Zero fox given, p.7
Zero Fox Given, page 7
She was a fox shifter, not a witch.
“You’re okay? Are you all right?”
Zelda could hardly remember the details of it. Only that his grip had been painful, and that she couldn’t seem to get all the words out of her mouth that she wanted.
She managed a nod, and that seemed to be enough. Victor let go of her shoulders, but Zelda wasn’t sure what he did after that. He was on his phone then, yelling something into it, and then he was on the phone with someone else, and then they were in a cab.
She supposed Victor wasn’t all that into driving either of their cars after someone had been caught messing with hers.
There was no choice after that. Victor took her back to her pack. Back to her brother and uncle.
Zelda didn’t remember the ride home either. An hour long cab ride out of Washington and into Lakeview and she could hardly remember it.
Link and Mike were thrilled to see her, at first. Then Victor had to explain what went on, why they were back, and what to expect.
Her uncle Mike was furious, and in front of the entire pack, he screamed at her that she wasn’t going anywhere anymore. She was staying put, and right then, Zelda was too stunned to fight him on it.
Now, after everything had been said and done, she was back in her old clothes, in her old house, sleeping alone in her old room, staring out her window, wondering if it was a mistake to come here.
The urge to flee and go back to Washington was getting the best of her. She kept looking to Uncle Mike’s truck and thinking about how easy it would be to snatch his keys and get back to the city, find another apartment, or even a motel room for a couple of days until she got another place set up, and then go back to dancing the night away searching for someone to rock her Casba.
To make her forget.
To prove to herself that she was really no longer Harry’s wife.
Hands touched her shoulders. Zelda jumped.
Mike pulled back, his eyes wide and his hands back, palms up. “Sorry. Sorry.”
Zelda exhaled hard. Her heart pounded, but the embarrassing shriek she’d just let out made her smile now that she knew there was really nothing for her to be worried about.
“No, no, it’s okay. You just scared me a little.”
“No kidding.”
Mike grumbled a little about that part as he turned his back to her. She hadn’t heard him walk in, but then again, he’d always been a quick fox.
On her dresser was a tray with two mugs on it.
Zelda smiled at the sight.
Her favorite mug was on there. The one with the reading owl.
My Weekend is Owl Booked.
She loved that mug. Reminded her of snow days from school when she’d burrito herself in her sheets and catch up with what Edward and Bella were up to, or reading Wuthering Heights, or the Flowers in the Attic series for the first time.
Mike hadn’t liked it when he’d caught her reading that series at the tender age of thirteen.
“How did you know?”
“I always know what you like.” He handed her the mug.
Zelda put it to her nose. She could smell the peach tea now that it was up close. Also her favorite.
“I used to know you inside and out.”
Zelda caught the used to remark. She didn’t know what to say about it, so she put the lip of the mug to her lips.
A long drink of hot tea felt good. She felt it slide all the way down her throat and into her belly. It still didn’t seem to warm her the way she wanted it to.
There was still something that remained cold deep within her.
“The rest of the pack calm down yet?”
Mike shrugged, taking a look out her lace curtains. “Enough. They’re not bitching anymore, but you know how people are. The ones who are scared won’t say anything out loud, but they’ll be festering with this for the next little while.”
Zelda shook her head. “I don’t want to be here if they don’t want me here.”
“I want you here.” Mike looked at her hard. “Your brother wants you here.”
Zelda pressed her lips together.
She couldn’t escape her uncle’s stare, however.
“Come on, out with it,” he said, bringing his mug to his lips.
“Okay, well you and Link can want me here until the cows came home. I was the one who accused Harry of murder and now his pack is pissed. If they come here looking for a fight, that’s going to be one fight we’re not gonna win.”
Mike nodded. “Which is why the police are now involved.”
Zelda didn’t know whether to laugh at a comment like that or cry. “I can’t believe you guys got the humans involved.”
Mike shrugged. “Not gonna lie, I’m all for keeping pack business in with pack business. The second it’s my favorite niece on the line, I turn into a giant hypocrite.”
He took another mouthful of tea. Zelda smiled at him.
Mike didn’t show too much emotion. He tended to swing from one side to the other like that. At times, she could read him like a baby book. Easy. Obvious. Big colorful pictures and everything to go with it.
Other times, like now, his face could be a mask.
He’d mostly worn that mask for the first year when Link and Zelda lived with him, after her parents, his sister and brother-in-law, took off without a trace. His eyes remained distant, his mouth firm. His fox ears were stiff and pointed like triangles, and his tail hardly flicked or moved when he had that air about him.
Zelda’s parents had promised to come back after a week, and then never did.
His mask slipped back into place when he didn’t know what to do. That was the only thing Zelda could take away from a look like that.
“You’re not a hypocrite.”
“I don’t mind being a hypocrite for you.” He looked at her, forced a smile. “Besides, you’re my girl. Of course I’m going to keep you around. Better here than God only knows where doing God only knows what.”
“I wasn’t doing anything dangerous.”
