Four Days (Seven Series #4) (26 page)

“Can I still have that dance?”

My eyes drifted down to the tear in his shirt. “There’s no music, and…”

Atticus walked swiftly to a jukebox by the dance floor. After pushing a few buttons and kicking it, the music came on.

I laughed softly and looked up at Lorenzo. “I’m going to dance with that Vampire, and not with your permission. But I’d like to have your approval.”

I didn’t want to explain why I owed Atticus a dance. Maybe I just wanted Lorenzo to trust me.

Atticus lingered on the clean dance floor, the only place in the club that hadn’t been touched by violence. The dark floor gleamed beneath the spray of blue lights, and his bleached-blond hair made him look like a rock star.

And maybe in a different kind of way, he was.

Lorenzo dragged his gaze away from Atticus and rubbed noses with me before letting go of my hand.

And just like that, Lorenzo gave me something I was certain he had never given another woman before.

His trust.

Home.
That word not only defined how I felt with my pack, with the porch steps that led to our front door, and with the lavender scent of my sheets, but it was a feeling I was beginning to associate with Lorenzo Church.

Before we’d left the Blue Door, he’d cleaned every speck of blood from my cane. I felt a twinge of guilt knowing Fox had used it against him, but Lorenzo joked that it probably knocked some sense into him.

We didn’t bother cleaning up the bar before we left because it would have needed more than a mop and a trash can. Wheeler called the owner and suggested he run an estimate on the damages and send Austin the bill. Whether the owner would ban Shifters after this incident was uncertain, but Austin planned to have a talk with him to smooth things over. He didn’t want a backlash from Packmasters who frequented the club.

Cleaners collected the bodies and took statements to report to the higher authority. It was standard procedure to determine if any laws had been broken, which in this case they hadn’t been. Disputes between packs weren’t in their jurisdiction. A Councilman arrived and gave Austin a pat on the back. No one liked hostile rogues living in the community, and Austin gained a little more respect among his elders for handling things on his own.

“Let me look at it,” Reno said, leaning over April’s chair. The only light in the living room emanated from the fireplace on my right.

“You looked at it an hour ago. I promise you nothing’s changed since coming home from the emergency room,” she said with a hidden smile, still reading her book.

Without asking, he reached down and turned her arm so he could examine the stitches. Then he stormed out the door like he had the last time.

“He’s just reminding himself that you’re precious cargo he has to look after,” I said, pulling a beige throw over my legs.

She set her book down and played with a strand of her hair. “I know. It just makes me feel guilty being a liability around here.”

“The only liabilities are the clothes you leave on the bathroom floor that I keep tripping over,” Trevor said from his spot on the rug. He had his legs bent and one crossed over the other. The fire crackled behind him. “Maybe next time you should stay in the room like I suggested.”

I winked at her and gave Trevor a pointed stare. “Had she done that, Fox’s men might have overtaken us. Sometimes the most influential thing on a battlefield isn’t the men wielding their weapons, but the blistering sun, relentless wind, or hammering rain.”

He snorted. “So April is a snowflake? That’s special.”

She tossed a small pillow at his head.

It had been eight hours since we arrived home, and we remained inside until Austin and Wheeler finished scouting the property for rogues. So instead of the walk I’d promised Maizy, I braided her hair while Lexi painted her nails. Lynn kept herself busy cleaning the house—Fox had pulled out some drawers and tracked mud throughout the downstairs rooms. Before dinner, I’d convinced her to take a nap and let me handle feeding the pack. I cooked up a macaroni casserole, buttermilk biscuits, steamed broccoli, and fried ham steaks. It seemed like just the thing to get everyone relaxed and ready for sleep.

Denver walked in with a plate of leftovers and plopped down beside me.

“You’re going to pop if you keep eating,” I said.

“Then I’ll die a happy man,” he mumbled with a mouthful of casserole.

Trevor tucked the small pillow April had thrown at him beneath his head. “You have a stomach like a black hole. I don’t know how you can eat all that and stay fit.”

Denver licked his spoon. “Are you checkin’ me out?”

“I’m not gonna lie. You’re definite eye candy. But I like my men a little more serious.”

April laughed melodically. “He loves the rough men in the romance novels. The mysterious guys with all the swagger.”

Trevor’s cheeks flushed.

