Beneath a Blood Moon (70 page)

Amber took the pouch, opened it, and peeked inside. “Looks like he had these made for you, huh?”

“Yes.”

“You have your Beretta with you?”

“Of course I do.”

“We’ll swap. I’d rather use the gun they’re made for, and knowing Richard, he probably made off with your gun and had the rounds made just for your use.”

“They’re standard. He made the rounds to fit any of my usual weapons. Despite his reputation, he believes it’s stupid to make a bullet that’ll work best with only one gun.”

Wendy eyed the black bag warily and grumbled, “Please put those away. My stomach’s churning just from smelling the damned things. At least she limits how often she shoots her mate.”

Nicolina’s face turned red. “Rubber pellets, Mom. I load the gun with rubber pellets when I do it on purpose!”

“You lead interesting lives,” I said, shaking my head. “How hard is it to learn how to shoot a gun?”

“It’s not difficult,” Amber replied, turning her full attention to me. “Why?”

Drawing a deep breath, I regarded the black pouch with its lethal bullets inside. If his fate was in my hands, I would serve as judge and executioner. My wolf’s approval warmed me. “If anyone is shooting my father, it’ll be me.”

While Amber was intrigued by me and my determination to handle my father personally, Wendy wanted nothing to do with the idea. Caught in the middle, Nicolina and Lisa wisely remained silent, leaving me to defend myself from their mother’s wrath.

The fight continued after we left the restaurant until well after dark while Amber drove along a highway skirting the ocean.

“Absolutely not,” Wendy growled yet again. I had lost count of the number of times she had refused my request, once again renewing our dispute. “You luring him out is enough. Let Amber deal with him. Dead is dead. Will you being the one to pull the trigger make any difference in the end result?”

“Yes, it will,” I replied, careful to keep my voice quiet and calm. “He’s my father, so he’s my problem.”

“He’s a problem we all share,” Wendy countered.

I scowled, wondering how many times we would repeat the same conversation before one of us surrendered. “Why should I burden anyone else with killing him?”

“I have better aim and won’t miss my target,” Amber said, startling me with her first contribution to the argument. “It’s not a matter of can you or are you willing to; we know you are. What matters is killing him so no one else gets hurt. Chances are he’ll get close to you before I—or one of Desmond’s devil daughters—can take him down.”

Nicolina reached up between the seats and smacked the back of her hand against Amber’s arm. “Devil daughters?”

“I’ve seen both of you work. You’re terrifying—almost as frightening as your mother when she’s annoyed,” Amber replied, her tone serious until she ruined it with a giggle. “I’m sure Richard and Alex would agree with me. I’ve seen Richard checking on you at home to make certain you haven’t done some new and crazy stunt, Nicolina.”

“Quiet, Amber,” Richard’s mate grumbled.

“You don’t have to try to do this on your own, Sara,” Wendy whispered.

“Why not?”

There was something sad and wistful about Wendy’s sigh. “I’ve seen a pair of mad wolves hurt their puppy in the past. I won’t see it happen again. I was responsible for him, and I allowed them to get near him. I’m responsible for you. I won’t allow that mongrel who dares to call himself your father close to you. Amber, Nicolina, or Lisa will take the shot. You will lure him out, and long before he is able to reach you, he will die a far more merciful death than he deserves.”

I had no idea who the ‘him’ she referred to was, but the pain in her voice made me pause. “It doesn’t seem right. Because of me—”

Wendy reached between the seats, and with a hard flick of her finger, she struck my neck. I yelped, agony rippling through me to leave me shaking in its wake. “Because of you, Sanders will have a puppy at long last. Because of you, he’ll have the family he never thought he could have. Because of you, I’ll torment my daughters with a sibling. You can’t take the blame for what others have done.”

“Because of me, they took you at the greenhouse,” I snarled when I could talk without gasping for breath.

“I have a theory on that.” Nicolina jostled her mother out of the way and rubbed her fingers where I’d been flicked. “Try to relax; it’ll help with the pain. Mom’s a master at that trick, thanks to Father. Anyway, it’s a dominant’s instinct to provide for females. If his pack doesn’t have any bitches, he likely wanted Mom as a female companion for you. Males are often driven to please and protect females. It’s annoying and obnoxious as hell. Be careful what you ask for, especially while you’re pregnant. Sanders will do everything he can to get you what you want. Hell, you’ll open your mouth with some wishful-thinking comment, and sure enough he’ll accomplish it, leaving you to wonder what the fuck is wrong with him.”

“Richard still hasn’t figured out when she’s serious or not,” Amber informed me. “We’re betting on whether he figures it out, or if Nicole learns to keep her wishful thinking to herself. Personally, I think she likes watching him bend over backwards for her. It gives her time to plot her next prank on him.”

“He must have the patience of a saint,” I mumbled.

Lisa laughed. “He sure does. Nicolina’s the same way, at least until she gets caught up in something or someone really upsets her. They’re a good match for each other. Not as good as Alex and I, of course, but only one of us can be perfect, and that’s me.”

The sisters began bickering in the backseat, and I wondered if I should try to put an end to the argument when Wendy giggled. Deciding against intervening, I turned to Amber. “I think we’re all tired and cranky. Have we gone far enough for tonight?”

“We’ve gone far enough for tonight. I’ll stop at the next hotel I find.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

It took us two days to reach Seattle.

“We would have been here yesterday if you three in the back had a combined attention span longer than ten seconds,” I stated, twisting around in my seat to glare at the three women.

They grinned at me.

