New Beginnings (11 page)

Hayden called Jess’ phone and she crossed
her arms over her chest as one brow arched.

Slater answered, “I was on the phone with
Liam. He’s at the bar, he broke in, and Jess is here. I’m not sure
what the hell is going on, but he wasn’t invited into the bar.”

“I’m on my way. You might want to come down
with her. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

“Good. I need answers.”

“What the abyss do you think is going
on?”

“Hang on a sec, Hayden.” He looked over at
Jess. “Can you drive us back to the bar? Hayden is going to meet us
there. I honestly don’t know what the hell is going on.”

“Great, now I’m a chauffeur.” She flipped
around and started back for her truck.

He followed on her heels. “He’s been acting
strange. I think he wants the pack, but he’s not challenging me. I
think he’s worried he can’t take me in a fair fight.” Slater shook
his head and took a deep breath. “Maybe I’m too sentimental, but he
was there after Clara. I guessed I hoped it was simple jealousy
when he suggested I put Brody down like a dog.” He winced at Liam’s
request.

“Fucking bastard,” Jess snarled.

Hayden seethed, “Brody’s a better man than
that piece of shit in every way.” He was always loyal to his
friends, but he was tight with Brody.

“Well, I have to agree there. Look, I just
want to get to the bottom of this. Liam shouldn’t have broken into
the bar. She didn’t answer the door. She didn’t want to talk to
him. He crossed the line.”

“Can I talk to her?” Hayden asked.

“Sure.” He passed the phone back to Jess who
took it with a confused look before climbing into truck.

* * * *

By the time Jess pulled into the parking
lot, she had retold the short story to Hayden. The Sheriff was even
friendlier than usual. He’d come by the bar to help a few times, so
it shouldn’t have surprised her, but it did.

Now that she was off the phone, the fact
that she had run to Slater at the first sign of trouble had settled
in.

Shit, that
’s a stupid way to avoid
him
.

He made her feel safe. She felt safe with
Brody too, but not the same way. No, Brody was safe in the way she
imagined a big brother would feel safe. Slater was warmth and
security.

She shoved those thoughts away and glanced
over at the man in question.

“We’ll figure this out.” He reached over to
squeeze her shoulder.

Her vision tunneled down to blackness.
Gentle calloused fingers travelled over her face.

“
Talk to me, Jess. Please, baby, talk to
me,” Slater begged hoarsely, his tortured voice pulling her from a
sea of pain that flowed to her shoulder. There were a thousand
other sounds, but the only thing she could focus on was his
thudding heartbeat.

She struggled to open her eyes but she
didn
’t have the energy, it was all draining from two sharp
pricks in the middle of all the pain.

“
Enough. Stop, Victoria. You’ll kill
her.”

Wait, who the fuck was Victoria? The
question almost pulled her from the vision, but not quite.

The two points of agony withdrew and with it
all sensation, leaving her floating in nothing. Warm liquid filled
the hole in her chest and everything squeezed together, becoming
whole again.

“
Jess, damn it, open your fucking eyes.”
It was a desperate demand and the fact that he was ordering her
around pissed her off. She fought to wake up so she could smack
him.

Her eyes snapped open, but all she could see
was Slater with his hair in disarray, and tears running down his
face. Her anger melted away.

Reality filtered back. They were still in
the truck, his hand still wrapped around her shoulder.

She slouched away from his touch, and barely
found her voice. “Don’t, just don’t.”

He snatched his hand away with a whisper,
“Sorry.”

“I’m fine,” she stammered and scrambled out
of the truck.

“Okay.”

She felt his gaze even though she slammed
the door and turned around to face Hayden’s chest. She had to look
up, way up to see his arched brow.

He almost sounded amused. “You look like
you’ve seen a ghost.”

She shook her head, “Not exactly. Is Liam
still here?”

He nodded, “I took the liberty of blocking
his view and the sound. He can’t see what’s going on out here, but
we can see in. He’s just sitting at one of the tables, apparently
waiting for you.”

“All right,” she said slowly. “And how
should we play this?”

