Series: Werewolves of Wall Street Series by Renee Rose
Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 73722 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73722 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
“You’re a goddess.” I take a moment to check my work phone. There’s already a hundred new emails, and a few frantic texts from Indira over the meeting with Benson we’re trying to schedule “yesterday.”
Sure, boss. Let me just build a time machine real quick.
Aubrey hands me a to-go cup. Twenty ounces of caffeine, bless her.
I salute her and head out. I’ve got emails to answer and a corporate takeover to conquer. And Brick Blackthroat? I’ll treat him like any other rich jerk. Impress his suit pants off as Professional Madi, cash my paychecks and spare not a thought for him outside of anything strictly work related.
I’m not afraid of the Big Bad Boss.
Chapter Four
Brick
The next morning, I have my driver drop me off a couple miles from Wall Street and walk the rest of the way in. I’ve been itchy to run ever since leaving the office last night. I refuse to believe it’s because of New Girl. I don’t get hot for humans.
Still, I have an excess of energy, so walking it off before I go in and rip everyone around me a new one is probably for the best.
My phone buzzes, and I shove my earpods in to take the call. It’s my sister, Ruby. She’s five years older, but we’re close. Especially because she has two pups now with Eagle, my lead counsel, and I’m crazy about my niece and nephew. Also, we had a fucked-up upbringing in an even more fucked-up family, and we’re now the leaders of the Blackthroats.
“What’s up?” I answer curtly. Even with family, I’m stingy with words.
“I talked to Mom.”
I suck in a sharp breath. Every mention of our mother makes me want to thrash someone. Not her… because she’s still my mother and as much as I hate her, I’m too damn attached. Some core of me–maybe it’s the alpha wolf instinct–is still protective.
“She, uh, she said Uncle Odin is dying.”
“And?” I demand. The taste in my mouth is as bitter as they come. I wouldn’t give a fuck if the entire Adalwulf pack died off tomorrow.
Well, I’d have mixed feelings about my mother. And therein lies the conflict that eats me up every day.
“I don’t know. I think it frees her up somehow. She said she wants to spend time with her grandbabies.”
I gnash my teeth. “Are you going to let her?”
“Um…yeah. I want to.”
I want to tear the metal trash can out of the concrete on the sidewalk beside me. I don’t know why in the hell we’re having this conversation. Just to make an already sour day worse? Then it dawns on me.
“You’re asking my permission.” She may be my older sister, but I’m the alpha. I knew my sister had been in sporadic contact with our mother since our father’s death, but I didn’t consider it my problem. It’s Ruby’s choice. Personally, I know I couldn’t handle seeing her. It would tear me up too much.
“Well, no. Not exactly.” I decode that to mean if I say no, she’s going to do it anyway. “I just wanted to run it by you.”
“Do you actually think your young are safe with her? August is in line for the throne if anything happens to me. You think the Adalwulfs will let him live?”
“Brick, she didn’t kill Dad!” Ruby says hotly. She sounds close to tears, which makes me back off. I may be a nutsack to most of the people around me, but Ruby doesn’t deserve it.
“You know I don’t believe that, Rubes,” I say gently. I stop my brisk walking and rub my forehead, causing the foot traffic around me to change flow and drawing muttered curses.
“Why would they kill a five-year-old? If they killed anyone, it would be you, and that obviously hasn’t happened. There’s no reason to kill. They think they won when Odin poached all the whales to Adalwulf Associates. Blackthroat Investments isn’t even open to outside clients anymore. We’re no longer a threat to them.”
I am definitely a threat to them. Every. Single. One of them.
“You haven’t talked to her, Brick. I wish you would. She’s devastated over Dad and losing her relationship with us. I know she didn’t do it.”
“I’m not sure we can trust ourselves or our judgment when it comes to our own mother.”
“I am. I’m sure, Brick.”
She’s delusional. But my sister is a peacemaker. She was always trying to weave peace between our parents and the two families.
“Well, do what you want to do, just keep me out of it,” I mutter and start walking again.
“Okay. Understood. Auggie has a karate tournament tomorrow night if you want to come.”
Just the mention of my nephew makes me soften. “How’s that working out?” I still can’t believe my sister risked putting Auggie into any kind of sport with humans. The danger of him showing superhuman abilities is way too high. But I suppose the sooner he learns to hide it, the better. That was his parents’ idea, anyway.