The Keeping (38 page)

“Good. Thought
you’d dozed off in that cushy office I pay for.”

“No, sir. I’m just
taking note of your instructions. You will be unavailable for the
usual five days. The west wing of the house is sealed and all but a
skeleton staff will be given a long weekend. No one is to enter the
estate, except emergency personnel in the event of a fire or some
other such tragedy. If that is the case, the Ryne Taylor photograph
is to be saved first.” He hesitated to speak what was on his mind,
but given that Greyson was on the other end of a phone line and not
in the room, Aldrich decided to be bold. “Sir, the chances of a
fire are negligible and, if such an event were to occur, other
pieces of your collection are worth considerably more than that one
picture.”

“I don’t care.
They belong to me, and like everything that I own, I decide their
fate.”

“Of course, sir.”
Aldrich allowed himself the luxury of rolling his eyes. “Is there
anything else, sir?”

“The girl, Melody,
make sure she does her job. I’ll expect an update on her progress
the next time I call.”

Aldrich bit his
lip. He’d like to say ‘Progress? What progress?’ but knew better.
Greyson seemed to feel she’d do the job to his satisfaction. It was
best to let the man have his way. If Greene messed up and blew the
assignment, well...Aldrich would be able to whisper an ‘I told you
so’ once his employer was out of earshot.

“And Aldrich? I’m
holding you personally responsible for the success of this
project.”

“But...!” Aldrich
sat up straight, his feet hitting the floor and the chair squeaking
in protest at the sudden movement. The injustice of the statement
had him almost sputtering. It wasn’t fair. He hadn’t chosen the
woman. If she failed, it wasn’t his fault.

“Ha! Made you
sweat, didn’t I, Leon?”

Settling back in
his seat, Aldrich sneered before answering, but his voice held no
evidence of the fact. He hadn’t come this far, without being able
to exercise considerable self-control. “Another of your jokes,
sir.”

“Maybe. I’ll let
you think about it while I’m gone.”

The phone went
dead and Aldrich slowly set the receiver down. Greyson had to have
been joking. There was no way he could be held accountable for that
girl’s incompetence, especially since Greyson himself had hired
her, despite his advice to the contrary.

Aldrich sat back
in his chair and steepled his fingers. Greyson liked to play games
with him, and this was, quite likely, one of them. Still, the old
codger was unpredictable. Hmm... Just in case, he’d better pay
extra attention to Ms. Greene and her assignment. She couldn’t be
allowed to mar his impeccable record of service.

Chapter
27

Ryne glanced at
himself in the side-view mirror as he bent down to accept payment
for the gas he’d just pumped into the car. There was no sign that
his nose had been broken the previous night. No bruising or
swelling, and the bridge was as straight as it had ever been—thank
goodness weres healed quickly. Daniel had done a good job dealing
with him last night. His pack mate’s calm and logical manner had
been what his angry wolf had needed. Ryne made a note to commend
the boy—no, make that ‘man.’ Daniel was maturing and Ryne knew he
needed to quit treating him as a kid, give him more
responsibilities. As a matter of fact both Bryan and Daniel were
quite competent. The problem was, being a small pack, in a quiet
town; there really wasn’t a lot that needed doing and so they
tended to slack off. Their occasional shifts at the lumber yard
left them with a lot of free time. Maybe with the arrival of the
new members...

He turned his
attention back to the occupant of the car—Mrs. Swain—and accepted
the money she handed him. She was eighty if she was day and the
personification of a sweet old lady, down to her silvery grey hair,
bifocals, and floral print dress. He always spent extra time
chatting to her since he knew she lived alone.

“I heard all about
you, you bad boy.” She smiled up at him, her eyes twinkling with
merriment behind her thick glasses.

“And what did you
hear?” He played along, knowing full well what was coming since
every customer so far had said the same thing.

“You were fighting
over that new girl in town.” She shook her head and tsked at him.
“And here I thought you only had eyes for me.”

“Mrs. Swain, they
are rumours, nothing but vicious rumours. You know I’m waiting for
you to turn sixteen so I can start courting you.” He pressed a hand
to his chest and tried to look besotted.

