There's Something About Werewolves: Seven Brides for Seven Shifters, Book 1 (7 page)

Chapter Seven

Sirens blared through the trees. The slicing sound pushed Garrett to move. He lowered the two women to the ground. They couldn’t stand on their own, and he hated to let them go, but he didn’t have a choice. He’d be hard pressed to explain why he’d gotten naked while the house burned.

He jogged to his car with Nox shadowing him. His fingers swept over a hidden button and the trunk glided open. Nox had left the car unlocked and unarmed when he’d come out to get his backpack. No surprise there. Garrett’s Tumi weekender bag rested on top of their other luggage. With a quick unzip Garrett found a pair of bespoke, custom-tailored, navy jeans and a cinnamon-hued long-sleeve tee. He put them on without underwear. He didn’t have time.

Neither Lennox nor Gran had moved as Garrett returned to them. Nox brushed his side and Garrett threw an arm over his son’s shoulders. Nox only stuck to him when he’d done something wrong. Or when something nagged at him. Garrett suspected both states of mind were true. “Go sit with them.” He hugged his son before nudging him toward the women.

“The family photo album,” Lennox said as though the thought had suddenly broken through her shock.

“It’s in the orchard gazebo,” Gran said. “I was out there reminiscing earlier.”

They sat in silence, their gazes on the blaze. It had consumed one side of the house, eating into what remained in a charred, smoke-fueled fury. The blaze did strange things to the light. Orange-gold stained the yard in an eerie wash of color. Although the smoke blew to the west, the air—heavy and dry—clung to his mouth and nose. It greedily sucked all moisture into an arid haze. And ash began to fall, dusting the ground.

Misery. No other word for it. Anger, along with the frustration of being rendered impotent by a disaster not even his money could avert, sent Garrett to his car again. After retrieving his backup phone he began giving orders to his staff via text message. The emergency code, 9-1-1-9, he punched in at the start of each text commanded them to move fast or else.

“Your grandfather’s war medals,” Gran said softly. Her trembling hand grasped Lennox’s limp one.

“Oh, Gran.” Lennox slid a little closer to her grandmother.

Dillon Reardon came running through the trees. Relief stopped him in his tracks at the sight of the two Averdeens sitting safely on the front yard. “Thank you,” he mouthed. Garrett waved him off. He didn’t want to be thanked for taking care of his own. A man did that automatically. At least a man should.

Garrett’s mind rewound to his earlier argument with Lennox. She’d said he hadn’t been there when she’d needed him. When her father had gotten sick he hadn’t looked after her. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.

Gran cried out. The anguished sound punched Garrett in the guts. “All your trophies from high school and college,” Gran said. Collapsing to one side, she laid her head on Lennox’s shoulder.

“My kitchen,” Lennox said, slumping. “And your gorgeous vintage clothes. And my…my, my…”

“Oh, your shoe collection. Your beautiful shoes and boots and sandals gone. Leni, I’m so sorry.”

Lennox bowed her head. “I can’t think about that right now. There’s so much gone. Like—”

“Mina Averdeen’s photographs,” they said in unison, squeezing each other. Every moment made them remember something else they’d never see again. The flames rendered a continuous trail of lost keepsakes and treasures into the smoke of memories, never again to be touched or shown to future generations.

“Those horrible paintings Great, Great Aunt Auggie bought in Paris,” Lennox said. Gran laughed in a shadow of her normal glee. “Leave it to old Augusta Averdeen to go to Paris and still come home with shitty art.”

Their shoulders shook as they leaned heavily on one another. Dillon came over and stood watch over them at Garrett’s side.

“Oh,” Gran shouted, covering her mouth with trembling fingers. “Oh no, no, no.”

Lennox hugged her grandmother. “What is it?” But Gran couldn’t get the words out.

The fire truck finally rambled into the yard. He and Dillon went into action. Garrett took hold of Lennox and Nox while Dillon helped Gran over to the car. Without speaking the two of them worked together to get the women and child settled into Garrett’s custom built Tesla roadster four-seater. He couldn’t say why but he felt better once he closed the door with them safely ensconced inside his one of a kind vehicle. As though only he could protect them.

The firemen shouted to ask if anyone remained in the house. He told them no and they went to work. The main issue was to keep the flames from spreading to the trees. Nobody could save the house at this point. Damage control. That was all anyone could do.

