above his
door. He has a deep, raspy voice, the kind you’d expect to hear when a guy
first wakes up.

“Is that what they’re saying?”

“After canning Rachel like he did? She spent over a grand of
her own money on a ticket to get here and he fires her for doing her job, which
is appeasing the guests. So, hell yeah. Dick move by a spineless dickhead.”

Rachel. One of my five roommates, who was literally walked
off the property and sent home on the ferry for giving away free high-end
alcohol and sleeping with a guest.

Henry once told me to not defend him, to agree with the
verbal swings at him. Otherwise people might start suspecting what was going on
between us. I don’t know if that’s such a good idea now, given this mess with
Kiera. He doesn’t need an army of angry employees calling for his head if this
thing blows up.

“He’s not the worst. He’s strict, but he’s fair.” I shrug. “He’s
been decent enough to me, I guess. When I don’t screw up.” I want off the topic
of Henry. “What about you guys? How’s the Outdoor crew?”

“Great group. They have us working hard but we have a lot of
fun, too,” Connor says, his hand scratching over the day-old blond stubble on
his chin. There’s an entire page on male grooming requirements in the employee handbook
that specifies men must be either clean-shaven or keep a neatly trimmed beard.
There are also rules about covering up tattoos but Ronan’s not too concerned
about that. I’m guessing the rules don’t apply to these guys.

“You know, I was actually hired to be in the Outdoor crew.”
Seems crazy just thinking about it now.

“No shit.” I turn to smile at Connor, in time to see his
eyes flittering over my body, sizing me up. “So, what happened?”

Henry happened
. “Nothing really. This other job came
up and it seemed like a good opportunity. But I still miss being outdoors.”
Truthfully, if Henry and I weren’t doing what we’re doing, I’m afraid I’d be
miserable.

“You should take a sabbatical.”

I laugh. “A sabbatical?”

“Yeah, a paid leave for study.”

“I know what one is. I just don’t see how you figure I
should get one.”

“From your current job. Just for a week.”

“I can’t just ask for a week off to ‘study’ in another
department.” I use fingers to air quote Connor’s ridiculous notion of studying
the Outdoor crew.

“Sure you can. You’re above the law around these parts. You
can do whatever you want.”

I snort. “Yeah, right.”

“Come on. Come and work with us. It’ll be fun.” Connor
grins. “There are some great opportunities with us, too. You’d learn lots.”

On my other side, Ronan muffles his laughter with his hand, while
gazing out his side window.

Tillie warned me that Connor would have my pants off by noon
with his charm if I were working with him. While I don’t necessarily agree with
her, I think I can see why she’d say that. He has an easy way about him, much
like Jed has. Though Jed was never overtly sexual. Not with me, anyway.

I’m sure he’s plenty sexual with his new girlfriend, Cammie.

I can’t help but smile at Connor’s cheekiness. “Yeah, I’ll
bet.”

We round a bend in the road and the cabin comes into view,
first in breaks in the trees, and then, as we get closer, the full looming building,
cast in shadows from towering trees.

“That one’s gotta come down soon.” Ronan points to a dead birch.

“Tell Darryl. Wolf won’t let us touch a single tree without
permission. Kind of ironic, don’t you think, given the forest raping he did
down the road.” Connor throws the truck into reverse and then, stretching his
arm over the back of the seat behind me to navigate, his giant, firm body
twists into me as he backs up toward the door. “All right. We’re here.” He
shuts off the engine and both guys climb out.

I move to follow out Connor’s side when he stops me with his
hands on my knees, the heat from them searing my skin through my nylons. “Whoa.
Not so fast. Do you want to lose your shoes?”

I look down to see the foot-deep ruts of thick mud where truck
tires have torn the soft spring ground. Crap.

“Here. Let me help you.” Before I know what’s happening,
Connor’s hands are around my waist and he’s lifting me up. I yelp as he pulls
me to him, roping one arm around my hips. I fall into him, struggling to keep
my balance and not shove my breasts in his face, an impossible feat. He hugs me
to his body tight as he carries me toward the porch.

“Took you long enough.” Tillie stands by the door, arms
crossed over her chest, duster in her hand, with a pinched look on her face as
she watches us.

“Had to move a lot of stuff to get to these,” Ronan explains.
He drops the tailgate on the truck with a loud clatter.

“By the way, I really like what you did with your hair,” Connor
murmurs, setting me gently onto the porch, the hand around my waist giving me a
light squeeze. With a wink, he trudges back through the mud to help Ronan.

“You are takin’ off those dirty ol’ boots before you step
foot inside here, ya hear!” Tillie warns in her heavy southern twang.

“Yes, ma’am!” they both parrot, the muscles in their backs
straining as they hoist the first mattress.

Tillie turns to me. “Wolf finally untied you?”

I feel my face blanch. “What?”
How does she know?

“We thought he had you chained up or somethin’. You’ve been
scarce as a ghost.”

“Oh!” I force a laugh as relief hits me. “Yeah. It’s been
busy.”

“What are you doin’ here?”

I shrug. “Mr. Wolf wanted me here to make sure things were
on track.”

She snorts and disappears into the cabin.