Small Moments Read online

  Boiled hotdogs and potato chips. About as far from fine dining as you could get, but Rin didn’t complain. In fact, the hotdogs seemed to lighten her mood, and Mike learned that Coney Island hotdogs happened to be her favorite before she launched into a detailed explanation about how the sauce was prepared, and about her roommate at the university where Rin had earned her degree, who had taught her.

  With Rin’s mood improved, Mike fully intended to keep it that way, steering the conversation to subjects that guaranteed just that outcome, so he was surprised when Rin once more reached for her chest, grimaced and then said, “He contacted the council and left a message for me to contact him.”

  Mike didn’t need her to explain who the “him” was, and he knew that whatever had made her want to flee rather than rushing into the arms of her kin, was not going to be a pleasant story, so he kept his tongue firmly tucked behind his teeth and his lips sealed.

  Rin let out a self-deprecating laugh and shook her head. “Obviously ignoring him is the way to get his attention. Maybe if I had ignored him when my parents died instead of calling daily and leaving messages, he would have come instead of having his assistant send flowers.” The last was said with a little snarl that Mike was ashamed to admit was cute as hell. The pain inflicted by her uncle’s thoughtlessness however, was not cute, and very real.

  Now he wished her uncle was a younger male so that he could feel some pain of his own, inflicted by Mike’s fists.

  “Why is he here? He never leaves that fortress he calls home, it’s his baby, his empire,” Rin hissed, and then more quietly, “the only thing he truly loves.”

  The question wasn’t meant for him, and even if it was, Mike would have no idea what to say, but he could offer comfort. Reaching out a hand, Rin clutched it almost desperately and Mike unlocked his jaw to reassure her, “Your uncle is on pack land. Say the word and I’ll see to it that he’s removed. You’ll never have to see him again.”

  Mike watched in fascination as a myriad of emotions washed over Rin’s face. Finally, she shook her head. “No” she said firmly. “I’m not ready yet, but I need to know what is so important that he would come all this way to say it.” Then the first true smile since this conversation began lit her face, “Besides, it’ll do him a world of good to see how it feels to be made to wait.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Rin didn’t go to see her uncle the next day, preferring to hide away at Mike’s for at least a little longer. She had called the Tully’s Saturday night and informed them who the male was, but that she wasn’t ready to see him. The couple had been surprisingly understanding, and assured her that they would make her excuses to her uncle.

  Then Sunday she had received a call from Margaret Tully that had only reinforced her opinion of her uncle. “Mr. Nakamura,” Margaret spat, “has decided that if you are not going to make yourself available to him immediately that he will be finding more suitable accommodations for the duration.” Margaret had huffed over the phone. “More suitable? Who the hell does that bastard think he is to insult my home?” Before Rin could respond, Margaret continued her snarling tirade, “Then that little pipsqueak of an assistant had to chime in to assure me that while some people might find this type of rustic charm quaint, Mr. Nakamura is used to more amenities.”

  But Rin couldn’t hold back the chuckle of amusement as Margaret muttered, “Well, he can shove his amenities right up his rich ass. The nerve. No wonder you don’t wish to see him, child. Five minutes in his presence had me practically needing to be restrained.”

  “I’m sorry Mrs. Tully.” Rin said sincerely.

  “Nonsense; there is no reason for you to apologize for him. But I didn’t just call to complain.” Margaret sniffed, obviously still in high dudgeon. “I overheard your uncle speaking with the pipsqueak. They plan to try to corner you at the office on Monday, so you may want to let Ginny know and take the day off if you’re not yet ready to hear whatever pompous bullshit your uncle came to tell you.”

  Rin felt a mix of stomach tightening trepidation, imagining being waylaid in her tiny office, forced to listen – cornered – exactly as Margaret had said. But she also felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the information. She may be Kitsune, but this town already treated her like pack. It was humbling, and Rin was deeply touched.

