Night Shift (Grizzly Cove Book 3) (11 page)

“The deputy, Zak Flambeau, is a close…uh…friend of mine.” Darn it. She could’ve phrased that a little better. “It turns out, he has always dreamed of opening a restaurant, but he doesn’t have the capital yet to both build his new home on the property he just purchased and build a restaurant. If you’re willing, the Alpha has agreed that the money you so generously offered to give me could be put to better use building a new business here in Grizzly Cove, in which you’d be a silent partner. You can work out the political details with John, but when I spoke to him, he liked the idea of a closer alliance between his people and yours and thought this might be a good first step.”

She skipped the part about John thinking it was hilariously ironic that a vampire who couldn’t eat food would be part owner of a restaurant.

“Does your…
friend
…know about your ideas yet?” Hiram sounded amused.

“Zak? Um, no, not yet. He should be arriving here in a few minutes, and I wanted to talk to you first.”

“My dear, I admire your pluck.” Hiram was chuckling quietly on the other end of the line. “By all means, lay out your plan for the deputy and let him know that I can easily double the sum, if needed. I will, indeed, call John Marshall to confirm and clarify all points of this arrangement, but I, too, like the sound of an alliance. Everything I’ve seen of your little community impresses me, and I think it’s important for those of us on the side of Light to band together at this time.”

She didn’t understand everything he was implying, but she shivered, realizing the vampire Master had confirmed some of the exact thoughts John had shared with her. This was more than a business partnership. This was going to be the beginning of an alliance between the Master vampire—and those under his command—and the shifters of Grizzly Cove. Tina hadn’t realized it when she’d come up with the idea of how to use Hiram’s money, but apparently, she was brokering a diplomatic deal here, even as she tried to help Zak start his business.

“Thank you so much,” she said, realizing Zak’s dream was well on its way to coming true with Hiram’s backing.

“You’re very welcome, my dear. Now, I heard you had a run-in with a mini version of what attacked my yacht,” Hiram said, surprising her.

She told him what she could about the tentacle that had come out of the cove to grab her leg, comparing notes with him on his own experience. They arrived at the scary conclusion that whatever had attacked Tina had, indeed, been a much smaller version of what had chomped on Hiram’s yacht and injured him so grievously.

“I think it’s best that we all stay far away from the water for the time being,” he concluded. “Until we figure out what, exactly, is down there, lurking in the depths, it seems we are all in danger. I will talk more with John about this, but thank you for sharing your experiences. Now, about the restaurant—I’d be obliged if you told Zak that I can arrange for the best vintages from the Maxwell Winery, if he’d like. Similar to the cases I sent you. Atticus Maxwell is an old friend of mine, and he owes me a favor.”

Tina had an inkling of what a coup that would be for Zak’s business, since the Maxwell Winery was one of the very best in the world and had limited distribution. To be able to count on serving their wines in Zak’s restaurant was a very exciting prospect.

“Oh! I’ll tell him. Thank you so much, Master Hiram. I know he was really impressed with the bottles we opened last night. He told me all about the awards Maxwell had won and how hard it was to come by some of his best vintages.”

“Please, my dear, call me Hiram. I sense your discomfort with my title, and to be frank, you are one of the first mortals I have spoken to casually in a very long time. I’d like it if you might consider me a friend.”

Tina thought about that for a moment, then smiled. “Then please call me Tina, Hiram. I’m glad you found my bakery when you needed help, even if I was a bit confused about the situation at the time.”

“Confused is much better than frightened, I assure you,” he admitted in a quiet voice. She got the feeling he didn’t confide in anyone, and her heart went out to him for what must be a very lonely existence. “Zak is a very brave individual, and I think you will find great happiness together. I’m glad to be part of building your future, even in this small way. Please feel free to call anytime, Tina. I find I have enjoyed talking with you.” He seemed almost surprised by his last statement.

“When we open the restaurant, I hope you can come to the party.”

