CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Dominic’s eyelids fluttered open as he felt Mila begin to edge off the bed. The room was pitch-black and—

A plastic wrapper crinkled.

Someone was in her apartment, he realized. His wolf shot to full alertness, ready to protect and defend. Silent, Dominic slid out of the bed and went after Mila. Her scent had changed, turned more feral, and he realized she’d shifted. But he couldn’t see her. Shit.

Adrenaline coursing through him, he crept into the living room and caught a glimpse of a tall, broad-shouldered male coming out of the kitchen with a bag of beef jerky in his hand. The cat launched herself at the intruder so fast she was a blur.

With a loud curse, the male swiftly whipped up his arm to protect his face before she could wrap herself around his head. It didn’t deter the cat. She curled around his arm, biting hard and clawing deep. He hissed out a pained breath. “What the fuck, Mila?”

Snarling and growling, she shredded the guy’s flesh. The intruder swore, grunted, winced, and ordered her to “let the fuck go.” She didn’t.

Dominic might have rushed over and intervened, but he’d seen pictures of the other male on the mantel and recognized him as Mila’s brother. Figuring the guy deserved a bit of pain, Dominic dragged on his jeans and simply watched as his little cat tore strips out of her sibling’s arm. Right then, she was a hissing, spitting, crazed ball of fury.

The only reason his wolf didn’t lunge for the surface to join the struggle was that Alex didn’t retaliate. The wolverine concentrated on trying to detach her from his arm, prying open her jaws. Each time he managed to loosen her hold, the cat would try wrapping herself around his head. Alex was always ready for the move, though. He’d slam up his arm to block her, at which point she’d go back to shredding the limb. It was easy to see that Alex had a fair amount of experience fighting off the feline.

With a pained oath, Alex held long, curved claws to the cat’s flank. “Get off me, you crazy little bitch, or these are gonna cut right through that thick fucking hide of yours.” The cat must have dug her fangs deeper instead, because the wolverine grunted in pain. “Son of a motherfucker.”

With renewed vigor, Alex wrestled with the cat, snatched her by the scruff of her neck, and threw her across the room.

Dominic caught her and held tight. “You must be Alex.”

The male tensed, his face hardening. “Who the fuck are you?”

Her ears flat, she let out a wolflike growl that shouldn’t have come from a creature so small and cute.

Sensing that she was ready to launch herself at the wolverine again, Dominic kept a firm grip on her and made a shushing sound in her ear. “Dominic Black, an enforcer from the Phoenix Pack,” he said as he took stock of his cat. Alex’s blood stained her paws and fur, but she was fine. Alex, however, couldn’t make the same claim. His arm was covered in ugly-looking welts and deep puncture wounds. “I’m also partially imprinted on Mila, which makes me her mate.”

The wolverine took a lurching step forward that had the cat rumbling a dark sound. “Imprinted?”

“Yeah,” Dominic bit out. “And since you’re the reason she has a goddamn bounty on her head, I have a big fucking problem with you.”

Alex’s head drew back slightly. “Say that again.”

“Your uncles didn’t tell you?”

“My uncles?”

“They’ve been tracking you.”

The wolverine shook his head. “I haven’t seen them. I came home and . . . shit, there’s a bounty on her head? You’re sure of that?”

“Yes. You might want to see to that,” said Dominic, gesturing to the guy’s bleeding arm. As the wolverine disappeared into the kitchen, Dominic petted and nuzzled the little cat. She was stiff in his arms, her sides heaving as she drew in deep, angry breaths. Her green eyes blazed with fury as they locked on Alex when he returned to the room, tracking his every movement, coiled to pounce again.

A small dish towel wrapped around his wounded arm, Alex snatched the bag of beef jerky from the floor. “Imprinted on Mila, huh? We’ll get back to that in a minute. First, tell me about the bounty.”

“After you left to go roaming, someone who was convinced that you’re Mila’s roommate came to the apartment building and demanded to see you. She wouldn’t tell them where you were, which they weren’t pleased about. They said you’d pissed off their boss, and that Mila would regret not cooperating. Their boss must have put the hit out on Mila, thinking it would flush you out.”

His brow creased, Alex shook his head. “John Norton was looking for me, that’s true. I wired him the money I owed him shortly after I left, so he has no reason to have an issue with me or try to flush me out. He wouldn’t give a shit as long as he had his money.”

“Then why would he have placed a bounty on her head?”

