Chapter 8
He ground his teeth, his jaws clenching tight as the words echoed in his brain. She spent the night — With. Another. Male.
His nose wrinkled up as his lip lifted in the beginnings of a snarl.
He caught himself and shut it down. He went to the kitchen and scrambled himself a few eggs and made some toast. Ate it quickly, then finished off his coffee as he waited for the lights in the store to let him know somebody was there.
As soon as those lights flashed on, he left his house, locking the door behind himself and set out on foot to the restaurant. As he approached he decided to detour to the store. He opened the back door and walked into the front. “Good morning!” he called as he walked through the door.
“Good morning, Remi! How was your first night in your new home?”
“Quiet, relaxing,” he lied. “I really like it here.” That part wasn’t so much a lie as his first response. He was anything but relaxed all night waiting for Cristie to get home.
“Good. We’re glad to have you here,” Mrs. Constance said.
“Anything in particular you’re waiting on other than the same as yesterday?” he asked.
“I think Richie mentioned he was going to make some breakfast burritos in addition to the breakfast croissants, but other than that, no.”
“Alright, just wanted to check in before I get over to the restaurant.”
“No problem. I think Richie’s over there already.”
“Good deal. I’ll see y’all shortly, I’m sure,” he said. He turned and left Mrs. Constance and Moe to handle the store, as he headed toward the restaurant. He opened the front door, then the interior door, and strode across the dining room.
“What took you so long?” Richie teased from the kitchen.
“You know I’m early,” Remi teased back.
“Yeah, I do. You could have slept in. I know you had a long day yesterday with all your driving the night before and working all day,” Richie said.
“Nah, I’d rather be here being productive and taking my mind off things.”
“Good news is, you’re no longer a surprise to her,” Richie said.
“There is that,” Remi agreed. “So, what are we making today?” he asked, watching Richie slicing poblano peppers, red bell peppers and sweet yellow onions.
“If you don’t mind, can you handle the breakfast sandwiches? I’m working on breakfast burritos.”
“You got it,” Remi said, going to the walk in freezer and taking out all he needed to get started. Just like yesterday morning, he found trays already prepped for cooking. He heated up the grill and got to cooking.
Couple of hours later he was delivering his third batch of sandwiches, and fourth batch of burritos to the store when a distant rumble caught his attention.
He finished setting the sandwiches out in groups of like sandwiches under the heat lamps — three rows of bacon, egg and cheese, three rows of sausage, egg and cheese, and two rows of just egg and cheese.
He put all the burritos, wrapped individually and marked with breakfast burrito stickers into a large, rectangular metal container with its own set of heat lamps.
“That’s it, Mrs. Constance,” he said. “You’ve got all the breakfast stuff earmarked for the store.
We just opened the doors over at the restaurant, and we’re prepping for lunch as we serve breakfast. Let me know if you need something, other wise, I’ll see you later,” Remi said.
He hesitated, then looked at the large quart size to go plastic containers that Moe sold his caramel frappes in.
“You mind if I take one of these?” he asked.
“Of course not. Go right ahead. You want some frappe in it?”
“No, thank you. Just coffee.” He walked over and put quite a lot of sugar and creamer in the bottom of it, then grabbed a sausage, egg and cheese croissant and a breakfast burrito. He walked over to the counter and handed Mrs. Constance a twenty dollar bill.
“Baby that’s too much. And you forgot your coffee.”
“I’m going to fill it at the restaurant. And keep the money. I appreciate how nice you’ve been to me.”
“Thank you, baby. I’ll be over there for lunch as soon as the next shift comes in here to cover the store.”
“I’ll see you then,” he said, heading toward the back door.
He walked outside onto the walkway between the store and the restaurant and stood quietly as he watched the bright red sports car pause at Riley’s front gate and wait patiently for the gate to swing open and grant him access.
The car drove through, and the gate closed behind it.
He listened quietly as the car’s engine cut off, then both Cristie’s voice, and a male’s, presumably the Kaiser guy, chitchatted and laughed.
They spoke for only a short while before he heard Riley’s front door open and close, and Cristie’s car start up and drive down the driveway toward the front gate.
The gate opened and Cristie’s car pulled through, then took a left and drove away.
Remi stood there, trying to figure out what was going on.
Why would she leave, and leave her friend there, unless he was a friend of the family and comfortable with Riley and the family?
