Mellizo Wolves (24 page)

Damon gave Victoria a sly, sidelong glance, and then
continued. “Don’t let my daughter’s meddlesome comment mislead you, Rick. I’m
not letting you go. I’m promoting you. You’ll be in charge of security in the
San Diego office. I have a small condo you can use until you find something
better. And our original contract is still in force. I’ll need you to start
right away.”

Damon had always found that positive emotions got positive
results. And, surprisingly, the unexpected twist had left Victoria temporarily
speechless. A plus in his book, even if only brief.

With a lump in his throat, Damon watched Angela climb
agilely into the ambulance with Valerie and the medics. They lifted Valerie
into the vehicle on a stretcher and began taking her vital signs. He wished he
could go along, but he needed to wrap things up here, including talking with
the fire chief. He touched Hugh’s shoulder. “You should go along, too, and get
someone to look at that knee.”

Hugh winked. “No can do. I’m allergic to hospitals. And
they aren’t partial to walking dead lycanthropes like me.”

Damon knew he was right. He hated that Valerie had to risk
being found out. “All right then. I need you and Kyle to water down the area
between the mansion and the approaching fire while I scan the location where
Lazar fell into the flames. And I want to talk to the fire chief.”

Hugh nodded. “I’ll help you look for signs of survival as
soon as everything around the property is soaked.”

* * *
*

Rick overheard Damon’s words and scanned the hillside. Had
Lazar somehow escaped? He’d seen him fall dead center into a rolling ball of
fire.

Victoria stood looking over the valley, rubbing her folded
arms. He ached to console her. She was worried about her sister. He was
worried, too. He wanted to see how Valerie was doing before he packed.

“Damon, sir, may I give Victoria a ride to the hospital? I
think we’ll all feel better when we know how Valerie’s doing. I couldn’t leave
without knowing.”

Rick shifted his weight as Damon hesitated for a moment,
rubbing his jaw. “You saved Valerie’s life and deserve the peace of mind. And
if you keep it cool, it might be good for Victoria to have some time alone with
you to say goodbye before you pack up and head for San Diego.”

* * *
*

Five minutes later, Victoria watched Rick hustle out of the
mansion. He had shrugged on a clean shirt, and as he got closer, she inhaled
the heady aftershave he’d splashed on. It was no match for the smoke that hung
heavy in the air. “Ready?” he asked, climbing onto his bike.

She nodded, lowered the helmet shield, and wrapped her arms
tightly around his hot, sweaty waist. Straddling the cycle with muscular legs,
he flipped up the kickstand with a heel. He turned the key and hit the
kick-start pedal.

He swerved from the driveway onto the road that led to Mt.
Baldy Highway and hit the gas. She gasped and her knees locked tighter around
the bike as an unbelievable surge of hot wind pounded her body. She pressed
against him, excited by the in-control authority emitting from him and the
power of the cycle vibrating between her thighs. He glanced back. “Don’t look
so worried. Valerie will be fine.”

She clung tighter to his torso, memorizing its trim
contours and flexing stomach muscles.

He slowed as they entered the lush hospital grounds. The
four-story imposing structure brought shivers down her spine. A hospital was a
dangerous place for the cursed.

Rick lifted her off of the bike and put his arm around her.
“They’ll take good care of Valerie.”

“But what if, in the process, they test her blood and
discover she is suffering from lycanthropy?”

“Your mom is there. She’ll control what they do to your
sister.”

When Victoria entered the hospital room, Rick nodded to
Angela, who then gave them a favorable update on Valerie’s condition.

Valerie smiled. “Don’t look so worried, Victoria. They
don’t take blood for a cracked rib.”

Victoria smiled back, feeling now that somehow, everything
would be all right.

On the way back up the hill to the mansion, her thoughts
zeroed in on Rick again. She pressed her lips close to his ear and said, “Could
we stop in that turnout ahead and talk?”

She felt him sigh as he pulled off the highway. She had to
make her feelings clear. He helped her off the bike and they walked to the
bench on the edge of the cliff that overlooked the sprawling San Bernardino
Valley and the Rancho Cucamonga area. She took in the expansive twinkling
skyline lights of a number of small communities as they sat down. Most of the
smoke from the fire had dissipated and the breeze had carried it away.

“Rick, you have to turn Dad down and remain in the area.
He’s manipulating you. It is the same old story. He believes that throwing
money at the problem will make it go away.” Tears rushed to the back of her
eyes and she forced them away. She wasn’t ready to let Rick go. Maybe she never
would be, and this was her last chance to make her move.

She took a deep breath and thrust herself into his arms.
With her face buried against his shoulder, she breathed him in. “Rick, you
saved me and my sister. My heart’s lost to you.” When he said nothing, she
added, “I want you to stay, Rick. Together we can stand up to my dad.”

He laughed. “Why? He’s right. We don’t make sense
together.”

He pushed her away slightly and took her hands in his.
“Look, I have to go. You’re still in school and I’m the big bad wolf who makes
fathers quake in their boots.”

She laughed. “You’re a little mixed up. I’m the wolf and
you’re my prey. You can’t escape the chemistry and desire between us.”

“I can and I will. But I won’t kid you. It’ll be painful as
hell to walk away from you.”

She frowned. “Well, I never pegged you as a coward. I
thought you were this Indian brave who’d save me from my passionless
existence.”

“Honey, you’re existence is the farthest thing from
passionless that I can imagine. But the timing is off. And I can’t blow this
opportunity.”

“You’re putting a job ahead of me.”

He shook his head. “We’ll still be friends, and who knows
after a few years what the future might hold for us.”

