Caged Heat (Black Meadow Pack) (16 page)

He nodded. “What can you tell me about their husbands?”

“Maggie went through four divorces before she met Danitelli. She’s been with him for fifteen years I think. I’m not sure what happened, but from what Ginny used to say, her previous husbands felt she was much to bossy for their tastes. Cecilia was married, and her husband was a general in the army. I think I was fifteen when he left her for a young woman he met in Vietnam. Cecilia was hit hard. She’d always acted as if she had the perfect family. Ginny said if she’d paid more attention to what was going on inside the family instead of how the world perceived them, she might have seen that one coming.”

“What can you tell me about Danitelli?”

“Ugh. Not much, unfortunately. He’s always in some business or other, but he’s never really bothered with our side of the family. He’s from some big Italian family. I think they come from money, so I’m not sure what he would want with Ginny’s money.”

“It’s five billion dollars. Anybody—even someone with money—would want to get their hands on that.”

She sighed.

“What about Luisa?”

Sam sighed again. “She was married to a doctor for a long time. He was much older than her and died when I left for college. I think that she must’ve loved him, because she stayed alone after that. I never heard of her being with anyone else. It was sad to see her so lonely. She’s the only one of the three women that had kids. Two boys. I remember wishing she’d talk to me more, but she was always surrounded with the other two, and so I never tried to get close to her. Cecilia and Maggie were pretty mean, so I stayed away.”

“Mean how?”

She leaned her head back in the seat. “They tended to mention what a shame my mother was to the family. Now I realize it wasn’t the shifter friends they were against, it was my father. Mom’s relationship with him had drawn bad blood from the others.”

They turned onto his street, and she caught sight of Nat in front of his house. He parked the car at the curb and turned to her. He cupped her cheek and stared at her intently.

“We are still investigating Luisa. I can’t say for sure that she’s out of the picture until I hear back from Kane. And I’m not sure what Kane has on Danitelli, so we’re still on the lookout. So far, I know there was a woman involved in the attempts on your life, and I’m not going to let this go until I know who it was. All I ask is that you’re careful. I’m not happy with this, and I have a feeling we’re missing something.”

She jumped out of the SUV and headed to the front of the house. Natalia had a bakery box in her hand. The box was wrapped with a pink-and-gold ribbon. She knew the local bakery. It was really popular, and their sweets were out of this world.

Her mouth watered just thinking of whatever was inside the box. The craving for chocolate had been at her for two days, and she’d been ignoring it, but now that she thought of the decadent sweets, she almost drooled. “Please tell me that there’s chocolate in there?” She smiled hopefully.

Nat grinned and passed her the cake box. “I wanted to bring you something special to welcome you back to health. Yes, it is chocolate. Actually it’s Tryx’s famous chocolate mousse cake. I called your cell phone, but I didn’t get you.” She frowned as she neared Sam. “What the hell happened to you?”

After she’d taken the medication for the pain she’d forgotten about the small cuts and bruises. “Juan Junior.”

Natalia slapped her hands on her hips and huffed. “I knew that piece of crap was going to be trouble. What did he do?”

Sam glanced at Riel. “Do you mind checking to see if I left my phone upstairs? If I didn’t, then that means it’s back at Sophia’s, and I’ll need a way to get it back.” She hoped he’d go for the request. When he nodded she sighed in relief. She didn’t want to discuss what happened in front of him with him.

He rushed up the stairs. She headed to the backyard with Nat. She stopped at the kitchen to grab a knife, plates, and forks for the cake. Natalia set the coffee maker to brew.

“So?” Nat’s voice was filled with curiosity.

She placed the cake box on a table and opened it. “He came over to Sophia and Chase’s, you know the Alpha of Ry’s pack, and started talking trash about my parents.”

Sam lifted the cake, and Nat removed the box. “What kind of trash did he talk? I mean what did he say to make things get that bad?”

Sam cut a large piece of cake, placed it on a plate, and stared at it. She then cut another piece and added it to the first one. “He said my mother was a whore because she’d fallen in love with my father, who was a shifter and one of Chase’s father’s enforcers.”

She moved the plate to the side. When Natalia tried to grab it she smacked her hand away. “That one is mine.”

