Shift of Fate: A Wolfguard Protectors Novel Read online

  I heard something shatter on the other end of the phone. He’d thrown something against the wall, no doubt. It meant Lisette, my stepmother, would come flying out of whatever room she was in. She would fawn over my father and call me later to guilt trip me.

  Lisette was a master manipulator. She’d been pulling my father’s strings for fifteen years. He’d been vulnerable back then, just after my real mother’s accident. It left her in a coma for months. Now, she was in a nursing home, trapped in her own failing mind. I grew misty-eyed as I always did when I thought about her. She died that day when I was just six years old. Her body just hadn’t caught up. Every once in a while, if she was having a very good day, she would smile when I came to visit. My face seemed familiar, and a tear would come to her eye. But it never took long before she slipped away.

  I hated this. I hated that even having this conversation made me feel like the spoiled brat my father painted me as. My father smothered me with his attention and his money and his family commitments. I couldn’t escape them if I tried. Everyone on the planet knew who Daniel Rousseau was or who he was connected to. The Family. My uncle Adam was head of one of the most influential crime families in the country. Neither of them thought I knew. They thought I really was the spoiled, naive little girl they tried to raise.

  The irony was, Jason Soren was a symptom of all of that too. As my father railed on the other end of the phone, I pictured Jason in my mind.

  He was tall, darkly handsome with hooded amber eyes and long legs. I met him when I was just fourteen years old. He seemed so different than my father. Calm. Quiet. Refined. And he was the only man I’d ever seen unafraid to challenge my father and more shocking still, my uncle Adam.

  I fell in love with him. Hard. He seemed like some dark knight in shining armor who could pull me away from the Family. He could, I knew. But I wasn’t some teenager anymore. My father had drilled into my head for years that I wasn’t capable of making it without the family help. I didn’t believe that anymore. I finally understood my own mind.

  Except, now it was too late.

  I was eighteen years old when Jason Soren asked me to marry him. I said yes. And I kept saying yes. Only now, I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

  “Willow,” my father said, calmer. No doubt Lisette had gotten a hold of him. She was probably standing behind him, rubbing his shoulders, holding his gin and tonic in her waiting hand.

  “Baby doll,” he said. “Did I tell you how excited Lisette is to see you next week? She’s attended to every detail. The wedding is going to be a smash hit. You’ll be in every magazine.”

  Magazine? Lord, he sounded a hundred years old.

  “Daddy, I just...I just need a minute. That’s all. Can you understand that?”

  He was talking through gritted teeth. “It’s normal to get cold feet, honey. It’s nothing to worry about. Everything is going to be spectacular. You don’t have to worry. Jason will take care of you.”

  Ugh. I didn’t want to be taken care of. Why could no one see that? There was an edge to his voice. A deeper meaning he didn’t think I understood. My father wasn’t happy for me about marrying Jason Soren. He was happy for himself. I knew how close he was to losing everything. Bad advice, bad investments, and my uncle Adam’s paranoia had all but ruined my father in the last year. Lisette took me into her confidence and laid it all out. My marriage to Jason was the only prospect my father had.

  It wasn’t fair. It was positively medieval. But for now, it was my reality.

  I wasn’t kidding. I really couldn’t breathe. Black spots swam in front of my eyes as my father kept talking about guest lists and press, and pride.

  “Daddy,” I said. “I need to hang up now. The movers will be here soon and I have a few things left to box.”

  “All right, Willow,” he relented. “I expect a call from you within the hour though. Just to tell me you’re on your way.”

  I didn’t answer. He just kept on talking as though I had. Then, my father finally clicked off, leaving me shaking as I stared at the phone screen.

  In another few minutes, Lisette would call. She’d take a softer, more passive-aggressive tone. She would tell me how my father wasn’t sleeping anymore. How betrayed he felt by his brother. How she knew in her heart he couldn’t take one more family member turning against him.

  I was wrong though. My phone rang again, but it wasn’t Lisette. Jason’s number came up. My heart froze. I was far less able to mask my emotions with him. He knew me too well.

