Wolf with Benefits (15 page)

Troy pushed Oriana out of the way. “I need you to arrange a meeting with the head of the math department at Columbia. Aunt Irene called him, but she ended up arguing with the guy.”

“Because he’s an idiot,” Aunt Irene complained from the stairs. “At least whoever I actually spoke to that refused to let me talk to the head of the math department is an idiot. And obviously jealous.”

“Jealous of what?” Troy demanded.

“That I easily raise more money for my department than he does.” Irene came down the stairs, a duffel bag in her hand. “Plus, I have, according to your Uncle Van, amazing legs.”

“Is that why you’re walking all slow and sexy down the stairs?” Cooper teased.

“Yes.” Irene pushed her way through the children and handed Toni the bag. Then she turned her around and pushed her toward the door.

“Wait,” Kyle said. “Where is she going? Why is she leaving?
Stop this madness!
”

The door closed behind Toni and she could hear the arguing continue as she walked back down the steps and met up with the wolf.

“That went well,” he said.

“I can’t go in there,” she admitted. “I can’t handle them right now.” She looked around. “But I have nowhere to go.” She let out a sigh. “I hate my life.”

“Come on,” Ricky said.

“Where are we going?”

“I’m not exactly sure,” he said, not making the least bit of sense. “But I swear, entertainment seems to follow you around, like a puppy after its momma. So I am along for the ride, darlin’.”

 

Ricky showed the keys to the doorman and, without question, he sent the pair to the fifteenth floor. Once they arrived, they walked down the hallway to the last apartment. Ricky unlocked the door and together they stepped in.

“Wow.” Toni sighed as she entered and looked around.

“Your apartment is amazing.”

“This ain’t my apartment.”

Toni stopped, faced him with wide eyes. “Are we doing some illegal Smith thing?”

That made Ricky chuckle. Everybody thought the Smith Pack was always running around doing illegal shit. And, mostly, they were. But that wasn’t how Ricky and his brothers were raised. Their momma didn’t like “the criminal types,” so she made sure that none of her boys were. Too bad she didn’t really convey that attitude to her daughter, too, but Ronnie had cleaned up her act since the Pack had moved to New York and she’d mated with that big-haired lion male.

“No, darlin’, we’re not doing anything illegal. This isn’t my apartment, but I think it’s yours.”

Toni blinked and her back snapped straight. “What? What are you talking about?”

“This is your apartment. You were having a meltdown in the cab when that little full-human handed me the keys and this address.” He held out the sheet of paper the full-human had written the address on. Toni snatched it out of his hand and gawked at it.

“Maybe she was hitting on you,” Toni said desperately. “You’re cute. She was probably trying to lure you to her house so she could hook up with you.”

“Awww. You think I’m cute?”

“Good God, would you focus?”

“No need to blaspheme.”

“I don’t even know what that means.”

“You might as well accept that this beautifully furnished home is yours.”

“Lies!”

Ricky pointed at the two dozen white roses on the long table underneath a mirror. “The card by these flowers has your name on it.”

“What?” She snatched up the card, tore it open, and read out loud, “ ‘Because it’s time you had a place of your own. Ric.’ ”

“See?”

“See?” she repeated back to him, her eyes locking on him. “
See?
Don’t you understand? This is a
nightmare
!”

“You know what?” Ricky placed the duffel bag back in Toni’s hand and turned her toward the bedrooms. “Why don’t you go change out of that uncomfortable-looking suit?”

“Why does everyone hate this suit?”

“We don’t. We hate you
in
that suit. You’re clearly not comfortable.”

“I know. I’m so miserable.”

Ricky gave her a little push. “Go change. I’ll order us some food. Chinese work for you?”

“Whatever.”

Ricky dropped his head in case Toni looked back and saw him laughing.

Such a cute, confusing little thing. But, again, entertaining. Really, truly entertaining.

