CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SIX

Waking up to a throbbing headache and a queasy stomach did not bring joy to Bree’s world. There was also a godawful taste in her dry mouth, and she was so damn thirsty her throat hurt. Awesome.

Memories slithered through her foggy mind. The back alley. The fox. Being shot with goddamn tranquilizers.

Anger chafed at her nerves, but she didn’t have quite enough energy to work up to mad. She would. Later. For now, her cat was seething enough for them both.

Bree knew without opening her eyes that Alex was in her bedroom. His scent mingled with the comfortingly familiar smells of fresh bedding, light perfume, and lavender-scented cleaner. Beneath those were very faint traces of other scents she knew—ones that belonged to Elle, Vinnie, Valentina, James, and a small bunch of others.

Her cat’s fur puffed up. It unnerved the feline to know she’d been surrounded by so many people while unconscious and vulnerable to an attack.

Forcing open her heavy eyelids, Bree winced as light stabbed at her eyes and exacerbated the dull throb in her temples. Bad move. But she hadn’t expected to be greeted by sunlight; hadn’t thought she’d slept until morning. Then again, maybe she shouldn’t have been so surprised. She was hit with three damn tranquilizer darts, for shit’s sake. They might have taken time to knock her out, but they’d done their job eventually.

Letting her eyelids flutter partially open, she found Alex sitting in the chair beside her bed, his dark, watchful gaze fixed on her. A hazy memory flashed in her mind of his wolverine charging at the fox and effortlessly taking him down. Hmm, it seemed she had him to thank for the fact that she hadn’t been kidnapped.

She swallowed, frowning at the audible click of her tongue. “Hey,” she croaked.

“How’re you feeling?” he asked, his voice flat.

“Like I was drugged. What time is it?”

“Just after 7am. You’ve been out of commission for a few hours, though you did wake at one point.”

Keenly aware that she was naked beneath the covers, she rubbed at her dry eyes. “I did?”

“Yes. About an hour after you shifted back to your human form while in your sleep, you woke and ordered everyone to get out and leave you in peace. Well, it was more like a mumble, but the words were clear enough. Hearing you dish out attitude seemed to relieve everyone, so they were then happy to head home.”

“Why didn’t you leave with everyone else?”

“I didn’t want to.”

Giving a half-assed answer was just typical of wolverines. Since she had much more important questions on her mind, she didn’t push for a proper response. “Who was the fox? Why did he come for me?”

“He was hired to take you.”

She listened as he told her about good ole Augustin and the retrieval agency. “Well, retrieving things for people is a better way for loners to earn money than by becoming a hired gun. Shame they had to spoil that by dabbling in kidnapping.”

“Vinnie ordered a search to be done on Giuseppe Marino. He plans to pay him a visit today and get the client’s name. It’s probable that it’s the hyena, John Jones.”

“But why?”

“Maybe he just wanted to interrogate you and force you to tell him where Paxton is. You said the hyena’s convinced he’s alive.”

Fucking Paxton. Even from the grave he brought shit to her life. “Is the fox dead?” If the answer was no, she’d be thoroughly happy to rectify that situation.

“My beast killed him.”

Jealousy pricked at her cat—she’d wanted that privilege. “Then I’m guessing he didn’t die easy. Good.” Holding the covers close to her chest, she slowly sat upright.

Alex frowned. “You should rest.”

“I feel groggy, not sleepy. I need coffee.” Conscious she was butt-ass naked, she hesitated to move. It wasn’t that she had any hang-ups about nakedness—she was a shifter; she was used to shedding her clothes in front of others. Still, she didn’t want him to think she was flaunting her body at him or something. “You realize I’m naked, right?”

His dark eyes heated. “You won’t have anything I haven’t seen before.” One brow flicked up. “Not shy, are you?”

Oh, she heard the challenge in those words. Well, if he thought she’d get all flustered about being naked in front of him, he was highly mistaken.

Bree slipped out of bed and, ignoring the heat and weight of his gaze, snatched a pair of panties and an oversized T-shirt from the drawer. Once she’d pulled them on, she turned to face him. Her breath caught at the predatory, smoldering glint to his bold stare. A glint that disappeared so fast she had to question if it had ever really been there.