It must have
worked for she giggled girlishly and patted his cheek before
leaving. He watched her drive away, noting how she carefully looked
both ways at the traffic light before sneaking through on the red
with a slight squeal of her tires. What a little rebel, he chuckled
to himself.

After depositing
the money from the sale in the till, he returned to the service bay
where he’d been changing tires. He’d only taken two steps into the
work space when he froze. Over the smell of oil, tire rubber, and
exhaust, he detected something else drifting in through the open
bay doors. Melody. Her scent was sweet and feminine with just a
hint of green apples. Turning, he saw her determinedly walking
across the parking area towards him. Her jaw was set and tilted
upward. In one hand she was tightly holding a steno pad, while the
other seemed to have a death grip on the shoulder strap of her
purse.

Damn! He’d been
hoping to avoid this for a few more hours, though why he didn’t
know. It wasn’t going to be pretty, no matter when it happened.
Steeling himself for what must be done, he walked to the entrance
and leaned against the door frame.

When she was a few
feet away, she caught sight of him and stopped. “Ryne.”

“Melody.”

They stared across
the open space for a few moments, assessing each other as one might
before entering a battle. He wondered what she was thinking. Her
eyes were narrowed, her lips compressed. An aura of determination
surrounded her. She’d definitely come here expecting to kick his
ass, he decided.

“I’m not here to
talk about yesterday. That’s over and done with. All I want is to
finish this interview and then I’ll leave you alone.” She waved the
steno pad at him while delivering her message in clipped tones,
with no emotional undertones. He mentally congratulated her on her
self control.

Shoving his hands
in his back pockets, he shrugged and set out to be as obnoxious as
possible. “What interview?”

“The one you
agreed to give me about your work.”

“Yeah, well...I’ve
changed my mind.” Ryne let his gaze slide away and feigned interest
in the truck that was parked across the street. He detected a
slight change in her breathing pattern and wondered how she would
respond.

“You’ve changed
your mind? Just like that? Can I ask why?”

“Ask away. I may
or may not answer.” He looked at her blandly.

“But we had an
agreement. You said—”

“I said I had
complete control and I’m exerting it. I’ve decided I don’t want to
be interviewed. I don’t want or need the publicity and you’re not
paying me, so...it’s off. Sorry you wasted your time.” He shoved
away from the door frame and stood straight. “If you don’t mind, go
home. I have work to do.”

“But that’s not
fair! I’ve done nothing to warrant you cancelling our agreement. In
fact, I’ve been very patient and spent a lot of time waiting for
you, humouring you... I’ve never complained about all your teasing
and innuendo. It’s only fair that you give me a bit of your time in
return.” He could tell she was close to losing control. Her
breathing was rapid, the colour rising in her cheeks.

“Life’s never
fair, sweetheart. You were...moderately...entertaining, but now
you’re bordering on boring. It’s time for you to leave.”

“I’m not leaving
until I get my interview!” She stepped into his personal space,
poking him in the chest with her finger. He had to give her credit.
Very few people were brave—or foolish—enough to do that. It was
fortunate that he had a soft spot for her. The last person to poke
him in the chest like that had ended up with cast on their
hand.

Ryne loomed over
her, keeping his eyes narrowed, his expression cold. Even before he
spoke, he saw how Melody responded to his aura; there was a faint
tremor running over her and she had difficulty maintaining eye
contact. Good. She was nervous and unsure of him. He pressed his
advantage, delivering his message in icy, clipped tones.

“You’re very lucky
that I have such good control over my temper. Most people wouldn’t
be walking away from an encounter like this.” Casually, he reached
forward and chucked her under the chin, causing her teeth to click
together. “Now, run along, little girl, before my benevolence
disappears and I take exception to your attitude.” He heard her
gulp and gave a minute nod of satisfaction. She was definitely
getting the message. Feeling he had done his job, he turned and
went back inside, completely ignoring her.