She felt Slater step up beside her, and
rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, in case he’s not pulling
something, are you willing to go in and try to pry a little
information from him. We’ll be right outside, and can stop him if
he tries anything.”

“Sure. I mean, maybe I was just being
paranoid. I just get a serious creep vibe from him,” she answered.
It was true. He made her skin crawl.

“We’ll be right here. We won’t let anything
happen to you.”

She turned and found herself caught in
Slater’s stormy gaze, but she didn’t back down. “I’m going to ream
him for breaking into my damned bar. I don’t want him thinking he
can pull that shit, and you better tell me I’m not expected to let
it happen.” She paused, waiting for his answer.

Slater’s eyes sparkled and his lips twitched
like he was fighting a smile. “You better not take it. He shouldn’t
be breaking into anything but his own house if he lost his keys.
That is the only way I can see it as acceptable.”

With a nod she moved to the front door. She
pretended to open it with her key but it was still unlocked. A
scowl darkened her face as she marched in, crossing her arms over
her chest. She came to a stop out of Liam’s reach and where she
could still slip out the door if she felt threatened.

The smug bastard looked up with his dark
beady eyes, and a smirk. “Why, hello Jess. Are you avoiding me?”
His voice slithered across her, sending a chill down her spine

“How did you get in? Why wasn’t my door
locked? I know for a fact it was before I left.”

His eyes widened and one corner of his mouth
tipped up. “Well, I was worried about you, you see. I think Brody
may be making a play at you.”

She could smell the lie from where she
stood, and raised a brow.

He shrugged, “I’ll admit that he needs a
good woman in his life, but I think you’re much better suited to
me.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and
glared back at him. “Did you forget that I’m a wolf? I can smell
the bullshit as well as you can. Why the fuck did you break
in?”

“That part isn’t a lie.” He stood, and took
a few steps toward her. Her skin crawled but she held her ground.
“I think I could be good for you.”

“You sure as hell aren’t part of my future
so you can give that up.” In fact, she hadn’t seen a damned thing
about him, and now she had to wonder why. Not that she really
cared, but she didn’t get any future glimpses of him. She had a few
past ones that painted him as an asshole, but those were brief.

Usually, that meant he wasn’t sticking
around. That piqued her curiosity.

“How can you be so sure?” He snorted. “Your
visions?”

She nodded, “Pretty much.”

He moved in and touched her face. She took a
quick step back. It was too late because a new vision flipped on.
She saw herself standing up straight as he pointed a gun in her
face.

It quickly faded and she nodded toward the
door. “If I were you, I’d leave. This is the one and only time I’m
going to tell you that I am not interested. If you try anything,
you’ll regret it. Now, I’m just going to get back to work.”

His leg jerked like he might take a step but
he shook his head and stood there, glaring at her. “You’re fucking
Slater, aren’t you?”

She laughed, “I haven’t exactly been around
him. I’ve spent most of my time here. What the hell makes you think
I’m fucking the Alpha of all people?”

“Because you fucked your last one.” He
sneered.

She shrugged, “Yeah. What’s your point?”

“You’re here to seduce him, and then take
control of the pack.”

Jess rubbed her forehead. “You know? You
really are stupid.” She huffed, “If that had been my goal, why the
hell did I move?”

He stood there, his head tipped to the side
like he was considering her words. Then he asked, “Why are you
here?”

“I’m here because my Alpha is a douchebag
who wouldn’t sell me the bar I ran without help. I left because
he’s the sleazoid who thought I would be willing to play naked
after that first time, but I wasn’t. I came here for a new start,
where I could have my own bar, without the hassle of an Alpha who
wanted one thing from me.”

He frowned. “You don’t want Slater?”

She was done playing games, now she was just
pissed, and feeling stupid because she ran to Slater like a little
bitch. “Not everyone wants power. I want my own bar. That’s all. I
have that, and if you would just leave, I’ll have it opened by the
weekend. That’s your cue to mosey your ass out of here.” She threw
open the door and waited.

He glared at her. “One more question. Is
Brody going to take my place?”

Her mouth fell open and she blinked.
“What?”

