Enforcer (Cascadia Wolves) (19 page)

“Officers, my fiancée, Nina Reyes is the owner of this shop. What’s happened?” Lex asked as they got to the police line.

“Ma’am,” one of the firefighters said as he pulled off some of his smoke-stained gear, “it doesn’t look accidental.”

“Arson? Oh, of course! Because it wasn’t enough to burn down my house. Oh! Everyone is okay? Oh god! There was no one here yet? You see, for early deliveries on Thursdays, we’re often here at five. None of my employees was ins…” her voice broke and Lex pulled her to his side.

Megan stood discreet but alert at their back.

“No ma’am, the place was empty. Can you wait over there please?” The firefighter pointed at the corner. “I’m sure the police and the investigators will want to talk to you.”

Numb, Nina let Lex guide her to the corner to wait. She had to let the grief wash over her so she could get to the mad. Instinctively, she knew the mad would save her, help her get through.

Lex stood next to her, rubbing small circles over her back. She’d noticed that the wolves liked to touch at times of stress. She also realized that she’d have to stop thinking of it as things that happened to
them
because she was one of them too.

“When this is all over, I’m going to check myself into a hospital and have a heart attack,” she said tiredly.

“I’m so sorry, beautiful. We’re going to find who did this, I promise you.”

“Carter did this, Lex. Come on! You know it and I know it,” she hissed as she saw someone come over from the scene. It was the man who was investigating the fire at her house.

“Ms. Reyes. I wish I could say I was happy to see you. Do you happen to know anything about this?” Detective Stoner came to a stop in front of them.

“I wish I did. I was coming to my shop for the first time in a week.” Nina felt the anger and the frustration at not being able to tell this man the whole story. Lex had asked her to leave the details to the Pack and she’d agreed. She had serious misgivings at that point in letting the Pack handle it all, but she’d given her word so she kept the details to a minimum.

“No? No enemies? Someone you may have offended back in Ohio?” The detective asked the question with forced casualness but Nina had dealt with enough social workers and cops to know fishing when she saw it. She could also smell something acrid about him.

While Nina felt Lex’s arm tense slightly, she knew he’d not appear any different to the man questioning her.

“My crimes were stupid and petty and are over a decade old. I’m sure you also saw that other than juvenile records, I’ve been clean. Someone I cheated in some street dice game back when I was seventeen is not going to burn down my house and shop.

“Pardon me for doing your job and all,”
because you’re not
was the unspoken part, “but this is something a hell of a lot bigger than some crap I did a stint in juvie for a decade ago.”

“Hey, no need to get defensive. I was just trying to figure out who did this and why. Obviously whoever did this knows you or has some personal issue with you. It’s only logical to ask you if you had any information.”

“Do you think I would hide information for fun? That it’s so enjoyable having my entire life burn down around my ears, threatening my employees? You’ve done your homework so you know I came from nothing. I worked hard to build my business up, I want to catch who did this more than you do—I promise you that.”

Stoner held his hands up in surrender in the face of her anger. “I’ll be in touch. I take it you’re still staying with Mr. Warden here?” He nodded his chin toward Lex.

“Yes. Ms. Reyes and I are engaged to be married. Our home is her permanent address. You can reach us there day or night. You also have my cell phone number. As you can see, Nina is stressed out and upset. May I take her home or is there anything else you need?”

“Nothing further for now. I’ll be in touch.” The way he said it made it sound like a threat and Nina sighed.

“Thank you.” Nina tiredly leaned into Lex as he led her back to the car. She let him help her inside and put her head back and closed her eyes.

“Beautiful…”

“Don’t. Just don’t, Lex, because you and I both know this is Carter and if I think about it any more right this moment I’m going to hunt him down and kill him.” She said this with her eyes still closed.

“Okay, I know why
I
think it’s Carter. Tell me why you do.”

“I don’t think Melissa is the shooter. She seemed quite genuine with me and while she showed interest in the laptop, her interest didn’t seem out of bounds for the situation. She seems happy with being ranked where she is, ambitious but not ruthless.”

“Okay.” Lex’s voice was noncommittal.

“Eric is a tricky one. He pretends to be the man about town with the ladies and yes, he’s a bit smarmy.
But
, he listened to every word that was said, even as he checked out my tits.”

Lex growled. “Don’t think I didn’t notice that. Pup. He’ll keep away from you in the future if he likes breathing.”

Nina opened her eyes and looked at him. “Uh, yeah, whatever. I’d rather have wolves checking my boobs than trying to kill me. Call me shallow that way.”

Lex gave a weary sigh and waved her on.

“But Carter, he’s a vicious bastard. You can smell the ruthless ambition dripping off him.”

“You don’t think Melissa is ruthless?” Lex asked, curious.

“Not in the same way that Eric and Carter are. That challenge? Come on! Yes, he was knocked over by a human but so what? He could have turned it around and made himself look benevolent for helping Lex’s crazy human mate. But instead he challenges me to the death for it? Overreact much? He wanted to kill me and be done with it. The way he did it was desperate and that’s what worries me the most. Because he’s at the bottom of the Pack now and he doesn’t have the access to the Pack that he used to. Whatever his game is, the people he’s working with are so not going to be down with that.”

Lex looked in the rearview at his sister. “Meg, what do you think?”

“I think she’s right. Carter is hiding something and he’s desperate. You can smell it on him. Melissa is comfortable as Fourth now, she isn’t hiding anything that is bad enough to stink of it. Eric? He’s smart and strong, but too lazy to be behind this.