Guessing he was probably eager to leave, she said, “Thank you for your help last night. You can go now. I’ll be fine.”

Bree headed to the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Checking her reflection in the mirror above the sink, she almost groaned. Oh, the sight was super cringe-worthy. Her eyes were mere slits, her face was far too pale, and her hair was one big shaggy mess. Perfect. Just. Perfect.

Alex clasped the arms of the chair tight, fighting the urge to drag her out of the bathroom, toss her on the bed, and thrust inside her to assure himself she was alive in the most primitive of ways.

It didn’t matter that she was safe. His mind kept flipping back to that moment when he’d stalked into the alley only to find her cat being dragged along the ground. The memory made his blood run cold every time.

He remembered how her large amber eyes—their pupils oddly round like a human’s—had flicked to him just before he’d passed out. He’d seen pain, rage, and panic there.

Alex scrubbed a hand down his face. He was as pissed with himself as he was with whoever sent the fox after her. He’d fucked up. Huge. He should have taken extra precautions when she told him that the hyenas had approached her. He should have protected her better. But he hadn’t. He’d trusted Vinnie and his boys to have it covered, and she’d almost been kidnapped—the thought was enough to steal the breath from his lungs.

His animal’s muscles quivered with the need to leave, hunt down the threat to her, and fucking eradicate it. The beast had settled a little now that the smell of drugs no longer tainted her scent, but he hated that danger lurked over her; he wanted that danger gone yesterday.

Hearing his phone chime, Alex fished it out of his pocket. Mateo. Alex let the call go to voicemail, not in the mood to reassure the other male for the thousandth time that she was fine.

Elle had chased Mateo off the previous night—refusing to allow him inside the house, furious that he’d even try to enter. She didn’t seem to know what had led to the fallout between him and Bree, but she did seem to feel that Mateowas in the wrong.

Alex couldn’t imagine the guy ever harming Bree by word or deed. But when Mateo had appealed to Alex to allow him inside, Alex had instead told him to go home, promising to keep him updated on her condition. It wouldn’t have been fair to Bree if they’d allowed Mateo—someone she seemed to no longer trust—access to her while she was vulnerable.

Just then, the bathroom door swung open. Looking a little more alert than she had before, Bree stepped into the room. She frowned the moment she saw Alex. “Really, I’ll be fine on my own.”

“I didn’t say you wouldn’t be.”

She stared at him, drumming her nails on her thighs. Then she shrugged. “Whatever.”

That was too easy. Which worried him.

She pulled on a silky robe and then left the room, not quite steady on her feet. He knew if he offered to help, she’d chew a chunk out of his ass.

He followed her downstairs and into the kitchen, keeping a close eye on her. Her movements were slow and awkward as she prepped the coffee machine and grabbed a single mug from the cupboard—a clear message that she wanted to be alone. Amusement trickled through him. She should have remembered he wasn’t so easy to move along.

As she waited for the coffee to brew, she downed a glass of water as if it came direct from the fountain of youth.

Noticing she kept rubbing her temples, he searched her cupboards until he found pain reliever pills. He held out two. “Take these.”

She gave him a dubious look but took them, mumbling, “Thanks.” She swallowed the pills with what water was left in her glass. “I don’t know how to ask this without sounding bitchy, but … why are you still here?”

“I’m waiting for my mom to arrive,” he said, grabbing himself a mug from the cupboard and placing it on the counter beside hers. “Coffee’s ready, by the way.”

“Your mom’s coming?”

Alex poured coffee into both mugs and pushed one into her hand. “Yes. She’ll be here soon. She wants to check on you. I’ll stay until she gets here. I don’t want you alone while you’re not at one-hundred percent.”

Bristling, Bree felt her nostrils flare. She did not like that he acted as if she was his responsibility. “That’s not necessary, I’ll be fine by myself.”

“You know who I am. You know how I am. You know how shit works in my world. So if someone under my protection was almost kidnapped, do you think I’d go on about my day as if it never happened?”

