Jackie's Journey: La Patron's Den Read online

  "Gutsy," Kristin nodded and left taking the paper with her.

  "She's gone," Jackie told Renee.

  "You gave it to her?"

  "Yep." She filled her sister in on the rest of the conversation.

  "Why do you put up with that stuff?" Renee asked. "Come home, or go back to Maryland, work with Cain or Rone, or Rese or anywhere in the pack you want. You have options."

  Jackie looked at her watch, it was lunchtime. Grabbing her purse, she left her office. Several of the women and a few men turned away as she walked by. Whispers flowed regarding her meeting with the Dragon, their name for Kristin. Jackie was surprised how many thought better of her after that confrontation.

  Weird.

  She went across the street to a small local restaurant that served the best cuts of steak. She ate there three times a week. Human owned, the staff was nice and didn't hover. She took a seat in the back. If anyone asked if she was hiding, she'd say no. She just didn't want to be bothered.

  "We all have options, I'm exercising mine," she told Renee. "Daddy started the art museum for you and other pups with a passion for art. There's no reason for you to leave the Nation, you're making a difference already. I'm doing this for me."

  "No reason for you to leave either," Renee muttered.

  Jackie smiled, warmed by her sister's affection. The four of them were close and spoke daily but she and Renee had a special bond.

  "I miss you too," Jackie said. "Get back to work, I'm at lunch." She looked up and nodded at Tango who sat at a table up front.

  "Talk to you later," Renee said and disconnected.

  Jackie ordered a medium rare steak, salad and lemonade. Taking out her phone she logged into a well-known head-hunting bulletin board to see if there were any new interesting jobs. Sure, she wanted to make a difference with her life, but Renee made a valid point. Making a few richer wasn't fulfilling. In fact, it was boring. The only reason she hadn't left after nine months was because her mom had gone to bat for her to try something new. It would suck big time to quit and admit she had been wrong. Although, knowing her mom, admitting humans were more different than just the cellular level could have been the reason she wanted Jackie to give corporate America a shot.

  Nothing on the board piqued her interest. She set her phone aside when lunch was delivered. Halfway through her meal, she stopped eating and looked up. A tall, handsome man with dark hair slicked back from a widow's peak entered the restaurant, looked around and stared at her. Tango stood, ready to run interference.

  Curious, Jackie watched him for a moment. In public, she kept her human side deeply emerged to keep her dual nature a secret to those who didn't already know she was La Patron's daughter. Every day she passed dual-natured beings without detection. The down side to keeping her beast submerged was it limited her ability to discern other dual-natureds through scent. Consequently, she relied on body cues, attitude and physical attributes all of which screamed this guy was a wolf. But he shouldn't be able to scent her at all.

  Intrigued, she nodded. Tango stepped aside allowing the wolf to move toward her.

  When he reached her table, he stopped and tipped his head in an abbreviated bow. "Hello, I am Jonas, may I sit and speak with you?"

  Lunch was over in10minutes which may not be enough time. She hated rushing almost as much as starting and not finishing a task. "Not now, make an appointment with Tango to meet later." She held his gaze, until he nodded.

  "Thank you, until we meet again." Turning, he walked toward Tango and sat at his table. Jackie watched them talk until she finished her meal. When the waiter returned, he took her plate and placed her paid meal receipt in front of her.

  Frowning, she looked at him.

  "The gentleman at the front table, not the regular one, the other, he paid for both meals and left a big tip, it's a good tip." With a huge grin, he walked off with her plates. Finished, Jackie left the table, nodded at Tango and Jonas as she left the restaurant wondering what Jonas wanted to discuss. Nothing came to mind. "I'll find out later."

  When she returned to work, Mr. Bradley called her to his office. "I need to get another job, this is getting old," she thought on her way up to the executive suites.

  "They're waiting for you," his personal assistant said nodding toward the door as she approached.

  Inhaling at the door, Jackie rolled her eyes at the people waiting inside. Straightening her back, she entered with a smile of greeting. "Mr. Bradley, Ms. Cross, Mr. Johnson." She nodded at each and then at Mr. Bradley. "You wanted to see me?" Mr. Johnson, the company VP was a surprise but shouldn't have been. He was being groomed to take Mr. Bradley's place when he retired in a few years.