“I can’t see why he would have. It makes no sense.” Sinking into the armchair, Alex tore open the bag of beef jerky with his teeth. “It’s also not his style. He’s the kind of guy who does his own dirty work. For him, it’s about maintaining that badass ‘I’m-not-to-be-fucked-with’ image. Who told you it was him?”

“No one. We can’t be sure who it is. We concluded that the person behind the hit was most likely the same person who’s looking for you.” Settling on the sofa, Dominic petted the cat as he told her brother all about the website, the attempts on Mila’s life, and how none of her attackers had had any info on who’d put out the hit.

“Motherfucker.”Alex munched on a piece of jerky, his eyes narrowed in thought. “It doesn’t fit. It’s just not how Norton rolls. And like I said, he has his money, which was all he wanted.”

“Well, who could it be then? Mila doesn’t have enemies.”

“No, she doesn’t. But Vinnie does. Maybe one of them put a price on his niece’s head to get at him.”

That idea had crossed Dominic’s mind.

“I need to speak with my parents.” Alex whipped out his phone. “I’m gonna find all kinds of texts and voice mails when I switch this on, aren’t I?” Sure enough, the cell phone repeatedly beeped as his thumbs tapped the screen. “And this is why I don’t like cell phones.”

After making a quick call to James, asking him to come to Mila’s apartment, Alex hung up and zeroed in on Dominic. “Now, on to the topic of you imprinting on Mila . . . I’d sure as fuck like to know how that happened. When I last spoke to her, she was planning on moving to Russia.”

“She just wanted space from Joel, which is understandable.”

“So she told you about him.” Alex shoved another piece of jerky into his mouth. “How does he feel about the imprinting?”

“He doesn’t like or approve of me, but he’s glad that she’s happy, and he seems to accept that I’m her choice.”

Dominic froze as he heard the snick of the front door locks. Then Valentina—who’d clearly broken into the apartment in much the same way her son had—was storming into the living room with her mate in tow.

Alex jumped to his feet as he faced off with his mother. They argued in Russian while James glared at his son, nodding along to whatever Valentina said.

“Can you understand what they’re saying, James?” Dominic asked.

Mila’s father shook his head. “No, but it’s good to present a united front, so I just nod along as if in agreement with Valentina. What did my son have to say for himself anyway?”

Dominic quickly explained what Alex had told him about this Norton guy, adding that the wolverine didn’t believe the other male was responsible for putting out the hit. By the time Dominic was finished, both Valentina and Alex had quieted. “Alex thinks it could be one of Vinnie’s enemies.”

“It’s possible,” said James, pursing his lips. “He has quite a few of them.”

Valentina put her hands on her hips. “I will slit your brother’s throat if he is responsible, Alpha or not.”

Wincing, James turned to his mate and worked to calm her down.

Dominic nuzzled his cat, who’d relaxed enough to stop glaring at her sibling. “Mila, time to come back. We need you to give us your input.”

The cat shot him a truly disgruntled look before hopping off the sofa and leaving the room. When Mila walked in moments later dressed in shorts and a tee, she narrowed her eyes at Alex, who was once again relaxed in the chair and munching jerky.

“Your cat’s a vicious bitch,” Alex told her, approval coloring every syllable.

Mila snorted at what her cat took as a compliment even as she bared a fang at him. “And yet, you continue to invade her territory. But then, that’s what assholes do.”

“Easy there, Skindiana Jones—”

“I told you to drop that!”

“—I only just got back, my cupboards are virtually empty.” Alex shrugged. “Besides, it’s not like you eat anything. Or, at least, you don’t look like you do. Seriously, you could hula hoop with a Cheerio.”

Valentina clapped her hands. “No more of this! You have not seen each other in months, and this is how you behave? Why not greet each other with hugs?”

Mila snickered. “I’d rather remove my spleen with a rusty blade. Well, actually, his spleen would be my first choice.”

“See, she hates me,” said Alex.

“I don’t hate you. But if you were slipping off a cliff, I’d go get some popcorn.”

Dominic winced as Valentina yelled something in Russian that had both her children snapping their mouths shut. He had the feeling that it had been a threat of some sort.

“Fine,” said Mila. “We have a serious matter to discuss anyway.” She didn’t resist when Dominic curled an arm around her waist and tugged her onto his lap. “How sure are you that this John Norton person didn’t order the hit?” she asked her brother.

“I can’t be certain that it’s not him, but I strongly doubt that it is—really, it’s not the type of thing he does.” Alex’s gaze cut to Dominic. “Maybe it’s one of your enemies.”

“There’s Pierson,” James said to Dominic. “He wants to hurt you. Hurting Mila would hurt you. He might have even just wanted her out of the way to clear the path for his daughter.”