T
oni eventually forced herself out of the bedroom where she’d changed clothes and into the dining room. An array of Chinese food covered the long wooden table as well as white plates; knives, forks, and spoons; and linen napkins.

“Are you expecting company?” she asked the wolf as he came in through the swinging doors with a bottle of wine and two crystal wineglasses.

“Nope. Why?”

“This seems like a lot of food.”

He studied the table. “Really?”

Shaking her head and deciding not to pursue it, Toni asked, “Did you get the plates and silverware from a neighbor or something?”

“This stuff was already in the cabinets.”

“You’re kidding.”

“This apartment is ready to go, darlin’. Stuff for the bed, towels for the bathroom, soap, toothbrushes, shampoo, even that really soft toilet paper. Anything you could want is here.”

Toni pulled out one of the dining chairs, dropped into the seat, and planted her face on the table. She heard another chair being pulled out, and the wolf sat down next to her, turning the chair so he could face her.

“All right. Talk to me, darlin’. You’re not insane. A little crazy, but not insane. And this . . . everything you’ve gotten in the last few days . . . do you know how many people would kill for all this?”

“But,” she said, slowly lifting her head, “those people would be qualified.”

“You are qualified.”

“I’m not.” She finally admitted the truth that embarrassed her. “I’ve never had a job.”

“What do you call taking care of your family?”

“Not a job. There are loads of women and men in this world who help raise their younger siblings. There’s absolutely nothing special about me.”

When the wolf laughed at her, Toni’s hands curled into fists and she snarled, “You know what? You can take this Chinese food and shove it up your goddamn—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing at how you don’t think what you do is work. You know, I’m part of a Pack. And when you’re in a Pack, you help take care of the younger pups. That’s just how it is. Me and my brother Rory had to manage twenty pups under the age of eleven during a Reed family reunion one summer. It was only for an hour and it was the longest gosh-darn hour of my life. Especially since the Reeds fight really rough when they’re pups. But you know what? Still easier dealing with those mean little bastards than you having to deal with your siblings. Do you know why?” She shook her head. “Because most pups are kind of stupid. Cute . . . but stupid. It’s just about keeping them from doing any permanent injury to each other. You, however, have prodigies. Mean, determined little prodigies. Ten of them. Darlin’, that’s a job.”

“Okay, yeah!” she exclaimed. “I’m the world’s best babysitter. But
this
job ... I was on the phone with some Russian guy who wanted Novikov in a cage and then there are all these rules about the hotel situations when the team travels. Some guys can’t room together. And every time I see the coach her knuckles are bloody and I can’t figure out if that’s a subtle threat of some kind. And then they gave me this big office and an assistant and she’s really nice even though she’s mated with a hyena and I got this laundry list of stuff to do from at least six of the players and now I’m confused because I feel like I’m their assistant and Ric isn’t even in town so I can’t ask him anything and it seems that coach doesn’t want to be asked about a goddamn thing she just keeps yelling at me because I don’t know anything and apparently that’s just not acceptable even though it’s only my first day and—”

“Okay. Okay!” The wolf took her hands and held them. “Take a breath.” He paused, then added, “Let it out. I want you breathing.”

He leaned down a bit and kept staring at her until she looked him in the eye.

“I’m going to be direct with you right now. All right?”

Toni nodded at him.

“And I’m going to say what my momma said to me once . . . you need to balls up.”

Blinking, Toni leaned back.

That hadn’t been exactly what she’d expected . . .

 

“Balls up? That’s your recommendation to me?”

“I’m giving you my momma’s wisdom.”

“Thanks. That’s great. I’m going to eat now. Can you hand me those egg rolls?”

“Now wait, don’t just dismiss this.”

“I’m not. I’m just deciding to eat rather than locate my missing testes.”

Ricky took the egg roll out of her hand.

“I was eating that,” she protested.

“I took it anyway.”

“Whatever.” She reached for another egg roll.

“And that’s your mistake,” he announced.