  Bradley waved to the seat in at the small table. They all sat. "Kristin paid you a visit earlier, it was a test of sorts to see how you were getting along in the company. If you recall I asked you earlier if you had everything you needed, you said yes."

  Jackie nodded. Kristin hadn't faked her dislike of Jackie, no matter what the woman said.

  "You handled the situation admirably." He paused. "In the beginning. However, with pressure you gave her the information she requested."

  Jackie nodded again, completely unfazed by anything he had to say. He'd recruited her, not the other way around.

  They waited, as if she would explain. She returned his gaze and then looked at the other two, noticing satisfaction gleaming in Kristin's eyes.

  "Sir?" Jackie said wanting to move this along.

  Bradley cleared his throat. "Well, you weren't supposed to share that information with anyone."

  "Not even a senior manager in my department who claimed she wanted the knowledge to do a better job in the future?" Jackie asked.

  "Better job?" Johnson asked looking at Kristin.

  "I told her my team worked on the project," Kristin said glancing at him.

  "Marketing doesn't do acquisitions," Johnson said obviously forgetting Jackie worked in marketing and worked on an acquisition package.

  Bradley frowned as he glanced at Kristin. "Tell us the conversation."

  Jackie repeated, almost verbatim, the discussion but stopped at the threat of her downfall. It didn't matter, this wasn't her career but it was for the older woman.

  "This sheds a different light on the situation, wouldn't you agree?" Johnson said sounding relieved.

  "Indeed," Bradley said as he turned toward Jackie. "Thanks for clearing that matter, my assistant has that package for you on your way out. If I don't see you again today, enjoy your weekend."

  For a split second, she thought of quitting rather than allow them to fire her on BS like this. But the idea of failing her first human job stopped the words in her throat. Instead, she said. "You too, Sir."

  CHAPTER TWO

  "Watch your feet or you'll get knocked on your..." Quinn threw up his hands and then placed them on his waist, breathing in meager dregs of patience as he watched the youngsters on the mat. "Get up, both of you."

  When the scout that his uncle used to search for broken wolves brought these two, they were on the brink of dehydration, malnourished and badly bruised. He'd kept them in the clinic in the basement hooked to equipment for a day and a half. Rest coupled with his limited cooking skills got them well enough for physical testing.

  The two boys scrambled to their feet and held their heads down.

  Their pitiful posture and expectation of some sort of punishment stopped his rebuke and reminded him to tread gently. "You're doing good." Their startled gazes pissed him off. He tamped it down to get through this exercise.

  "Half-breeds have always needed to be better than the others. But..." he held up his finger snaring their attention. "We can do things full-bloods don't and in some cases, can't do. That's how we've survived. I'll teach you how to hide in plain sight. Fight to keep your enemy at a disadvantage. It's not always the biggest or strongest who wins the day." He tapped his forehead. "Every win begins in here. Change how you see yourself. For years, someone lied and told yo
u that you're worthless because of the circumstances of your birth." He shook his head, pleased they listened more intently.

  "Uncle Ramos is almost 200 years old, one of the first half-breeds in this country. He taught me and hundred like me, how to survive against full-bloods."

  "Aren't we supposed to be free? Why do we need to hide in full sight?" Alden, the red haired, 12 year old pup, asked.

  Although disappointment rolled through him over the political climate in the Wolf Nation, Quinn gave his uncle approved response. "On paper half-breeds are free, even though rebels continue to hunt and kill us 20 years after La Patron's decree." He pointed at them. "Alphas can't be everywhere, rebels hide in the shadows killing half-breeds. By now you'd think the all-knowing La Patron would've wiped out all the rebels, yet they persist in destroying innocent lives." His uncle hadn't approved that last part.