Valentina’s brows lifted. “It is possible. He is human, but he could have found some way to do it. Or even paid a lone shifter to arrange the hit for him.”

“Who’s Pierson?” asked Alex.

Dominic gave him a quick rundown of the situation. “It can’t be Pierson, though. The first attack on Mila happened before she and I got together.”

Alex crumpled up his empty bag of jerky and tossed it in the trash. “When did you first meet the guy?”

“The day after I met Mila, as it happens.” Dominic massaged her nape, wanting that last bit of tension to melt from her muscles. “I met him at a restaurant with some of my pack mates, which didn’t go so well. Then . . . Shit.”

“What?” asked Mila.

Dominic looked at her. “That same day, I drove to the barbershop to see you. He could have had someone follow me.”

Mila shrugged. “So? All they would have seen is you getting a haircut.”

“And writing my number on your palm. Like your dad said, Pierson could have just wanted you out of the way for his daughter’s sake. He’s demonstrated that there isn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her—and I think that’s mostly to keep her mental state as stable as possible.” Dominic silently swore, berating himself for not already considering it.

“Maybe the daughter did it,” James speculated. “If she was so obsessed with you, Dominic, it makes sense that she would have followed you around. She could have followed you to the restaurant that day, hoping to gauge your reaction to the meeting with her father. If she followed you to the barbershop, I doubt she’d have liked seeing you flirt with another female. She believes you’re her mate.”

Dominic’s wolf growled at that. “She wants to believe it. That’s different.” James’s theory had some substance, though. Rosemary had claimed to not know that her father would approach the pack, but she’d proven that she was a very good liar. And she wouldn’t want to incriminate herself, would she? Playing clueless would have been her best defense.

“Any jealous exes we need to consider?” Alex asked Dominic.

It was Mila who answered. “Well . . . there’s Charlene.”

Dominic’s brows drew together. “She’s not an ex. She’s just someone I once had a brief fling with.” He’d also considered her a friend until recently, but nothing more.

“Yeah,” agreed Mila, “but she’s done her best to come between us, hasn’t she?”

Alex cocked his head. “Who is Charlene exactly?”

“A fox shifter who works as a barmaid at the club where I perform on Friday nights.”

Alex flicked his finger from Dominic to Mila as he asked, “So she knows you two are together?”

“Yes. I don’t think she has anything to do with this, though,” said Mila. “For one thing, she’s mated, so even if she does have lingering feelings for Dominic, she’s hardly likely to act on them. She put some effort into convincing me not to get involved with him, sure, but I don’t see why she’d want me dead just on the off chance that it could happen. That’s real freaking extreme. I mean, what difference would it really make to her?”

“That depends on what her motivation is for trying to keep you apart,” said Alex.

“I figure she just has a thing against pallas cats and wants him to be with someone who she thinks is ‘better’ for him,” said Mila.

Dominic rubbed her thigh. “Jesse pointed something out to me that might explain why Charlene is making herself a problem for us. She takes pride in the fact that she’s the woman I had the longest fling with and even allows people to believe I haven’t committed to anyone because I was heartbroken when she ended things between us.” He rolled his eyes. “She knows that’s bullshit. Still, as Jesse suggested, her ego could be hurt because I pursued you relentlessly and wouldn’t let you brush me off, no matter how hard you tried.”

“Foxes are very competitive,” Valentina commented. “They can also be sly and vengeful.”

“It would explain why she’s being a pain in our asses,” said Dominic. “But hurt pride isn’t motivation enough to want Mila dead.”

“People have killed for less,” Alex pointed out. “But I’m leaning toward Pierson or his daughter being responsible for the bounty.”

Valentina nodded, twirling the ring on her finger. “The daughter has not been thinking clearly for some time.”

Dominic rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m not sure Rosemary would even know how to go about something like putting out a hit, though. Plus, I think if she’d seen me flirting with Mila, she’d have been more likely to lash out immediately rather than come up with a calculating plot.”

Alex pursed his lips. “Then her father is our most likely suspect.”

Yeah, Dominic was thinking the same thing. And that meant that the reason his mate had been almost killed three times could very simply be that Dominic was in her life. Fuck if that didn’t twist his stomach.

As they crossed the street to Ingrid’s antique shop later that day, Mila flicked a concerned look at Dominic. As usual, he’d come with her to the barbershop, but he hadn’t been his normal self. Oh, he’d put on a happy face. Joked and talked and laughed as she’d worked. But other times he’d sat there with his shoulders slumped, his mouth turned down, his brows drawn, and his gaze inward.

