Bad Situation (Wolf Investigations and Securities Inc. #6)

Chapter 3

Echoes of the Past

Jenna thought the more she tried to forget it, the more it seemed to come to mind. She could remember when she was young, really just a toddler. Her mother had been there holding her and making her feel loved. George had been there too, but he had not made her feel loved. He wasn't her father, and he resented her being there. It was when he had mentioned how easy it would be to break the pup's neck that her mom finally sent her to her grandmother. Her grandmother had even come and gotten her and begged her daughter to go with her. She'd refused.

That was the last time she'd seen her mother. George was well known to be violent, and his girlfriends didn't last long. Tonight, the dreams had come again. She'd relived those last days with her mother, and then she dreamed about what George had done. Jenna hadn't been there, but she'd known deep down that he'd killed her. Someone who would threaten to kill a harmless child would kill anyone. Deep down, she knew that George had killed many people. She dreamed about it, and her grandmother told her those were telling dreams.

If this was part of her witchy skills, she hoped it would go away. George was a monster, and she wished that the wardens would get the information they needed to remove him from his position. No one deserved to be under his rule. For now, all she could do was do her job and pray to the goddess that she would get home quickly. Her daughter, the result of a poor choice of a boyfriend, would forget what she looked like if she was gone much longer. Sarah, she'd named her after her mother. Her grandmother was Hildegarde, or Hilda for short.

Jenna had a cousin, Stephanie, who checked on them regularly, but it wasn't the same. Grandma had asked Stephanie to move in several times, but she refused. She said she was not a freeloader. Instead, she lived in a shack that she had to pay rent for and scraped together a living. When she got back, she would do something about that, too. Family could be complicated, but they were important and needed to be closer. They were the most important thing in her life, and nothing else could matter as much. That was the reason that all she was doing while she was here was scraping together every dime she could make.

She couldn't complain about the money she was making right now. Jenna was able to live on what she made from the food she sold, and everything else went either to her grandmother or to her savings account. This made her very happy. Almost everyone staying at the house was buying meals from her, and she had gotten several large crock pots that cooked all day and night. Since she was in the office almost all the time and covered the nights for that extra money, she was doing well.

It was an hour before breakfast time, and she got up, readied herself for the day, and headed downstairs to move the food around. She was glad that they had a full-sized refrigerator, or she would never have had a place to put the large amount of food that she was fixing. This morning, she fixed biscuits and gravy with cheesy eggs. It was a filling breakfast, and she liked to believe that she did a good job, and it was tasty, too. Jenna was barely done before people began to show up. The three new guys were financial then because not only did they eat breakfast and supper at the office, but they also often had double helpings.

“Good morning, Dan. How are you doing today?”

“I'm doing all right. I wish you could talk Grant into working with me. Sally is all right, but she's a bit slow. We're never going to get any of the awards. I'll take a double helping of the biscuits and gravy.”

Since everyone was trained now, they went back to the reward system that Tyne had used at Wilde. Even though Grant worked alone, he was the winner every week. No one consistently claimed second place, and it hopped from team to team except for Dan and Sally. They were the only ones who had never won. Since Grant had commented on Dan being fast, she could only assume it was Sally's fault.

Maybe that wasn't fair, but no one had ever accused Sally of being fast. Dan wanted out of that partnership so badly, and it didn't seem fair that he was stuck with her. It had been long enough that they could switch partners around and see what happened. Mike or Tom was fast enough, and maybe one of them would let Sally know she needed to pick up her speed. If this didn't work, then Grant would have a new partner, and he would decide if she could stay or if she would go. Mike was the most outgoing person, so he would get her.

That would start tomorrow, and she would tell them all today. “Didn't I tell you that partners were switching? She won't be your problem tomorrow.”

“Thank you. What lucky person is getting her?” Dan asked.

“Lucky? Mike will get her, but we are trading partners regularly now. We'll see what happens. I'm not sure who you'll get because I haven't worked out the list yet. Grant will still work alone because that's the way he likes it, and he's in charge of the field teams.”

“I didn't know that. I thought you oversaw everything.”

“No, it's a partnership. We can both do each other's jobs, but he's in charge of the field, and I'm in charge of the office. I'm surprised you didn't pick up on that.”

Umph. Dan doubled over. “Muscle cramp," he explained.

“In your stomach?” She questioned, looking at him with suspicion.

Harry had cast a spell on the three guys that would cause them pain if they tried to cause any trouble to Wolf security. Maybe she needed to call Harry and see exactly what kind of pain would show up. Normally, she was a sweet, trusting girl. Yeah, right, coming to Alaska had made her attitude far more suspicious than normal. This was the bad situation they were all in that worried her. It would get better briefly, and then things would get bad again. Who wanted to live in a situation where they were always at risk?