He shook his head as he remembered Richie saying that Kaiser and his family were related to Roman, and were in fact members of the Pride.
“Well, fuck me,” he muttered as he went back into the restaurant.
“There you are,” Richie said the minute Remi walked back into the restaurant.
“Yep. Meatloaf and mashed potatoes, right?” Remi asked.
“You got it. I’ve got all your veggies chopped and the ground beef in the mixing bowl for you. The recipe book is opened to it.”
“Brown gravy or red?” Remi asked as he walked over to consult the recipe.
“Brown. We’ll make spaghetti and meatballs in a couple of days, so let’s make this gravy brown so we don’t overdo the tomato sauce.”
“I got it from here,” Remi said as he started taking the spices off the shelf and adding them to the twenty pounds of ground beef already in the biggest bowl he’d ever seen.
He was elbows deep in ground beef, spices, onions, bell peppers, egg, small pieces of torn bread, and Italian bread crumbs when he heard the purr of the Ferrari again.
But this time, it sounded like it had pulled up right outside the restaurant.
Shortly after, the front doors opened and Cristie walked in.
He knew it was her without even looking up — his Dragon told him.
Ours
Remi didn’t reply, he just keep mixing the meatloaf. He wasn’t sure if Kaiser was in the car waiting on her or not and didn’t really want to look. His Dragon was just about losing his shit.
Cristie walked right up to the window and watched Remi and Richie cooking.
When neither responded to her presence, she went over to the swinging doors that led into the kitchen and stepped through them. “Good morning,” she said, her voice sounding confident to anyone who wasn’t Remi’s Dragon.
Nervous his Dragon whispered in his mind.
I know, Remi answered silently.
Smell her Dragon demanded.
Remi scoffed at the Dragon. No.
Smell Red Car? Dragon asked.
Remi’s vigorous mixing of the meat loaves slowed as he realized what Dragon meant.
If he scented her and she’d slept with Kaiser — aka Red Car per his Dragon — then she’d smell of the male.
Even if she’d showered he’d scent the male on her body.
If she hadn’t, she’d simply carry a slight smell just because she’d been around him and in his car.
Two completely different scents. The dilemma Remi had was that if she did smell like Kaiser, then he’d have to kill him.
And while he knew it wasn’t fair, because he and Cristie weren’t mated, it was just the way things were sometimes.
And even if he killed Kaiser, if he ever managed to get another chance from her, he was pretty sure it would negate that chance.
Dragon snarled in his mind and surged forward, his eyes taking on the orange of his Dragon’s eyes as he took in great lungfuls of air, scenting and even tasting the air for any lingering scent of Red Car on her skin. She is ours still! Dragon shouted triumphantly in his head.
Thank God I don’t have to kill him, Remi thought to himself.
Kill Red Car anyway.
I will not kill him, Remi answered firmly.
He wants ours.
He’s part of her Pride. I can’t kill him without provocation.
Kill Red Car!
“Shut up!” Remi demanded — aloud.
Remi’s Dragon huffed at him and retreated to the back of his mind, irritated that Remi wouldn’t do away with their romantic competition.
“Excuse me?” Cristie asked, immediately after he blurted ‘shut up’.
Remi turned to look at her quickly before going back to mixing the mass of meat in the huge metal bowl.
She was perfect. Blonde hair caught up in a ponytail with wisps falling haphazardly around her face from the ponytail holder struggling to hold back the heavy Golden mass.
She was wearing a dark pink scrub set, and a pair of white nurses’ crocs.
“Morning, Cristie,” Remi said.
“Did you just tell me to shut up?” she asked. “After I came over here to say good morning and invite you to dinner on Sunday?”
“No, I did not. I said shut up, but it wasn’t directed to you.”
“I’m pretty sure that Richie didn’t say anything, so that only leaves me,” she said, beginning to cop an attitude.
Remi focused on her for a second, noticing how bright and beautiful her eyes were. She looked well rested.
We did not rest! Dragon snapped in his mind.
He clenched his jaws and forced a pleasant smile when his Dragon rushed forward again, peering at her with his orange pupils, blinking slowly as he took her measure.
“Oh,” she said, meeting the Dragon’s gaze. “Good morning,” she said to the Dragon staring blatantly at her. Suddenly he was gone and Remi’s dark eyes were focusing on her.
“Never mind. I see that you were having an inner monologue,” she said.