Whenever she was close, he’d reached out and touched her. Stroked her hair, smoothed his hand up her back, kissed her mouth, gave her hip a little squeeze, traced the bite on her neck with his finger. When he wasn’t touching her, subconsciously seeking comfort, he was unnaturally still—as if forcing himself not to make any anxious movements.

She didn’t need to ask what was weighing on him. It was guilt. He now believed that Pierson was responsible for the hit on her, and so GQ was blaming himself for the danger she was in. Which was quite simply fucking stupid.

Mila wouldn’t be surprised if he later announced that they needed to put some space between them, hoping Pierson would then cancel the hit. She’d shoot that shit down fast. The only person she’d let come between them was her or Dominic—no one else. “It might not be Pierson, you know.”

Dominic’s mouth tightened. “It’s likely that it is.”

“That’s still not a reason for you to be feeling guilty.”

He sighed. “Trey was right. I should have listened to him and kept my distance from you until Pierson’s little campaign blew over.”

Reaching the front door of the antique store, she rested her hand on it. “You’re not thinking clearly. Trey gave you that order after Pierson’s second article was posted. But the jackal came at me before Pierson had even had his first article posted, which means the bounty was already on my head well before Trey gave you the order. If Pierson is behind this, you wouldn’t have changed anything by obeying Trey.”

“Maybe not, but I was selfish. I didn’t want to be away from you, so I didn’t stay away long.” Dominic trailed a fingertip down the side of her face. “I should wish that I’d stayed away from you altogether, but I don’t. I can’t.”

“I’m glad you didn’t. You’re not responsible for other people’s actions. And I’m really not so sure it’s Pierson.”

Dominic exhaled a heavy breath. “Let’s go see what Vinnie has to say.” As she pushed open the door and they stepped onto the hardwood floor, a bell jingled above their heads. His wolf wrinkled his nose at the scents of lacquered wood, musty paper, and old cloth.

With one hand splayed on her lower back, Dominic followed her down the narrow aisle, taking in the wood cabinets, hand-carved dressers, grandfather clock, and oil paintings. The smaller items, such as the brooches, vintage hairbrushes, and shaving kits, were either set on display tables or locked in cabinets. He heard voices chatting, hinges creaking, and a dozen clocks ticking out of sync.

Mila came to a sharp stop just as someone rounded the aisle, almost bumping into her, and Dominic could almost hear her internal groan as she found herself face-to-face with Adele.

The blonde gave them a bright smile. “Oh, hi. How are you, Mila?”

“Good,” she replied. “You?”

“Great.” Blue eyes cut to Dominic. “Hi there. Hope you’re taking care of our Mila.”

“My Mila,” he said.

Adele chuckled. “I guess she is—lucky you. Oh, Mila, I heard Alex is back. You must be so relieved.”

“I am, yeah,” said Mila.

“I know it’s normal for him to go off alone for months at a time, but when no one could get in touch with him . . . well, I kind of worried something had happened to him.” Adele pressed her palm to her heart, blowing out a breath. “Thankfully, that’s not the case. And it means Vinnie will now have the answers he needs to get that bounty off your head. It’s just a relief all around.”

“It is,” said Mila, forcing a smile.

“Well, I better get going.” Adele patted Mila’s arm. “You take care.” With one last smile at Dominic, the blonde breezed out of the shop.

His brow creased, he looked at Mila. “She’s not like any pallas cat I’ve ever met.”

“You mean because she’s sweet?” asked Mila, her mouth quirking.

He pulled her close. “No, you can be very, very sweet.” He kissed her, needing a brief taste. “What I mean is that Adele . . . she doesn’t seem to have that killer edge, even though she’s a dominant female and one of your kind. There’s just no fierceness about her.”

“Mila!” a voice called out in delight.

They turned just as Ingrid came out from behind the desk and made a beeline for them. She gave first Mila a hug, and then Dominic.

He grinned. “Hey, Mrs. D. You have something on your head. Oh, it’s fine, it’s just a halo.”

Blushing, Ingrid smiled at her granddaughter. “This one’s trouble, isn’t he? My boys are expecting you. Go right on up.”

Dominic followed Mila through a door, down a narrow hallway, and up a curved staircase. The upstairs apartment was small but cozy. It smelled of lavender and citrus cleaner. He could also scent meat and mayonnaise, so it wasn’t a surprise to find Vinnie, Tate, and Luke gathered around the kitchen table, munching on sandwiches.