A few hours later, Garrett replayed everything over as they rode to the farm he owned at the edge of town. If he allowed himself to think about it, he’d say he bought the land so he’d have a toehold in Lennox’s world. Funny how he’d never actually stepped foot inside her town before Nox had forced his hand.

His driver had arrived from the filming location faster than expected. Apparently he’d gotten a speeding ticket along the way. There’d be a thank-you bonus in his paycheck that week.

Garrett studied Lennox as she stared out the window. Nox watched her too but hid his glances, his eyes darting furtively to Lennox’s face and away. Garrett hadn’t had a chance to question him yet, but his gut told him Nox started the fire. Damn, he hoped he had it wrong. Deep down he knew he didn’t.

For her part, Lennox remained still. Her stiff body and blank expression reminded him of a mannequin. Only the slump of her shoulders gave him any clue to her fragile state of mind.

Dr. Reardon, or Dillon, sat beside Lennox. The man had helped enough that Garrett could call him a friend. Regardless of where their pack allegiances or lack of lay, Garrett knew he could trust Dillon. Gran certainly did. She’d fallen asleep curled up against the man’s side.

Gran’s eyelashes fluttered as the car pulled into the long winding driveway leading to the house. She mouthed something but didn’t wake up. They rode down the gravel drive. A rustic wooden fence lined the property and framed the path.

Garrett had a caretaker who looked after the upkeep of the place, but today he’d called in the troops. Members of his staff arrived hours ago to prep the house. More would come tomorrow, staffing the place until it ran as smoothly as a luxury hotel. Gran and Lennox needed a safe place to lay their heads. He considered it his duty to supply one.

They rolled to a stop in front of the sprawling ranch style house. The clean lines of the architecture hinted this wasn’t an ordinary farm, but the warm wood tones made it homey and inviting.

Twitching with caginess, Nox jumped out of the car. His feet crunched gravel as the double doors of the front entrance swung open and golden light spilled out over the walkway. Garrett’s assistant, Cash Warren, walked out to greet them. The former stuntman’s limp barely showed, causing only the slightest hitch in his stride. He’d had a good day injury wise.

Garrett nodded to Cash who returned the nod in affirmation every task assigned to him had been accomplished. Dinner stood at the ready. Rooms decorated in the shades and styles he knew Lennox and Gran liked best were prepped for their stay, and everyone who loved them knew where to find them. Dillon had already examined Lennox, Gran, and Nox to make sure they were all right, but both he and Garrett agreed they should stop by the hospital as well. They’d done that. Minor smoke inhalation. Nothing major. Garrett could put everyone to bed without worry.

While Dillon helped Gran out of the other side of the black sedan, Garrett reached in and lifted Lennox into his arms. She didn’t fight him. He wished she would. Then he’d know she’d be okay.

Garrett caught Cash’s eye and nodded toward Nox.

“Nox,” Cash said, “help me and the driver empty out your dad’s Tesla. I forgot to do that when I picked it up earlier. All right?” Nox moved to the trunk at Cash’s side and Garrett led Dillon inside.

Thankfully he’d built the house on one level. There weren’t any stairs for Gran to maneuver. They got her settled into her room quickly and one of the staff volunteered to help her get cleaned up.

When he turned to leave the room Lennox stirred from her stiff position against his chest. “Put me down, Garrett,” she whispered. “I’ll help my gran.” Reluctantly he let her go. She slid down his body and walked over to her grandmother. The sudden hug the two Averdeens wrapped each other in nearly broke his heart. Dillon grunted. He must’ve felt the emotion of their sadness as well. Garrett motioned for him to leave and, watching them for as long as he could, he closed the door.

Out in the hall, the doctor pulled out his phone and made a call. Garrett left Dillon to it and met Cash on the way to the living room. “Nox?” Garrett asked.

The younger man made a looping gesture with both hands. “He did it. He’s messed up about it too. You’ll want to handle that quick.”

“What else?” They walked down the hall to the main part of the house.

“He’s completely in love with her.” A wry half smile curled Cash’s mouth. “He asked if women ever forgive the men in their lives for burning their houses down.”

Garrett paused mid-step. “You’re joking.”

Cash shook his head. “I wish. You know how much I enjoy a good joke.”

Garrett shook his head.
Fuck.
“Will the day ever come that I don’t wreck that woman’s life?”

“I can’t call it,” Cash said, handing off a tablet and leading Garrett toward a room off the wide main foyer. He opened the doors to reveal the office he’d set up for him and Garrett during their stay in LuPines.

