Chapter Thirteen
Chloe
Miss Emma smiled broadly when she opened the door.
“Chloe! I’m so glad you came by. I was hoping we’d get more time to catch up before you left.”
I returned her grin. “I felt the same way. May we come in?”
Without replying, she stepped back and allowed us inside. As I walked into her cool, bright living room, I found myself instantly transported back to my childhood. My mother often brought me to Miss Emma’s when I was younger. I remembered the two of them talking and drinking iced tea while I played on the living room floor. The house hadn’t changed much. The walls were still painted white and hung with all sorts of landscapes and photographs. The wooden floors gleamed. The couch was of a different style, but still the same dove grey color. I bit back a laugh. Only Miss Emma would buy a new couch in exactly the same color as her old one.
A large multi-colored rug was spread out beneath the couch and chairs that were arranged to face a huge flat screen TV. Now that was different. The last time I was here, Tom was still watching ball games on his behemoth, fifty-inch television that weighed a ton. This one was even larger, but with it anchored to the wall, the living room seemed even bigger and brighter than before.
“You have a lovely home, Miss Emma,” Lachlan murmured behind me.
The she-wolf turned her huge smile toward him. “Thank you, Ian.”
I felt rather than saw his slight flinch. Miss Emma was just as perceptive.
“Would you prefer I called you Lachlan?” she asked quietly.
“Please. Or Lach.”
She nodded. “Why don’t you both have a seat while I get us something to drink?”
“Oh, Miss Emma, there’s no need to bother—”
“Hush, child. I don’t get many visitors, but when I do, I offer them a cool drink and a snack.”
I relented as the older wolf left the room. With a sigh, I sat down on the couch, crossing my arms over my chest. To my surprise, Lachlan sat down next to me so that our hips and shoulders brushed. The sensation made my stomach tighten and brought a rush of heat to the points of contact.
When I saw Miss Emma returning, carrying a tray laden with a tea pitcher, glasses, and a plate full of finger foods, I used that as a means to escape Lach’s proximity. I jumped to my feet and took the tray from my former teacher.
“I may be older than you, Chloe MacArthur, but I’m perfectly capable of carrying that tray,” she stated tartly.
“I know that, Miss Emma, but my mama raised me to be helpful to my elders.” I hesitated. “Now, where do you want me to put it?”
She laughed and pointed to the coffee table. As I set the tray down, she perched on one of the armchairs facing the couch, leaving me no choice but to return to Lachlan’s side.
He now had his arm thrown along the back, his ass firmly planted in the middle of the cushions, leaving me very little room. When I sat next to him once again, his arm came around me, pulling me against his side.
Miss Emma took us in, smiling happily. “Oh, Chloe. I can’t tell you how wonderful it is that you’ve found your mate at last.” I nearly choked at her words, the sound of my throat closing covered by the sudden ringing of her telephone. “Oh, please excuse me. I need to answer that.”
She rose and went into the kitchen, where an ancient rotary phone hung on the wall. As soon as I heard her speaking to whoever was on the phone, I nudged Lachlan with my elbow.
“A little space, please,” I grumbled, keeping my voice pitched low so that Miss Emma wouldn’t hear my words.
His mouth rested against my ear and, God help me, I couldn’t suppress the shiver that went through my body. It took me a moment to understand the words he murmured.
“We’re pretending to be mates, remember?” His voice was a low rumble and I felt it reverberate through my body, tightening my nipples and making my thighs press together.
I elbowed him again, this time with more force. “You’re in the doghouse though because you rejected me.”
He chuckled against my skin, the tip of his nose tracing the curve of my ear. The motion made my heart flutter because it was affectionate and sweet, two things I never would have expected from Lach. “Yes, but any alpha worth having would be pushing his boundaries.”
“I’m afraid you’re going to have to grovel before you’ll be forgiven,” I retorted.
His nose trailed down my neck, his lips barely brushing my skin, and my body went haywire. My heart was no longer fluttering, it was beating a rapid tattoo against my breast. When he replied this time, I felt his lips moving against my throat. “Alpha wolves don’t grovel.”
Vaguely, I heard Miss Emma hang up the phone. This time when I jabbed my elbow into his ribs, it was with enough force to make him grunt. He straightened, his hand rubbing his torso as he grumbled, “Ouch.”
