48. Deacon
Chapter 48
Deacon
Cade:
Come down to the garage, I brought you a present.
Like I don’t have enough going on? I know it’s not a present. It’s a classic car he wants restored. But at least it’ll be fun to make faces at him and complain loudly, insulting whatever piece of shit he dragged into my garage.
It’s not like I’m not already leaving the house anyway. Cade asked me to warn Nathan off two days ago, and with the ancestors suppressed for the rest of the day, it’s time.
As Revecca would say, I’m excellent at crea un dezastru. Nathan needs a healthy dose.
When I get to the garage, Cade smiles at me and cocks his head to the side, The Leviathan peeking through. The car is clearly forgotten about as he reads my face and body language. “What fuckery are we spreading?”
“The kind that involves things you shouldn’t be involved in.” I keep walking closer to him and the garage, trying to look past him at the grill.
“Mm-hmm.” Cade nods.
I ignore his attempt to meddle in what doesn’t concern him and look more at my ‘present’ that I’m equally intrigued and disgusted by.
It’s a ’64 or ’65 Mercury Comet, which looks like it was most likely grazed by a comet if the first glimpse at the damage is anything to go by. In addition to major body dents, the paint is flaking and the dash seems to have melted a little inside.
Who tortured you, baby girl?
I make the most incredulous face I can come up with. “I see you found me the second-to-worst Comet in existence.”
Cade tosses me the keys and answers. “It was a gift from Thalia, and she’s quite proud of her find.”
“Awww.” My tone reminds me of when Lena sees someone’s pup for the first time.
Thalia picking this baby out immediately means I can no longer judge the little Comet harshly.
“Did it drive here or get towed?” I hold up my hands and cross my fingers on both hands, hoping he throws me a tiny bone.
“It runs fantastic. Only backfires now and again. Sticks from third to fourth.” He shrugs noncommittally.
It’s got good bones, and he drove it here, so it’s fine. I can fix it.
I move to the driver’s side and open the door. Once I’m in the car, the inside doesn’t smell very barn-like. Though there’s a slight scent of furry woodland creatures having been in here at one point.
The engine comes to life without protest, and I nod along to the hum of it. When I give it some gas, there’s no way to hide my pleasure. I give him a thumbs-up but manage to contain the smile .
He’s right. Despite it being a mess, this feels like a present. Besides... if little red liked it, I could make some time.
He climbs into the passenger seat. “So, where are we going?”
I drum my fingers on the dash. There are so many things that could go wrong involving him. But then again, bringing Cade means this can’t escalate too far. He won’t be an accomplice to murder. It’ll be a heavy-handed hint, also known as a tiny threat.
I finally answer. “Gym down in Edina.”
“Ohhhkay.” Cade purses his lips, trying to wait me out for information.
I pull the Comet out of the garage and head toward the front gate.
He makes it until we pass the guard shack, which is probably a personal record for him. “And why are we going there?”
“Remember when I was like fourteen, and you told me I’d need to learn how to defend myself? I smarted off saying that you’re Pack Second, so what the fuck do I need to know how to fight for?”
Did that day put as big of a blip on his radar as it did mine?
Cade hangs his head. “Yeah. Sorry.”
“Don’t be. Made me tougher for when Ezra and I sometimes intentionally start bar fights.” I laugh, and that gets Cade to run his hand back through his hair.
“Okay, but we’re going to a gym. This isn’t quite a bar fight. You think you’re capable of—” He lets that hang.
“Don’t worry. You’re not fighting my fight for me. You weren’t supposed to be coming. Bigger they are, the harder they fall. I’m quick and surprisingly good.” I smirk over at him, trying to ease his mind, but I don’t pull over to let him out .
“Why am I starting to think you’ve been...” Cade looks over at me.
“Underground fighting?” I finish the question for him but don’t bother following it up with a confession.
“Is there anything you do for fun that’s legal?” Cade shakes his head, settling into the drive, resting one arm on the door and drumming his fingers against his leg with the other.
“Lots of things. I can’t think of any off the top of my head. Probably something Henri made me do that didn’t suck.” When Cade does nothing more than shake his head, I continue. “Besides it’s not like I’m running an underground poker ring or one of those cult MLMs.”
“No, but you bought some sort of business in South Dakota?” Cade looks over at me. “I got the paperwork while you were gone.”
“Yeah. Favor to a friend. It’s good money. Should have earned back its purchase price by now.” I squint, trying to remember how many days ago that was.
“Oh, it has. You’ve a knack for finding businesses turning profits.” He chuckles. “You’d think that with all the investments the pack has, the little business deals you make wouldn’t matter. But a few of your deals are now key assets in our portfolio.”
“Well, this one was a fluke.” I start to confess. “I really just wanted—”
“Don’t tell me.” Cade shakes his head. “I don’t think I’ll like what you’re about to say.”
I mime zipping my lips and pretend to throw the key out the window.