  I just needed that minute. A day at most. Maybe I could muster up the courage to ask for more time. Jason and I had been engaged for over five years. We’d put the wedding off two years ago so I could finish up my visual arts degree. Jason was in no rush. He loved me. But, he understood my reticence better than my father did.

  I let the phone go to voicemail. I couldn’t help but feel my father had put him up to calling, unsatisfied with the things I said. It made me resent Jason just a little bit more.

  They would all hate me. I knew this. Sure, it might seem like the easy thing to do was simply come clean. I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t sure. I needed time. Only, I’d been down this road so many times before. My father would overreact. He would track me down. Once, he sent men to pull me out of class when I ignored his calls for a day. Another time, he had me followed to and from work for a week after Jason and I got in a fight. He talked about giving me the freedom to travel Europe when I was nineteen years old. There had been nothing free about it. He sent two bodyguards to shadow me 24/7.

  Not this time. I couldn’t take it. My chest grew heavier. Sweat broke out on my brow.

  I looked around the now almost empty apartment. My furniture was gone. Sold. Packed away. Everything I really needed—my wallet, passport, a few changes of clothes—I had stuffed into my canvas backpack.

  I set my cellphone down on the counter. I wouldn’t need that either. Tomorrow morning, I’d call my father from a pay phone if I could find one. Or I would pick up one of those prepaid phones from the grocery store. One week. I just needed one week to disappear and clear my head. Then, I would do what I had always done. I would take care of my family.

  The phone rang again. Jason. I wondered if he would call my father next if I didn’t answer. Either way, I knew Daddy tracked me from that phone. There had been far too many coincidences over the years where his underlings would show up no matter where I was.

  I tucked my hair under my favorite knit cap, took one last look at my empty apartment, and headed out the door.

  I gave Dreyfus, the doorman, a smile as I slipped through the revolving doors leading to the street. He tipped his hat and waved. With any luck, Dreyfus wasn’t on Daddy’s payroll.

  The crisp, spring air hit my face as I adjusted my pack, looked both ways, then headed down the street.

  I planned it all out. I was just four blocks from the nearest bus stop. I’d go to Flagstaff, or Vegas, or maybe all the way to the ocean. It didn’t matter. For a few days, I just needed to disappear.

  My heart soared with each new step. This was right. I could apologize later. If I didn’t cut loose now, maybe I never would.

  The bus stop was only one more block away. I could see people beginning to gather near the covered bench. I would blend in, become faceless. Nameless. Free.

  The bus rounded the corner. People on the bench stood up and formed a line. I was almost there.

  Then, a shadow fell across the sidewalk behind me and I knew. The bus came to a halt and the hydraulic doors hissed open.

  “Miss Rousseau?” His voice was deep, commanding. My heart turned to ash. I could run, but it would do no good.

  I froze. I turned. He was huge, of course, with a dark, brooding face. A wall of a man with a broad chest and hard-cut muscles beneath his impeccable suit.

  “Miss Rousseau?” he said again.

  I forced a smile. He froze just like I did. He seemed a little shocked to see me. Was I not what he had expected? Because he was exactly w
ho I knew would always come.

  “Well,” I said. “You planning on just standing there, or are you gonna throw me over your shoulder and give me a spanking?”

  It was so subtle, I almost didn’t see it. But, a fire lit inside of me as I watched the change go through his eyes. They were blue, but I swear they glinted like sapphires for a moment. Then, he recovered and reached for me as the bus doors closed and the driver pulled away.

  Chapter Three

  Val

  She was planning to run. It was written all over her. The backpack, the eff-you eyes with her hand on her hip. She was trying to play it off, but I could tell it mattered to her when the bus pulled away from the curb.

  Shit.

  Something was definitely off about this girl. She seemed to be doing everything in her power to blend in, to look like something other than the spoiled rich girl she had to be.