  Rin did in fact contact Ginny and was again flooded with love for this pack when Ginny had grown indignant on Rin’s behalf. “You take whatever time you need, Rin. I’ll deal with your uncle.” The growl that had laced those final words, was indicative of a she-wolf preparing for battle: protective and fierce.

  And so it was that Rin was down in Mike’s garage on Monday afternoon when the phone rang. Mike had his hands full under the car that he was working on, so Rin picked up the phone and answered in her most professional voice while grabbing up a pen in preparation for taking a message.

  Tim’s voice boomed through the line, cheerful in his greeting. Once he learned Mike was busy he said, “Hey listen, can you write down an address for Mike?”

  As soon as Rin agreed, Tim started rattling off the address and what time tonight. “Tell him he won’t want to miss it, the money’s going to be big on this one.”

  Rin wanted to find out more, but Tim gave her a quick, “Thanks, Rin, got to go,” and then disconnected the call.

  Rin stared at the address, her curiosity driving her a bit batty. She kept reminding herself that she was just being paranoid and she needed to cut the crap, but as soon as Mike came out from under the car, the words left her mouth despite her best intentions. “Tim called with an address and a time. So what’s this job that’s going to pay out so much money?”

  Mike glanced from her to the paper on the counter and then he turned his head to look for a rag to wipe his hands, though one was hanging from his back pocket, “Just one of those odd jobs I was telling you about. Some pay more than others so Tim keeps me apprised of the best ones.”

  Did he look uncomfortable or was Rin just reading more into this because of some fear-induced side-effect of her captivity that had left her suspicious and quick to jump to conclusions?

  “What kind of job is it?”

  Mike shrugged as he wiped thoughtfully at his hands, still avoiding Rin’s gaze. “Just some body work.” Then he threw the rag aside, finally looked her way, and grinned, “Are you hungry? We can go to the diner, or if you’d rather stay here, I can run and pick us up something.”

  Rin stared at Mike for a moment, her eyes moving over the face she was so in love with. His explanation was completely plausible, and went hand in hand with what she had originally assumed – Mike was doing some automotive work on the side. No big deal. And because she was so in love, she should trust him despite her instincts screaming that he wasn’t being completely honest with her. Right?

  Attempting a smile, Rin gripped the pen harder. “I am a bit hungry, but I’d rather not chance a run in with my uncle.”

  Mike shot her a brilliant smile, “Not a problem.” Approaching, he gave Rin a kiss that left her breathless, “It’s my honor to serve.”

  Rin’s smile held until Mike was out the door, but as soon as he was gone, a devil of a voice inside her head had her copying down the address and time and stuffing the paper into her pocket – just in case.

  “I can do this, I can do this, I can do this” It was the chant that had her sitting behind the wheel of the little sedan that Mike had been letting her use to learn to drive. And the chant that kept her from freaking out as she struck out alone, intent on finding out just what Mike and Tim were up to.

  Her spine was stick straight, her teeth were clenched, and her knuckles were white on the steering wheel, but she was going to get to the bottom of this mystery and finally put her suspicions to rest – even if it meant driving illegally, alone, at night, with just a permit.

  The trip took longer than Google maps had suggested, but then again, the app had probably assumed she’d be going the
speed limit, rather than roughly twenty miles per hour slower. She also managed to scream her head off when she accidentally swiped a trash can while her gaze had been scanning for the building that belonged to the address she was intent on finding. Sending up a little prayer of thanks that it hadn’t been another car, or worse, a pedestrian, Rin finally spotted the right building and parked.

  The street wasn’t well lit and was part of what looked like an industrial section of town. The building was mostly dark and she would have thought it abandoned except for some lights shining out through the dirt crusted windows on the first floor. Her ears were also picking up quite a bit of noise inside, shouting, cheers… Had they gone to a party? Maybe a rave? If so, they had yet to start any music.