No, she was pretty sure that he’d … And that was when it hit Bree. “You’re planning to go with Vinnie to visit the agency.”

“Yes. I need to fix my fuckup.”

Her brow furrowed. “What fuckup?”

“I should have kept a closer eye on you. I didn’t, and you almost paid for it. That’s not going to happen again.”

“You don’t bear any responsibility here. Vinnie and the boys will be all over this now. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’ll put guards on me—there are probably at least two outside. He’ll track down Marino and find out who the client is.”

“That’s the hope. Now, if he’s smart, the client will accept defeat, back off, and lay low for a while to elude Vinnie. If he’s not smart—and I’m going for ‘not,’ considering he chose to fuck with a pallas cat pride—he’ll try to find some other way to get to you. I’m not comfortable leaving you on your own when you’re not at full strength.”

She would have argued but, really, there was little point. He wasn’t going to budge on this—he’d used what James called “the wolverine tone.” Firm. Emotionless. Determined. Non-negotiable.

James never bothered to argue with Valentina or Alex when they spoke in that voice; he knew he’d never get them to change their mind. In fact, he often just threw up his hands and walked away.

There was a loud knock at the front door.

“That’ll be my mom,” he said. “I know you’re tired and edgy but let her fuss over you. It’s how she shows she cares.”

Like Bree could have stopped her. The woman was a force of nature.

He disappeared down the hallway and, yeah, she watched his epic ass the entire time. Well, there was no harm in looking, was there?

Sipping her coffee, she heard Valentina bustle into in the house and mutter something at Alex in Russian. Heels click-clacked down the hallway, and then Valentina strode into the kitchen, overloading the space with the sheer weight of her powerful personality.

“Ah, there you are. James thought you might still be sleeping. But I said no, Bree is strong, she will be awake.” Valentina palmed her cheek. “You are fine now, yes?”

Bree smiled. “Yes.”

“Good.” She sniffed haughtily. “Coffee?” Valentina curled her upper lip, not a big fan of the beverage. “Sit. I will make you black tea. I brought syrniki,” she added, referring to cottage cheese dumplings. “You need protein and nutrients to boost your strength. Alex, you will eat with us before you leave. No arguments.”

“Damn, Valentina, it concerns me that you struggle to assert yourself,” Bree quipped, sliding onto a stool.

Valentina huffed, but the sound was playful. She lined the contents of her plastic bag on the counter and began to prep the meal. “I called Vinnie earlier. He has assured me he will find fox, and I have made it clear he will lose finger if he does not.”

Alex sighed. “Must you threaten our Alpha so often?”

“I only gave him incentive to work fast,” said Valentina. “I would not really hurt him.”

Bree snickered. Incentive, her ass. Valentina would totally tumble all over Vinnie’s shit if things didn’t go her way. Wolverines feared nothing and no one.

“I could hear Elle shouting in background. She wants to help track who hired fox, but Vinnie will not allow it.”

The Alpha was hardly likely to allow Bree to tag along, then. Which was fair, considering she wasn’t an enforcer. She trusted that Vinnie had this in the bag. She just wished she could be part of bringing the client to his goddamn knees.

She could try doing some investigating of her own, of course, but it wouldn’t lead to much. Bree didn’t have crazy computer skills or “sources” to speak with, so she had no way of identifying the hyenas, or of hunting down Marino. But if she asked Vinnie nicely, he might just allow her to deliver the killing blow to the client. She’d have to—

“You’re plotting,” Alex accused, his eyes narrowed.

“Always.” It was honestly tempting to set off on a tangent and seek her own vengeance. But it wouldn’t be smart. Especially since, as Alex irritatingly pointed out, she wasn’t at full strength.

It wasn’t long before Valentina dished out breakfast. The wolverines ate fast, as usual—it was simply part of their nature. Bree was only halfway through her meal when Alex stood up, ready to leave.

“Call me if you need anything,” he told her before striding out.

Valentina lifted her cup of black tea, watching Bree closely. “You do not like his overprotectiveness,” she observed.