“I’ll discuss that—and many other points—with the Alpha, but I think this marks a new era of cooperation between our communities. I confess, I am somewhat amazed that this has all come about due to your generous thoughts and actions. I did not know mortals still had hearts so big that they could accept and even want to help those of us who are so different.”

“I don’t think you’re that different, Hiram,” she said softly. “You can still be hurt, even with all your power. You still feel. You still have hopes and—like Zak and his restaurant—dreams. What I’ve seen since I learned shifters were real, and now knowing that your kind exists as well, tells me that we’re not all that different inside, where it counts.”

“You are very wise for one so young,” Hiram said after a moment’s pause. “I look forward to seeing what you and Zak build together, and I wish you all the best.”

“Thanks, Hiram. I’m sure Zak will want to thank you himself when he learns of my scheming, but I know he’s going to be so very grateful. He really is a genius in the kitchen, and I think he’s felt as if he hasn’t contributed any
art
to the whole artists’ colony concept here. If he has a kitchen of his own, there will be artistry, I can assure you. And the whole town will benefit. Thanks to you.”

“Mostly to you, my dear,” he corrected her. “Without your generous heart, this project would never have been devised.”

They hung up after a few more words, and Tina couldn’t keep the smile off her face. Zak was going to get his restaurant a lot sooner than he thought.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Zak couldn’t really believe how fast things started moving once Tina decided he should open his restaurant. Not only had she figured out a plan to make it happen, she’d cleared it with John and Master Hiram even before telling Zak about it.

Nobody had ever gone so far out of their way for him before. He felt…loved.

They hadn’t talked about their feelings since he’d dared to ask her to see him exclusively. He was trying to go slow, to win over her human sensibilities, but then she went and did something like this…

He didn’t know what to think. He was touched. Humbled and touched so very deeply. He couldn’t voice his feelings. He only knew how to show her. And he did his best to show her each and every time they made love after that amazing night when she’d gone out of her way to help him make his business dreams come true.

Zak spent every night in the apartment above the bakery with Tina and almost every moment off-duty with her. She was helping him plan the restaurant, and Big John had given him the empty lot next to the bakery to build it on. With Hiram’s money, they were able to fast-track the project, getting architectural plans prepared sooner than Zak would have believed.

About a week after she’d surprised him with the business proposal for Hiram’s money, she was seated beside him as his building plans went up before the town council for consideration and approval.

The process wasn’t overly complicated, but even though Brody and John had seen the plans, the rest of the top lieutenants would get a chance to comment and make suggestions before the project could get started. John ran the group that way. Always had. He was a lot more democratic than many shifter leaders. Then again, bears were a lot more independent than most other groups of shifters. And this group was made up of many different kinds of bears.

John was the kind of leader who could hold such a diverse group together. Few others had the kind of charisma and patience it took to deal with this crazy band of shifters and the social experiment they were all engaging in by building this new community.

“Up for consideration next is Zak and Tina’s new restaurant,” John said, catching Zak by surprise, finally turning the agenda to Zak’s big moment.

Copies of the plans were spread out on the big table around which the town council was gathered. A few of the guys leaned in for a closer look at the blueprints, and Zak held his breath until he saw them nodding as they examined the plans.

“Financing for this deal is something special,” John went on, regaining the attention of the rest of the group. “The lovely and talented Tina Baker has brokered a deal with Master Hiram of Seattle. He’s fronting the money to build the restaurant and will be a silent partner.”

“Is that wise?” one of the men asked. “Do we want to be that deeply entwined with the vampire master?”

John sighed deeply before answering. “I think we have no choice but to embrace a closer relationship with anyone who’s on the right side of things. Hiram is sworn to the Light. As are we. If that sea monster and its ugly friends are on the other side—which I tend to believe—we might need all the allies we can find. Plus, with what’s been going on in the wider world—all the strange and troubling events of the past few months I’ve been briefed on by the Lords—I like the idea of having an ancient and powerful vamp to call on if we need help out here.”

“This arrangement also helps Master Hiram keep up his façade of mortality. We can all swear to seeing him eat, right? And he gets to be a restaurateur in a town that will back him up, no questions asked,” Tom added.