  Creeping around the side of the building, Rin tried to find a window that wasn’t as dirty so she might be able to see what was going on inside. Instead, she encountered a big man, human, looking mostly bored as he leaned back against a door. Rin swiped her sweaty palms on her jeans and tried to look like she knew exactly what she was doing as she approached the man. Offering a smile she said, “I’m here to meet a friend.”

  The man’s eyes moved over her from head to toe for a second before he held out his hand without a word. Was this a bar? Did he need to see ID? Glad she had shoved that, her cell, and some cash in her back pocket for this trip, Rin pulled out the laminated card and laid it on the man’s large palm. The man actually grinned as if he found her amusing, let out a little chuckle and handed the ID back before he grunted, “Lady, I couldn’t care less who you are. Twenty bucks gets you in the door.”

  Rin felt her cheeks heat with a blush, but she quickly stuffed the ID back in her pocket and pulled out her cash to hand over to the man. A moment later, the door was opened for her to walk through. Never would she have imagined what she would find on the other side.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The noise was the first thing Rin noticed, loud enough to have her flinching as so many people yelled back and forth. Next, there was the smell of so many bodies packed together, a mixture of assorted colognes, sweat, and body odor, as well as faint traces of blood. On the outer edges, groups were cheering, money changing hands as wagers were placed, but Rin couldn’t see past them to figure out on what exactly they were betting.

  Rin stiffened her spine and shouldered her way into the crowd attempting to get a better look – praying the entire time she wouldn’t see anything barbaric like cock fights or dog fighting. She was jostled, took a hard elbow to the shoulder, and her foot was stepped on before she finally found a vantage point.

  A loud cheer went up just as she spotted what had the crowd’s attention. One man on his back on the cement floor, bleeding profusely through his fingers as he held his nose while another man stood over him, panting, and a third man, who seemed to be some sort of referee, declared the man still standing the winner.

  Rin frowned, by the looks of things she’d stumbled into some sort of fight club. Scanning the crowd she looked for Mike. Was this how he was making all that extra cash? Betting on this brutality? Her stomach churned as the injured opponent was helped out of the center area and the referee raised his hands to regains the crowd’s attention.

  A call to place bets was made, the next opponents for tonight’s event announced. The referee going so far as to draw out the names in a dramatic fashion like this was some professional boxing match. Rin moved back, intent on finding her way back to the exit. She had no desire to stay and watch such violence when she spotted Mike stepping into the center area, bouncing on his toes, his wrapped but gloveless fists throwing rapid punches in the air.

  Frozen in place, unable to even feel the jostling of bodies around her, Rin’s heart pounded and the noise of the crowd dulled to a muted roar as all the blood in her body seemed to rush to her head. Mike wasn’t betting on fights, he was one of the fighters! And his opponent was huge. He had to outweigh Mike by close to a hundred pounds.

  A moment or two passed, the two fighters circling each other, both their faces intent as they waited for an opening. It was Mike who moved first, fast, lunging for the bigger man, his fists making contact with his opponent’s torso in a blur of motion.

  The one man may have been big, but he was slow, almost clumsy in his attempts to fight back as Mike easily danced around him. It was obvious the bigger man had been banking on his longer reach and sheer brute strength to win, while Mike exhibited a level of skill his opponent couldn’t hope to match. A jab, another jab, and then a third which snapped the bigger man’s head back, blood leaking from his injured mouth which he spat on the already stained concrete and the crowd cheered.

  Was that a tooth? Rin’s stomach revolted, sweat beading on her upper lip, she swallowed hard. She needed to get out of there before she threw up. Pushing and shoving through the crowd, she finally made it to the door and burst through it as if the hounds of hell were fast on her heels. She ran, not stopping for the doorman who called out to her, not caring what he had to say. She ran until she reached her car. Once there, she laid her head against the doorframe and finally sucked in great gulps of cold air.

  Such brutality. She was having a hard time reconciling the fighter she just saw to the person she thought she knew and loved.