Natalia’s gaped at her with wide eyes. “OK, OK. I’ll take the next piece. Sheesh.” She stuck her tongue out. “Anyway tell me more about this. Your father was a shifter? Oh my god. That’s huge.” She bounced on the lounger. “But why don’t you shift?”

She cut a much smaller piece of cake. Her best friend studied the plate, glanced at her, and raised her brows. Nat’s loud sigh said she knew Sam wasn’t trying to share.

Sam sat down and inhaled the delicious scent of chocolate, milk, and sugar. “I’m not sure why I am not a shifter, but Sophia is checking out my blood. Apparently it could be anything that caused me not to be one of them.” She bit into the cake and moaned.

Nat laughed. Sam opened her eyes to catch her grinning.

“I knew you’d love it. Tryx’s chocolate cake seems to be a favorite among shifters and humans. Although from what I’ve heard pregnant shifters crave it like a drug.”

Sam stopped the fork mid-way to her mouth. She glanced at Natalia’s smirk and shook her head. “You fantasize too much. Just for that, you don’t get any more of my cake.”

Nat waved the chocolate-covered fork in the air. “So what exactly did Juan do?”

She licked the fork and took another bite. “He started talking trash, and I got fed up. I yelled and told him the entire estate is going to charity. He went berserk. Slapped me multiple times. I tried to get away, but he had a tight grip on my shirt.”

Natalia stopped eating. “What happened then?”

“Ry and some others showed up. Juan dropped me on the ground and got torn to shreds by my wolf.” She remembered how concerned he’d been.

Nat sat unmoving. “Wow.”

She shoved a big bite of cake into her mouth and moaned. “Mmm. I know. God this cake is fantastic. Do you think she puts something special in here? I’ve made cake tons of times, and they never tasted this good! I want to buy her to make this for me every day.”

“No. It’s from an old family recipe, but we can make arrangements for you to get as much of it as you want.” Riel’s deep voice made her and Natalia both turn to face him. He stood by the kitchen door.

He brought out the coffee and shook her head in a negative. All she wanted was cake. He grinned, and she wondered what he found amusing.

He sat down on the lounger next to her and used his thumb to clean off the chocolate frosting from the corner of her mouth. “It’s supposed to go in your mouth, not on it.” Her throat dried when he sucked the thumb into his own mouth.

Nat sighed a complaint. “Oh brother. Can you hold off all that private couple stuff until I’m gone? I don’t want to leave here needing therapy…or to get laid.”

They continued to chat until Nat had to go. “I have a work emergency, and my stupid car is giving me problems. I’m going to have to buy a new one.”

“Use my car.” Sam offered and eyed the cake again. “It’s not like I’m actively using it.”

Her face brightened. “Really? Oh, Sam, you have no idea how much I need it.”

“It’s no problem. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow to come and get it since I left it at Chase and Sophia’s, but it’s yours for as long as you need it.”

“Thank you.” Nat bounced toward her friend and gave her a hug. “OK, I’m going.” She grinned and glanced at the cake. “Try not to eat that in one sitting. I have a feeling you’re going to need more of it.”

Nat left. Sam jumped when her stomach growled. What the hell? She looked down at her empty plate and then up at Riel. He watched her with raised brows.

“What?” She stood. “This is what happens when you don’t feed me. I’m going to make a sandwich, or two.” Or three. She strolled toward the kitchen, stopped and turned to glance back at Riel. He was still watching her. “Don’t touch my cake!” She marched inside in search of food, lots of it.

Chapter Eleven

Sam opened her eyes and groaned. She was starving but so damn tired. It was probably from all the craziness of the past few weeks. Her body was finally giving out on her. She sat up on the bed and groaned at the cramping in her stomach. Riel’s footsteps sounded, rushing down the hallway until his body filled the doorway.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” He walked into the room and stopped next to the bed.

She dropped back into the pillows with a groan. “I’m either starving to death or dying from exhaustion and starving at the same time.”

“What?” He frowned as if she’d been speaking in another language.

She groaned through the hair that covered her face. “Food. I need food and sleep. God, I’m tired. I think all my running around has finally caught up with me.”

He pushed the curls away from her face. She glanced up into his worried eyes. “I’ll get you some food, you get some sleep. You’re sure that’s all? Are you in any other kind of pain?”

