Jane knew she couldn’t avoid Dom for long, not without calling in sick, and she never did that. It was a point of pride. Plus, she rarely got sick, so Nick would know something was up. But she went into work that morning all on edge, both wanting to see Dom and dreading the moment he walked into the diner.
She always felt that way when he was in town, but now, after kissing him, that feeling was an awful lot worse.
With a great deal of effort, she kept her focus on the breakfast rush, serving the customers and passing pleasantries with townspeople as usual, keeping Nick—who was on the grill—on his toes, confirming details for a book club meeting with her friend Rachel when she stopped by for breakfast, keeping herself too busy to watch the front door. The effort worked for the first hour or so, when things were hopping and she had too much to do to pause and think.
During a lull in the pace, though, she started watching the front door. Then cursed herself for her weakness and tried to find something else to think about… Her gaze landed on her son, sitting at the counter and talking to Charlie Sanchez.
Ben had walked her to work that morning—a show of maturity and chivalry that made her grin. He’d stopped asking if she’d kissed Dom and switched to telling her about the app he was helping to develop, which was a relief. Now, Ben chatted animatedly about some game with a bemused looking Charlie, Ben oblivious to the fact that Charlie had no idea what he was talking about. It didn’t matter. Charlie gave Ben his full attention and nodded at all the appropriate places.
Jane’s heart squeezed tight at the sight. That, the way the people of Eirene treated Ben, that was the reason she loved this town. That was the reason she’d do whatever it took to protect it. Because they loved Ben almost as much as she did, and no one had ever made him feel like he didn’t belong.
She’d always liked to compare Eirene to the Island of Misfit Toys, all of the residents damaged in some way, but here, together, they were accepted and whole.
Jane ambled up to Ben and Charlie, catching a little of the story Ben was telling. “You two need anything else?”
“Orange juice,” Ben said. “Thanks.”
“How about you, Charlie? Want some more coffee?”
“You bet, Jane. And add a little something special to that if you’ve got it.” Charlie winked, his dark eyes twinkling through the heavy wrinkles.
“It’s too damned early for booze, Charlie.” She leaned in close and whispered, “But I’ll see what I can find.” She winked back.
Charlie cackled and patted her hand before she walked away.
She was returning to the counter with the hot pot of coffee when the little bell over the door jingled and Dom came strolling in, all six and a half feet of gorgeous male. Jane froze in place for a second too long, a moment’s lapse that was way too obvious, like a deer in headlights. Dom’s gaze zeroed in on her as if he’d been expecting her to be in exactly the spot she was in. He didn’t even have to hunt the still-crowded diner, just looked right at her the moment he walked through the door. His expression was serious, intent, and entirely too sexy for words. Jane felt that look hit her square in her lady parts, and it was all she could do not to melt.
Damn the man.
She nodded in greeting, but didn’t smile as she poured Charlie’s coffee.
Ben and Charlie were looking between her and Dom, Ben’s expression neutral, Charlie’s full of knowing smugness.
She ignored that too and said to Ben, “I’ll be right back with your juice.”
Feeling like a coward, she escaped into the kitchen, careful not to look at Dom again. Her knees were actually wobbly from the adrenaline of lust and anxiety, and she had to lean against the work table for a moment to keep upright.
“Dom here?” Nick asked without looking up from the grill.
“How the hell did you know that?”
He grinned at her over his shoulder. “Eyes in the back of my head, Jane.”
She snorted. “Right. Yeah, he’s here. Better put on a bigger pile of bacon.”
“On it. How’re things going out there?”
“Busy. Good. Ben’s telling Charlie stories.”
“That’s a reverse of the usual flow of information. How’s Charlie taking it?”
She laughed outright at that. “With good grace. Table ten still needs that toast.” She got Ben’s juice, braced her knees, straightened her shoulders, and headed back into the dining room, determined to act normally.
That determination lasted a full second, and then she spotted Dom sitting on the other side of Ben, looking all hot and kissable and too damned delicious for this early in the morning. The fact that she couldn’t seem to control herself around him left her grumpy, which was her excuse for her greeting.
“You eating or just taking up space?” she asked Dom.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Charlie raise his eyebrows at her, and she turned her glare on him. He lifted his hands in surrender, then picked up his coffee, still smirking at her.
“Bacon and eggs,” Dom said, ignoring her rudeness.
Which only made her more irritated. “Be right back.” She set Ben’s juice in front of him, but he was too busy drawing something on a napkin to notice. She waved her finger under his nose and he looked up. “Don’t forget your juice,” she told him. Then she went back to place Dom’s order.
She was such an idiot. She had to get better control of herself. Taking her foul mood out on Dom just because he was making her feel things she didn’t want to feel was childish.
The bell over the door dinged again and Jane glanced over irritably, but her annoyance evaporated instantly when she spotted Mindy Jenkins, the owner of the antique shop. Mindy looked frantic as she rushed up to Jane.