“Hiram has good contacts too,” Tina put in, doing her best to help. “He’s arranging for the Maxwell Winery in Napa to provide some of their rarest and best vintages for the cellar. That might bring in more of Hiram’s people who want to spend an evening at the seaside, which means more revenue for the town. From what I understand, most of those vampires are loaded.”

Zak had to chuckle at Tina’s enthusiasm. He put his hand over hers on the table, and she beamed over at him. With her on his side, he couldn’t help but come out on top, right?

“What it boils down to is this…” John said, taking over the meeting once more. “We all know how good Zak is in the kitchen. Food prep is his art. It’s what he can contribute to the community, even more than being the deputy sheriff. Frankly, if we keep growing—and I think we’re on a good path for growth right now—we’re going to need to expand the police force anyway. More than that, we’re going to need more businesses for the townsfolk and all those tourists we hope to attract down the road. We have the bakery, but as hard as the sisters try, they can’t offer three meals a day for everyone in town, and a lot of us bachelors still don’t know how to cook much more than steaks on the grill. Am I right?” Nods all around greeted the Alpha’s rhetorical question. “Zak’s place will offer an alternative. Something a little heartier than the sandwiches and sweets at the bakery. Something we can enjoy for dinner that we don’t have to cook ourselves or hunt in our fur. What do you say?”

A quick vote was taken, and the plan unanimously passed without much further ado. Tina laced her fingers with Zak’s, squeezing hard as her excitement bled through.

They could’ve left then, but there was only one further item on the agenda, and Zak was interested to see how the vote was going to go. A proposal had been put forward by two human sisters who wanted to open a bookstore. The plan had made it through Tom and Ashley’s first look, and up to John’s level. Now it was going to be put before the council.

“Last item for tonight,” Tom took over, opening his file. “Ursula and Amelia Ricoletti. Human sisters. They want to open a bookstore. We’ve checked them out, and they look like they would fit in well.”

“What do we need a bookstore for?” Sig, the owner of the one and only fish market, asked.

“Some of us like to read, Sig,” Tom replied with a chuckle.

“Some of us
know
how to read,” Peter, the Russian, quipped, throwing a wadded up paper lightly in Sig’s direction.

Sig laughed with them, holding up his hands in mock surrender. “Okay, okay. Keep your hair on.”

“They’re female, Sig. Who cares what kind of store they open?” Drew, the other fisherman in the group, joked. “Look how well the last three worked out.” He sent Tina and Zak a knowing look. “It’d be nice to have more women around here. Maybe give the rest of us a chance to find a mate. Even a human mate is way better than no mate at all.”

The vote was taken, and the decision made. The town was growing—slowly but growing. Things were changing in Grizzly Cove.

Talk turned to the sea monster and what they’d been able to find out about it so far. Not much, as it turned out, though experts were still looking into it.

The meeting broke up with the continuing admonition to stay away from the water for now, and to keep sharp eyes out for anything odd. Everyone was on watch.

Tina and Zak walked back to the bakery arm in arm. They’d walked the short distance down Main Street to the meeting and paused on their way back in the lot next door to the bakery, looking at the site where, very shortly, construction would begin on Zak’s dream. Now it seemed to be Tina’s dream too—for him.

Zak couldn’t really get over it. She’d gone behind his back to arrange things for him in an act of sacrifice and care that humbled him. She could have easily pocketed the very generous check Master Hiram had sent her, and Zak never would have thought twice about it. Instead, she’d refused to accept Hiram’s generosity on her own behalf and, instead, had talked the vampire into investing in him—in Zak.

How had he gotten so lucky to find a woman like her? Zak felt truly blessed for the first time in his life. As if the Goddess Herself was looking down on him and smiling, giving him a chance to have things go right—really right—for the first time in his private life.

He’d thought he felt the blessing of the Lady of Light a few times in his work. In the field, he’d gotten away with moves that should’ve seen him eating a bullet one too many times to doubt that the Goddess existed and gave the occasional helping hand to those who had sworn to serve Her.