  Jude, a dark complexioned, 10-year-old pup, nodded and looked at Quinn. "It's mostly bad if you don't live with pack. They don't mess with them, just us who live on our land, separate. My sire tried to fight them but they were too many, by the time Alpha came they had taken me and my sister. Mam and Sire were dead, the farm on fire, crops destroyed. They took the animals, killed and ate them, but didn't feed us for days. Not ‘til we agreed to join them."

  Quinn's heart hurt. "How long ago was this?" Although he hadn't heard of Jude's misfortune in the news, he wasn't surprised. Rebels replenished their ranks with pups, training them to hate their very nature if they were half-breeds. Full-blood pups were treated much better and often remained with the rebels after becoming adults.

  "Four years," Jude said and returned his gaze to the floor. Another rule taught by the rebels.

  Quinn walked over and placed his hand on the pup's shoulder. Jude looked up, meeting his gaze. "I'm sorry for your loss." He held the pup's gaze until Jude nodded. Quinton placed his hand on Alden's shoulder, and met his gaze as well.

  "Both of you are safe and welcome here. We've kept this ranch as a safe house for run-away half-breeds for decades and will fight to the death to protect you. As I told you when you arrived, Uncle Ramos and his mate Antwan aren't here at the moment, they took a small group to Canada and will return in a couple days to welcome you properly. In the meantime, if you need anything, just ask."

  He smiled at the wave of relief wafting from the two boys who had been at the ranch for three days.

  "Thanks, Quinn," Alden gave him his first genuine smile. "I'll get better with training, I promise." His smile slipped and his gaze took on a haunted gleam. "I have to."

  "Me, too," Jude said stepping closer to his friend Alden. The two had escaped together and survived. Few pups their age accomplished that feat.

  "Let's grab a bite to eat; we'll do this again later." Quinn moved toward the barn, turned into a training area, door. Outside they walked across the yard to the main house and entered. "Go wash up," he told them as he completed a security scan of their property.

  A few times over the years, rebels sniffed around their wired acreage, most knew his uncle and his uncle's mate who was a full-blood, and gave the two men a wide berth. But every now and then, a new hot-head tested them. Quinn believed it prudent to always be prepared. He made sure the security system was engaged, pulled the left-over chicken from last night and prepared lunch.

  Lunch done, the boys cleaned the kitchen in silence. Quinn sensed they were relaxing their guards, beginning to hope and trust again. Alden hadn't shared his story yet, which wasn't unusual with run-aways. He just hoped the boy would give them a chance to help turn his life around. He contacted his uncle through their mental link. "Uncle Ramos, how was the placements?"

  "Good, all five are settled, finding jobs and becoming acclimated. How are the new boys doing?"

  Quinn shared what they'd done today and waited for additional instructions.

  "Sounds good. Antwan and I return tomorrow morning."

  Glad to hear the two men would arrive sooner than expected, Quinn said. "Perfect timing, I need to pick up a few things from town, including food and that replacement for the broken gate lock came in. Rather than take the pups with me, I'll wait until after you get here."

  His uncle agreed and they disconnected. Quinn took a seat in the oversized stuffed, leather seat in the living room and picked up the remote. Instead of telling the boys what to do, other than a few chores like cleaning the kitchen, he left them alone. A space movie flicked on. Quinn suppressed a groan, and had moved his thumb in position to change the channel when he heard an excited "yes" from behind him. He placed the remote on the arm rest.

  Gazes glued to the large flat screen device, Jude and Alden ran toward the long sofa, and plopped down. "I haven't seen anything like this in a couple years," Alden said.

  Quinn wanted to ask where, and with who but maintained his silence. His uncle was a master at getting information from those who sought refuge at the ranch and would get the entire story from the pup. If the two weren't who they claimed, his uncle and Antwan would handle them swiftly. The last thing they wanted was drawing Gilbert, Tennessee's Alpha, attention for harboring rebels or breaking the Nation's laws. He yawned and settled more comfortably in the chair. Men on a space station, he snorted as his eyelids drooped.

  "Quinn, wake up." Jude shoved him. "You're sitting on the remote."

  Without opening his eyes, Quinn fished between the cushion and the chair, pulled out the device and extended it.