  The sound of glass breaking and male laughter brought Rin out of her daze and reminded her that she was in a rather seedy neighborhood, alone, at night and she would be best served to do her thinking elsewhere.

  The drive home was slow, possibly even slower than her original drive to that address, mostly because she couldn’t stop shaking. Did Mike enjoy all that violence? His face had shown determination, there had been no glint of satisfaction or pleasure that she had been able to see, but why else participate in something so barbaric, not to mention, illegal?

  She remembered the cut on his brow that had been healing the first day she went to the garage, a few days later the black eye and swollen jaw – what had he said? – His sparring partner got carried away. An excuse he’d used before when questioned by Lily. Then there was the bruised ribs which he’d blamed on an accident on the job. The sound of Rin’s snort filled the car. Lies, all lies. He was getting the crap beat out of him and beating the crap out of others for money. And obviously he knew it was wrong or he wouldn’t be lying about it.

  Rin slowed further coming up on the sharp turn just before Malsum Pass. It had started to snow, and a light dusting was already coating the road so she was able to clearly make out the tire tracks of a previous vehicle and see how they had missed the turn, and continued straight ahead, right off the road. Coming to full attention, Rin scanned the shoulder area with the help of her high-beams and finally spotted the car at a prone angle, its nose in a ditch.

  Pulling over carefully, Rin slammed her car into park and raced over to the other vehicle. Through the window, she could see that someone was still in there. The driver’s side door swung open fast and hard nearly knocking Rin to the ground. A cloud of alcohol fumes hit her full in the face and she nearly gagged. Next came the scent of blood, and the scent of bear – a smell that would normally have her hesitating, even running in the opposite direction, but not this time. This time she lunged into action. The male was big, held in place by his seat belt, seemingly unconscious and bleeding from a cut on his forehead.

  Rin snatched her cell phone out of her pocket and held it aloft. No service – not even a tiny fraction. Not a surprise this close to Malsum Pass and no traffic to flag down to give her a bit of help. She was on her own. Sending up a little prayer that she didn’t further injure the male by moving him, and also for the strength she was going to need, Rin braced her shoulder against the male’s body, unclipped the seatbelt and set her legs apart in preparation to take the weight as she pulled him from his seat.

  They both ended up on the ground, Rin groaning from two hundred plus pounds of dead weight landing on her. She took a moment to get her breath back and coughed when the alcohol fumes that seemed to be s
eeping out of his pores, burned her nose and set her eyes to watering. Giving him a mighty heave, she managed to free herself and crawl out from under him. She would have to drag him to her car and hope she’d be able to get him up into the backseat. If she was lucky, a Good Samaritan would drive by and give her some much needed assistance.

  Running back to her car, Rin put it in reverse and backed up as close as she could get and then opened the back door. She searched the trunk for anything that she could find to assist her in getting the male loaded and came up empty.

  Steeling herself, Rin said a quick apology to the still unconscious male, grabbed a handful of his coat at the shoulders in each hand and started tugging. Only able to manage a little bit at a time, the effort seemed to take forever. Then she had to crawl onto the backseat herself, grasp the male under his armpits in a hug and heave, pull, and lift for all she was worth. By the time he was finally crammed into the small space, and the doors shut, Rin was sure she had a hernia, but there was no time to catalog any of her assorted injuries, the male in the back needed immediate attention. For the first time ever, Rin slammed her foot down hard on the gas and set the car flying toward Malsum Pass.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  This late at night, the only place Rin knew she would still find people readily available, was the diner. She didn’t even bother pulling into a space, just came to a screeching, sliding halt in the middle of the road and threw the little sedan in park.

  Running as fast as she could, she burst through the doors of the diner and was actually relieved to smell bear. Her eyes went straight to the couple seated at a booth sharing a pie and the male immediately stood, concern written all over his strong features.

  Rin could barely get the words out, was panting, but she managed to lift her arm and point toward her car outside. That was all the incentive the bear – and over half the patrons in the diner – needed before they were rushing out the door.