Vinnie urged them to come inside and gestured at the table. Once he and Mila had taken the empty seats, the Alpha said, “I spoke with Alex at length earlier, so I’m up to speed on everything. He came with us to pay John Norton a little visit. Norton claims he has nothing to do with the attempts on your life, Mila. I believe him.”

“So this was never about Alex,” she said.

Dominic combed his fingers through her hair. “What about your enemies, Vinnie?”

“This isn’t someone targeting me through Mila,” the Alpha replied. “I have plenty of sources. If someone had put a hit out on Mila to get at me, I’d know about it by now.” He picked up his soda can and took a swig. “Alex told me about the conversation you had with him this morning. I never considered Pierson.”

“You’re not convinced it’s him,” Dominic sensed.

“Neither am I, as it happens,” said Mila. “Pierson’s human, so how would he know about that website? If he was going to put a hit out on me, wouldn’t he have hired a human?”

Vinnie pointed at her. “That’s what has me doubting that he’s who we should be looking at.”

“I wondered about that too,” said Dominic. “But many lone shifters are guns for hire—humans use them more than our kind does. If Pierson spoke to one who didn’t want the job, they could have told him about the website.”

“Possibly.” His plate empty, Tate leaned back in his seat. “We could pick him up. Make him talk.”

“Yeah.” Luke stretched. “Humans always break easily.”

Vinnie grimaced. “I’d rather be sure we have the right person, since we’d have to let him go if it turns out he’s innocent.”

Mila nodded. “If he mysteriously disappears, Dominic will be the prime suspect.”

“Exactly,” said Vinnie. “And if it is Pierson, well, it’s best to let him think we’re in the dark. Right now, he’s counting on a hit man taking care of the job. If he discovers we know about it, he’ll try to get rid of Mila another way. Possibly by involving the extremists. That can get messy. Look what they did to Bracken’s family.”

Footsteps stomped across the landing and into the kitchen. Dominic watched as a skinny teenage girl with flaming red hair came storming into the room, her mouth tight, her eyes wide with anger.

“Dad, you need to ship that little weasel off to another country—preferably one with lots of sweatshops for kids—or I’m gonna kill him.”

Vinnie sighed. “Elle—”

“Look what he did!” The girl held up a sequined top that had long slashes running through it, as if it had been clawed at by an animal.

Vinnie frowned at her bloodstained fingernails. “Why is there blood on you?”

Jutting out her chin, Elle shrugged one shoulder. “He slashed my top, so I slashed his. Not my fault he was wearing it at the time.”

A boy of about twelve or thirteen stalked into the room, his shirt torn and bloody. He glowered at the older teen. “Christ, Elle, what is your damage?”

She thrust the top at him. “This! This is damage! You got off lightly, Damian!”

The boy made a dismissive sound. “It doesn’t fit you anymore anyway—you’ve put on more weight.”

She gaped. “I lost four pounds this week.”

“I fart four pounds.”

“Well, there’s not a lot the Antichrist can’t do,” she sniped.

His hands fisted. “Stop calling me that! And stop humming The Omen theme music through the bedroom wall!”

“Stop calling me Miss Piggy and making whale noises at me!”

“Is it my fault you’re the size of one? I think not.”

Vinnie sighed. “Elle, Damian, enough.” He looked at his son. “Your sister is not fat, so stop with that shit. Elle, your brother is not—”

“The personification of pure evil?” Elle sniffed. “I disagree.”

Damian’s upper lip curled. “Drop dead, Jelly Thighs!”

“Screw you, Beelzebub!”

“Hey, hey, hey, enough.” Vinnie slashed a hand through the air. “We’re done here. Oh, and you’ll both be replacing the clothes you slashed.”

Mumbling and huffing, Elle and Damian marched out of the room and headed off in separate directions.

Vinnie turned to Dominic. “I gave this advice to Bracken, and now I’m going to give it to you. Either only have one kit with Mila or wait a decade before having a second. Pallas kits don’t get along well with siblings of a similar age. Really, given that Mila and Alex are twins, it’s a wonder they didn’t kill each other as kids.”

“We tried,” admitted Mila.

“Yeah, so did we,” said Tate, gesturing at his brother.

Luke nodded. “Multiple times. I nearly succeeded when I pushed him off the roof, hoping it’d look like suicide. The bastard had put rat poison in my pudding.”

Tate shrugged. “Listening to you vomit was better than listening to you breathe.”

Mila gave Dominic a mockingly sweet smile. “See what a bright future you have to look forward to?”

Chuckling, Dominic kissed her temple. “Works for me.”