The Beast in Him

  Sissy watched the She-dog head off with her friends. “What don’t I know?” she asked anyone who’d listen.

  “A lot,” Ronnie Lee answered, “based on your old report cards.”

  “Incoming!” someone yelled and the three women stepped apart seconds before Sissy’s cousin Gemma rammed headfirst into the car they’d been leaning against.

  Staring down at her cousin, Sissy made a tsking sound. “You’re going to let a supermodel beat the shit out of you? Have you no pride?”

  Gemma dragged herself to her feet and went after the supermodel again.

  “You’re going to hell,” Ronnie said for the millionth time.

  “Don’t worry. I’ve picked up a lovely property overlooking the lake of fire. We’re set.”

  Chapter 21

  Halfway through a bottle of tequila, Smitty had a nice “wallow” going on. His dinner with Mace had gone fine and chances were high they’d make a fortune off this Kenshin guy. But so what? None of this fixed his problem with Jessie Ann.

  He should have gone home, but he still couldn’t face that bed alone, so he ended up here. At the Kingston Arms. It didn’t surprise him either when his baby sister tracked him down in the back bar the Pack favored. Like him, she had a good nose. It ran in the family.

  Laughing, Ronnie and Marty with her, Sissy Mae dropped into a chair across from him and put her feet up on the table.

  “Well, you missed a fun time had by all.”

  “Doubt I missed much of anything.”

  “I wouldn’t say that.” Marty motioned to one of the waiters with a mere tilt of her head and a shot of vodka appeared before her in seconds. “Your sister almost got mauled by a rabid animal.”

  A lot less interested than he should be, Smitty still asked, “What?”

  “The Alpha Female of the Magnus Pack tried to take a chunk out of me.”

  Smitty shook his head in disgust. Only his baby sister. “What did you do?”

  “Nothing.”

  Letting out a tired sigh, Smitty tilted his head to the side and looked at her.

  “I didn’t! Tell ’em, Marty. ’Cause he’ll never believe you, Ronnie Lee.”

  “It’s true. She didn’t do anything.”

  “You didn’t say something? Do something? Start something?”

  “Just hanging outside a club, minding my own business.”

  “That’s a first. So what set her off?”

  “Got me. But she was with Jessie Ann Ward at the time.”

  Using every bit of control he had, Smitty kept his face completely neutral and simply replied, “Is that right?”

  His sister stared at him for so long he almost started to squirm. He hadn’t felt like that since his momma found that still he’d built when he was fourteen.

  “Oh, my Lord,” Sissy finally said. “You’re fucking her!”

  Ronnie grimaced. “Sissy Mae! You know Shaw hates when you yell stuff like that in the hotel.”

  Suddenly, his sister laughed. “I always knew you had a thing for her,” Sissy accused good-naturedly. “Barely ninety pounds soaking wet, all that acne, and weird, but I knew those big dumb dog eyes of hers would get ya.”

  “Let it go, Sissy Mae.”

  “Now I’ll have to be an aunt to wolfdogs. And aren’t they a fun hybrid?”

  “I said let it go.”

  “And I hope this doesn’t mean we have to start hanging around that little yipping Pack of hers. That might be asking—”

  His hand slamming down on the table silenced his sister. Actually, it silenced the whole room. Ronnie looked down at her hands, and Marty merely glanced away.

  His sister, however, only glared at him.

  “What is wrong with you? I was just jokin’.”

  “I said—let it go.”

  Sissy tapped her forefinger against the table, her gaze never leaving his face. Finally, she said, “Could y’all excuse us?”

  “Yup.”

  “See ya.”

  Then they were gone.

  Grabbing the bottle, Sissy poured them both another shot of tequila. “All right, big brother. Talk to me.”

  Johnny knew the only way to get some alone time with Jess was to wait for her on the stairs leading to her apartment on the top floor of the Pack den. He read while he waited, having grabbed another Tolkien book from Jess’s personal bookshelf.

