Nicholas~
After she left, I locked the door and watched her go. A grunt escapes as I close the curtain. I have done some low-down, dirty, rotten things in my time. I have enjoyed creating most of the destruction and chaos I leave in my wake. But sleeping with my brother's wife was one of my few regrets. Being shitfaced is not an excuse. It happened the last time I was 'home'. I still don't know how we left the party unnoticed.
While my brother, none the wiser, was celebrating his twenty-fourth birthday, I was banging the hell out of his wife's tight, hot ass just a few feet away outside the pack house. I had enough wits about me to use a condom. My father always said to me, "A tisket, a tasket, a condom or a casket." Waking up naked and alone in the back seat with the used rubber still choking my early morning chicken was proof his words sank in.
I got the hell out of there with a quickness and haven't been back since then. Delilah has not let it go. I never know where or in what form she will turn up. This is far from the first time she has threatened me because I have turned her away.
On some level, I wish she would tell Sean I have thought about it myself. I haven't come clean already because I know what it would do to my parents, and it would be the final nail in the coffin of my and Sean's already contentious relationship.
Sean has never forgiven me for leaving the pack and putting my responsibility off on him, for good reason. The attack on our pack happened shortly after I left. Sean lives with a glass eye and partial use of his right arm because of the battle. My kid brother wasn't ready to lead a pack, much less into war, and I knew it, but I also didn't care. Without a backward glance, I hauled ass. Truth be told, I have always been a selfish bastard.
Running my fingers through my hair, I sat at my desk and picked up my cell. I dialed Ian's number, put it on speaker, and set it back on the desk.
He answers on the third ring. "Where the hell have you been?" The Lycan growls at me.
My boot heel is already tapping the floor, and my fists are clenched. "My whereabouts are not your concern, Ian."
"Didn't you get my messages?" His voice gained another pitch.
"I did all 15 of them." I rolled my eyes. "You found Harley, and you want me to go after her. The question is, why would I want to do that?"
"$500,000 is why you would want to do that! I have two other hunters who are interested in the job. Are you in or not?"
I knew he was trying to blow smoke up my ass. "Where is she?" Zeek growls heatedly in my chest. I know Ian can hear him.
'He's bluffing, Zeek. There are no hunters.'
'You can't be sure. I don't trust him!'
"I am faxing you all the info, but you must come here for your new credentials the sooner, the better."
"What's your rush, Ian? Harley has been gone for this long?"
"Since when do you ask so many damn questions?"
"I am in the middle of a case that demands my full attention. It will be a few days before I can get to your pack. Send me what you have, and I will look it over."
In a moment, my fax machine lit up. Damn, that was almost too easy. I had no other choice but to lie; it would buy me some time. Before I get into bed with the devil, I intend to know the entire story. With Ian, there were always three sides to his truth.
"I will be in touch, Ian, if I decide to take the case." I disconnected the line and waited for the fax to complete.
The first page is a current picture. Zeek pushes through my eyes to get a better look. Harley has always been beautiful to us. Now, as a full-grown woman, she is breathtaking. The next page is her bio. Harley Steel is now Harvey Gibson. The Santa Monica Police Department values Detective Gibson. Well, well. Imagine that. My wolf seems to be infatuated with many employers' worst nemesis. And occasionally mine too.
'It doesn't matter, we have to protect her from Ian!' Zeek insisted.
I avoid law enforcement as a matter of good business practice for obvious reasons. Now I am about to go balls out into an entire building full of the same type of stuffed shirt mother-fuckers I have dodged, ducked, and occasionally chased up a tree for the past seven years. I chuckled at the thought of my becoming one of them. Being the wolf among the sheep was a bit of a thrill, but I wouldn't be the only beast hiding in plain sight.
'Yeah, yeah, give it a rest, Zeek, would you let me concentrate, please!'
Rolling my eyes, I continued going through the file. I had to hand it to Ian; he'd done his homework. I had telephone numbers, a bank account, and a home address. Still, I don't trust the little weasel. I turned on my computer and entered her new name into my database. No wonder I couldn't find her. While waiting for the results, my phone buzzed on the desk. I looked at the screen and saw Kyle Steel, better known as Harley's little brother.
I raised my eyebrows, picked up the phone, and looked at the caller ID. This is interesting. Kyle and I haven't spoken in years. I think about ignoring him, but something won't let me. I swipe the screen.