Wolf at Law by Heather Long (5 page)

“I can’t afford that and your fee.”

Aggravation flared along his nerves that she thought she would owe him anything. Still, rational thought prevailed. She didn’t know him, didn’t know what he possessed or what he could do. The wolf wanted nothing more than to protect, as did the man. “Do you have a dollar?”

“What?”

“Do you have a dollar?” He tapped two fingers against the table.

She retrieved her purse from the floor and extracted a slender wallet, inside he spied her driver’s license, one bank card and two social security cards—one for her and likely the other was for her daughter. Extracting a couple of slender bills, she held them up. “Did you want more coffee?”

Exasperated, he frowned at her and her smile faltered. “No, I want you to give me one of those dollar bills.”

With caution, she set a bill onto the table and slid it over to him. He picked it up then said, “This is my retainer. You’ve hired me. Consider your fee paid.”

She gaped at him.  He added, “The suite will be covered by my firm as an expense, so you don’t have to worry about the cost.”

“People like you aren’t real.”
Progress
. She wasn’t saying no.

“Then you’ve been around the wrong people,” he informed her and tucked the dollar bill away so she couldn’t ask for it back. “Eat your danish then let’s talk logistics. Would you like me to go with you to get your daughter?”

He’d follow regardless and stay with them until he was certain they were secure. “I don’t even know that I’m going to do this.” Another lie, but not a willful one. She was on the fence and wanted to believe him, wanted to grab onto the lifeline he offered. Her distrust and wariness had kept her alive, so he wouldn’t belittle her instincts.

They could do this two ways. He could play harder ball or he could continue to coax and cajole. Pressing his advantage could scare her, unacceptable to him on all levels. She needed to never feel fear again. Never.

The silent promise sustained him. “You’re going to do it because it’s the best thing for your little girl. From our short acquaintance, I know you make every decision based on her well being. I give you my word that tonight it will only be the two of you in that suite. No one else will bother you.”

She stopped fidgeting and focused on him. “And tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow we make a plan, but you will have that suite for as long as you want it.”

She hesitated, and then said, “Give me a day or two to think about it. Will you really represent me? File for divorce and custody? You haven’t asked me any of the questions the others did. I don’t even care if I get alimony or child support. I just want to be away from him. I want Alexis away from him.”

“We’ll make it happen.” Even if he had to change their names and disappear them into his pack. Toman would never offer sanctuary to unbound humans, so Ryan would find a way to make it work. However, those were all problems for another day. “If you need to think about it, fine, but do that at the hotel suite.”

“We don’t have any of our things…I’d still need to pack.”

“No, unless there’s something precious you have to get back there to claim, just leave it. I can get you clothes for the two of you.” A sense of urgency flooded him. Under no circumstances should Tiffany or her daughter return to Taglioni’s apartment.

“That’s ridiculous. Alexis has a pillow that she has to have and there are pictures.”

“Fine, I’ll go with you to get them. We’ll pack two bags and get you out of there before you pick Alexis up from her preschool.” Revealing her daughter’s location was a slip.

One Tiffany didn’t miss. “How do you know where she is?”

“She’s not with you, so preschool seemed reasonable since you don’t seem to have anyone else worthy to rely on.” Otherwise, they would be with her. He didn’t have to add that part.

Shoulders slumping, Tiffany ran a hand over her face. “I don’t think you going would be a good idea.”

They’d reached the end of his ability to be coaxing. “You’re not going back to that apartment alone, Tiffany.”

“Why not?” Defiance flared in her eyes, thank God. She might have been pummeled by life and her bastard of a husband, but she wasn’t broken.

“Because if he lays another finger on you, I’ll kill him.” With great relish and a hell of a lot of pain.

The apprehension in her gaze fled, and she studied him with curiosity. “You know someone who’s been hurt before?”

Yes
. He nodded once. “I have no tolerance for bullies. Even if I didn’t find you attractive or didn’t want to know you more personally—more intimately—I’d still help you.”

Moistening her lips, she shifted in her seat and glanced down. “Wow. That’s a whole lot of heat for someone you just met.”

You have no idea, sweetheart.
Ryan smiled. “Is that a yes?”