  When Jess finally headed up the stairs toward him, she walked slow, her head down—obviously exhausted. But when she saw him, her eyes lit up, her energy jumped. She seemed so happy to see him. He didn’t know how to handle that. Since his mother died all those years ago, he’d never had anyone happy to see him.

  “Hey!”

  “Hi.”

  Jess sat down next to him and visibly cringed when he marked off his place in the Tolkien book by folding the edge of the page. He could almost hear her internal scream of “Sacrilege!”

  “What’s up, Boo?”

  She always called him that when they were alone. Her personal nickname for him. He should find it annoying, but it had been so long since anyone had mothered him.

  “I think there’s something I need to tell you.”

  “Then tell me.”

  He stared at her. This is when it could get awkward. But before he could say a word, Jess grabbed his arm and demanded, “Please tell me you didn’t sleep with Kristan.”

  “What?”

  “Isn’t that what you’re afraid to tell me?”

  “No!”

  Jess released his arm. “Whew! Had me worried.”

  “Can I go on?”

  “Sure.”

  “Although this is about Kristan.”

  “What about her?”

  “She’s been meeting with her biological father. For a couple of weeks now.”

  Slowly, Jess’s gaze locked on him. “And how is that possible, when she’s been with you or the library every time I or her mother asked?”

  “I’ve been kind of covering for her.”

  “So you lied to me.”

  “Yes.” He’d never felt guilty about lying before until this very moment. With those caring brown eyes staring at him. She’d definitely kick him out now. Kristan was top dog among the pups. They would have expected him to protect her, not help her get away with shit. “I’m…I’m sorry.”

  “You should be. You’re the oldest, you’re supposed to be protecting the pups.”

  “I know.” No big deal. He could get someplace else to live. He had lots of contingency plans. He’d be seventeen this weekend. Not a full adult, but with a fake ID, he could get a job and—

  “Say good-bye to your allowance for two weeks, bucko. And this better never happen again.”

  He frowned, confused. Where was the rage? The disgust? The orders to get the fuck out of her house.

  “Why are you staring at me like that, Boo?”

  “To be honest, I thought you’d kick me out.”

  “For what? I mean, you definitely screwed up, hence the loss of allowance, but you’re not going anywhere. Besides, we’ve already started the adoption process.”

  Johnny’s heart literally skipped several beats. “Adoption?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You guys are adopting me?”

  “Yeah. We didn’t talk to you about this?”

  “No.”

  “Yeah, must have been the brownies.” Jess stared off for a second and then smiled. “They were really good brownies. Dark chocolate.”

  When he only stared at her, Jess said, “Wait. Don’t you want us to adopt you?”

  “I’m seventeen on Saturday. I thought that when I was eighteen I’d be gone.” The system kicked foster kids out at eighteen. He had contingency plans for that, too, if the Pack showed him the door a year from now.

  But, to his horror, Jess’s big eyes filled with tears.

  “Don’t…don’t cry. I didn’t mean I didn’t want you guys to adopt me.”

  She sniffled. “Then what did you mean?”
br />   “I meant no one has ever wanted to adopt me before. I figured that when I was eighteen you’d expect me to leave.”

  “No, we don’t expect you to leave. We expect you to go to college. I’m assuming, to get your degree in music. Which reminds me, we need to sit down and figure out what schools you want to apply to.”

  “I…I guess wherever I get a scholarship.”

  “Scholarships are nice and good on résumés. But if you don’t get one to a favored school, we’ve already got your college fund set up so you’re covered there. So it’s a matter of where you want to go.”

  “I have a college fund?”

  “Of course. Every one of you little brats are going to college. Even if you don’t want to,” she finished on a snarl. “Do you understand me?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “All right, then. Any other questions?”

  “No.”

  “Anything else you’re keeping from me?”

  “No.”