“Is Nick here?” she asked. “There’s trouble brewing outside the new boutique.”
“Where’s the sheriff?”
Mindy puffed out a frustrated breath. “He and the deputies got called out to the motel this morning, some bachelor party turned into property damage or something.”
“Damn. Nick,” Jane called into the kitchen.
Nick stalked out of the kitchen, his expression hard and dangerous.
“Looks like trouble outside the boutique and the sheriff’s not around,” she told him.
He glanced at Dom and without a word, both brothers hurried out of the diner, crossing against traffic to the boutique two doors down from Mindy’s antique shop.
Jane hovered in the diner door, watching Dom and Nick approach two men standing over the boutique owner. The woman was glaring up at them, but both men were twice her size and standing way too close. Jane didn’t have to hear what was being said to recognize an argument and a looming fight. She forced herself to stay where she was, but anxiety clawed at her as she watched the scene unfold. She recognized one of the men. He’d been part of the group that had tormented Eirene before Nick had arrived and drove them out of town.
Mindy stood next to Jane, twisting her hands together. “Couldn’t hear what they were saying,” she told Jane, “but the tone sounded bad.”
“You recognize that one guy?” Jane nodded.
“Sure do,” Mindy said. “If this starts up again, I’m thinking I might ask Joe Sanchez for a few more…” She glanced at the crowd behind them and in the diner windows watching the brewing argument, both locals and tourists. “More of those things he makes,” she finished, because of the tourists.
Jane was thinking the same thing. She patted Mindy’s hand. “Nick and Dom’ll take care of it.” She forced herself to believe that.
One of the two thugs turned to face Nick and Dom, the other continued to glare down at the shop owner who was returning that glare in equal measure. Words were exchanged, though Jane couldn’t hear what they said.
Only the fact that there was no one else to watch the diner and Ben was inside kept Jane from trotting across the street to help. Her heart was thumping hard with an old, primitive fear that sent a kind of panic into her blood, a feeling she resented to this day, and the part of her that had grown stronger over the years wanted to fight that panic by stepping into the middle of the argument.
The thug Jane recognized got into Nick’s face. He was not quite as tall as Nick but close to being the same width. Dom put a hand on the man’s chest and pushed him back a foot, Dom’s serious expression never changing.
The man made a lunge toward Dom. Every person in the diner watching drew in an audible gasp. Dom braced himself. The other thug grabbed the first by his arm, preventing a full-on attack. More words were exchanged. And then a car slid up to the sidewalk just behind the brothers, parking illegally. The Chernikovs didn’t even turn to look at it, but the two thugs narrowed their eyes at the car.
From her place, Jane couldn’t see the driver until he stepped out. Then recognition came immediately, the family resemblance between Dom and his brothers strong. Mitch Chernikov strolled up to the tense scene, patted his oldest brother on the back and said something, his expression pleasant and charming.
Beside Jane, Mindy sighed long and loud.
“What’s all that sighing about?” Jane asked her without looking away from the brewing fight.
“Those Chernikov boys are just so damned handsome,” Mindy said. “Seeing them all together never gets old. Shame they’re all taken.”
“Mindy Jenkins, you are a married woman.” Jane scowled. “Besides, Dom’s still single.”
Mindy raised her brows at Jane, her mouth lifting in a slight smile. “Is he?”
“What the hell are you implying?”
“Not a thing, Jane.” Mindy looked back at the standoff, still smiling, her expression blatantly, unconvincingly innocent. “Not a thing.”
Jane glared at the side of Mindy’s face, then turned back to Dom and the others, ignoring the heat warming her cheeks. “Nosey woman,” she grunted.
Mindy chuckled softly.
Dom kept his attention on the two male wolves as Nick ordered them out of town. He recognized one of them as the man who’d been arguing with Siobhan Walsh yesterday. The other was a stranger, but his musky, wet-dog smell made Dom’s nose twitch. He very rarely interacted with werewolves, but about half of the ones he’d met over the years made his nose twitch.
“This is none of your business, kitty cat,” the thug from yesterday’s argument in the boutique said to Nick.
“Is in my town,” Nick said. “My territory. My rules.”
“Only because Gabriel is a pussy. This is our territory. You’re squatting.”
“Paid good money for this land. To that weak-ass bastard you called an alpha.”
The wolf got into Nick’s face. Nick didn’t even blink.
“You think you’re so tough, kitty?” the thug asked.
Before Nick answered, Dom put his hand on the thug’s chest and pushed him back a foot, keeping him well clear of Nick.
“You want to try me, asshole?” the thug said.
“Don’t need to,” Dom said. He gave the wolf a once-over. “Wouldn’t be much of a fight for me. Too easy. Where’s the fun in that?”
The thug lunged at him, Dom braced for the attack, but the other male wolf grabbed his arm before he could finish the attack.
“We’re not here for this, Frank,” the second wolf said.
Frank growled at Dom. “You and I aren’t done yet.”
Dom raised his brows. “You’re even stupider than you look.”