“You’re determined.” Tiffany took another drink of her coffee, then reached for the pastry. He waited, relying on his instincts to be patient. “If I say yes, I want to be absolutely clear that there will be no sex for you in this arrangement.”

Acceptable terms
. “Done.”

They had plenty of time for seduction and sex after he dealt with Taglioni.

She blinked once, meeting his gaze, and then said the magic word. “Yes.”

The wolf stretched inside of him and Ryan smiled. First, back to her apartment to gather her things, then to pick up her daughter. After he got them settled into the hotel, he’d pay a call on Taglioni.

Time to get acquainted with his prey.

When Ryan had promised her a suite at the Fillmore, she hadn’t realized he was serious. Alexis raced ahead of her, past the bellhop holding the doors open to the presidential suite of the hotel. The interior was as lush as the name implied. A wide parlor included windows overlooking the Chicago skyline on one side and Lake Michigan on the other. The overwhelming luxury set off alarms in Tiffany’s mind.

“Wow! Mommy! Look! Look! I can see the lake!” Excitement sparkled in Alexis’ every word. From the moment she’d picked her up at the school and led her to the waiting car, her daughter had been curiously silent. Whatever reservations the four year-old had possessed vanished under the thrill of opulence and wealth.

Rethinking her rash decision, Tiffany pivoted to face Ryan, but he’d led the bellhop to the elevator and they were discussing something in hushed tones. Ryan passed him some bills and bellhop grinned before stepping into the elevator to vanish behind the closing doors.

Her stomach plummeted as though she too were descending rapidly. Arms folded, she paced toward Ryan and said, “I think this is a mistake.”

“Is it the location or the size of the room that’s bothering you?” If her announcement perturbed him at all, he didn’t show it. Instead, he touched her shoulder—the lightest of feathery caresses—and turned her back toward the suite. “We’ve secured this floor.  You need an access card and a code to take the elevator. Security is on alert for anyone—whether hotel staff or us—in the elevator access to this floor. They monitor it twenty-four, seven.”

At the door to the suite itself, he nudged her inside, then closed one door to show a security panel inside. “In here, you will set the code that secures these doors. When that code is on, not even a keycard can open the external doors. They’d need a manager and security chief’s codes to override it.”

“Mommy! Can I pick a bedroom?” Alexis raced from one side of the suite to the other.

“No, baby. We’ll be staying in one together.” Maybe Giles wouldn’t let her have Alexis in their bed, but it wasn’t their bed anymore and she wanted her daughter close. A suite—two bedrooms. Was Ryan planning on staying with them?

He pulled the door wide and pointed down the hall. “There are two grand suites on this floor. I’ll be staying down there, in the Lincoln Park rooms.”

Shock and dismay vied for her attention, and Tiffany rubbed the back of her neck. A squeal of laughter came from one of the bedrooms. Twisting away from Ryan, she followed the sound. She arrived at the doorway in time to see Alexis catapult up into the air and cannonball on the bed. Her laughter seemed to echo off the walls.

Rolling over, Alexis spied her at the door and her eyes went wide. The exuberance in her expression vanished to be replaced by wary contrition. She rolled off the bed and to her feet. “Sorry, Mommy. I know I’m not supposed to bounce on the beds.”

Heart breaking at the too solemn voice and the traces of fear in her voice, Tiffany dropped her purse and kicked off her shoes. “How was it?”

“How was what?” Alexis asked, eyes turning into little saucers. One of her braids had come askew, but Tiffany could fix that later.

“The bouncing. How was it?”

“Um?” Disbelief chased the shadow of fear from her daughter’s face. “Good?”

That cinched it for her. Backing up a step, Tiffany dashed forward and flung herself onto the bed. She managed a second bounce before Alexis squealed and launched onto the bed with her. Hand in hand, they bounced and twirled until, breathless, they both collapsed. Tiffany attacked her with tickles. The simple sound of her daughter’s laughter lightened all the bruises on her heart.

Glancing over into the other room, she found Ryan watching them. A small smile played across his lips and his hands were stuffed deep in his pockets. Maybe she and Alexis were finally safe…or maybe this was all a colossal mistake.