“Why can’t you accept that I’m a woman now, ready to love
like a woman?”

“I’m an honorable man and I made promises to your dad. Besides,
I’m not ready to be a husband and you’re not ready to be a wife.”

She pouted. “I wasn’t proposing. I just want you to stick
around and see where this thing between us is headed.”

Rick’s eyes darkened. “We both know where it’s headed and I
can’t let it happen. I told you that in the beginning.” His gaze softened. “In
my culture, the Indian brave has to earn the right to his princess. If you
still want to give this a try in a few years, I’ll do all I can to prove my
courage. Any man who’d even consider winning your love is no coward, I assure
you.”

Victoria decided that losing this argument wasn’t an
option. Even as she thought it, she felt like she was in the wrong. But she’d
never wanted anything as much as she wanted Rick. And she was used to getting
what she wanted.

When they retuned to the mansion, she asked, “Can you at
least walk me to my bedroom door? I don’t bite, you know.”

He laughed. “You
do
bite. I’ve experienced those
incisors firsthand. I’ll walk you to your door. But I’m not coming inside.”

“Afraid?”

“After seeing you in action? Hell yes. It would be so damn
easy to lose my soul in the wake of your youth and enthusiasm.”

“Why are you playing the old man card? You’re only two
years older than me. We both have youth. I’ve seen and felt your signs of
enthusiasm.” He shook his head and went silent. She wondered what he was
thinking. She was so sure he loved her.

Chapter Twelve

With soft music coming from the mansion intercom, they
walked up the winding stairway, him guiding her with a hand to the middle of
her back, his touch commanding and possessive. She felt breathless, radiant,
and fearful all at the same time. When he opened the door for her, she hesitated,
then, without switching on a light, she shoved him hard toward her bed. Giving
a yelp, he hurled backwards hard onto the coverlet. Before he could escape, she
jumped on top of him. She kissed him with all the passion that had roared
through them earlier as the flames inched closer and closer. Recalling the high
of danger and the thrill of defeating evil, she moved her hips over his
hardness and stripped off her top, exposing her breasts.

A quarter-moon threw silvery light and shadows across Rick’s
stunned face and her bosom. For an instant, desire flared in his eyes. Good.
She had him. Their heat and the scent of orange blossoms mingled with the
lingering smoke from the fire added to her determination and escalating
desperation to conquer.

“No, damn it, Victoria! This is why we don’t work together.
You want what you want with no respect for my vow to your dad. You think like a
petulant child. When I make it, it will be with a woman who understands love
and isn’t just a selfish taker who sees me as prey.”

He grabbed her arms roughly and lifted her off of him as
through she were a feather and tossed her aside. Victoria felt like he’d thrown
ice water into her face. To her regret, he was right. She was treating him like
prey to triumph over, not the hero and love of her heart. He slammed out of her
room, leaving her feeling childish and rejected. Her plan to drive him crazy
with desire had failed, and instead, she’d skyrocketed her own libido and, in
the process, driven him away.

* * *
*

Rick’s face flamed hot. Probably everyone in the mansion
had heard their impassioned shouts. He was sure of it when Damon raced up the
stairs like gangbusters, coming to the rescue of his precious daughter.

“Is everything all right?” he asked.

“Victoria’s virginity and my honor are intact, sir. We just
had a difference of opinion on how to say good-bye.”

“She’ll get over it,” Damon said. “She’s had little
experience dealing with the word no. And that’s my fault.” He shifted his
weight. “Your yelling exchange isn’t why I’m here. You have experience with
computers, right?”

“Yes, sir. I learned to be a skilled and efficient hacker
while working as an investigator for my brother. What do you need?”

“I need to get into Lazar’s computer and pinpoint where we
are on the development of the serum.”

* * *
*

Rick worked over thirty minutes before he found his way in
to the secret data chambers. “It looks like Lazar believed he already found a
cure. He was marketing it to other countries as his own.”

“What about testing and FDA approvals?”

“It appears he skipped that important process. It also
appears he used his own lycanthrope cursed blood in the serum along with
something called moon poppies and a property he called mud extract X.”

“Extract X, dear God no. I was told early on that the mud
extract had toxic properties that could maim and kill. I must warn his buyers
that we don’t have FDA approval and the dangers of using an unapproved serum.”

Damon knew he needed someone he trusted on this. Angela was
a top analyst and researcher for Derrick Simons and Associates before they
married. “Angela can help me log all the data and analyze it so the work can go
forward safely. Until all safety measures are in place, I won’t test it on our
girls or anyone who doesn’t understand the dangers.” Damon felt the blood drain
from his face, he’d bet his face had paled to a ghostly gray. He paused. “What
time are you leaving in the morning?”

“I’ve decided it’s safest to leave now, sir. I’ll just grab
my backpack, say my good-byes to the others, and hit the road.”

* * *
*

Twenty minutes later, Damon
walked out to the driveway with Rick and shook his hand. “I’ll see you at the
SD office in a week. Until then the office manager, Rochelle Mitchell, will get
you settled in and bring you up to speed.”

Damon felt a burning gaze searing through his soul. He
looked up at Victoria’s bedroom window. She stood in a stiff stance that
radiated resentment and glared down at him. He had never seen such hatred
coming from one of his girls.

Rick looked up at Victoria, waved, and then when she didn’t
acknowledge his gesture, he shrugged. He mounted his bike and roared down the
driveway on his Harley without a backward glance. Damon felt her sadness tear
through him as her shoulders slumped and she turned away.

He had to go to her and try to make things right.