“Has Todd contacted you?” Ken asked her.
Stella had her phone in her hand, Lynn realized. She clutched at it, her knuckles whitening. “Well…yes.”
“What did he say?” Lynn asked. “Did he threaten you?”
“Not—well.” Stella sighed. “Not really threaten. He wants me to come back.”
And what did you say? Lynn thought suspiciously, wondering if Stella’s perpetual optimism was going to get in the way again.
But Eva beat her too it. “You told him no, Mom, right?” she asked, nervous.
Stella put her arm around her daughter’s shoulders. “Of course I told him no, sweetheart. I’m not letting you go back to that house again, I promise.”
Of course. Stella might always be willing to give people a second chance, but she was a fierce shifter mother, and she’d never let Eva stay somewhere she might be in danger. Lynn shouldn’t even have doubted.
Another reason that she should lighten up on Stella, she thought. It wasn’t even just that Stella didn’t benefit from remembering the past—it was that Lynn was conditioned to assume things about Stella. And maybe those things weren’t always true. Maybe Lynn was remembering things wrongly, sometimes, because of how angry she’d gotten in the past.
“Anyway,” Stella said, “he seemed to think—well, I think he’s going to show up and cause trouble, for sure. I don’t know if the pack’ll be with him or not.”
“Probably,” Eva said bitterly. “Those guys can’t do anything by themselves. They’re like a preschool class on a field trip, all holding hands in a big long line.”
There was a pause while everyone took this in, and then Ken laughed, a big, bright laugh that relaxed the room immediately.
“I like you, kid,” he told Eva. “Okay. Sir, you have any suggestions for tactics?” he asked Wilson.
“Let’s keep a few people on watch here today,” Wilson said thoughtfully. “The more time goes by, the more likely it is these wolves will get bored and forget about the whole thing. Today’s the day we’re most likely to see real trouble.”
“Today’s my day off,” Lynn offered. “I was thinking about taking walkins, but Nina can handle those.”
Mavis smiled in real pleasure at the mention of her daughter. “I’m sure she can. She’s settling in so well with you.”
Lynn nodded sincerely. “I’m not worried at all. She can handle the office by herself, no problem.”
“Good.” Mavis turned to Wilson. “I can work remotely today. I’ve even got my laptop in the car, so there’s no issue with sticking around.”
Wilson took her hand. “You don’t have to. The rest of us can handle any trouble. I know you don’t like violence.”
“I don’t like entitled men thinking they can frighten women into submission, either,” Mavis said tartly. “And if I have a chance to stop some of them, I’m going to stick around and take it.”
Wilson smiled. “Then I’ll be glad to have you here.”
Stella was looking around the room with a startled frown on her face. Lynn knew how that expression felt. “You’d all stay here for us?” she asked. “You don’t have to. I don’t even know you,” as she turned to Wilson and Mavis. Then she looked over at Ken. “And I just met you yesterday.”
“It’s just like I told Todd,” Ken said to her. “Lynn’s my mate. So you and Eva are my family now. And there’s no way I’m going to stand aside and do nothing when I could be protecting my family.”
“Besides,” said Wilson with a dark expression, “it’s to nobody’s benefit to allow a pack of wolves to go around terrorizing women and children. I don’t want dangerous men like that roaming around thinking they can do whatever they want. Particularly not in the town where I live with my mate.” He touched Mavis’ shoulder.
“And you know I’m not going anywhere,” Lynn added. She moved to sit closer to Stella, leaning against her side. “No one threatens my little sister and my niece and gets away with it.”
Stella smiled, blinking a little too fast. “Well, then, I’m—I’m grateful. I’ll make it up to you guys.”
“Make it up to us by being happier without that jerk in your life,” Lynn said. “For now, let’s work out how we’re going to keep these guys away.”
***
Ken and the Colonel worked together to set up a perimeter. The women were willing participants; Eva was sent upstairs, but Mavis, Lynn, and even Stella wanted to be part of the watch crew.
“This might be for nothing,” Ken warned them as they were pointing out the best spots to take up a position. “Maybe no one will show up today and nothing will happen. Being on watch is pretty much always boring. And boring’s what you want, because that means nothing’s going wrong.”