“Enough, children. Let’s go to dinner, shall we? And then we’re going to talk about Pellini and what I’ve learned today.” Gabe stood up and they all headed out.

* * * * *

Nick tried to ignore what an insane driver Tracy was, but it was nearly impossible with his life flashing before his eyes every three minutes. Since Gabe had been in the backseat on the way up, he rode in the backseat now and was glad to not have to watch out the front windshield as she careened all over the place.

“Holy shit, woman. You should think about driving NASCAR or something,” he mumbled and Gabe heard him, barking out a laugh.

“Shaddup, Porsche boy. Anyway, we’re almost there so you can stop digging your fingers into the seats.

Jeez, I’m gonna have to charge you for the damage.”

She pulled up a long drive and approached big iron gates.

“Some setup.” Gabe was clearly impressed with the situation.

“Not bad at all, huh?” She rolled down the window, keyed in a code and the gates swung open to admit the car.

Around the curve in the drive the house came into view and both men gave low whistles.

“Wow. Yeah, of course he’s a f**king amazing architect too. Can’t just be the best Enforcer. Oh no, he’s got to be superwolf. It’s enough to give a man a complex.”

She pulled into one of the garage bays and turned off the car. Turning around, she crawled into the backseat and onto his lap. “Hey, you, hot Enforcer guy with the totally hot mate. Lex has nothing on you, so stop it. I love you.” She leaned in and brushed her lips over his and closed her eyes as the warmth of contact spread through her.

Gabe growled. “Honey, this is not the time. You start it and I’m gonna want to finish it. Right here in the garage of your brothers’ house.” He turned in the seat, watching them both.

Nick laughed at the idea of getting caught in a threesome by her family.

Tracy sighed. “Okay, you’re right. But did you know that the counters at my house are about your waist height?” She said this as she got out of the car and both men groaned before following her.

Milton came bounding in as the three of them entered the house. Barking excitedly, he gave Tracy a goofy grin and head-butted her until she knelt and hugged him, kissing his head.

“Milton, my darling boy! Mommy has missed you. But guess what? We got a house just for you and you’re coming home with me tonight.” She continued to babble to the dog while both men looked on and finally up to see Lex shaking his head.

“Nick, Gabe, welcome. You two want a drink? The whole family is in there, I’d suggest a double.” Lex shook their hands and leaned down to kiss Tracy’s head. “Hey, pumpkin. How are you?”

She stood and he hugged her tight. She knew that he had to wrestle down his impulse to order Nick and Gabe out of there and make her stay so he could protect her. It touched her deeply but they both knew it wasn’t his job anymore. He stepped back and tipped her chin up to look into her face closely.

“I’m good. Despite all of this other stuff, Lex, despite it all I’ve found the other parts of me. They’re good, that’s good. It’s all this other shit that sucks.”

He nodded and looked over at Nick and Gabe with a slight narrowing of his eyes. “Come on in then, let’s get everyone a drink.”

Nina held back and hugged Tracy. “I’ve found some stuff, sweetie. I don’t know if Nick is going to be happy about it.”

“Oh god, that bad?” Alarm raced through her.

“I don’t know. It’s dodgy, no doubt about it. But let’s talk it out. Gabe told Cade that there was some stuff about Pellini he wanted to discuss. I think we need to lay it all out on the table and see what we’ve got.”

Suddenly Gabe was standing there, having sensed her distress. “Honey? Is everything all right?”

“I don’t know, Gabe. Let’s go in and eat and then we’ll see.”

* * * * *

Dinner was a fairly raucous event. The very long table was lined with every Warden sibling and his or her mate, if there was one. Tracy’s parents and grandmother were there as well as her niece and nephew and three cousins who were part of Cade’s security detail. The din was pretty deafening at times, and it amused Tracy to watch them all in action and Nick’s and Gabe’s response to it all. Nick seemed to be at home around such a loud table but there was sadness around his eyes. She hoped very much that they could figure all of this out to save his family. Gabe seemed entertained and slightly overwhelmed. She realized that she didn’t know much about him and resolved to draw out his story. It brought home just how new their relationship was. The beauty of the mate bond was deep love and connection but she didn’t know either one of her men very well.

The men decided to clean up after the meal and the women all headed into the living room to wait for them to discuss the whole issue of Pacific and Pellini.

Tracy took Tegan aside and asked her about the house, and as she’d predicted, Tegan was interested but insisted that she pay for it.

“Why? He was your grandfather too. He only left it to me because you all had places to live.”

Tegan rolled her eyes at her little sister. “He left it to you because you loved it and because you took

such good care of him and of that house. And you’ve spent a lot of time and money on it since you moved in. He left me his ‘56 Caddy and the rest of us got things that meant a lot to us. You have a new life starting up and you’ll need the money.”