Garrett flipped through his schedule, then through emails and calls Cash had tagged for immediate response. When his lip curled at the prospect of so much neglected work Cash chuckled. “Oh yeah, you’ll be up all night.”

With a cold-blooded stare, Garrett said, “You couldn’t handle any of this?”

Cash threw up his hands. “I took care of half of it already. That’s the last half. You owe me a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle’s 23yr.”

Garrett made a few adjustments to his schedule and handed the tablet back. “You want a $250 bottle of bourbon in exchange for doing your job?” He inclined his head. “I don’t owe you shit.”

His assistant/VP-in-training laughed. Garrett continued. “I’m going to have a talk with Nox. We’ll all have dinner. I’ll put the fam to bed. Then together we’ll tackle this mess you couldn’t handle alone.” Another bark of laughter followed Garrett out of the room.

He’d searched the house for twenty minutes before he found Nox outside the door to Gran’s room. Garrett motioned his son over to him. Nox complied and they started the walk to the opposite wing of the house, where Cash had set them up.

Inside the master bedroom he clasped Nox’s shoulders and guided him to sit on the bed. He only had to stare at his son for thirty seconds before a confession tumbled out. “I just wanted to see what happens when you fry frozen chicken.”

“Lennox getting burned in college didn’t give you a clue?”

“Nope. I stood back an’ did a jump shot to get it in there.”

“You could’ve killed yourself.”

Nox studied his sneakers. “Yeah.”

The air between them thickened with the weight of Nox’s guilt and Garrett’s responsibility. The younger Westlake’s shoulders drooped under the pressure.

“Look at me.” Garrett projected his ire outward for his son to feel. “You could’ve killed your godmother and your new grandma too.”

Tears he knew would never fall filled Nox’s eyes. “Yeah.”

“You’ll have to live with that.”

Anybody listening would find his words harsh but his son’s high intellect often made him try things most kids would run from. Nox’s smarts made him test the boundaries of just about everything. Garrett refused to hit his son so he had to teach him consequences in other ways.

Nox nodded and looked away. “I know.”

Garrett reached out and cupped Nox by the nape. The kid shrieked when he crushed him to his chest but let him kiss the top of his head before pulling away. “I love you too, Dad. You don’t have to get demonstrative about it.”

Before Garrett could say anything else a knock resounded through the room. Cash came in without waiting for a response. “That guy you had me look into, Ian Somers, he’s here and he’s pissed.”

Garrett squeezed Nox’s neck and rose. Cash had more to say. “Right now he’s cussing Dillon but it won’t be long before he demands to see Lennox.”

“Where is she?” Garrett passed Cash on his way to find Ian. Cash followed him out.

“She’s in her room now.”

“Did you refill her prescriptions?”

“Yeah, she took them. The muscle relaxant seemed to calm her down.”

“Is she resting?”

Cash shook his head. “I can’t call it. I do know she’s refusing to eat. Even snacks.”

A dark cloud descended over Garrett. He had zero patience when it came to Ian. The man pissed him off in enough ways to deserve an epic beat down. And Garrett really wanted to hand out an ass whipping. He strode down the hall, hoping for a fight.

To his credit, Ian kept his voice down while blasting Dillon for not calling him sooner. Only the wolfen in the house would hear the tongue-lashing. Dillon, like a good lieutenant, took it without offering excuses.

“Somers, why are you in my house stirring shit up?”

Ian turned and growled. “She’s not yours to protect.”

Garrett flickered amber and flashed his canines. “More mine than yours.” They advanced on one another, each taking inventory of the other’s physical strengths, each accessing the other’s flaws. Gauging how one’s longer reach would fare against the other’s greater agility? Whose claws were sharper? Whose teeth clamped harder, shredded deeper. Ian had no idea how far into history Garrett’s wolfen bloodlines ran. Garrett had no doubts he’d paint the walls with the other man’s guts.

“If it weren’t for your son, I’d kick your ass out of my territory.” Ian circled left.

Garrett mirrored him. Moving around to the right, he unleashed a wolfish grin. “I really wish you’d try it.”

Very few people could stop Garrett in mid-fury. Cash, who happened to be one of them and one of Garrett’s few friends, laid a hand on his shoulder. Speaking low, Cash said, “He’s as worried about her as you are. Don’t kill him for that.”