“I want to see how the other bed is,” Alexis announced, recovering with the alacrity only a child possessed. She rolled off the bed and dashed out of the room.

Straightening, Tiffany sat up. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Ryan didn’t ask for what, nor did the smile on his face change. He seemed very pleased by their joy. “Would you like me to order dinner for a couple of hours from now? I can give you both time to settle in.”

Blinking once, then twice, she refused to shed the tears burning in her eyes or release the sob scratching up the back of her throat. She opened her mouth to tell him he’d already done enough, that they could go find food, but she thought better of it. The whole reason they’d come to this hotel was to get away from her husband. To disappear. She hadn’t told Alexis that she wouldn’t be going back to her preschool yet.

“Momma!” Alexis’ voice rang through the suite. “This bed is even better.”

“I’m coming baby,” she called back, then rose and walked to where Ryan stood. “Will you join us for dinner?”

His beautiful, firm mouth stretched wider. “It would be my pleasure to join you both.”

The curious thrill in her belly ramped higher, but Tiffany ignored it. Right now, Ryan was a friend. An attorney. A savior.
One day at a time, girl. One day at a time.

“I’m going to go play now.”

He inclined his head then motioned to the door. “Come set the code and lock up for me, then I’ll leave you two.”

Disappointment curved through her, the same disappointment she’d experienced when he’d walked away the first time they’d spoken. It didn’t matter that his exit was for the best, she was reluctant to let him go. “You’ll come back for dinner though?”

He paused at the door, and his deep blue eyes gentled. “I will be wherever you need me to be. I would truly enjoy having dinner with you both. Does Alexis have any food allergies I need to know about? Do you?”

Startled and pleased by the question, Tiffany folded her arms lest she reach out and touch him. She’d said no sex, and she meant it.

So why was she suddenly imagining him naked? Or better, him naked and holding her? “No, cast iron stomachs, the pair of us.”

“Good to know.” He brushed a finger down her cheek and the world narrowed to the gentle stroke of his skin against hers. She trembled. “Everything is going to be all right. I won’t let anything happen to you. Ever. I promise.”

She believed him, no qualms or hesitations. “Thank you.”

He nodded, then retreated a step. “Set the code, and let me hear it lock.” Closing the doors, she had the sense of him standing just outside. Choosing the date she’d learned Alexis would be a girl during her pregnancy, she coded the door and then touched her fingers to the wood panel. Was he standing on the other side? Touching the same spot she did?”

“
Momma!
” Her child’s urgent voice sliced through the moment. Shaking off the inappropriate thoughts, she abandoned the door to join her daughter. They’d see Ryan again soon.

Lord, she was already looking forward to it.

The next two days passed in a kind of blissfully relaxed air. Alexis had objected to missing school, but when Ryan told her to consider it an adventure and challenged her to find every possible “sneak out of the penthouse” path she could, she’d embraced his game with gusto. It didn’t take Tiffany long to recognize Ryan’s game for what it was—a problem solving exercise.

Alexis would identify a route or an idea, then explain it with great fanfare. If Ryan agreed with her, she got a reward and then the path was removed as an option. If he didn’t agree with her, he would explain, carefully, why the plan was a bad one. Never did he belittle her intelligence or dismiss her clever ideas, though he did scold her when they caught her shimmying up into an air vent.

He brought them books and movies, even took them down to the swimming pool on the 38
th
floor. The indoor pool was massive and kept it warm no matter the temperature outside.

Ryan, Tiffany discovered, was a powerful swimmer. His body was pretty damn fine, too. Beneath his expensive suits, he cut an impressive figure. All lean muscle, tough and sinewy. He showered Alexis with positive attention, and gave them both a glimpse at what it meant when a man listened with his ears and not his fists.

It wasn’t until the third morning, when Alexis announced that Collin had arrived, that her reality truly began to sink for Tiffany. Their first day at the hotel, Ryan had introduced them to Collin and Zane. The two men worked for Ryan apparently and, though they seemed a bit young to Tiffany—closer to her age than Ryan’s—they would be waiting in the hallway outside the room. If she and Alexis needed anything or to go anywhere, they were to take one of the men. The other would secure their suites.