  "Thanks." And then. "You're snoring. Loud," Alden said.

  Jude made a pig-snorkeling sound before bursting into laughter. Alden joined in and soon both made noises they claimed sounded like Quinn.

  Amused by their creativity, he smiled but kept his eyes closed. He certainly didn't come across as a wheezing horse, he stretched in the chair and glanced at the credits rolling on the TV. "It's over?"

  Smiling, Jude nodded and pointed the remote toward the TV.

  "Good," Quinn closed his eyes and wondered if he'd get more sleep. He doubted it but wanted to relax a few minutes longer. In a few hours, they would return to the barn to learn a few basic moves that most pups learned in the nursery.

  "My sire snored like that," Alden said.

  Quinn stilled.

  "Mine too," Jude said. "Not that loud, though."

  "Daddy was louder, Mama would tell him to sleep in the living room which was near our bedroom. Many nights I crawled out the window and slept in the tree house."

  "Tree house?" Jude said with awe. "You made it?"

  "Not by myself. My sire and brothers helped. It was a good place to play and hide." His voice changed on the last word.

  Quinn prepared to get involved in the conversation if Alden needed him.

  "Sounds like a lot of fun, wish I had one. Weren't no big trees near our house, though. Flat land, easy to see for a long way off," Jude said.

  "We had hills, lots of trees, neighbors, a nice house," Alden said in a low voice. Quinn wondered if the pup had shared this information with Jude before.

  "Next door neighbors?" Jude asked.

  "Close enough to see them, makes them neighbors I think," Alden said.

  "At least you had someone to play with," Jude said, with some heat.

  "Had three brothers to play with, not neighbors," Alden said. "Alonzo, Alfred, and Albert."

  In the background, the Ninja Turtles ruled the airwaves. Quinn assumed the conversation done and mulled over what he learned about Alden.

  "Don't know where they are or what happened to them." Alden paused. "We were playing in the backyard, when they came. Mama inside, Sire at work. It was going dark, just before supper. Mam yelled run and I took off, kept going thinking my brothers were behind me. Slammed into a rebel and can't remember anything else from that night."

  Alden's tearful words tore at Quinn's heart. Why hadn't La Patron or Alpha Gilbert stopped these atrocities? No pup should be snatched from their den for any reason.

  "Hey, you did what your mam said," Jude spoke into the silence.
"You did right."

  Alden snorted. "She didn't mean run to them, Jude."

  "No, but you were what? Four? Five, at the time?" Jude said with conviction that his point was right.

  "One day, I'm going to find Taurus and his gang and kill them," Alden said sounding much older than his age. "They stole my life and I plan to take theirs."

  "We gotta get stronger and learn how to fight to do that," Jude said.

  "You'll help me?" Alden sounded surprised.

  "Course. You got me away from them, saved my life. Plus, we're friends," Jude said.

  "I'll help you find your sister if you want," Alden said.

  "Rosie? She's dead."

  Quinn flinched at the flatness in Jude's voice.

  "You never said," Alden said in a low tone. "I thought they sent her with the other bitches to breed."

  "You gonna look for your brothers?" Jude asked.

  "Yes. After."

  "If you find your brothers first, you guys could be like ninja turtles and go after the one who stole you. That would be epic," Jude said sounding more like a 10 year-old again.

  "It would," Alden said.

  "Ask Quinn to take you back home, ask questions, the neighbors may know something." Jude snapped his fingers. "What if your brothers ran to the neighbor's house?"

  "Probably did, instead of being dumb like me and going to the woods." A few moments later he continued. "I never dreamed they escaped. What if they did? What if we hadn't been separated and sent to different places like Taurus said?"

  Quinn heard the hope and excitement in Alden's voice. It would be a blessing from the Goddess if Alden could be returned to this family. Lack of information prevented Quinn from doing an online search for the boys’ families. Now that he knew the particulars for Jude and Alden he would do that tonight. Tomorrow his uncle would have the information to assist in going forward. If Alden's family lived, nothing would please Quinn more than returning the pup to his sire and mam.

  "That would be epic," Jude said with less excitement than before.