“You were alone when we didn’t know where Harry was. That was more than enough without knowing you were partying it up.”
Heat rushed into Zelda’s face.
Mike lifted a brow at her. “What? Did you think I wouldn’t know?” He reached out, his hand ruffling her hair.
“Hey!” She pushed his hand away, but of course Mike only chuckled about it.
“I’m old, not stupid.”
“You’re not old.”
He’d just turned forty not too long before Zelda took off. He could be an older brother. Sort of.
Still, the fifteen-year age difference had been enough for her mother to decide Mike was a good enough replacement before taking off.
Now that Zelda thought of it, she was the same age now as Mike had been when he’d agreed to babysit her and her brother that fateful day fifteen years ago.
She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be dumped with two ten-year-olds at her age now. Let alone two ten-year-olds who had cried night after night for their parents when the days stretched into months.
Link had been the one to outwardly display his anger more than Zelda had. She’d withdrawn into herself. Now Link was the calm one and she was the one running out and making a mess of things.
Zelda set her mug down, turned to her uncle, and put her arms around him. Mike froze.
“What’s this?”
“You know what it is.” Zelda squeezed him a little tighter. “Thank you.”
He stroked her hair, his hands coming up and holding her back. She felt the press of his mouth on the top of her head.
They were silent for only a moment before Mike’s soft voice spoke up. “Look, whatever you do, just be safe. If you want to go out and have fun, date guys—”
“Uncle Mike…”
“I’m serious. I don’t get it, but you’re an adult now. I can’t tell you what to do. Just make sure you’re safe when you do it.”
Zelda thought about that for a moment. It was as though he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop her. That he wouldn’t have anything to say that would change her mind and make her want to stick around the pack, where it was safe and secure.
“I’ll be safe.” She squeezed her uncle a little tighter before pulling back. “At least you got me a sexy bodyguard to watch my back.”
Mike shrugged. “Well, he’s doing a decent job of it so far. He told me he’s cutting his bill in half. I tried to talk him out of it, but he told me him and his partner will still be around. To be honest, I wanted to fight him on that a little more, but maybe he knew Link and I were…well, never mind.”
“Right.”
She decided to let that go. For now.
There was no easy way to explain to him just why Victor had cut the expenses the way he had. Much as Mike was pleased with the results Victor was putting out so far, she doubted he would like hearing the reason why Victor wasn’t taking as much money.
Even now, she knew where Victor was. She could see him. His suit jacket was gone, and the sleeves of his white button-down were rolled up. The sunglasses were back on as he slowly paced around Mike’s house.
He would appear, stick around for a minute, check the locks on the doors, the windows, that sort of thing, and then head to the back to do the same.
He was never out of sight for long. Even when he was, Zelda could still smell him all over the house she grew up in.
It was kind of nice.
With her view of him from the window, Zelda noted the way Victor reached to the ear piece he had on.
He’d purchased one of those hands-free Bluetooth accessories for his phone. He was so good at conversing with someone without making it look as though he was talking with anyone at all, but she saw it. She saw the way his jaw tightened.
She had to get out there. That was about her.
“I think I should go out there. Maybe bring him another water bottle. It’s kind of hot out.”
Mike looked at her, as though gauging whether or not to ask her to sit back.
He either figured the threat level wasn’t worth it, or knew she didn’t want to be cooped up in her room anymore, because he let her go.
“All right. Just stick close to the house, okay?”
“All right. And thanks for the tea.” She kissed his cheek.
“Anytime.” They headed out of her room. Zelda went to the kitchen, grabbing two bottles. “But just for next time, you know you and Link don’t have to take turns watching over me, right?” Zelda glanced back at her uncle after closing the fridge. “When you’re home, you’re supposed to be resting.”
Both her uncle and Link worked hard. Even for shifters, construction tended to take a lot out of them. Somehow, without her knowing it, they’d set up their shifts so that at least one of them would always be home when the other wasn’t.
“I am resting,” Mike said, sliding onto one of the stools in front of the counter.
Zelda could only shake her head at him.
It was kind of sweet. But it was also going to take a toll on both men.
“You and Link need to stay focused on your jobs. The last thing I need to hear about is that one or both of you accidentally caught yourselves or someone else with one of those nail guns.”
“That is incredibly unlikely to happen.”
“Either way.” Zelda headed for the door. “Go and have a nap or something. I’ll make dinner tonight.”
“Have you decided how long you’re staying then?”
Zelda paused, halfway outside. Her gaze darted to her hands. She finally looked at her uncle. “I don’t know.”
It was the truth. It wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but at least she was telling the truth.
Nothing else had happened since Victor chased away the guy who cut her brakes, but she couldn’t shake the feeling this wasn’t over yet.
Even if the attacks stopped, at the bare minimum, there would be more questions she would have to answer with the police. A trial would be had. She might need to be a witness.
The wolf pack was definitely not taking her back. They hadn’t even decided on a new alpha to replace Harry yet because, word had it, they were still half convinced he was coming back.