Siobhan snorted a half-laugh at that, earning a glare from Frank.
And then a car rolled up to the curb behind them. Dom didn’t need to turn to see who it was. He’d felt Mitch approaching. Which officially tipped the numbers in their favor. While all three of them could easily take the two wolves on their own, the fight would get messy, and they had an audience of humans just across the street.
Jane was just across the street…
He pushed the thought away. She was safe. So long as they got the damned wolves out of town.
Mitch clapped Nick on the shoulder. “You fellas need any help?”
“Got it under control,” Dom said, his gaze on Frank. “Not much of anything worth worrying about here.”
Frank growled, a deep resonant sound that showed his wolf a little too close to the surface. Dom held his gaze, unblinking. Frank’s gaze shifted to Dom’s ear, a loss of dominance that made Frank curse. He continued to glare at Dom without actually meeting his gaze directly for more than a few seconds.
“Time to leave,” Nick said, his voice low. “My territory, my rules. You break those rules again, there’ll be consequences.”
“The little bitch can come and go? We can come and go,” Frank growled.
“Come on, Frank,” the other wolf said, keeping his gaze on Nick even as he pulled Frank back from the fight. “We’ve said what we came here to say.” He glanced down at Siobhan. “You need to take what we’ve said seriously. The time is coming for change.”
She sneered at them, her only reply.
Frank snarled at Dom as he was pulled away. “We’ll settle this soon.” Though he still couldn’t meet Dom’s gaze for more than a flickering second.
Dom raised his brows, his only response.
The two males climbed onto a couple of motorcycles parked in front of the boutique and thundered off, leaving an echo of noise in their wake.
Siobhan watched them go, then faced Nick again.
“I’ll be wanting to speak with your brothers,” Nick told her. “Tonight.”
“This wasn’t their fault,” she said, her shoulders straightening defensively.
“But as alpha and beta of the pack, it’s their responsibility.”
Siobhan’s shoulders slumped just a little. “You gonna make me close the shop?”
Nick stared at her for a long moment before saying, “Not yet.” He nodded back to her open front door. “Better get back inside. Expect questions. We have an audience.” He didn’t even motion toward the diner, but her gaze flicked across the street to the humans hovering in the diner windows and spilling out onto the sidewalk in front.
“I’ll take care of the questions,” she said. Then, somewhat hesitantly she added, “Thanks.”
Dom couldn’t decide from her tone if that was a grudging thanks or a grateful one, but her musky wolf scent carried a little of both as she returned to her store.
“Well, that was a fun way to arrive,” Mitch said, grinning at them both. “Lucky I came along to protect you two.”
“Right,” Dom said.
Mitch chuckled. “So what’s all the excitement about?”
“Wolf politics,” Nick said, his gaze straying to the diner. “Tell you later, when we don’t have civilians around.”
“Right. What’s to eat around here?”
“Got omelets and bacon going,” Nick said. “What are you doing here already?”
They started back across the street, Dom falling in behind his brothers.
“That lion at the Bronx zoo is still having some trouble, so Nila sent me ahead. She’ll be here as soon as she can.” He paused and sniffed at Nick. “What smells like peppermint?”
“Nothing,” Nick said, his tone more defensive than when he’d faced the wolves. “You want food or not.”
“Food,” Mitch said. “Always food.”
Dom listened to the exchange with only half his attention. The rest was on Jane, still standing in the diner doorway, her lips pressed tight together, her grip on the door jamb turning her knuckles white. She blinked and met his gaze, the worry still clearly there despite the fact that the wolves had left. Her being worried about anything made his tiger growl.
“Everything okay now?” she asked Nick as they reached the door.
“No problem. All taken care of.”
Mitch greeted Jane with a kiss on the cheek. Dom noticed with no small annoyance that she accepted the gesture without comment. She motioned Nick and Mitch past her into the restaurant, her gaze again locked with Dom’s.
“That gonna be a problem?” she asked him quietly. “One of those guys, the one that got in Nick’s face, he’s been here before, part of the gang that harassed us until Nick took care of them.”
Dom bit down his tiger’s instinctive growl. “We’ll take care of it, Jane. You don’t need to worry.”
“Those thugs come back, it’ll be bad for the town.”
He touched his fingers to her cheek before he could stop himself, dropping his hand in the next instant so she didn’t have time to pull away. “Don’t worry. We’ll make sure you’re all safe.”
Her shoulders relaxed just a little, some of the tension easing in her expression. “Thanks,” she said with a faint smile.
Next to her, the owner of the antique shop, a woman named Mindy Jenkins, hummed under her breath. Jane glared at her. Mindy smiled at the glare, managing to look both innocent and guilty all at the same time.
Dom frowned at both women, his eyebrows raised in question. Jane rolled her eyes and stalked back inside the diner.
Mindy grinned up at him. “Good to have you back in town, Dom.”
She followed Jane into the diner, leaving Dom more than a little confused.