  “My name is Val,” I said. She looked me up and down. Mostly up. I towered over her by nearly a foot. She was skinny. Fine-boned with tiny wrists and small feet. She had a chest on her though. I tried not to be obvious about looking. Her t-shirt stretched tight over her breasts and came to a vee. She had on a beat-up leather bomber jacket that she probably paid hundreds of dollars for so that it looked worn and old like the real thing. Hipster chic.

  The wind lifted her long hair. I wanted to take off my jacket and put it around her. I wanted to taste her.

  “Val,” she said, tilting her head to the said. “You sound Russian.”

  “I am,” I said. My accent was still there after twenty years. People told me it got thicker when I was pissed off.

  “So,” she said. “What are my orders? What’s my father got you doing for him?”

  “Your father?” I said. “I don’t work for your father. I was sent here to make sure you got where you needed to go.”

  She blinked rapidly. Her eyes were a cool green with flecks of gold when the sun caught them.

  “So then who sent you?”

  I looked across the street. In a few minutes, there would be another bus. I didn’t like the crowd starting to gather. A couple down the block was staring straight at Willow. It got my back up. We were too out in the open.

  “Come on,” I said. “We’ve got a long drive ahead. I’m sure you have a suitcase or something.”

  She adjusted her backpack. It was a bug out bag if ever I’d seen one. What the hell wasn’t Payne telling me? Or worse yet, was there something Soren had left out about her? I needed to know her story, and fast. If she was planning on meeting someone, it would make a huge difference in how this job went.

  “Sure,” she said. Her skin had gone a little paler. This whole sassy, zero fucks attitude didn’t feel right. It was a front. I could sense it in the way her eyes flickered and the tiny pulse she had beating furiously in her throat. She was scared of something. I hoped it wasn’t me.

  She gave me a half-assed salute and started walking back toward the apartment building. The bellman had his back to us. As we approached he turned. His smile dropped for a fraction of a second, then he plastered it back in place.

  “Good afternoon, Miss Rousseau,” he said.

  Willow walked in front of me. I couldn’t see for sure what she did, but her body language was unmistakable. She’d just flipped him off. She didn’t miss a trick. No doubt she put together that he’d been the one to tell me which way she went.

  Willow was silent as we rode up in the elevator to the penthouse suite. She pressed a code into the keypad and in we went.

  Her apartment was actually smaller than I expected. Just two rooms. A great room with a kitchen and living space overlooking the street below, then one bedroom in the north corner. All the furniture had already been hauled away. She had boxes stacked against one wall. There were just two pieces of luggage near the kitchen counter. Had she been planning to chuck those and just take off with whatever she had in her pack? I needed to get Payne on the phone quickly. I was pretty damn sure nobody had told Willow Rousseau I was coming.

  “Just those,” she said, sighing and pointing to the luggage.

  “Got it,” I said. “You can call the bellman to send someone for them.”

  She raised a brow. “What’s wrong with you?”

  I straightened my jacket. “Not part of my job description.”

  She shifted her weight from one leg to the other. “Isn’t that what my father’s paying you for?”

  “I told you, I don’t work for your father. My firm was hired by Mr. Soren to make sure nothing happens to you.”

  “Soren,” she said, her face falling. “Jason hired you?”

  It seemed to genuinely scare her. Dammit. I felt like I was flying blind here. We were off on the wrong foot in so many different ways.

  “Apparently,” I said. “I’m driving you to Virginia.”

  There was that rapid blinking again. If I had to guess, she looked like she was holding back tears. What the actual hell was going on? This chick went from haughty princess to scared shitless in a heartbeat. I wanted to go to her. I had an overwhelming urge to put an arm around her and pull her close. Even that was out of character for me. I didn’t know her. She was just a job. But then, my focus kept going to that fluttering pulse near her throat. Her heart was beating a mile a minute. Tiny beads of sweat broke out on her brow.

  “Listen,” I said, taking a softer tone. “I’m not here to get into your personal business…”

  “Aren’t you?” she said, her voice cracking. She seemed pissed and scared all at once again.

  “No,” I said. “I’m here to keep you safe. That’s all. It’s my understanding there have been some...threats.”