She shook her head. “No, just hungry. Well…more like starving.”

He nodded and turned to the door. “All right. I’ll be right back.”

Good, because she didn’t think she’d make it out of bed. She was exhausted. Falling into a fitful sleep, she groaned again at the sharp cramps hitting her stomach. When the smell of food reached her, she sat up in a flash.

Riel walked in carrying a tray brimming with food. She checked herself for drool. It would be such a shame for her man to see that this early in their relationship. He put the tray on the bed. He’d made her steak and eggs. How did he know she loved that? She grabbed the plate and a fork, cutting a nice chunk of meat and shoving it into her mouth. It was absolutely delicious. So much so, that she moaned as she chewed.

“Thank you,” she said through bites. It alarmed her a little when she ate the contents on the plate and was still hungry.

She glanced at him, wondering what he’d think, but he just grabbed a second plate and passed it to her. That plate had buttered toast, an omelet, and home fries. Digging into the food, she wondered if she had been eating too little lately. She’d never had problems eating, but the last few weeks were one big, jumbled mess in her mind. She was sure she’d never finish everything on the plate. It was a good thing she didn’t voice her opinion. Not ten minutes later she was passing him an empty plate. What the hell was wrong with her? Had her body finally decided it needed more food to sustain her curves?

Riel didn’t seem bothered by her overeating. In fact, he smiled wide and passed more food her way. When he offered her a cup with coffee and a glass of juice, she wrinkled her nose at the coffee and grabbed the juice instead. That’s when exhaustion hit full force. She leaned back and shut her eyes.

When Sam woke again, she was alone in the bedroom. Moonlight filtered through the windows. Damn how long had she slept? She stood and sniffed. Moisture gathered in her mouth. Burgers. Yum. Bypassing her shoes, she put on a pair of shorts and a tank top. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she heard Ry talking to Troy in the backyard. There was no longer a need to question how she could hear them from so far as if they were in the same room.

Troy’s voice sounded surprised. “You’re sure?”

Ry’s sighed. “No, I’m not sure. It’s the same thing Sophia experienced. Not to the degree she had it, but the exhaustion and the hunger. It’s all there. Not to mention she smells different, but I can’t tell this soon. Only Chase, Tryx, and now Sophia have that keen a sense.” Ry’s deep voice seeped into to her pores and made warmth spread through her. Was he talking about her?

“I guess I should congratulate you then.” Congratulate him? About what?

“Not until we know for sure. I’ll have to take her over to Chase and Sophia’s for blood testing.” What test? Frustration started to mount. She wanted them to speak clearer so she could understand what they were referring to.

“Wow. But if you’re right then that means she’s pregnant.” Troy’s excitement made her excited too. Until she replayed his words and inhaled sharply.

Oh my god
. Her hands flew to her stomach. Was she pregnant? Was that the reason she’d been starving?

She was about to head to the kitchen when a soft knock sounded at the front door. She pulled the door open. Shock made her stand there for a moment, unable to move. Her aunt Luisa was at the door. And she was in tears. Her heart immediately went out to the soft-spoken woman.

“Aunt Luisa, what are you doing here? What’s wrong?”

Luisa glanced at Sam and made a sad attempt to smile through her tears. Poor woman. She was so distressed, Sam’s first instinct was to make her feel better.

“I’m so sorry to have to bother you, Sam. Could I possibly talk to you for a moment out here? I don’t want to take you away from whatever you’re doing, but I don’t want to share my personal misery with anyone that’s not family.”

Sam nodded at her aunt. She pulled the door shut behind her and strolled down the steps to stand in front of Luisa’s car.

She patted the older woman on her arm. “What’s wrong?”

Luisa started crying so softly it was almost hard to hear. “It’s just that I need to beg you to help me. I never thought I’d have to do this, but with mother leaving you her estate, I find myself without anyone to ask for assistance.”

Her heart broke for her poor aunt. She knew the others usually pushed her around. “Of course. Whatever you need, tell me.”

Poor Luisa, she must have been in dire straits to lose her pride and search for Sam. Luisa’s shaky hand reached into her large handbag for what she assumed was a tissue to clear away the tears. What she pulled out was no tissue. Her dear old aunt held a Magnum .357 in a very steady grip.