Territory - Prequel (16 page)

Chapter
14

“You did what
?
” Dell boomed.

Cindy lifted her chin defiantly, “I asked Hannah to keep an eye on her.”

Dell took a menacing step closer, “And
are
you aware that Hannah nearly killed her?”

Cindy’s chin dropped
, her fine brows drawing together.  “No.”

Dell slammed a fist down on the table nearest him.  He sneered at Cindy, but spoke through the pack ties so that every member of his pack would hear him. 
Chloe Lott is my potential mate.  Any attempts to harm her or her family are
to be considered attempts against me.  Such attempts are
punishable by death.  Should any of you
try
to harm her
,
I will exact this very punishment myself!

Cindy’s shoulders slumped.  She’d fucked up and she knew it.
  “Hannah?” she questioned, knowing
the shifter would
have to be dealt with.

“She’s your fucking minion
,
” Dell ground out
.
“You’ll have to punish her because I’d kill her right now.”

She nodded once then
made to leave
the office.

“Cindy!” Dell barked. 

She turned to eye her Alpha.

“If one of them tried to hurt Michael, what would you do?”

Cindy’s jaw clenched, her eyes darkening as she balled her hands into small fists.  “Understood.”  Then she turned and stalked out of the office.

Still tense, Dell cleared his thoughts and focused as he felt a mental nudge that signified that one of his pack
were trying to communicate. 

I’ve found sign in the woods.
  It was Pony.
  Your stalker is Hannah.

I know!
Come
home.

***

The da
y after her encounter with Dell, Chloe had
decided to follow in her mother’s footsteps and return to work early. 
Her mother didn’t protest when she’d packed up and headed back to her own apartment.  She seemed almost relieved that Chloe was finally convinced that she’d be fine on her own.

Unfortunately, even the monotony of catching up on her backlog of work did little to ease her frame of mind. 
By
Tuesday
she couldn’t stop thinking about Friday. 
Who was she kidding?  She’d been thinking about Friday since the day she’d left Dell. 
She didn’t know what he intended when she
failed to show up, but
s
he absolutely, on
e hundred percent, had no intention of showing her face anywhere near the Blackbird compound.

“
If you don’t come to me of your own free will my mother
’s threat will come to fruition”
,
she scoffed with little conviction.  He’d threatened that she wouldn’t like the consequences if he had to come for her, and her mind had been racing ever since trying to figure out what exactly those consequences could be. 
Sad part was she didn’t fear him. 
As much as she should, she only felt completely safe with him. 
Protected. 
She knew he wouldn’t harm her, but it was all the mating tal
k that had her belly in knots.  First thing on Monday
she’d Googled wolves to read about their mating rituals.  She didn’t like what she found.  Wolves mate
d
for life. 

Every day at
noon she stayed at her desk and ate a cold sandwich from the vending machine
, too afraid to venture out of the office.
 
She’d pulled up local private investigators on the Internet and was contemplating hiring a guy to find out all he could on the Blackbirds.  Problem was she wasn’t certain she wanted to go sniffing around a large fami
ly of schizo
s that actually thought they were werewolves. 

Shifters
, she corrected herself.  Apparently there was a difference between the two.  Werewolves were supposedly only able to shift during a full moon and could only be killed with silver bullets.  Shifters on the other
hand were
supposedly
of Native ancestry and
could shift at will.  She’d researched quickly, knowing the mortification she’d experience if a co-worker caught her researching such absurdities.
 
I can’t believe they have me buying into this crap.

“Whatcha working on?”

Chloe straightened in her chair as she realized she wasn’t working on anything.  She’d been gazing out the window, thinking of Dell Blackbird.  “Oh,” her hand snaked out and grabbed the nearest file as her eyes quickly scanned the label, “the William
’
s case. 
Just taking a breather to collect my thoughts
.
”

“Really?”  Her friend and co-worker,
Marissa
, plopped down in the empty chair
that sat adjacent to Chloe’s desk
.
  Her short dishwater blonde hair was cut into a sleek sexy style that while Chloe envied, she knew she’d never be able to pull off
herself
. 

Marissa and Chloe had become instant friends the first day Marissa had been hired.
“
Maybe you came back too soon.”  Marissa’s eyes were consoling.  “No one
would say anything
if you t
ook
another week or so.”

Heat flooded Chloe’s cheeks as she realized she should still be mourning her brother rather than wasting her tim
e and energy thinking about Dell
.  “I’m fine Marissa, really.”

Marissa smiled warmly, “Well what do you say we have a drink this weekend?  A girl
’
s night out.”

The prospect was actually quite appealing.  “That sounds surprisingly great.”

“Good,” Marissa stood slapping a hand on Chloe’s desk
as she smiled at her
, “Saturday,
seven
.  Meet you at
the Kasbah?”

Chloe nodded as she flipped open the file, “I’ll be there.”

Marissa walked toward the door, “I’ll call Laura and Amanda.  It’ll be fun.”

“You don’t have to sell me on it Marissa.  I could use a drink more than you know.”

“Oh, you’ll get your drink, and then some.”  Marissa winked at Chloe before she left the office closing the door behind her.

