Standing at the window in his office, Fabian stared out into his well-cultivated garden and yet saw nothing. At least nothing that mattered.
Within his mind, there was only one image, that of his flummoxed vixen—who did her best to hide a pang of hurt—as he walked away. Except she has a real name now. Vivienne.
It suited her. A pity she had to be the daughter of that damnable furball feline, but lucky for her, he wouldn’t hold it against her. Something he’d explain later if she let him.
She seemed kind of pissed when he walked off, but in his defense, he had good reason.
At the discovery of who she was, he’d had to improvise as certain clues came together. His quick mind quickly devised a plan to tempt the culprit. Now he only hoped someone took the bait.
Much like a kitty with a catnip-drenched toy dangled in front of him, a certain lion couldn’t resist the temptation Fabian offered.
No knock announced their arrival, how rude. The interloper simply opened his door and entered, not bothering to hide their presence.
Fabian didn’t turn around, even when a gruff voice said, “Meddling fucking dog. You just couldn’t let her die, could you?”
As a matter of fact, no, he couldn’t, just like, despite the fact that she was the daughter of his enemy, he couldn’t let her go. “Finally, the culprit behind the acts shows his cowardly face. About time you came out of your hidey-hole to do the dirty work yourself.”
“That’s what I get for sending bears and humans to do the job. Fear not, though; while they might have lacked the skill to finish, I won’t miss.”
Turning on a heel, Fabian gave the man a once-over. Fabian wasn’t impressed with what he saw. Jowly cheeks, red bulbous nose, and the ponderous frame that his suit strained around said it all. Except for his name. “Who the hell are you? Not that I really care, but I would like to send flowers to your widow and congratulate her on ridding herself of an idiot.”
“You’ve got a lot of balls for a man who is going to die.”
“The biggest,” he boasted, not the most conducive thing to do, given the gun trained on him.
Showing fear, however, was never an option. Insouciance, however, Fabian was master at that. He dropped into his leather chair, frowning at the creak of the springs. Fred would need to see it got oiled—and if he saw any pamphlets suggesting he join a gym, heads would roll.
Leaning forward, Fabian opened a box on his desk, pulling forth an aromatic cigar. He ran it under his nose and inhaled. Fresh and hand-wrapped, only the best would do.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“Having a cigar of course. I’d offer you one, but it would be wasted on a dead man.” He snipped the tip and put the uncut end in his mouth. He allowed himself a smirk at the consternation mixed with anger on the lion’s jowly face.
“Arrogant fucking dog. With your death, blamed on my dear brother-in-law, I’ll finally get what I want.”
“An appointment to be neutered? A lifetime spent in a cage at the zoo?” Fabian smiled. “I think you messed with the wrong woman.”
Indeed, someone had. Vivienne, the idiot’s niece, had entered in utter silence. “I told Auntie June you were a jerk.” And with that, his lovely vixen Tasered her uncle.
Fabian almost applauded. He couldn’t imagine a more perfect woman to spend his life with.
But back for a moment to the idiot who wanted to start a war. As the electrical current jolted his body, he dropped to the floor, his body twitching, his eyes rolled backward so only the whites showed, and he uttered an incoherent, “Uh. Uh. Uh.”
Paying her uncle no mind, Vivienne stepped over him and strode toward Fabian. Irritation marked her features.
“How dare you run away from me. I wasn’t done with you.”
“I should hope not.”
But she went on as if she hadn’t heard him. “You are such an idiot. Does it really matter who my father is? I want you. And before you try and lie to me, I know you want me, too. Now that I have my memories back, I know what this means.” She placed her hand on her neck atop the spot he’d bitten. “The question is, are you going to let a little thing like who I am push me away?”
“You’re the idiot if you believed that act out there.” He smiled at her. “I don’t give a damn who your father is. I don’t care if keeping you here with me starts a fucking war between my pack and your pride. You. Are. Mine.”
“What the hell is going on here?” her father exclaimed as he pushed into the room. “And what happened to Larry? Why is he drooling on the rug?”
Ew. Fabian made a note to tell Fred to get it steam-cleaned.
“Larry is the traitor who tried to have me killed,” Vivienne announced.
“Why would he do that?” her father asked.
“Because I found out he was embezzling family money.”
The lion king frowned. “But why? And how did you find out? You’ve been overseas for the last few years setting up our expansion offices.”
“One of our company accountants contacted me while I was abroad with his suspicions. I immediately made plans to return and confront Larry, which is why you didn’t know I was coming home. But somehow, my dear uncle”—she kicked the limp body—“found out. I was waylaid coming out of the airport.”
Fabian took over. “But killing you to protect his secret wasn’t enough. Your uncle wanted to divert your father’s attention, hence the plot to try and pin the blame on me, and start a war between our packs.”
“Why, that bastard!” Her father glared at the prone figure on the rug. “Is he dead?”
“No, he’s just unconscious. However, I am letting you know right now that as an apology for not protecting your precious, delicate daughter—”
Fabian snorted while the lion leader blustered, “But I knew nothing about his machinations.”
Vivienne fixed her father with a shriveling stare. “That’s no excuse. So you will fix this. I will expect to receive an invitation to his funeral within the week. And please note, I will be bringing a guest. My fiancé.” She shot Fabian a look, which he met with a smile and arched brow.
“So the engagement is still on?” Fabian asked.
“You aren’t escaping me that easily, Fido. But I will warn you right now, there will be a wedding. A big one.”
“Over my dead body,” growled her father.
“That can be arranged,” Fabian announced, but glancing at Vivienne, he amended it to, “I mean, perhaps we can come to a mutually beneficial arrangement between our clans.”
“But—”
“Daddy, if you don’t leave now, I will be forced to post those pictures I’ve been hoarding.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“The wolf is mine. Deal with it.” Apparently, the look she shot her father was enough to convince him that he wouldn’t win.
With a bit more posturing, and grumbling, the lion king took off but not before ordering his entourage to bring his new living room rug with them.
And they said the wolf packs were a strange lot.
“Shall we return to our engagement party?” he offered as their guests, and many of his guards, spilled into the room and out in the hall, exclaiming over the drama.
“No. I’m not going anywhere,” she stated, and then she said the magic words that made him decide to ditch the party, too. “I think we should celebrate, by ourselves.”