Vice (Fireborn Wolves Book 1) (15 page)

“
I
don’t think
I’ve ever seen a room clear out so quickly,” Jason said. He was throwing the ball for Milo in the backyard. “I’ll have you know, I had to console the three girls who lost their jobs today.”

“Poor you. They call them working girls for a reason. I’m sure they’ll find another job to do.”

“Don’t be a snob, Laina. They’re not whores. They’re models and this is their work. It’s not as easy as it looks and everyone is entitled to find his or her own path in life. They’re not bad people.”

She sighed. “I know.”

“You do?”

“Yes. Logically, I understand these are women trying to make their way just like everyone else. But considering I witnessed their naked bodies wrapped around the man I love, you’ll need to give me a few days to get over it.”

“Love. You’re sure?”

“Love.” She pried the ball from Milo’s slobbery face and threw it again. “And he loves me too.”

Jason scowled. “So that’s why he couldn’t complete the shoot? He’s going to go domestic for you.”

“I can’t be with someone who poses in bed with naked women. My wolf wanted to rip their heads off.”

“But, Laina, you can’t be with him anyway. You’re not the same
species
.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Seriously, Laina, if you loved him, truly loved him, you wouldn’t screw up his business by pretending he had a chance with you long term.”

She set her jaw. The argument with Kyle came back to her.
How can I be with someone who allows her family to rule her life?
“But he does have a chance with me, brother,” she said softly. “A very good chance.”

Jason’s body stiffened. “You’re thinking about leaving the pack.”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. You know that.”

“Where will you shift? You can’t tell him the truth. If you share our secret, the supernatural community will have your head. I’m not even talking about Silas. I don’t think he’d have it in him to hurt you. But a witch like Grateful Knight? She exists to judge the supernatural and the first law of being supernatural is—”

“You shall not reveal your true nature to humans, nor interfere directly with their history, nor threaten their lives or livelihood,” she recited.

“Exactly. Hate to break it to you, sis, but the jealousy shit is, by definition, interfering with Kyle’s livelihood. You publically domesticated Kyle ‘The King’ Kingsley today. You tamed the world’s playboy.”

She frowned. “I didn’t force him to do anything.”

“You’re too close. We should leave now. Go back to Monty’s.”

She faced him head-on, hands on her hips. “I’ve watched you fuck anything that could walk since Mom and Dad died, Jason, trying to fill some hole in your heart that nothing can fill. You know what I figured out? Our vices aren’t rooted in the things we desire. They’re rooted in our overlooked and unfulfilled needs. You need love so badly, you think you can get it with sex. I need it too. That true intimacy we lost, along with so much of our innocence the day Mom and Dad were killed—I found it. I found what they had. And it makes me feel whole and wanted and like nothing else matters. So you can take your nos and your can’ts and go shove them up your ass. Because nothing is going to make me leave Kyle. Nothing.”

She stormed off toward the house, heart heavy with the burgeoning distance between herself and her brother. It was like being ripped apart. Like her body was split in two. But she knew without a doubt which side would win. Something had changed today, and it would take a hell of a lot more than a werewolf or her pack to keep her from Kyle.

* * *

J
ason left
for Monty’s that hour without saying good-bye. No doubt he’d tell Silas what she’d said. There would be consequences. She waited with Milo in the library, taking books down, flipping through them, putting them back.

“I have to get home to Arthur. Are you sure you’ll be all right? Do you want me to fix you something to eat before I go?”

“I’ll be fine, Gerty. Go home. Get some rest.”

She nodded and took her leave.

Laina walked and fed Milo before giving in to her wolf and eating some leftover chicken she found in the fridge. She’d just put the big dog to bed when she heard the front door open and saw Kyle at the base of the stairs.

“It’s done,” he said to her. “I am no longer the face of Hunt Club. What you saw today will never happen again.” He looked tired, exhausted, like he’d spent the day jackhammering concrete rather than in a board meeting.

She descended the stairs. “I almost left today. I thought we were over.”

“Are we?”

“I hope not.”

“You were right. I let Nate and the company run my life for too many years. I ended that today. But there are two sides to this coin, Laina. I did my part. Are you willing to do yours?”