When Friday finally rolled around, Chloe was a bundle of nerves.  She couldn’t concentrate on anything for longer than ten seconds and every time her door opened or her phone rang, the unexpected interruption set her
nerves on edge
.  Too
anxious to eat lunch, she worked through it to get off an hour early.

By the end of the day her neck was whining from
trepidation
and her s
houlders ached from being tense
the entire day.
  She drove straight home and
locked herself in her apartment, quickly securing all the w
indows and drawing the blinds. 
Still t
oo nervous to eat, she sat on her
sofa and
simply listened.  When her upstairs neighbor slammed a door Chloe nearly came out of her skin.

“This is ridiculous!”  She jumped up off the couch and threw her blinds open.  “I’m not hiding from him!”  Appalled with herself for having raced home to hide away, Chloe snatched up her purse and keys and set out for a rare night alone on the town.

Fifteen minutes later as she pulled her sleek silver Magnum into the parking lot of her favorite Greek restaurant she snorted mockingly. 
Dinner alone?  Some night on the town.

Inside the
maitre’d led
her to a table toward the back of the restaurant.
 

Still wearing her work attire, she peeled off her ash colored suit coat to reveal a cream sleeveless blouse that perfectly matched the
form fitting pencil skirt and heels she’d selected that morning. 

The maitre’d took her blazer and her drink order and left her with a menu.

Waiting on her glass of merlot, she reached up and pulled the single pin from her hair that held her waist-length locks in a chignon.  When her satiny hair fell in an ebony cascade, she reached up a hand to massage her scalp.  It always felt
so
good to
let her hair down.  She sighed in appreciation as her fingers worked their glorious magic
, her eyes fluttering closed
.  She was forcing her shoulders to relax when she instantly stilled.

“
I had anticipated you dining with us at the compound.”

Her eyes snapped open and locked on Dell’s as he pulled out the chair opposite her.  Chloe pulled
her
hand from her
hair and scooted her chair back.  “I was just leaving.”

At that moment the maitre’d arrived with her glass of wine.  “The lady’s wine.” He turned to eye Dell, “Something for her gentleman?”

Dell kept his eyes on her, “Draft beer please.”

The maitre’d nodded once and disappeared.

Wearing jeans and a form fitting long sleeve thermal shirt, Chloe tried not to notice how
every muscle in Dell’s chiseled torso was accentuated.  While
his
medium
skin tone was a near perfect match to
Chloe’s
, and both had hair black as pitch, the similarities ended
there
. 

Chloe was all business, sitting rod straight.  Long bare legs crossed exuding a sensuality that she couldn’t disguise if she tried. 
Her slender fingers fidgeted nervously with her napkin while her almond shaped eyes looked anywhere but at
him.
 

Dell on the o
ther hand was hard as steel
.  He kept his amber eyes pinned on Chloe, absorbing every gesture and nuance
.  His
large frame was so well-defined that she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d kept up with wrestling after high school.  His
hair was shorn, tapering at his
thick neck but long enough on top to have Chloe’s fingers itching to run through the satiny-looking strands.

Horrified at
actually entertaining such thoughts, she made to stand, but Dell’s hand clamped on her forearm had her staying in her seat.  The electricity that raced up her arm
sent a shiver instantly coursing through her body.  She paled dangerously
and dropped back into her seat
.

Dell quickly removed his hand, “Are you alright?”

Chloe took a few breaths then nodded.

“Take a sip of your wine.”

She did as she was told, trying to force the tremble from her limbs as she lifted the glass to her lips.  She took a few unsteady sips before replacing her glass and frowning at
Dell
before demanding, “What did you do to me?”

He sat back in the chair as the maitre’d returned with his drink.

“Are we ready to order?”

“I’m not stayi…”

Dell cut in, “Yes.  Two house specials.”

The maitre’d shifted his eyes quickly from Chloe to Dell then back.  “And would you like to add a soup or salad?”

Dell kept his eyes on Chloe, “Two salads with house dressing.”

“Very good, sir.” Then the maitre’d turned
,
grabbed the menus
,
and left.

“I’m not staying,” Chloe argued in a hushed tone.

“You are.”  Dell put his forear
ms on the table and leaned in,
his nostrils flaring.

“What are you doing,” Chloe snapped.

“Smelling you,” he responded casually.

She blanched and dropped her eyes to her blouse in uncertainty.

“Relax, you smell fine.”

Her eyes lifted to his, “Then why are you…”

“Because it pleases me.”

This time they were
interrupted
by a stout, dark haired, woman who delivered two small plates and a
basket
of
Tsoureki
.  Having skipped lunch, the scent of the warm braided Greek bread had Chloe’s belly growling in demand.

Dell thanked the woman before ripping two sections of
f
the loaf.  He placed one on Chloe’s plat
e
and lifted the other to his mouth to tear off a healthy portion between perfect white teeth. 

Chloe watched him
in astonishment.  “Good night Mr. Blackbird.”  She motioned for the maitre’d with every intention of requesting her jacket, but Dell wasn’t having it.