“Is he going for the second position?”

“Hell no. He’s not the slightest bit
interested in being second. Now get the fuck out of
my
bar.”

He scrubbed a hand over his face and
frowned. “I just wanted to know if you’ve seen it.”

“Look, it’s not like I control what I see,”
she growled. “If it makes any difference, I haven’t seen anything
between Brody and you.”

“Fine.” He stormed past her and slammed the
door.

She went to the window to watch him leave,
but only saw the Camaro that Liam climbed into. He slammed his
hands into the steering wheel several times and finally drove
off.

Once he was gone, she sagged into the booth,
and wondered where the hell Hayden and Slater were. She considered
calling, but the last thing she wanted to do was go running back to
him.

Why the hell didn’t she just stay and kick
Liam the hell out herself? It would have been a lot easier than
running to her alpha. She didn’t need anyone, especially not
Slater.

Something about Liam that seriously set her
creep bell off.

The door creaked as they came through they
stepped into the front from the kitchen.

Her eyes snapped up to Slater.

One brow arched, and he said, “What? Thought
we left you to fend for yourself?”

“Maybe. Look, something is seriously wrong
with Liam. I just had one fucked up vision.”

“About what?” Hayden asked.

She half-laughed. “He was here. It was
crowded and he held a gun to my head. It ended before I heard a
word, but that doesn’t leave me feeling very safe around him.”

Slater tensed and his eyes lasered in on
her. “Do your visions always come true?”

“Yeah, pretty much. I’ve tried to change the
outcome. With a bar full of people, that’s not going to be an
option. So I don’t know what to think.” She stood up to go to the
fridge. “Anyone else need a beer?” She winced as she opened the
door and saw Slater’s favorite sitting there on the shelf.

“Sure,” they said simultaneously.

* * * *

Slater slid onto a stool and watched the
kitchen door, just waiting for Jess to come back.

Hayden nudged Slater as he took the seat
beside him. When Slater didn’t turn, he whispered. “Still planning
to stay away?”

“None of your business, old friend.” He
still didn’t have a clue what to do. He knew what he wanted, but
Jess ran hot then cold and he didn’t know what she wanted.

She came back out with three opened bottles
and a full case. Jess shrugged before she passed out the brews.
“Figured we may be here awhile.” Then she came around the bar and
took a seat beside Slater. After a heavy sigh, she stared at her
bottle.

He wanted to reach out and comfort her, but
he kept his hands to himself. “Hey, Jess, talk to me. Please.”

“He’s unbalanced, Slater. I don’t know what
you want me to say.”

“I’m listening, Jess. Tell me what’s on your
mind.”

Her gaze slid to his. “You’ve known him a
long time. Why would you listen to me?”

“I trust you.”

She looked away. “Until you hear what you
don’t want to.”

“That is not true. You are a part of my
pack, and I want to know your concerns.” He wanted to remove every
one of her problems more than he wanted to protect an old
friend.

The door unlatched and Slater spun in his
chair to watch Brody walk in and take in the scene.

He met Slater’s gaze and asked, “Everything
okay?”

Jess turned around and shook her head. “Not
quite. Seems that Liam thinks you’re after his job. There’s about a
99.99 percent chance he’s going to try to put a bullet in my head,
and he seems to think I’m fucking either you or Slater, or possibly
both.” She sighed heavily, and took a long drink of beer. “I wish I
could get drunk. Except last time… well that was a fucking
disaster.”

Slater restrained the growl that wanted to
rumble out of his chest. She would barely look at him after
climbing out of her truck, but she would talk to Brody like he was
her best friend. That hurt so much worse than he wanted to admit.
He needed to get her alone and have a real conversation with her.
Just the two of them to figure out what the fuck was going on
between them.

Brody’s brow arched, “I don’t think anyone
out here can make that moonshine. So that’s probably a good
thing.”

She nodded.

Hayden glanced at Slater “I think keeping
someone with Jess 24/7 is a good idea for now. At least until we
know what Liam is planning.” He took a heavy sigh and looked Jess
in the eye. “I’m willing to bet your vision is accurate.”