Twisting one finger in her hair, she approached him cautiously, afraid to make any sudden moves and risk jinxing a reconciliation. “Jason left today. I told him I’m staying. I’m not sure what will happen next. Jonah is still out there. I won’t have the protection of my family.”

“I’ll protect you.”

“I’m willing to try to make this work.” She didn’t know how or when she’d tell him she was a werewolf. She had no idea what she’d do about her business. But she couldn’t think about those things now.

“I need you to come to the Tanaka dinner with me on Friday. It was a condition of my change in position. I can’t go without a date.”

“Someone might recognize me.”

“This is a private dinner between us and our Japanese business partners. We’ll have full security. I promise it couldn’t be safer.”

“It’s here, at Hunt Club?”

He nodded. “At Nate’s place.”

She wanted to say yes but she knew Silas wouldn’t approve. Then again, this was where the rubber met the road. Was she willing to choose Kyle over her family? The witch, Grateful, had said Laina would be protected by the mysterious spell that covered the property. If the man who had shot at her was Jonah, he already knew she was alive and he’d proven he couldn’t reach her here. What could be safer?

“Either you serve as my date, or I have to choose a model. Nate will never settle for me going alone,” Kyle said softly.

Rubbing the space over her heart, she said, “I’ll go.”

“You’ll need something to wear. I’ll have Gerty bring you a few choices tomorrow.” He pressed a firm kiss against her mouth. “I love you, Laina Flynn.”

She met his eyes. “I love you too.”

“Don’t talk about leaving me again.”

“There are still things I’ll need to take care of.”

He stepped into her and cradled her head in his hands. “I don’t want to hear reasons you have to leave—I want to hear ways that you can stay.”

She searched his face… and it hit her. Life didn’t mean much without him in it. “Okay,” she whispered. “We’ll find a way.”

L
aina sat facing
Kyle in a plush leather seat that belonged in a living room rather than in the back of a limousine. He handed her a glass of champagne as the driver closed the back door and took his seat behind the wheel.

“I thought Nate’s place was on Hunt Club property. Why the need for the car?”

“It is… on the other end of the forest. Five hundred acres might be a long way to walk in high heels, especially considering the only direct way between there and here is a dirt path through the woods. Driver will take us out and around on Route 36.”

“Gerty says this is the first time you and Nate have lived apart.”

“It was time. Nate’s lifestyle was becoming incompatible with my own. As much as Hunt Club made me out to be the playboy, Nate was always the real thing and more.”

“Hmm.” Laina laughed. She could only imagine what a man like Nate was into.

“Just to warn you, Nate isn’t happy about my change of heart. I doubt he’ll cause a scene, but you might want to keep your distance.”

“Understood. So who are the Tanaka people anyway?”

“Japanese company interested in licensing the Hunt Club name for a new chain there.”

“Do you think Japanese men will go for the concept?”

He lifted one corner of his mouth. “All men go for the concept.”

She grimaced in distaste.

“It’s true. No matter how modern a man says he is, no matter how much of a feminist, no matter how supportive they are to women in their daily lives, deep inside, men want to be alphas.”

Laina froze. “That’s a strange choice of words.”

“What? Alphas?”

She nodded. “What made you put it that way?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Just seemed like an apt comparison.”

Laina stared out the window at the blur of trees that seemed to cut through her reflection in the glass.

Kyle sighed. “Laina.”

She blinked at her reflection in the window, trying to make sense of the firestorm of emotions raging in her chest. The last thing she wanted was to leave the pack only to be dominated by someone else. She loved Kyle but she hated the idea of being a subordinate simply because she was female. She’d spent too long building a life for herself to make that sacrifice.

“Laina, it’s fantasy. I’m talking about the brand, not about us. I don’t think you’re second best to anyone. If you want to be the alpha in this relationship, so be it.”

She turned from the window to see him staring at her, gravely serious. “You’d be okay if I took charge?” She gave him a devilish smile.

He raised an eyebrow. “Hell yeah. Bring it on.”

* * *

N
ate’s house
was a modern architectural marvel constructed of glass and steel, with slabs of black granite that added to a reflective, transparent quality. Kyle helped Laina from the limousine and threaded his arm through hers as they followed a Japanese couple toward the house. “This is so different than Hunt Club Mansion.”