The others came down and ate breakfast, and soon everyone was gone, and she was there alone again. Her phone rang often, and she was making appointments right and left. Tyne had extended their area again when it looked like they might get caught up. She took her midday break, took some food out of the crock pot, put it in the refrigerator, and then filled the crock pot back up. Jenna still had a few minutes left, so she grabbed a snack and something to drink while she relaxed in one of the chairs in the customer waiting area.

They still were not using this office for personal visits and everyone that made an appointment had to call in. That's why it was a surprise when the bell rang, and someone came in. Jenna hurried to get behind the counter where her weapons were. It was a female, and she could sense magical powers.

“Can I help you?” Jenna asked.

“No, but maybe I can help you. Someone hired me to cast some bad spells on you guys. They told me all kinds of awful things that you were doing, but they didn't tell me you were a witch or that there was magical protection at your office. I didn't really like the guys, so they paid me up front, and I told him I would check into things, and if I found they were being honest, I would take action. The best thing I can do is probably just leave, but I wanted to warn you that not all witches are honest.”

“I appreciate your warning, and I would take it to heart, but we are already doing everything we can against these bad guys. Since they hate paranormals, it surprises me that they hired you. Maybe they are trying to get our different kinds to fight each other," Jenna explained.

“Are these the haters I heard about?”

“They are.”

“Maybe I'll send them a little surprise. Do you know Harry?”

“I do, and the protective spells are all hers.”

“Tell her Cara says hi.”

Jenna blinked, and the witch was gone. It looked like they had made a mistake bringing that witch into the mix. It was time to give Harry a call and update her about what was going on here.

“This is Harry. Speak quick, I'm busy.”

“Hey, I just met a witch called Cara, and she said to tell you hi. I'm also a little worried about Dan. He keeps having weird pains. I think he's fighting your spell," Jenna explained.

“How in the world did you meet her? Don't worry about Dan because he can't fight the spell.”

“The crazies hired her to mess with us. They lied to her, but as soon as she entered the office, she found out that they weren't telling her the truth. I believe she has some plans for them, and since they paid her up front, she won't lose any money.”

“That's just nuts. I thought they hated paranormals, but now they're trying to hire them? I'll try to get in touch with Cara and see what's going on. Thanks for calling and letting me know," Harry said. That was her goodbye because she was gone in a flash.

Jenna figured she had a few more minutes on her break, so she hurried around and checked all her crock pots and the bread she had in her special bread maker. It was great because it started automatically, and the bread would be warm just in time for supper. After she did that, she started doing some paperwork and set up a new roster for who would be working with who. Grant wouldn’t care as long as he didn't have a partner. With the schedule adjusted, she checked through all the jobs they had ahead of them and assigned them to the team that would be best for them.

Grant, who was best able to take care of himself, usually got the jobs furthest away. Sally and her partner, as well as Julie and her partner, would get the jobs closest to each other. That way, if something went wrong, it would be easier to step in and assist. The other two teams got jobs that were a little way out but not as far as Grant’s. She had to think of safety, and the females were the ones that usually got attacked. Since they were at higher risk, they stayed closer to the office. The ladies also knew they should call her if anything was suspicious or if there were any problems of any kind. That was protocol.

She was caught up on her work and waiting for calls. Since she had some time, she went back to the storage area and looked to see if they were low on anything. There were two items that were questionable, so she went ahead and put in an order for them. Running out of items during jobs would be a bad thing, especially when they were trying so hard to catch up. Soon, they would have a larger storage area and extra space for everything. Jenna liked that idea.

Jenna had gotten caught up with supplies and hadn't realized that it was time for some of the teams to start coming in. As usual, Grant was the first one. Julie and Ryder were second, and after that, everyone came in within an hour of each other. Some of them were disappointed when she told them that they would have a new partner. Ryder and Julie seemed the most upset, and she wondered if something was going on there.

Once she had taken the office manager job, she realized that she did not appreciate Rita and, later, Olivia as much as she should have. It wasn't that there weren't easy days. It was that you could never tell when a day was going to be easy or when issues would just erupt out of nowhere. You are also in the office alone, a target for any bad guys that could find the office. She'd not even really thought of that until the first time she'd been attacked. Yes, she'd come out all right, but it wouldn't have been hard for the whole situation to get out of control.

Now, all she did was worry about what might happen. Every time she saw anyone go down the road, she worried that they would be the ones who would come back and get her. Death wasn't even the largest concern because these guys like to play with their victims, especially the females. Jenna knew the reason for that was that females wouldn't voluntarily touch any of them. They were an ugly, crude group who couldn't get a date without paying for it or forcing someone to do it.

She looked at the clock and saw that it was getting close to the time for Grant to get here. The more distance there was between them, the easier he was to get along with. When he came in, he would often toss some money on the counter and then go fill his own bowl or plate, depending on what was available. No one else was that helpful, and they all expected to be waited on. That was all right because that also meant they had to wait until she got off work before she could serve them. It wasn't that difficult because she would just do one after the other until she was done and then get her own food at the end.