“Men like that don’t exist,” Denver said matter-of-factly. “Women write those books because they don’t want to deal with the reality that their hero has dirty laundry, belches, and doesn’t worship the ground they walk on.”

“Reno worships my ground,” April said with a bright smile. “I never imagined I’d end up with a biker who’s a private investigator and carries a gun, but he’s better than any of these book boyfriends I’ve read.”

“So then why do you still read them?” Trevor asked.

She picked at something on her black pants and curled up her legs. “Because I’m in love with romance. I love the idea of it, and I love reading about couples who find it with each other. I like seeing it in this house with Jericho and Izzy.”

“What about Austin and Lexi?” Denver brushed a few biscuit crumbs off his thin green T-shirt. It had a wide V-neck and a couple of pieces tumbled inside, making him pull it up at the bottom to shake them free.

Trevor laughed and sat up, one arm draped over his knee. “That couple is an X-rated movie.”

“I disagree,” I said. “What those two have is fire, and it burns hot. The romance is in the way Austin looks at her when she’s gone off on one of her laughing fits, or the way Lexi looks at him whenever he puts Maizy on his shoulders and takes her outside for a walk. They’re not as expressive with their romantic side in front of the pack because of their strong personalities, but there’s a whole other fire simmering beneath the surface. Those two together are epic.”

“Yeah, and where does Church fit in?” Denver abruptly said.

I straightened the blanket, embarrassed by the question.

How could I respond when I didn’t know the answer myself?
We were two lives that crashed into each other. Had I never injured my leg, he wouldn’t have given me a second glance. Who’s to say he wasn’t having regrets about his intent to court me? I’d never asked the mated women in my house how they’d felt in the beginning of their relationships—if they’d immediately known they wanted to be with that man or if it had been an uphill battle. Lexi and Austin had always loved each other from what I understood, and April had needed to get her life in order before settling down with Reno. During their separation, Reno never stopped talking about her. I knew that despite her being human, they were meant for each other. Did
they
know, or was it only obvious to everyone else?

Was I so blinded by desire that I couldn’t see the obvious—that a man like Lorenzo could never love me back? Lorenzo Church kept many women and mated none of them. What made me think he would choose a lame wolf over another with stronger attributes? A woman who had known a man before her first change and had given birth to a son. It was too much to hope anyone would accept.

“Ivy?” Denver snapped his fingers in front of my face. “Maybe you need to go to bed. Do you want me to carry you upstairs?”

I narrowed my eyes. “No one in this house will carry me anywhere.”

“Yeah?” He set his plate on the floor. “Can you walk up those stairs by yourself?”

I had my doubts. Going down stairs took effort, but I wasn’t sure I could make it up after the day I’d had.

“The fire is warm. Why should I leave?”

Denver stood up and ripped the blanket off me. “Swallow your pride and let me carry you.”

When he tucked his hands beneath me, I screamed out, “Stop it!”

“What’s going on in here?” William interrupted. “Denver, you need to step back. That’s enough.”

Denver turned to face him. “Don’t pull rank with me, William. You’re not in this pack. You don’t order me around.”

William stepped forward, slicing him with an intolerant glare. “Pack has nothing to do with it. When I hear a woman in distress—”

“Distress?” Denver laughed. “You mean being stubborn. She can’t walk up those stairs and everyone knows it.”

“Indeed, that may be so. But what satisfaction do you gain by humiliating a woman in front of the pack?”

Trevor sat erect, swallowing William up with his brown eyes.

Denver waved his hand. “You guys are a bag of nuts. I’m trying to do the right thing and help a girl out. Hell, I wish someone would carry
me
to bed.”

“That can be arranged,” William replied with a dark smirk.

“Denver, when I need help, I’ll ask for it,” I said. “I appreciate your intention, but… Please, let’s not make this more than it is.”

He lifted his plate off the floor and stalked out. “I’ve got to get ready for work. I don’t have time for this.” His voice trailed off into the kitchen.

William brushed the crumbs off the sofa and took a seat. “Not sure why he’s making a fuss of things. It’s nice down here. Cozy fire, blankets, won’t have to listen to Austin and his mate screwing upstairs…”

“Holy hell, ain’t that the truth,” Trevor said. “Twice today already.”

“It’s a natural reaction after winning a battle. Especially when the woman fights by his side,” I said, pulling the blanket over my legs and leaning back. “Alpha men are aroused by strong women.”

“You make it sound so scientific,” William said, pinching his chin.