“Castles aren’t Nate’s thing.”

“What is Nate’s thing?”

Kyle groaned. “Power. Control. He’s my brother, but he can be a scary man when he wants to be. It’s why Gerty chose to work exclusively for me when we parted households.”

They were welcomed by one of the models she’d worked with at the club. The peacock. Laina couldn’t remember her name and only had a moment to greet the woman before she was ushered toward a magnificent room of white-clothed tables. Each was dressed with silver charger plates at each place setting that reflected the purple orchid sprays adorning the candelabras at their centers. The bright moonlight shone through the windows and melded with the candlelight to give the table setting an almost magical quality.

Kyle placed a hand in the slope of her back. “Mr. Tanaka is a man who enjoys the finer things in life. I suspect the meal will be memorable. Nate wants to make an impression.”

She followed him into the throng of people, shaking hands and making small talk like a pro. At the center of the throng, was Tanaka himself, a height-challenged waif of a man in a suit that cost more than Four Paws.

“May I be photographed with your guest,” Tanaka asked Kyle, holding Laina’s hand far longer than necessary for a simple greeting. Kyle opened his mouth to respond but Laina interrupted. “I would happily be photographed with you.” She shifted her spaghetti-strap sapphire gown into Tanaka’s side and smiled at the camera.

“Arigatou gozaimasu,” Tanaka said, bowing to her. As she was returning to Kyle’s side, she noticed Nickie watching her from the balcony above the main staircase. She was dressed for the event in a shimmering red-and-black-sequined dress.

“Oh, Nickie’s here,” Laina said.

“Who’s Nickie?”

Laina snorted and pointed toward her friend. “The doe from your club. Looks like she came as someone’s date. She’s not painted like the others.”

Kyle glanced up. “Oh, the one who found the box you left in the kitchen.”

“What?”

“That’s how I found you. We couldn’t figure out where the rats were coming from, but she brought it to me and told me where to find you.”

Laina froze, her thoughts spinning. “Kyle, did you give Nickie permission to use your hot tub the day your driver picked up Jason?”

“Huh? No. The employees have their own attached to the west wing. It’s against policy.”

She threaded her fingers into his. “We need to go.”

“What? Why?”

She turned for the door so quickly she knocked into one of the beautifully set white tables.

Nate grabbed her arm to steady her. “Clumsy.”

A flash of crimson caught her eye. The silver charger on the table next to Nate flashed as if it cradled a lit match in its belly. Nate’s reflection in the silver burned with magic, fiery ripples distorting his features. His normally brown eyes were the color of a snake’s, bright yellow and pulsing.

“Can I talk to you alone for a moment?” Nate asked.

Kyle frowned and took her other arm. “Why would she need to talk to you alone?”

“You can come too, brother. I have something to discuss, with both of you.”

Tanaka and his executives turned to stare in their direction. Kyle placed a hand on Nate’s arm. “This isn’t the time or the place.”

“I agree.” He smiled that gaping, amphibious smile. “Just one moment, Kyle. That’s all I’m asking for.” He pointed at a door near the back of the room.

Laina held her ground. “Don’t go with him. He’s not who you think he is.”

“What are you talking about?” Kyle chuckled nervously, looking confused.

With a tilt of his head, Nate locked eyes with Laina and lowered his lips to her ear, “You don’t want to do this out here, Princess. If you think I’m above taking this entire place out to get to you, you don’t know me.”

“What did he just say to you?” Kyle asked. “I couldn’t hear.”

“Just explaining that there’s a problem at Hunt Club I need to discuss with you right away.”

“I’ll go. Anna can wait here and enjoy herself.”

Nate shook his head in warning. “This has to do with her as well, and if she doesn’t come, I’ll have to take action.”

“All right. I’ll come,” she said, voice cracking. “But let Kyle stay here.”

Kyle looked at her like she was out of her mind. He laughed and threaded his fingers into hers. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”

Nate gave an evil grin, grabbing her elbow and ushering both of them through the door he’d pointed out. “Let Kyle go,” she murmured over and over.

“What’s gotten into you?” Kyle said.

She didn’t have a chance to answer. As soon as the door was closed behind her, a sharp, pain exploded at the back of her skull and then everything went black.