No, she didn’t. And yet she did. “I also don’t like that he blames himself for what happened with the fox.”

“My son does love to shoulder unnecessary blame,” said Valentina, rolling her eyes. “He even believes he bears some responsibility in Freya’s death. You are thinking that is stupid. It is. But he feels he could have used mating bond to keep her alive long enough to reach our healer.”

“Her injuries were too extensive, from what I heard.”

“That is true. Even if they had been mated, there was nothing he could have done. But he still feels he failed at a time when it mattered most. And it is clear he now feels he should have done more to shield you. I can see you are chafing at his protectiveness, but I would ask that you be patient with him. Alex takes protecting those in his world very seriously, so let him help. He will feel better for it, and you will be safer—that is win-win situation, yes?”

Bree sighed. “The ultimate salesperson, aren’t you? You know how to word things to get your way—which is highly impressive, since English isn’t your first language.”

“My kind are cunning that way.” Valentina set her cup down on the coaster. “I heard whispers that Moira confronted you last night. I also heard Bernadette is upset with you. Why is this?”

“She doesn’t like that I’ve officially renounced Paxton.”

“Bah,” Valentina scoffed. “He would not have been good for you. Bernadette knows that, in her heart. But she does not want to face that her son was … what is phrase?”

“Fucked up?”

Valentina gave a decisive nod. “That works. But that woman is like ostrich. Buries her head in sand. Mateo is same. He will have sensed you only saw him as friend, but he chose to believe what brought him comfort. But it is my son you care for, no?”

Bree was pretty sure her mouth fell open.

“Why look so shocked I sensed how you feel? I see all. This you know.”

Bree felt her mouth curve into a weak but genuine smile. The woman was a treasure. “Well, Alex doesn’t feel the same for me, so I guess I’ve been quite the ostrich, too.”

“I do not know what my son feels for you. But I do not believe he feels nothing. He does not like to be away from you.” Valentina sipped her tea. “Did you know he calls to check on you while he is roaming?”

Bree’s head snapped up. “I heard he drops off the radar; that he doesn’t use his cell or the internet or anything.”

“He did not used to. But in the last few years, that changed. And he must also check his voicemails while roaming, because he told us to leave him message if you have problem. Does that not tell you something?”

Bree heaved a sigh. “It doesn’t really matter, does it? He’s not going to act on whatever he might feel. He was clear on that.”

Valentina flicked a hand. “Bah.”

Again with the ‘bah.’ It never failed to make Bree smile.

“I would ask you not to give up on him yet. But if you feel that, in giving him time, you will be wasting your own, I understand. He has had chance to make right choice, and he has not.” Valentina sighed. “It is sad for a mother to realize she raised an idiot.”

A smile tugged at Bree’s mouth. “He’s not an idiot.”

“Oh, but he is. Unlike Mila, my foolish son only ever learned his lessons hard way—I do not know why that is.”

Bree gathered the dishware. “Well, thank you for breakfast, Valentina. It was amazing.” She took the plates to the sink. And the breath left her lungs in a rush. Because lying on the windowsill was the fucking half-heart necklace.

Someone had obviously dug it out of the trash can. It was possible that one of the people who came last night caught a glimpse of it, thought she’d dropped it in there by mistake, and so fished it back out. Or Bernadette herself might have been the one to do it. It would have been relatively easy to guess, given Bree had officially renounced Paxton, that she’d throw the necklace away. Right? Maybe. Or not.

“How long was Bernadette here last night?” she asked Valentina, careful to sound casual.

“She did not come,” replied Valentina, joining her at the sink. “But Ruben and Calvin were here.”

Well … one of them could have seen it in the trash and dug it out. She thought about asking Valentina if anyone had mentioned finding the necklace. But if they hadn’t, Valentina would then want to know all about the damn thing—it wasn’t a story that Bree felt like telling. Especially since the female wolverine would confront Bernadette about it, no matter Bree’s feelings on that.

“Now,” began Valentina, “let us wash dishes. Then we will plot weird and wonderful ways to make Moira miserable.”

“Oh, I can get behind that.”