Even with his back
turned, he was aware of her continued presence. He bent over to
pick up a ratchet and glanced behind him. She stood there gaping at
him, no doubt processing what had just happened. Out of the corner
of his eye, he saw her snap her jaw shut then toss her hair back
from her face before striding inside. Oh great, he muttered under
his breath, now she’s going to try and show off the fact that she
had a backbone. Why couldn’t women be meek and obedient, running
the other way when a wolf growled at them?

He kept working,
resolved to ignore her, even when she stood directly behind
him.

“Where did you
grow up?”

Ryne didn’t
answer.

“What schools did
you go to? Do you have any family? Do you see them often? What do
they think of your work?”

Clenching his
teeth, he yanked the rear wheel tire off the car he had up on the
hoist, and then sent it rolling towards a pile destined for
recycling. Turning, he grabbed a new tire, forcing Melody to step
back in order to not get hit.

Appearing unfazed,
Melody continued her barrage of questions, waiting only a moment
after each before asking a new one or rephrasing an older one.
Where had he lived previously? What were his favourite colours? Did
he have a favourite artist who he admired? Where had he sold his
art? What was his first camera? Where had he taken most of his
pictures? What was his favourite picture? Did he plan on another
exhibit in the future?

Finally, Ryne had
enough. He turned with a snarl and grabbed her upper arms, “I said
there would be no interview.” He accompanied each word with a
little shake. Her hair swished back and forth as her head bobbed,
the scent of her shampoo wafting around him. He steeled himself
against its enticing effects. “Now get it through your stubborn
head before I do something I’ll regret.” The last word was
accompanied by a backwards shove and he released her arms. Without
the support of his hands she stumbled and he restrained himself
from reaching out to steady her, despite the fact that his wolf was
growling angrily at him.

Brushing her hair
from her face, she glared at him, but stepped right back up to
confront him once again.

“This interview is
important to me.” Her chin was stuck out, her face belligerent.

“And it isn’t to
me.”

“There’s a lot
riding on it. Finishing my education—”

He snorted. “Do I
look like I care?”

“If it’s money you
want, maybe I could work something out...” Her tone changed. Ryne
could see her mind racing and wondered what she’d come up with.
From things she’d told him earlier, he assumed she had no cash
reserves. Hmm... He could use that against her right now.

“Forget it. You
don’t have enough money to cover what I’d want and if you think the
sex we’ve had can be used as a down payment, forget it. You weren’t
that good. It wouldn’t buy you five minutes of my time.”

She gasped at the
spitefulness of his statement and for a moment he thought she’d
slap him, but, he had to hand it to her, his Melody was never
predictable. Instead, she tried to kick him.

Ryne easily
sidestepped the blow that was aimed at his groin. In response, he
grabbed her wrist and twisted her arm behind her back. Using it to
keep her under control, he dragged her close so their bodies were
pressed together. Pitching his voice as menacingly as possible, he
growled a warning. “That wasn’t funny sweetheart. Little girls, who
play those types of games, better be prepared for the
consequences.”

Before she could
protest, he gripped the back of her head and delivered a punishing
kiss. He ravaged her lips, ignoring her whimpers. His tongue
invaded her mouth, dominating her, demanding her submission. There
was no tenderness, no concern for her pleasure. She struggled
against him, but he pulled her arm up tighter and she gave a cry of
pain, before finally stilling. Releasing his grip on the back of
her head, he ran his hand insultingly over her body, squeezing her
breast then pulling her hips against his so that he could grind
against her. A tear trickled down her cheek; he tasted the
saltiness but hardened his heart. Mercy didn’t enter into this;
others were depending on him to get rid of Melody. Lives hung in
the balance. Personal feelings had no place in the situation he was
faced with.

When he could
literally smell the fear coming off of her, he ended the kiss and
hissed into her ear. “Now listen closely, Ms. Greene. There will be
no interview. Not now. Not ever. No matter how many times you plead
and beg and spread your legs for me. It’s not going to happen. My
suggestion is that you go back to where you came from and forget
you ever heard about me because if I see you around here again...
Well, I’ll let you finish the sentence.”