Trevor hopped up and dusted off his pants. “If that’s the case, then no wonder Church ran home. He’s probably banging one of those girls in his harem right now. I’m going to bed. See you guys this afternoon.”

“You mean in the morning,” April said.

He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Sleeping Beauty needs his rest, so don’t wake me.”

“You don’t need more sleep, Trev. You’re already a beauty.”

“April showers,” he sang out, heading up the stairs. “Always showering me with love.”

Trevor’s words had pinched me in an unexpected way. My mother was a gentle soul, and in the excursions we had run into, she didn’t fight. Maybe it’s why my father had lost interest in having sex with her. I had inherited some of my gentleness from her. Shifter men loved outspoken women, so now I had another weakness plaguing my thoughts. I’d never held hope of settling with a mate, not until Lorenzo. For the first time, I realized how much I wanted to love and be loved. But I needed a man to love the woman I was, not the woman he wished me to be.

“Mustn’t let what he said get to you,” William said in a low voice. “I don’t think Trevor realizes how much you like Enzo. I was wrong when I tried to steer you away from him. He’s a good man, and if anyone can change his ways, I have no doubt it would be a woman like you.” William looked as if he wanted to say more, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

“Ivy, we need to talk.” Reno stood like a statue on our left. “Let’s go to Austin’s office.”

April looked up with concern.

I grabbed my walking stick and followed him down the dark hall by the kitchen. Reno closed the door and switched on a small lamp on Austin’s desk, taking a seat beside me instead of in Austin’s chair.

In his hands, he held a manila folder with edges of paper sticking out.

Our chairs were angled toward each other, but not all the way.

“What I’ve got in here is information on your son. The question is: do you want to see it?”

I swallowed a lump in my throat and took an audible breath. Reno grasped the cane from my hand and placed it on the desk, leaving me nothing to fidget with.

His fingers pressed against the edges of the folder. “I’m not sure how you feel about it, but one of my men sent me everything he could dig up. Fox never went after him; it would have taken him out of the state. There’s a little information and a few pictures in here about the boy. I can toss it in the fire and you can go on like before. I could also have Austin lock it up in his safe in case you want to look at it a few years down the line. Or you can know now.”

“Know what?” My heart raced at all the implications.
Was he hurt? Was something wrong?

Reno swung his dark brown eyes up to mine. “Know who your son is. I don’t know what looking at this could mean. It could change your mind on things, and you’ll need to talk to Austin about those decisions. I’m just here to offer you what you might have been seeking all these years. An answer.”

I bent forward, elbows on my knees, and covered my mouth. My hands trembled and my emotions spun like a cyclone. All my love, all my fears, all tucked between the folds of thick, yellow paper.

The room became so quiet I could hear my heart racing.

“Give it to me.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, his thumbnails whitening as he pinched the folder even tighter.

“I’m sure.”

With a small gesture, Reno handed me the documents. I placed them on my lap and, with nervous fingers, opened up the folder.

A teardrop spattered onto a large photograph. “
So beautiful
,” I whispered.

In the black-and-white picture, a small boy with long hair, wild and caught in the wind, ran toward me with outstretched hands. His mouth was open in what looked like an exuberant scream. Lakota had a warrior’s face and bright eyes full of life. Beneath his thick boots, snow covered the ground, and flecks of it settled on his dark jacket.

“Where are your mittens?” I whispered, tracing my finger over his hands. Overcome with pride, a laugh burst out. “What a strong little wolf you are.” My heart swelled. I’d never experienced anything so joyous and sorrowful all at once.

Reno lined up a few pens on the desk and then sat back. “The Relic who delivered your son sold him on the black market for money. Maybe you should think about reporting that to the higher authority. Her job should have been to discreetly take the child to an orphanage, not sell him for profit.”

My eyes were stricken with anger and I clenched my fists. “She
what?
”

He shook his head. “There aren’t many Breed orphanages around and most of them are filled with older kids whose parents died, or some of them have defects. She must have known how much she could get off the black market. There was an immediate buyer.”

“Who?” I shuddered, looking more closely at the shadowy figure behind Lakota who was out of focus. Those who bought and sold off the black market were criminals, and underground sex trades as well as slavery still existed.

“Not one person, but a couple. He got lucky because it could have been a hell of a lot worse. Most of those looking for slaves will grab the older children because they don’t have the time to fool with babies.”