It took a little over two hours to reach the agency. Located in a rough, neglected area among a row of stores, the small building was no bigger than the barbershop where Mila worked.

As Tate parked the seven-seater SUV outside, Vinnie very quickly relayed the simple plan to his sons, Alex, and the three enforcers who’d come along: Walk inside, state that they wished to speak with Marino, and then get shit done.

Simple.

But when they entered the plain, sparse office, there was no one at the incredibly disordered reception desk, and nobody came out to greet them. What did greet them was a thick, coppery scent mingled with the astringent smell of bleach.

Alex exchanged a look with Vinnie.

With Tate in the lead, protecting his father like always, they followed the potent scents into a private office. Both Marino and a pretty redhead were sprawled on the threadbare gray carpet. And both were dead.

Marino had been mercilessly beaten to a pulp, gruesomely savaged with claws, and had taken a bullet to the center of his forehead. The receptionist had also been beaten and shot in the head. The weird thing about the stomach-churning sight? With the exception of the bullet holes, the victims’ wounds hadn’t bled much at all. It was more like they’d oozed a little blood. Which told Alex one very significant thing …

“They were mauled after their death,” said Alex. “My guess is that the bullets took them both out.”

“I was thinking the same,” said Vinnie. “But it makes no sense that the killer would shoot them and then maul them. Why bother?”

Luke shrugged. “Maybe he gets a sick kick out of that shit or he just wanted to make a statement to anyone who stumbled on the scene.” He blew out a breath. “Do you think this was a punishment from the client for failing to snatch Bree?”

The possibility had already flitted through Alex’s brain. “The client would have to have eyes on Bree for them to know this soon that the fox had failed. I don’t like the thought of that at the fuck all.” His beast liked it even less.

“Well, if I was paying someone a shit ton of money to do a job for me, I might want to have someone watch them and make sure they were earning their fee,” said Tate. “Especially if their failure would lead to me being identified. I’d need advanced notice of said failure to cover my tracks.”

Luke gestured at the papers that were strewn all over the floor. Someone had turned the filing cabinets inside out. “What do you think they were looking for?”

“If it was the client, they were probably searching for their case file,” said Vinnie. “They knew we’d come looking for their name, so they killed the only people who knew of it and then they swiped their info.”

Careful not to leave any fingerprints, the enforcers were checking the files and paperwork and examining the bodies, looking for clues that Alex suspected were nonexistent. Whoever had come here had been intent on wiping away any traces of their involvement with the agency—they’d even taken the computer hard drives.

A quick check of the victims’ pockets made Tate sigh. “No cell phones. The bastard must have taken them as well.”

“We can talk with Marino’s other agents—their personal info will be in these files,” said Luke. “One of them might know who the client is.”

“It’s worth a shot.” Vinnie cast a sideways glance at Alex. “That’s where you’ll come in handy.”

Being an interrogator/scare tactic suited Alex and his beast fine. Vinnie had offered Alex the position of enforcer, but Alex didn’t want to lead or follow; he didn’t need a position of authority to feel powerful.

“We’ll pay each of the agents a visit today,” Vinnie went on. “It could take a while to get through them all, but it’s necessary. It’s also important to find out if there’s anyone else who might have had reason to do this to Marino. His death could be linked to something different altogether. I want to be sure.”

“Okay,” Luke agreed, “but my gut says we’re looking at the work of whoever wants Bree. On another note, why do you think they slung bleach everywhere? They didn’t use it to clean anything. They just splashed gallons of it around, like someone might do with gasoline before setting a place alight. Why?”

It was Alex who replied. “To mask their scent so that we wouldn’t have one to track.” His Russian uncles had used that trick in the past, and it always worked. “The additional scents of blood and death sure helps drown theirs out.”

With a heavy sigh, Vinnie rubbed his nape. “Which means if I don’t get any info from Marino’s employees, I’ve got to go back to the pride and tell my daughter’s best friend that I’m sorry but, no, I don’t have the answers she badly wants.”

“I’ll talk to Bree,” said Alex. “You can tell Valentina.”

Vinnie frowned. “Oh now, Alex, that’s just cruel.”