When Miss Emma returned to the living room, her face was pale and her features pinched.
“Everything okay?” I asked her, watching her expression carefully.
“Not really,” she replied, dropping into the chair she’d vacated earlier.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
Miss Emma’s eyes narrowed on me. “First, I want you to tell me something. Are you really here because of a lovers’ quarrel?”
Lach’s hand tightened on my shoulder, gripping hard. I ignored the warning and answered honestly. “No.”
Miss Emma nodded. “I didn’t think so. So you’re not mates then?”
I shook my head, hating the way her face fell in disappointment. “I’m sorry I lied to you, Miss Emma, but we needed a good cover story. Given Lachlan’s history, we thought this would be best.”
The she-wolf waved a hand at me. “Don’t worry about that. You were right to lie. I’m guessing you’re here about your parents?” she asked.
“At first, yes, but after last night, I think there’s a lot more at stake here than finding those responsible for the death of my parents.”
Tears shimmered in Miss Emma’s eyes. I started to move toward her, but she lifted her hand again, stopping me. “No, no. I’m fine. It’s just…you don’t know how long I’ve wished for someone strong enough to come and help this pack.”
“What’s happening?”
She took a shaky breath, releasing it slowly. “Darrell and his—” she paused, as if searching for a word.
“Shitheads?” Lachlan supplied.
I growled at him under my breath, but Emma laughed a little.
“That’s the best word to describe them,” she stated, her voice quavering. “They keep this pack under their thumb.”
“How so?” I asked.
She picked up a glass, poured tea into it, and handed it to me. Then she repeated the gesture for Lach and herself. Finally, she answered, “They take our money. Our things.” She sipped her tea before whispering, “Even our daughters.”
My body went rigid. “Are you saying…”
She nodded. “If one of the younger she-wolves catches the eye of Darrell or his men, well, she either goes along with what they want or they make an example out of her.”
“Are they killing pack females?” I asked, my voice vibrating with rage.
“No, though I worry that’s the next step. They will beat them until they agree. Or threaten to go after their mothers and sisters.”
“And the mated females?” Lachlan interjected.
Miss Emma shook her head. “They haven’t messed with the mated females yet, but I know it’s coming. Things are going to get much worse before they get better.”
“No, they’re not,” I stated. “Because I’m going to put a stop to this bullshit as soon as possible.” I studied her for a moment. “What about Carter?”
Emma shook her head. “He doesn’t do the…things his father and his cronies do, but he’s weak. There’s no way he can wrest control of the pack from his daddy and he knows it.”
“What about Chloe’s parents?” Lachlan asked. “Do you know what happened to them?”
A change came over Miss Emma’s face, one that caught my attention and held it. It was agony, but also guilt.
“Miss Emma?” My voice shook. I wanted to believe it was from sadness rather than fear, but I was lying to myself. Her expression made me afraid. Very afraid.
She cleared her throat before taking a sip of tea. “That’s long done,” she murmured.
“Not that long,” I argued. “Why didn’t you tell me what you knew before Darrell became the leader of the pack?”
Her eyes shimmered with tears once again. “Trina was still living at home two years ago, Chloe. Darrell knew he couldn’t trust me not to go straight to you or your grandmother. He made it very clear that he could get to her at any time. He also explained, in great d-detail, what he would do to her when he did.” Miss Emma stuttered over that single word, betraying how afraid she’d been for her youngest child.
As much as it angered me, I also understood. Miss Emma had to protect her daughter. From what she’d told me of Darrell just moments ago, I couldn’t blame her for doing whatever it took to keep the leader of the pack away from Trina.
“Can you tell us what happened now?” Lachlan prodded.
Though his tone was light and gentle, the hand he’d curved over my shoulder gripped me so tightly I knew I would bruise. Without thinking, I laid my hand on this knee and squeezed lightly. The muscles in his thigh grew hard as a rock before they gradually relaxed beneath my touch. His hold on my shoulder eased as well.
Miss Emma nodded. I knew Trina was off at school, over a thousand miles away, a distance that was likely intended to protect her from Darrell.
“If you promise me that you’ll stop him before he hurts anyone else,” she muttered.
“You know I will.”
She took a deep breath and began. “Your parents weren’t killed by rogues. They weren’t even killed with the claws and fangs of the wolves that betrayed them,” she explained. “That coward shot them in cold blood.”