“You went to college?” Livy asked, which got her a punch in the ribs from Toni. “Ow! It was just a goddamn question.”
“—and y’all shouldn’t be bantering around words like sociopath when you’re talking about a family member.”
“Believe what you want.” Toni swung her legs over the edge of the bed so that she and Livy were sitting right next to each other. Toni thought a minute and decided what she had to do.
“I’ve made my decision. I obviously can’t go on this trip. I can’t go.”
That’s when Livy slammed Toni to the floor and pinned her there—because the woman simply didn’t know the meaning of the word subtle.
Ricky grabbed the small but surprisingly strong and vicious female off of Toni.
“Tell her,” Livy ordered him once he’d gotten her off Toni. “Tell her that she is going.”
“How can I go now?” Toni shot back. “At first I thought I just needed to deal with the schedule issue, which is challenge enough. But now . . . after what I’ve found out about Delilah?”
“Excuses!” Livy accused, pointing a damning finger at Toni. “You’re using bullshit excuses to get out of this. Because you’re scared.”
“They’re bears! Of course I’m scared!”
“Not of the bears, you idiot.” Livy swung her arms until Ricky was forced to drop her. Then she re-adjusted her T-shirt and denim mini-skirt. “You’re scared of change. You’re scared of taking this chance and going out on your own.”
“They need me.”
“Because you’ve made them helpless. Which, I’d like to remind you, is not your job. Your job as the eldest jackal sibling is to prepare them for life on their own.”
“But what about Delilah?” Toni demanded. “She’s a problem all on her own.”
“Isn’t that something your parents should be concerned with?” Ricky asked.
“My parents are in denial. I’m not.”
“I’ll watch out for Freddy,” Livy said.
“I can’t ask you to—”
“I’ll watch out for Freddy, so just suck-it-the-fuck-up already.”
“Don’t curse at me, whore!”
“Birthing cow!”
“All right!” Ricky cut in before he was hurt trying to stop these two females from getting into a claw match. “That’s it!” He focused on Toni. “The bottom line is, if you don’t take this trip, I can assure you that Cella Malone is going to fire your ass, no matter whose cousin you are.”
“I don’t care,” Toni said, her voice firm. “Let her fire me. I’m not leaving. At least not until we get things . . . organized.”
“Organized?”
“Right. Once I get their schedules organized, everything will be fine. That’ll just take me a couple of days. Cella won’t mind that, I’m sure.”
Toni walked out, leaving Ricky and Livy standing there, gazing at the open door.
“Will that Cella Malone chick mind that?” Livy asked him.
“She sure will.”
“Then we have to take away her excuses.”
Ricky shrugged. “I may have an idea.” He pulled out his phone. “But my baby brother won’t like it.”
“Your baby brother? Was that the other wolf who was in the office with us?”
“Yep.”
“Then I don’t give a shit he won’t like it.”
Ricky laughed and began making calls.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Paul stepped out of the cab and held his hand out so that Jackie could grab it. He helped her out and then held his hand out for Irene. She, as always, completely ignored it, and got out on her own. He didn’t take that personally, though. He never had. It was one of the main reasons they’d gotten along so well. Paul never took anything Irene did personally. She was so brutally direct and unwaveringly honest, it didn’t make sense to get all worked up when she said things like, “I’d prefer you not touch me” or “Are you staring at me because you have a question or because you’re planning to kill me at your earliest convenience?”
Paul, the first and only born of his hippie mom, loved that directness. He loved that he knew his beautiful mate would always be safe around Irene Conridge because she never bothered to lie. And, when they started having pups, that his kids would be safe around her. He hadn’t been crazy about the wolves that became part of their lives when Irene had hooked up with Niles Van Holtz, but it made sense. Irene simply didn’t fit in with full-humans even though she was one. She needed a predator for a mate . . . even if that predator was an obsessive-compulsive wolf.
And, over time, Paul and Van had become buddies. Sort of. And Van treated all the Jean-Louis Parker kids as family and Pack, which meant a lot. So it had all worked out.
Like now. Having Irene around while they were staying in New York was great because it kept Jackie happy. The pair of them could sit around gabbing or making fun of the kids or obsessing over the future of the kids’ educations. And while they did that, Paul could do what he really loved to do . . . watch TV, read a book, and fix up old cars.
It was turning out to be a really nice summer with Irene around.
The trio reached the stone steps outside of their rental house and began to climb. Paul glanced over his shoulder and saw a limo parked a bit down the street. He didn’t know why it was there or why he noticed it.
Jackie pulled out her keys and had them in the lock when the door opened and that country wolf was standing there. Man, this kid was really making a hard run at Paul’s baby girl. Something that would normally set Paul’s hair on fire, but after that last idiot had made her miserable, the wolf seemed like a good way to transition away from that past relationship and into more promising ones.
“Richard Reed?” Irene said, because she wasn’t about to call anyone Ricky Lee. “Why are you here?”
“Miss Irene. Miss Jackie. Mr. Paul.”
“Please don’t call me that,” Paul practically begged as they all moved into the hallway and Paul closed the door. He felt old enough without adding “mister” before his first name like he should be wearing an ascot.
“I need y’all to do me a favor and just go along with what’s about to happen.”
Paul blinked. “Why? What’s about to happen?”
There was a knock on the door Paul had just closed and he pulled it open again. “Good Lord,” he muttered, staring up at the behemoth standing in his doorway. He looked at Ricky. “Toni’s bringing stray hockey players home with her now?”
“Actually I asked Mr. Novikov here. To help out.”
“Help out with what?” Irene asked, her gaze locked on the man lumbering into their home. “Are you planning to kill all the children so they’ll no longer be a bother?”
“Irene,” Jackie chastised. “Not the right response.”
“Because it’s morally wrong or because you’re afraid he’ll get mad and kill us, too?”
“Both!” Jackie snapped.
“Hi!” A pretty black woman popped out from behind Novikov. She had a bright, wide smile and adorable dimples, but Paul didn’t understand why she was here or why Novikov was here. What the hell was going on?
“I’m Blayne. Bo’s fiancée. I’m here to help, too.”
“Except I didn’t ask her here to help,” Novikov replied, his cold blue eyes looking around the hallway like he was trying to figure out how to destroy the walls to get to the weak pups within. “But she’s worried I’ll make your kids cry.”
“No, no,” his fiancée quickly cut in, trying to laugh it off. “He’s very good with children. He has to be.” The wolfdog gripped his thick arm with very strong-looking hands. “You have to be.”
“If you’re once again talking about our future offspring, I already told you that as long as they understand schedules and time management and focus . . . we’ll be fine.” He locked those cold, dead eyes on Ricky Reed. “Where are they?”