The gym, built in part of a strip mall, isn’t even close to pleasant. The dimly lit space and worn-out equipment have me questioning my decision to come and kick his ass here. It’s clear that not a single shifter works here because the stench alone almost has my eyes watering.
Cade coughs. “Fuck, it’s putrid.”
But I push through the smell of wet socks and body odor, seeing my target leaning against the boxing ring set up toward the back.
Nathan encourages a fighter. Unironically, he speaks to the fighter nicer than I’ve ever seen him speak to Henri.
Stopping next to me at the opposite side of the ring, Cade looks at the fighters, giving his assessment at a volume designed to be heard. “I don’t know. You sure you want to take one of these two? You’ll mop the floor with them. Not fair at all.”
Fuck. I love it when Cade understands the assignment.
“No.” I tilt my head and indicate to Nathan, who has now seen us. “That big slow thug.”
“Deacon,” Cade groans, adopting a good caricature of an asshole, further aggravating the situation on purpose. “What did I tell you about beating losers?”
It was rude enough.
Nathan comes storming around the ring. “What? You two think you’re tough shit? Fuckin’ wolves coming in here like you own the place.”
“Oh. Trust us, this isn’t the kind of business we’d buy.” Cade snorts, and I’m sure he’s thinking about our conversation on the ride over here.
It’s easy for me to forget how much fun Cade can be.
Nathan tries to step around me to Cade, but I don’t let it happen.
“We don’t need your kind here,” one of the men from the ring sneers, his thick Southern drawl making him an easy target.
Lacing my words with a thick Minnesotan accent, I throw an easy insult. “It’s Minne-snow-tah. Why dontcha go back to all your swamps and leave the ice fishin’ to us.”
“You’re just a coupla overgrown dogs.” He cackles like what he said was funny.
“All I’ve come here to say is fuckin’ leave Henri alone. You weren’t loyal to her. You don’t need her. Move on.” I don’t lower my voice entirely, but I do drop it down to give Nathan what could be privacy if his ‘friends’ had enough brain cells left between them to keep their mouths shut.
Nathan hasn’t broken my gaze. He shakes his head. “You think you can tell me what to do?” He looks me over and smirks. “Get in the ring.”
Cade snorts.
This is too fucking easy.
I kick my shoes and socks off while Nathan walks back around to the other side of the ring.
“Don’t kill him with witnesses,” Cade warns in the softest tone we’ve used yet, normal speaking volume.
“Nah, I just plan on makin’ him think twice about what’ll happen if he keeps upsetting our girl,” I reply before pretending to badly climb into the ring.
Nathan’s stripped down to his shorts and is stretching out.
In my T-shirt and surprisingly formal-looking sweatpants, I wait for him to finish intimidating me.
There are some advantages to being a wolf. I still have quickish healing and muscle recovery.
It doesn’t matter if I take a minute to warm up or not. In the end, Nathan’s going to walk out of here with bruises, and I’ll be mostly healed by the time we get home. Tomorrow morning at the latest .
When Nathan begins to circle, I keep an eye on his footwork. Slow and uncoordinated. Is he trying to do this professionally? I pretend to stumble, and that’s when he makes the first move, striking out with his fist, trying to collide with my face as I fall.
Instead, my foot connects with his lower ribs.
He coughs, but there’s no satisfying wheeze.
“Little harder.” Cade coaches under his breath.
The silence from Nathan’s friends is interesting. Not a single encouragement as he steps back, squaring up again.
He makes the cataclysmic mistake of rushing me. He tries to push me down to the mat, but I do the same thing my brother would have done. I knock one foot out from under him with a sweep, putting him off balance before thrusting my hand into his face and breaking his nose, then kneeing his ribs.
Nathan crashes onto the mat with a pathetic human yelp. This time he releases a satisfying wheeze, a telltale sign I broke his ribs. Well, it’s satisfying for me.
I crouch down just out of reach. “I can kick your pathetic roid-rage ass in my human form. I sure as fuck can tear it apart in my wolf form. Send another bouquet of flowers, another text, or place another call to Henri, and I will show you that this was nothing.”
I stand and look at his friends staring dumbly at us. I’ve got a bunch of witty things I could say to them, but you can’t have a battle of wits with an unarmed person, and it’s not fun if you have to explain the joke.
When I turn back to Cade, he yawns. “Well, that was boring.”
“Right?” I sigh but turn back to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Nathan’s ridiculous friends. “If he tries to hurt her, it won’t be just him I kill. Decide if the two of you value your lives, then figure out how to keep him in line. ”
Cade turns away and whispers, “Not enough gray matter, Deacon. Asking for too much.”
I slide into my shoes, not bothering with my socks, and follow Cade back out the door.
When we’re almost back at the car, Cade ruffles my hair. “I taught you good, Dea.”
“Yeah. Sure, take credit for that.” I laugh, but it’s tainted with my darkness.
I don’t believe this will be the last time I have to pay Nathan a visit. At the very least, I’ve given him a chance to leave her alone. It’s more than most hunters give their prey.