  “Good. Thanks for coming to me now, though. We’re not sure of the deal with Walt Wilson, so I needed to know this.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Johnny leaned to the side a bit, his shoulder pressing against Jess’s. He’d learned to bury his emotions over the years. He definitely didn’t feel comfortable with them coming back up. But he had to say something. He just prayed she didn’t cry again. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” Thankfully she didn’t cry. “But you’re still losing your allowance, bub. Nice try, though.” She winked at him, but her expression changed in a second as her head lifted and she scented the air.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, still learning to hone the skills the adults took for granted.

  Jess didn’t answer him, simply jumped to her feet and charged up the stairs to her apartment. Johnny followed behind her, nearly crashing into her when she stopped right in her doorway.

  Hands on hips, Jess snapped, “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Smitty folded his arms across his chest. “Came to see you, my little sweet tart.”

  Sweet tart?

  Why was there a drunken wolf in her apartment? How did he even get in? The only way to the second entrance to her apartment was to get over the Pack house fence and cut through their backyard.

  A house full of dogs and no one scented a wolf wandering by? A drunk wolf?

  “I thought we said all that needed to be said this afternoon.”

  “Nah.” He spotted Johnny over her shoulder. “Boy.”

  “Idiot.”

  Smitty took a step forward and Jess pushed Johnny out the door. “We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

  The concern on Johnny’s face warmed her heart. “Jess, are you sure?”

  “Yeah, it’ll be fine.”

  He didn’t look happy about it, but he left anyway.

  Jess closed the door and turned around to find Smitty standing mere inches away from her.

  “You look real pretty tonight.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I missed you something horrible.”

  “It’s been eight hours.”

  “That’s too long!”

  “Ssssh.” Jess pushed Smitty away from the door. “Keep it down.”

  “I want to stay here with you tonight.”

  “No.”

  “Why not? Don’t you care about me at all?”

  “Smitty, this isn’t fair.”

  “All’s fair in love and fucking.”

  “I’m pretty sure that’s not the exact quote. How did you even get here?” Christ, she hoped he hadn’t been driving.

  “Sissy shoved me into a cab. She said we should talk. So I’m here to talk.”

  Damn that woman!

  “You pushed me away, Smitty. That’s the second time. There won’t be a third.”

  “Okay,” he said way too calmly. Then added, “So you’ll let me stay?”

  Jess gritted her teeth. “No, I’ll call you a cab.”

  “Fine. Be evil.” He took her arm and pulled her into his body. “At least give me a kiss, evil woman.”

  “Smitty—”

  “Kiss. Me. Now.”

  “You’ll leave quietly if I kiss you?”

  “Yes.”

  Resigned and kind of wanting to anyway, Jess slid her hand behind Smitty’s neck and pulled him down so she could kiss him. He tasted like tequila, the wolf drink of choice. But, truly, tequila never tasted so damn good. His hands stroked her neck, his tongue making lazy circles around hers. The kiss seemed endless and she wished it could be. When Smitty kissed her, she could forget nearly everything else.

  His hands slipped from her neck and reached for her breasts. She caught them and pulled away.

  “That’s enough.”

  Smitty licked his lips. “I knew it.”

  “Knew what?”

  “You’re not over me.”

  Jess took a deep breath, looking around for something to throw at that big head when Smitty’s next words stopped her in her tracks.

  “Don’t feel bad,” he said, wandering into the bedroom, “I’m never gettin’ over you.”

  Jess followed after him, her heart soaring. “What?”

  “You’re dug in…like a tic.”

  Running her hands through her hair, she asked, “You’re comparing me to a parasite?”

  “That’s a negative way to see it.”

  She snatched the cordless phone off her chest of drawers. “I’m calling you a cab.”

  “Okay.” Smitty stumbled to the bed. “I’ll just lay down until the cab comes.”

  “No, no. Don’t—”

  Too late. As she knew, as soon as his big fat head hit her mattress he was out like a light. She hung up the phone. She would not force a cabbie to endure pouring a Smith into the back of his vehicle.