Her mouth around the egg roll, Toni muttered, “Wha?”

“Do you know what happened when I took a pork chop from my sister?” He held up his forearm and Toni winced at the scar there. “That’s from where she took a chunk out of me. Then she took her pork chop back and ate it while my mother tried to stop the bleeding. You know why?”

Toni swallowed her food. “She’s psychotic?”

“Some might say. But really she’s just a predator. That’s what predators do.”

“Okay. And?”

“And you’re used to working with full-humans. Rich, fancy ones who think stealing someone’s company out from under them is being predatory. And your family is used to dealing with full-humans. They know they have to act a certain way in order to do well in their chosen fields because it’s full-humans giving them the money or hiring them for the jobs.”

“Yeah. I guess.”

“But that’s not what you’re dealing with at this job. Now you’re dealing with predators. Ones that get on the ice and bash the shit out of each other for money.”

“Couldn’t you say the same thing about any pro team? Shifter or not?”

“Not really. Think about it. The team doctor has a specialty in artery repair and their team insurance includes fang-loss as a long-term disability. These are not full-human concerns, but they’re ours.”

“So what do I do?”

“Treat them all like you treat Kyle. He’s the only one of your brothers and sisters that you don’t hold back on.”

“What about Oriana?”

“You’re too worried she’ll get an eating disorder. But Kyle is too arrogant to bother with any of that. So treat the team, including the coach, like bigger, stronger, stupider versions of Kyle.”

“And what if that blows up in my face?”

“You were all ready to quit anyway. What could you lose with one more day trying it my way? Plus . . . you get to keep this place for a whole other day.”

“You are way too attached to this apartment.”

“Did you see the size of that TV in the living room?”

 

He spotted her right away. And had followed her for at least an hour. She captivated him. The way she seemed to float everywhere. The way she kept that small smile, no matter what was going on around her in this horrible city. There was just something about her that he couldn’t put his finger on, but it called to him.

And he knew if it called to him, it would call to Chris.

She walked on. Easing through the busy streets, seemingly untouched by all those around her. She glided. She glowed. All men noticed her, some spoke to her, but they didn’t try to stop her. They didn’t try to impede her progress. And she seemed not to notice them. She stopped for a while by the street artists, studying their work. Briefly discussing what she saw, but even that didn’t keep her for long.

Finally, she walked down a street he’d come to know so well since he’d moved to this horrible city and, to his shock, she walked up the stone steps to his true home and sat down in the middle, her back facing the big double doors.

He finally approached, crouching beside her. He gently took her hand and her head turned toward him, big blue eyes focusing on him.

“You search for something,” he told her. “You search for truth. For joy. For happiness. You search and, finally, you’ve found it.”

She said nothing, merely stared at him with those blue eyes, that same small smile on her lips.

“Come with me. Let me show you the truth. Let me show you the way. He’s waiting for you.”

She nodded. “All right.”

With that commitment, he led her up the stairs. He knocked once and the doors were opened. He smiled and nodded at the acolytes who protected the doors. He could see their jealousy. They also knew that he was bringing in something extraordinary.

He led her through the temple. As they walked, she looked around, blue eyes taking it all in. But she asked no questions, did not question him or his motives. Simply let him lead her through his home, his hand holding hers.

He stopped in front of double doors deep inside the temple and waited, giving her a brave smile. She merely stared back at him.

He didn’t knock. He didn’t have to. Eventually the doors opened and Chris stood there. He studied her, learned who she was just by looking at her. Chris could see into a person’s soul, understand their needs and wants, and then help them find the truth about their lives.

Chris was their Savior, and soon, the world would know it.

“I’m Chris,” he said, holding out his hand.

“I’m Delilah.”

“I’m here to help you,” Chris explained. “To guide you to the light.”

Delilah dropped her hand into his, stared at Chris with those big blue eyes, and replied, “Okay.”

