32. Harley

THIRTY-TWO

HARLEY

After Emily's death, Tate seemed much more on edge as the days passed. It seemed the stress was starting to wear on him. Even small things irritated him, and he was snippy with the team at work. Even me asking what he wanted for lunch made him snap. He, of course, apologized immediately. Still, it was draining seeing him wound so tight. As scared as I was about what Luis or the hunters would do next, I was starting to hope that the other shoe would just go ahead and drop. I wanted to get it all over with and see where the cards fell.

That morning, Tate was in a marginally better mood. We were making breakfast, and the girls had just come down from their rooms. Jordyn was watching cartoons, which always drove Mariah crazy. She thought they were both too old for them, but I liked that Jordyn was holding onto her childhood as long as possible, even though she was already boy crazy.

Mariah sat on a kitchen stool. "Mom, do you think it would be okay if Jordyn and I had a sleepover at our friend's house?"

Without turning from the eggs I was cooking, I said, "Which friends?"

"The Davidson girls. Remember? They're the sisters who are the same age as Jordyn and me. Our birthdays are almost the same, too."

I was still wary of letting the girls out of my sight, especially after the kidnapping. I stared hard at the scrambled eggs, trying to think of some way to talk the girls out of wanting to go. It would be safer if they stayed home, but I didn't want them to know something was wrong.

Tate, putting bread into the toaster, said, "It should be fine. Let them go."

My head turned toward him so fast my neck cracked. Let them go? A sleepover? Was he out of his mind? I nearly had a panic attack if one of the girls went out to check the mailbox.

He must have seen the look on my face. He started the toaster, then stepped close so the girls wouldn't hear.

He pressed his lips to my ear and said, "It'll be fine. I still have guys watching them. And they know their ass is grass if anything happens to my girls."

His girls. I didn't correct him, because honestly, he was right. They were his. He cared for them and loved them. Not for the first time, I thought about how serious he was about us. He'd jumped in with both feet, and now it was hard to even remember life without him. The girls deserved someone like this. Someone who loved them as much as he did, who would protect them with everything he had. He wouldn't do anything, or allow them to do anything, that would put them in harm's way.

"Okay, that's fine. Find out what time this little get-together is supposed to happen so I know."

The girls were both ecstatic. It had been nearly a week since they'd really been able to do anything other than go to school and come straight home. The two of them barely ate any breakfast, they were too busy talking about what they were going to do that night. It was all I could do to get them out the door before the bus came.

Tate spent the better part of the day walking around inside and outside the house with his phone to his ear. He kept barking orders to everyone on his staff. His voice was always gruff and angry. The only time he was cordial was with his three friends and us. I stayed out of his way, but it sounded like whoever he was dealing with wasn't doing things the way he wanted.

It was awful seeing him so stressed out. I'm sure his team didn't enjoy that their usually relaxed and calm friend was being such a dick to them. I wanted to do something nice for him. Something that might pull him out of the foul mood he was in.

He'd just hung up one of his calls, and I said, "I'm going to run to the store real quick."

He smiled. "Okay." He nodded at the door, "He'll go with you."

Confused, I walked over and opened the front door. Steff was sitting on our porch, reading a magazine. Blinking in surprise, I looked back at Tate.

"Really? How long has he been out here?" I asked.

"Since right after the girls went to school. Why?" He didn't look mad or irritated. It was the new normal until all the dangers were dealt with.

"Even though I'm wearing this?" I pulled my shirt down to reveal the opal necklace Emily had left me.

"I'm sure that will protect you in some way, but a shifter will protect you better. Besides, it's Steff, you know him. I could have gotten one of the guys you haven't even met yet."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Come on, Steff."

Steff drove. I decided to use Steff's friendship with Tate to gain some much-needed info. I wanted to make him a nice dinner to get him out of his funk.

"So, Steff. Here's the deal. I really want to make Tate his favorite meal."

He nodded as he drove. "Okay, sounds nice."

"Anyway, during one of our late-night chats, I remember him saying that the only thing he really misses about home was his mom's cooking. He almost never talks about his past or his family, so when he said that, I knew it was something important. In all the years you guys have been friends, can you remember him ever mentioning something his mom might have cooked that he loved?"

Steff tilted his head, obviously digging through his memories. After several seconds, he finally said, "I do remember something once, way back when we first started out. We were sort of hard up. It was before we got the security firm up and running. We shared this shitty little apartment. The heat didn't work, so we had to just walk around in layers and plug in space heaters to not freeze to death at night. Never could get the damned landlord to fix the freaking thing. Anyway, for about three days, he grumbled about missing his mom's vegetable stew, he joked that it was more meat than vegetables. He said it was the one thing that could… what did he say?" He squinted, trying to remember, then his eyes widened. "That's it. He said it was the one thing that could warm a cold heart."

That was perfect. It was at least a place to start. It was moving further into fall, and the evenings were getting cooler. It still wasn't really stew weather, but it was close enough. It might be the thing that would bring a smile to his face and help ease some of his stress.

I tried to talk Steff into waiting in the car while I shopped, but he wouldn't hear of it. So, I did the shopping with a massive muscled bodyguard shadowing me. I had no idea what kind of ingredients Tate's mom might have used, but I knew he didn't like mushrooms, so I grabbed everything else I could imagine going into a vegetable-and-beef stew.