As expected, Mike definitely didn’t look happy about her answer. His tail whipped around before he got control of it. His orange fox ears remained locked and pointed up high at the ceiling.
“Well, you keep on thinking about it. Go on now. Go keep that human hydrated. He’s a lot better to have around than I would have thought.”
“He’s a subhuman, actually.”
“Is he?” Mike seemed to think on that. “Makes sense, I guess.”
Zelda grinned and left. When the door was shut behind her, she sobered up, ready to find out just what that call had been about, and why Victor hadn’t looked the least bit pleased by it.
Chapter 11
How did I know you were going to come out here and see me?”
Zelda grinned up at him, holding out the water bottle for him. “Just thought you might like some company.”
He took the offered bottle. She leaned against the tree he stood by. Victor kept his back straight.
“You didn’t look so happy on the phone.”
Victor grunted, taking a swig of the water. “Not really.”
Zelda rubbed her hands up and down her thighs. Her old jeans were getting a touch tight on her. Time to stop with all the peanut butter ice cream.
Victor rubbed at his chin. He’d purchased a razor since coming here, so the chin scratch he grew had a bit more of a method to it.
“I just got off the phone with the detective involved in the case,”
“Is it normal for bodyguards and police to have this kind of working relationship?”
His mouth quirked. “He and I are old friends. It pays to know who people are in this line of work.”
She believed him, considering all the information he was prone to getting.
“So, what happened?”
“Harry is still denying he sent anyone after you. He confessed to murdering your alpha. Well, the alpha of the wolf pack. Detectives will be sent on over there to let them know, and find out if they’ve got any plans for replacing him, and with who.”
“They probably won’t talk.”
Victor nodded. “I know. Shifters like to keep to themselves.”
A small heat crept into Zelda’s chest. “Well, to be honest, having you around felt pretty good.”
Victor wouldn’t look at her. “There’s something else.”
Zelda frowned, waiting.
“That guy who tried to grab you in the alley the night we first met. He finally started talking. Came up with all kinds of excuses for why he was doing what he was doing. He even accused you of trying to steal from him.”
Zelda pushed herself away from the tree, dropping her water, her hands clenching into fists. “That’s bullshit!”
“I know. Don’t worry. Another hour of questioning, comparing my statements, yours and his, and they figured out he was full of shit.”
“Oh, well, good. Right?”
Victor nodded. “Right. The problem here is that they can’t pin him down to whoever sent that guy after you to cut your brakes. He doesn’t seem to know anything about Harry, Maxwell’s murder, Ben, or Gerard. None of it.”
“Well, he’s got to be lying, right? I mean, of course he is. What are the odds that I would get attacked like that?”
“What are the odds that a beautiful woman with a couple of drinks in her would be lured into a dark alley and be attacked by some stranger she doesn’t know?”
Zelda punched his arm. “Yeah, yeah, I get it.” She hesitated. “Do the police believe him?”
Victor briefly pressed his lips together. “They’ll keep probing him as much as his lawyer allows, but I trust the people involved here. If they think there’s nothing else to be found, then that’s likely all there is to it.”
“You’re telling me that was just some random guy?”
“From the looks of it, yes.”
Zelda absorbed that information, thought a little more deeply about everything else Victor just said. “And…Harry had nothing to do with my attack?”
“We’re not going to rule it out, but he’s not confessing to it yet. They’ll keep cross-checking the information they have. Cell phone records, texts he sent, where he’s been. So far, unless something else comes up, it looks as though he’s not the one who sent that guy to cut your brakes.”
Victor’s jaw tightened just then.
It still bothered him something fierce that he hadn’t been able to catch that man. Zelda could feel it in the air around him whenever the subject came up. Or even when he was thinking about it. He got that tight, half-twisted look on his face. As though he could see the guy just ahead of him, just within reach, only for him to slip away.
Zelda reached out, grabbed Victor’s shoulder. She squeezed it before letting go quickly, knowing he had a no touching policy.
“For what it’s worth, thanks for coming back for me.”
Victor looked at her, a dark brow lifted. “Of course I came back for you.”
Now Zelda was the one pressing her lips together, struggling to keep the heat in her chest and neck from flooding into her cheeks.
She liked to think there was something more to his words there, but it was hard to say. He was so difficult to read at times.
“Well, either way, I’m glad you did. Sorry you didn’t catch that guy, but I was getting worried there. Seeing you come back was kind of a relief.”
“Honestly, I shouldn’t have left you alone.” Victor looked over Zelda’s head and nodded.
Zelda had a look.
Steve, Victor’s business partner, loosely waved to him before continuing on his rounds.
Victor had come here with Zelda alone, but his partner had eventually arrived to pick up the slack after what happened.
Zelda smiled. “My uncle seems to think you’re only taking half pay because you’re doing him a favor.”
Victor stuffed his hands into his pockets. He glanced out around the property, the other houses in the distance between the trees. It was hard to see them with all the foliage in the way, but there were neighbors here.