 

The TV
was
nice and the perfect end to a perfectly shitty day. After downing more of that Chinese food than she’d thought she would, they ended up crashed on the couch, watching true crime shows and eating gourmet butter pecan ice cream that was already in the freezer.

“You’ve gotta love the defense attorneys,” Ricky said after swallowing another spoonful of his ice cream. “No matter how much bull their clients are trying to pass off, they always seem to go along for the ride.”

“Defense attorneys are important. You never know when you’re going to need one.”

“Planning to kill your third husband the way you killed your first husband so that you can get the life insurance and buy more Chanel bags, are you?”

“I’m not planning to do anything. Life is too short to spend a moment in prison. But you never know when you might be falsely accused. It happens more than people want to realize. And if it happens to me, I’d like to know that there’s a defense attorney out there who’s going to save my ass.”

“Do you sit around worrying about being falsely accused all the time?”

“Not all the time.” She shrugged at his one raised eyebrow. “I worry. That’s what I do.”

“And you’re damn good at it.”

“Yes, yes. I know. That’s all I do. Sit around and worry about my family.” But if she didn’t worry about her family, who would? Some cutthroat agent? Some reality show producer? Toni shuddered at the thought.

“Is that why y’all broke up?”

“Excuse me?”

“Why you broke up?” Ricky asked again.

“Broke up with who . . . ?” she thought a moment. “Or is it whom?”

“Broke up with your last boyfriend?”

“Why are you asking about that?”

“Just curious.”

“Well, be curious about something else.”

“Breakup was that bad, huh?”

Toni rolled her eyes. “Is giving me that pity look supposed to get me to tell you everything about my last relationship?”

“That won’t work? Because it’s worked on others with equally large breasts as yours.”

“No, that won’t work.” But Toni laughed in spite of herself.

“Come on,” he pleaded with a smile. “Tell me somethin’. Toss this wolf a bone.”

“All right, all right. He was full-human—”

“Mistake number one.”

“Are you going to let me finish or comment on each new revelation?”

“Okay. Finish.”

“He was—is—full-human and an eye surgeon. He was nice but very . . . particular.”

“About your sexy times?”

“Again . . .
no
. But thanks for grossing me out.” She shrugged. “He was just particular about how things should go. He seemed to be on a schedule.”

“I figured you’d like a man with a schedule.”

“Not when that schedule specifically involves me.”

“Let me guess . . . he wanted marriage, right?”

“What makes you think that?”

“All full-humans want marriage. Waste of money, in my opinion.”

“That’s what my parents would say anytime I asked why they weren’t married. Funny thing was, my ex’s mother used to constantly ask when my parents were going to get married rather than living in sin. Her words. Yet my dad was home every night with his mate—”

“Hence the many pups.”

“Exactly. While my ex’s dad was banging his secretaries. But
my
parents are the ones living in sin? Really?”

“Full-humans do love to judge.”

Toni gave a small shrug. “I don’t know. Shifters can be judgmental.”

Ricky waved his spoon. “No, no. It is not the same. Our kind are born with preconceived notions about each other. Cats hate dogs. Wolves hate coyotes. Nobody trusts the foxes, and everybody fears the momma grizzly. These are givens based on centuries of surviving in the wild together and putting up with each other’s bullshit when eating at a Van Holtz restaurant.”

He did have a point.

“So what happened?” he asked again. “
Did
he push for marriage?”

“He did. But that wasn’t the main problem.” Toni brought her legs up and turned her body so she could face the wolf, suddenly eager to have this conversation. She could have talked to Coop when it happened, but he’d been on tour. She could have spoken to Cherise, too, but she took it so personally when anyone hurt any of her siblings that Toni didn’t want to be responsible for what she might do out of anger. There was also Livy, Toni’s best friend. But if upsetting Cherise was a bad idea, then upsetting Olivia Kowalski, American-born, Chinese-Polish daughter of two take-no-shit immigrants was a mistake on a global scale.