Steff stood off to the side while I paid and got the three bags. I was checking the receipt as we walked out the door when Steff pushed an arm into my chest and steered me behind him, like he was protecting me. I looked up from the receipt and saw Luis leering at me around Steff's shoulder.

"Back up, motherfucker," Steff growled.

"Well now, if it isn't my long-lost lady love," Luis said, ignoring Steff.

I'd been through enough shit, and the last thing I needed was this. I leaned around Steff. "Luis, you're a piece of shit. You need to get a life and get the hell out of here. I don't know why it won't sink into that thick skull of yours, but we are over. Have been for the better part of a year. So please, do us all a favor and fuck right off."

Luis's eyes slid down my body as I spoke, and locked onto my growing belly. The look of hunger on his face jarred me. It was like he didn't hear a damned thing I'd said.

He pointed his chin at my stomach. "You need to stop playing these games and come home. You're carrying the Ortiz family heir in your belly there. This Podunk shithole town is not the place for an Ortiz boy to grow up."

I knew what I was going to say before I opened my mouth, and it was going to feel good. "The baby isn't yours, Luis. I got pregnant after I finally found out you were one big, walking, talking STD waiting to happen. Cheating on me every chance you got."

He sneered at me. "Nice try. You're trying to piss me off. You'd never jump into bed with another man so soon. No way you could move on from me so fast."

"You've got a major ego problem, Luis. You aren't God's gift to women, even though that's how you live your life. Besides, I had a DNA test done. You are one-hundred percent not the father. There is nothing between us, no connection. You can go home and get out of my life once and for all."

Luis's face went red, and he looked angrier than I'd ever seen him. He jabbed his finger in my direction. "What a fucking whore. Spreading your legs to the first damned meathead who whips his cock out. Fucking slut. I was right to fuck your car up. When I found out you were running around with some jackass cocksucker." He laughed. "You really downgraded baby, you'll never get a man like me again."

From a car behind Luis, three more men got out and slowly walked toward us. I didn't let it show, but I was getting scared. I didn't really know what a shifter could handle, but four guys versus Steff didn't seem like very good odds.

With his men now at his back, Luis said, "You aren't even worth my time. Besides, you'll come crawling back eventually."

"Don't hold your breath, asshole," I said. "Or, on second thought, you should hold your breath. A half hour sounds just about perfect. Then you'll be out of my life for good."

Luis held up a finger. "Watch your mouth, bitch. I'll fuck you up. Make that pretty face not so pretty anymore, then you'll regret playing me."

Steff stepped toward Luis, getting right up against him, almost chest to chest. That shocked Luis. As though he couldn't remember the last time someone had invaded his personal space.

Steff leaned in, his forehead nearly touching Luis's. " You need to watch your mouth. Understand?"

Luis found his footing again and shoved his chin forward. "Who the fuck are you? And what are you going to do about anything?"

Steff growled, deep in his chest, an inhuman terrifying sound. Luis and his three goons took a fearful step back, and a flash of fear crossed their faces. "Ask your boys who were at the mansion about what my friends and I can do."

I had no idea what the guys had done at the mansion that night, but it had looked like a war zone. None of Tate's guys had even looked winded or injured. I would have enjoyed hearing what the men who had recovered said about what went down. Luis and his men took another couple of steps back.

Luis leaned forward and spat on the ground in front of us. "Fuck the both of you. Trash."

He turned and got into his car with his men and revved the car before pulling out of the parking lot. Steff kept his eyes on them until they were out of sight. Then he helped me into his car and started the trip back home. I could only imagine how Tate would react when we told him. So much for my special dinner putting him in a better mood.

Once we got there and Steff gave him a run-down on the altercation, Tate went ballistic. I'd never seen him so angry. I was glad the girls weren't home because his eyes started glowing.

"That motherfucker doesn't know what he's in for," Tate bellowed at one point.

Steff looked at me and rolled his eyes. "Tate, bro, go outside. Get some air. Shit, man, I know it's daylight but head off into the woods for a shift if you need to. You've been kind of a dick the last few days. No offense, but it's true. You need to get whatever is boiling up inside you out."

"I've been fine. Who the fuck are you to say that?"

Steff didn't look offended. He merely crossed his arms. "You know, maybe the girls were desperate to spend the night somewhere else because of your shit mood. I wouldn't want to hang around you like this."

The anger on Tate's face fell away almost at once. He looked like Steff had kicked him in the stomach. He stopped pacing, a heart-wrenching look on his face. "Have the girls said anything? Is that true?"

I sighed. It was best to be honest. "They did mention yesterday that you've been a lot grumpier than usual."

Tate flinched. Literally flinched, like I'd slapped him. His eyes went cloudy, and he wiped at them roughly. He coughed. "I think you're right, Steff. I need to blow off some steam."

He walked over to me and kissed me. It was a long kiss, hard and intense, but not passionate. This wasn't a sexy kiss. It was a kiss that said I'm sorry . He pulled away and put his hands on my shoulders, staring into my eyes. "I'm sorry I've been such an asshole lately. I'll be back in a while." He looked at Steff. "Don't leave her alone. Not for a second."

Steff saluted him sarcastically and locked the door behind Tate. We exchanged an awkward look, then I went to the fridge. I could still make Tate his special dinner. Hopefully, it could still lift his spirits a little.