“Admit it, you liked the stop at the chocolate factory in San Francisco,” Wendy replied.

I glanced in the direction of the duffel bag stashed between Nicolina’s feet. “I enjoyed it. I’m worried Nicolina is going to develop diabetes should she continue her current consumption rate of those bars.”

“Just be glad Richard isn’t with us, Sara. When I first met her, she woke up before Richard, Alex, and me and devoured an entire duffel bag’s worth in a sitting.”

“I was hungry,” the wizard mumbled.

“She needs more calories than regular Fenerec,” Amber admitted, sighing. “Chocolate is a good way to keep her awake.”

Amber pulled the SUV into the driveway of a two-story house. It was plain, its siding painted in a white beginning to turn gray. It reminded me of a plantation estate from the Civil War, complete with a wrap-around porch. Like the Desmond’s home, the house was under siege by countless roses.

The flowers didn’t hold my attention long. Parked in front of us was a red truck trimmed in sleek chrome. Mud was splattered over its tires, although it looked like someone had taken a hose to most of the vehicle. It had four doors like most cars, and I had a feeling it could easily demolish our rental. I leaned forward, widening my eyes.

I didn’t know much about trucks, but it looked new enough. “That’s his truck?”

“It’s a beauty, isn’t it?” Nicolina said, hopping out of the SUV.

“How old is it? It looks new!” I followed her example and got out of the rental.

“I might have a small confession to make.” Circling to the truck, Nicolina gave it an affectionate pat. “Richard and I planned to trash Sanders’s old truck. While the rabbit feet were an unexpected and unwanted surprise, revisiting a prank he pulled on me years ago, we were planning on some collateral damage to his old truck. This one is four months old, and we thought it might help him feel a bit better after what happened to Mary.”

Wendy sucked in a breath. “You broke his truck on
purpose
?”

Leaning against the truck, Nicolina smirked in her mother’s direction. “Supercharged baseball bat to the engine. I fried every possible component to make sure it died a terrible death. I’m a bad daughter. I’m sorry, Mom. I’m also a terrible friend, as I already paid the truck off in full. When he pays his monthly bills on the truck, it ends up in an investment account I’m overseeing for him.”

“What did I do to deserve a nightmare child like you?” demanded Wendy.

“So this is Sanders’s house?” I forced my attention away from the truck. While the others had enjoyed insulting the home, I couldn’t see anything wrong with it. “The way you all went on, I thought it was falling apart or something.”

“It is,” Wendy replied, wrinkling her nose. “It’s a death trap, it needs a new roof, and if you’re really unlucky, you’ll end up with your foot through a floorboard. He fixes them each time one gives out, but it’s never a fun experience when it happens. Part of the disrepair is due to the fact he spends a lot of time at the greenhouse—he has for the past few years.”

The chill in Wendy’s tone warned me against asking, so I nodded, kept my mouth shut, and approached the front door.

I made it two steps onto the porch when the wood creaked alarmingly beneath my feet. Freezing in place, I stared down at my feet. While the wood had a fresh coat of stain and sealer, the edges of the boards were worn away. I shifted my foot, grimacing as a chunk of the plank crumbled away. “Right. So, where are the keys?”

Wendy chuckled, easing by me and placed her feet with deliberate care. Following her path, I wondered what my mate’s home looked like on the inside. Unlike the Desmond’s home, Sanders didn’t have an alarm system.

The first thing I noticed was the lack of pictures and decorations. The living room was meant for function, although the couch did look comfortable enough. I drew in a deep breath and forgot about his furnishings as my mate’s scent filled my nose.

Amused his home had the same lack of creature comforts and personal effects as my apartment, I tailed Wendy to a small office across the house. She opened a safe, dug through a mess of papers, and pulled out a set of keys. Jingling them at me, she handed them over. After several long minutes of shuffling through papers, she pulled a few out, folded them up, and stuffed them in her purse.

“Okay, head on back to the car. There’s one thing I want to grab, and I’ll be out.”

I frowned.

Giving me a gentle shove in the direction of the front door, Wendy said, “Go. If I let you prowl around his house, we’ll never get you out of here. Don’t pretend. I saw you sniffing for your mate’s scent like it’s a drug.”

I giggled. “I solemnly swear I will not put up a fight about leaving the house.”

“Go. I’m just grabbing one thing. Take the keys to Amber, and get the truck started.”

Sighing my surrender, I did as told, careful to keep my steps light in fear I’d find the weak spot in the floor and go crashing through the ancient boards. Once outside, I held up the keys and waved them in Amber’s direction.

“I can’t believe we’re stealing Sanders’s truck,” the witch mumbled, taking them from me. “Lisa, you want to drive the rental?”

“Of course. If we let my sister drive it, we’ll never reach Alaska in one piece.”

“Thanks, Lisa. It’s nice to know you have my back.”

“Maybe if you didn’t have a tendency to destroy vehicles, I would have faith you wouldn’t wreck the rental.”

Amber shook her head, unlocked the truck, and clambered inside with the help of the step. “Welcome to my life, Sara. I don’t suppose you want to convince Sanders to come live in Yellowknife, do you? It’d be nice to have someone calm and respectable around the lodge for a change.”

“Be nice, Amber,” Nicolina chided.

By the time Lisa was behind the wheel of the SUV and I had taken the passenger front seat of the truck, Wendy returned carrying a blue, plush blanket and a pillow. She came to my door, and with a grin, tossed them up to me. “There. Now you can sniff your mate’s scent the entire drive to Alaska if you don’t find his truck sufficient.”