“The question is—what do we do now as our next step? He’s busted down to the lowest echelon of the Pack. He has no ranking at all. We can’t watch to see what he’s doing with the accounts if he doesn’t have the access.”

“Desperate people make mistakes. I think it’ll be easier to figure him out now that he’s going to be taking more risks than before. These Rogues aren’t going to just take no for an answer.” Lex tapped his finger on the steering wheel as he processed the information.

“Yes. All we have to do is stand back and watch. He’ll fuck up and sooner rather than later, I think. The way the money was going in and then out? That’s the sign of someone who is living on the margins. That’s a dangerous existence. He’s bound to get himself out on a limb soon and he’ll do something stupid.”

Lex glanced at her with a smile. “I love it when you’re devious, beautiful.”

Nina laughed. “Well, then you’re clearly with the right woman.”

Instead of continuing east, Lex got off the freeway a few miles early. “Where are we going?”

“I know you’re upset and you’re tired but I’d like to take you to the range for a bit of practice. Do you know how to use a gun? I mean,” he gave her that raised brow before turning back to the road, “I know you can use a shotgun. But do you know how to use a handgun?”

“Uh, well. You do remember me shooting Carter? I believe you were there at the time?” Her voice was sarcastic and he raised a brow. “Yeah. I carried a really old Smith & Wesson back when I was on the streets. It probably wouldn’t have shot but it made me feel better. I go to the firing range from time to time but it’s not like I’m a big pro or anything.”

Lex pulled the car down a long drive. “This is a private range for wolves. We used to use the public one but humans tend to get really nervous when they see us shooting. As a member of the Pack you have access to it and any weapons and ammo you need. The wolf who runs it was one of my mentors when I was growing up.”

They parked and Megan got out first. She scanned the area then Lex got out. Nina, growing used to the whole process, waited for Lex to come around to her side.

At the doors to what appeared to be a very nice rambler they stopped and Lex keyed in a series of numbers that Nina surreptitiously watched and noted. Just because she could and it was a hard habit to break.

The door swung open and another, very large man, er, wolf was there, armed to the teeth, er, fangs. He inclined his head. “Enforcer, it’s good to have you here.”

Lex reached out and touched the man’s shoulder. “Grey, it’s nice to be here. This is my mate, Nina. She’s Rey’s sister. She’ll be coming in a few times a week to build up her skill level.”

The other wolf looked up briefly at Nina. “Welcome to Cascadia. My sincere condolences for your loss. Rey was always fun to play cards with. He watched my youngest last year for a few months on Thursday afternoons when the wife had to work swing shift and I couldn’t change my schedule. Taught her how to play backgammon.”

A sweet memory rushed through Nina then. Gabriel had loved backgammon. It was one of the games their father had played with them both and it had been a way for Nina and Gabriel to reconnect with him.

She put a hand up to her chest, pressing over her heart. Tears welled up. “Thank you. You don’t know what it means to me to hear you say that.”

“Ms. Reyes, your brother was a good person. Anyone who said differently didn’t know him very well. When I needed him, he always helped out. He may have made a big deal about it or talked a good game, but he refused to take money to watch Bea. Said she kept him young. He would always bring her stuff that he won at the fair or picked up here and there. He told me once that she reminded him of you. Looking at you now, I can see why.”

He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and showed a picture of a smiling little girl with deep brown eyes, wide and filled with a kind of openness that Nina simply couldn’t recall ever feeling until that moment. She did have that face for part of her life. For so long it had been too painful to remember and so she just pushed it so far back that she nearly forgot.

“Nina,” she whispered and cleared her throat. “Please, call me Nina.” She leaned over and hugged the man quickly. “Thank you.”

Blushing furiously, he inclined his head again, grinning. Lex rolled his eyes, but seeing Nina’s face was worth seeing her hug another man. Pausing mentally, Lex realized that he was one of those people who hadn’t known Rey very well. Gabriel Reyes had been a dipshit, but after hearing Nina talk about their past Lex understood Rey a lot better and was sorry he’d never really tried to get to know him.

“Dorian is out back. I’ll let him know you’re here.”

Lex nodded at Grey. “Thanks.”

Lex guided Nina through several long hallways until they ended up at a set of large double doors. There was a large locker area to one side and a counter across from that with shelves and shelves of what appeared to be ammunition and firearms. Body armor hung on racks.

“This is the shooting range. There is also an archery range outside for crossbows, very enjoyable. Fencing and sword work is done in a room that we passed on our way in. Hand-to-hand combat work like judo and Krav Maga is done in the smaller practice floors upstairs.

“All of my guards are trained here by Dorian Metz. Dorian has been in charge of training for forty-five years. He’s the reason I went into the Army and got into the Rangers. I was hard as nails at nineteen because I’d trained with him my entire life.

“Were we allowed to compete, he is good enough to medal in shooting at the Olympics. He’s also a black belt in karate and is incredibly skilled with knives and Japanese long swords.

“I will oversee all your training. But he will help when needed.”

Nina wrinkled her nose as Lex began to look over the different handguns behind the counter. “Training?”

Lex chose one and unlocked the trigger lock. He turned and pulled open a drawer, popped out the clip and laid the gun, clip and a box of ammunition down. “You’re my mate, Nina. My place in this Pack as Enforcer is a dangerous one. As such, it’s dangerous for you too. That means you have to be trained to defend yourself and also to be on the offensive if necessary.”

“Okey-dokey. But I hope you know that I’m rebuilding my shop. Not that I don’t mind backing you up and kicking anyone’s ass who threatens you. But I’m a florist, Lex.”