  Giving up, Jess turned off all the lights in her apartment and kicked off her sneakers. Fully dressed, she got into bed beside Smitty. As soon as the bed dipped, his arm reached out and pulled her close to his body.

  “Let me go.”

  He muttered something and went back to snoring.

  “Trifling,” she growled. “Absolutely trifling.”

  Chapter 22

  He sensed the danger before he fully awoke. Could feel it running up to him, flying at him. All he could do was brace himself for impact…and then bam!

  “Wake up! Wake up!”

  “He’s pretty. When I grow up I want one just like him.”

  “He smells like Uncle Petey after Thanksgiving dinner.”

  “He looks mean.”

  “Waaaake uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuupppp!”

  Smitty raised his head and looked at the six pups crawling all over his back and legs. Jessie Ann would definitely go down in history as the meanest woman to ever walk the planet.

  A tiny fist banged against his forehead, causing immeasurable pain. “Auntie Jess wanted us to tell you to get your butt out of bed.” The little girl grinned now that she’d delivered her message.

  Smitty cleared his throat. “Thank you. I’m on it.”

  “Great!” she yelled, causing his head to split open and all the contents to fall out. Or so it felt like.

  “There’s waffles waiting. But you better come on. Once the older kids start feeding, forget it.”

  “Any chance you’ll go away while I get up?”

  “No,” they all answered in unison.

  “Of course.”

  “Auntie Jess wants us to make sure you get up. But you need to hurry because we’re leaving soon.”

  Yawning, Smitty forced himself up. “Leaving?”

  “Yup, for the weekend.” She gave him that pretty smile again. “It’s Johnny’s birthday. So you need to go. After you eat. Because we’re leaving. And no one seems to like you.”

  Smitty stared at the little blond girl. “Your momma’s Sabina, isn’t she?”

  “How did you know?”

  “Wild guess.”

  Jess finished her waffle an
d took her plate to the sink. She’d filled the adults in on the entire Walt Wilson situation, including everything she’d learned since the day before. Once done they’d gone on to pack and get their kids ready. From the main four, she’d gotten the reactions she’d learn to expect over the years. Sabina wanted to stalk and decimate the entire Wilson Pack. May took full responsibility for something that wasn’t her fault. Danny saw doom. And Phil said nothing, which meant he’d already plotted and planned the violent death of Walt Wilson.

  That’s the thing about the Kuznetsov Pack that many didn’t understand. They weren’t a sweet dog Pack who had grown up among their own kind. Nearly every one of them was a street dog. Pit fighters who’d kept their Pack together and alive by doing whatever necessary. They were survivors and they protected their own.

  “What do you want us to do?” Phil asked.

  “I want him tracked down. Smitty’s got someone on it, but call in some of our old buddies.” She turned from the sink and faced her friends. “If he really just wants to see his daughter, I won’t stop him. But if he’s just using her—all bets are off. Understand me?”

  Her Pack nodded, even though she could see May on the verge of tears. Jess walked over to her, stroked her hair, and kissed the top of her head. “Don’t cry, May. We’ll handle this.”

  “I don’t want any of you to go to prison, and y’all are plotting something that will send you to prison.”

  Jess grinned, knowing May was right. “We’ll worry about all that next week, sweetie. We’ve got plans this weekend. And Kristan will be with us. Safe. So let’s get to it. We’ve gotta get these bratty-brats dressed, packed, and buckled up before we can even think about getting on the road. And pack enough for after the weekend. Don’t forget we’re not coming straight home. Mace’s team will be setting up den security next week.”

  As they all stood Smitty wandered into the kitchen, pups hanging off him like monkeys.

  He glared at her with bloodshot eyes. “Jessie Ann.” Her name had never been filled with such accusation before.

  All sweetness, “Morning, Bobby Ray.”

  “Think you can help me out here?”

  “But you look like you’re handling it so well.”

  “Jessie Ann,” he snarled through clenched teeth, making the pups giggle.