  I had to be careful. Was it possible she was oblivious? Payne’s report detailed a kidnapping attempt two months ago. Willow was apparently at a club downtown when two men came after her in the parking lot. I’d read the cold facts on paper just a few hours ago. Now, as I stood in front of her, the image of her that close to danger stirred my wolf. Hard.

  I became aware of her scent. Delicious. Sweet. It heated my blood. I shuddered. I cleared my throat and forced myself to focus. This girl was a mystery. And worse, being near her raised all sorts of questions. Questions I would need Payne to provide answers to. But, in the meantime, my job was clear. I would get her to Virginia in one piece.

  “Threats,” she said. “I’ve been threatened my whole life, Mr...Val. You didn’t tell me your last name.”

  “Kalenkov,” I answered. I watched her closely to gauge any recognition in her eyes. Her family was human, that I knew. So was she. Surely Jason Soren knew he was dealing with wolf shifters when he hired us. But, I couldn’t tell for sure if Willow knew what I was.

  “Kalenkov,” she repeated it. “That’s a mouthful.”

  “So just call me Val. Short for Valentin.”

  “Valentin Kalenkov.” She drew out the syllables in my name. I loved watching her lips move. They were full, bee-stung. Her tongue darted out as she licked them. Shit.

  “Val,” she said again. “So what, do you have some file on me? What did Jason tell you about me?”

  “Mr. Soren is concerned with keeping you safe. Are you in the habit of getting yourself into trouble?”

  It came out wrong, almost like a double entendre. Her face hardened.

  “I’m in the habit of taking care of myself, Mr. Kalenkov. Despite what you may have heard, I don’t need a babysitter.”

  This got a laugh out of me. I’d said the exact same to Leo no less than an hour ago. And here I was, about to argue the point with her. I stopped myself.

  “We should get on the road,” I said. “We’re already almost two hours behind. If you’ll excuse me for a second, I need to make a quick call. It’ll give you a chance to pack whatever else it is you need. I’ll be right outside that door.”

  She understood my meaning. I’d already done a quick scan. There was just the one way out unless the girl was planning to launch herself off the tenth-floor balcony. No sooner
had I thought it before a chill went through me. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t. Dammit, I needed to get Payne on the phone double-quick.

  Willow turned on her heel and went into the bedroom. I went into the hall and shut the door behind me. I could still hear her though. If I closed my eyes and held my breath, I could sense her heartbeat.

  Payne answered on the first ring.

  “Glad you called,” he said, no doubt recognizing my number. “How far out are you.”

  “Still in Denver,” I said. “Let’s just say Ms. Rousseau is running fashionably late.”

  “I’m not surprised. Look, I know this isn’t your idea of fun. And I also know you’re probably pissed at me for assigning you this. It’s scut work. I know that. But, Val, you’re one of the only men I trust with this. The Soren account, well, it’s important.”

  “I get it. I’m not calling to complain. It’s just...I’m already getting an odd vibe on this one.” I stepped further away from the door to make doubly sure Willow couldn’t listen in. I still sensed her in the bedroom. I lowered my voice. She probably couldn’t hear me if she were standing right beside me. Payne could. We weren’t pack, but we’d been around each other long enough now to be almost telepathic.

  “She was trying to make a run for it,” I said. “If I hadn’t been on it, she would have hopped a bus to who knows where. I’d bet money on the fact she had no idea I was coming. Are we sure this girl even wants to go to Virginia?”

  “Son of a bitch,” Payne muttered. “Soren told me she’s a handful. Impulsive. He says her father’s given her way too much without telling her where it comes from. Protected her. She puts herself in dangerous situations without realizing it. Daniel Rousseau can be the worst kind of moron. A dangerous one and he’s got a list of enemies as long as your arm. You’ve read the report. Soren doesn’t want the daughter knowing, but he’s got it on good authority Daniel Rousseau is a marked man and probably weeks away from going up on RICO charges. He’s afraid if she does find out, she’ll freak and try to go to him. That could be dangerous for obvious reasons.”