Selling food to the people who lived here helped because she didn't get the paid food that the rest of them did. The evening meal paid for anything she might want to eat, and often, she had a little leftover that she shuttled into her savings account. There, Grant was coming up the sidewalk, but he was teetering a little bit. She didn't think a werewolf could get drunk. What was the matter with him? Jenna ran to the door and opened it as he fell into the room. He'd been injured, and now she had to figure out what to do with him and how to heal him.

The first thing she did was put her hands on him and will him to get better. Surprisingly, it seemed to help. Now she called Rita because someone needed to know that he had been attacked and that he was still injured.

“What's up?” Rita asked.

“Grant just got here, and he's been injured. I'm not sure how serious it is, but he's completely out. I'm calling Moe next. I just wanted to warn you in case anything was going on where you're at.”

Jenna didn't wait to say goodbye. She hung up and immediately dialed Moe. “Are you missing me?” Moe asked.

“That better be a woman," Tyne said in the background.

Moe giggled. “It's Jenna. What's up, girl?”

“Grant was attacked. As soon as he made it to the office, he dropped. I'm not sure how bad it is, but he's unconscious.”

“Harry will be on the way in a minute.”

“Did you say my name?” Harry asked.

“I need you to go to Jenna. Grant has been hurt," Moe said.

A second later, Harry stood there. She kneeled and put her hand on Grant.

“Someone has already started healing him," Harry accused.

“All I did was touch him. He seemed to get better, but I don't know why. He still needs help," Jenna admitted.

“Maybe one of your witch powers is healing. Let me float him over to the couch, and we can look at him and get him something to drink and maybe some food. Something sure smells good," Harry observed.

“I have some for you too. You know I always do.”

Harry dumped Grant on the couch and then she hurried over to the crock pot to get a bowl of chili. Jenna had also made some cornbread that she got out and sliced up to give Harry a little bit.

“Damn, girl. This stuff is good," Harry said as she ate. “Any dessert?”

“Once you are done with that, I have some berry muffins.”

“Boy, that sounds good. I'm done now.”

Jenna hurried to get some of the muffins out and handed Harry two of them. Since they were big muffins, she thought that would be enough. She was still worried about Grant, but she thought he was just resting and trying to regain his strength. At this point, there was nothing to be done about him until he woke. Sally and Mike were the first to come in. Mike seemed happy enough. Maybe Sally was better than Dan had implied. The other slowly came in one at a time and gave Harry a curious look. They noticed Grant on the couch and became concerned.

“What happened to Grant?” Sally asked.

“I don't know. He collapsed when he got here. We're letting him rest and hoping he'll recover.” Jenna explained.

The others began to ask for food, and it was obvious they intended to hang around until Grant woke. Harry didn't seem so happy about that, but what could she do? It seemed that there was plenty that she could do because a moment later, she and Harry were in Grant’s room alone with him.

“We didn't need all that extra attention, and they were being noisy too. Grant needs his sleep.” Harry explained.

That might be true, but she was sure the real reason was that Harry didn't want them to know anything at this point. That probably went double for the three new recruits that no one was sure of yet.

“Besides, you don't want them to know anything yet. Whether they know or not, you must realize that they're suspecting a hell of a lot.”

“We'll probably tell them, but it's best that we know first before we start spreading information around. You did a good job of keeping information limited for now. Just goes to show you were a good choice for this position.”

“Maybe, but I’m not so sure. This job is a lot harder than I expected.” Jenna admitted.

“It may be, but you're not planning to stay, so it's only a limited time that you'll have to put up with this. I know you can do anything for a little while if you put your mind to it.”

“That's one way to look at it. Poor Grant really got nailed. You think you'll be alright in the morning?”

“Trying to figure out if you need to give his job to someone else?” Harry asked.

“I don't want to send any of the others out that far. They may not come back, and if they do, they may be in worse shape than he's in.”

“Finding some qualities in this guy that you can appreciate?”

“I see good qualities in him, but he's so mean to me that I don't want anything to do with him," Jenna admitted.

“You are the only one he's like that with. Maybe you need to think about what that means.”

Jenna just shook her head. Harry disappeared, and Jenna headed back down the stairs and was pleased to see everyone had headed to their rooms. She cleaned, set the pots back on, and put some bread in the bread maker for tomorrow. She had some muffins left over, but not enough, so she made a cake and put it on toe bake. It would be done at a good time for her to go to bed. For now, she ran back up to check on Grant. He was easy to get along with when he was asleep.

After she watched him sleep for a few minutes, she headed back downstairs, where she sat on the couch and played with her phone. Play, there were games and other things that she could pull up to keep her entertained. The cake was done, and she took it out so it could cool off and covered it so nothing would get into it. It was almost bedtime, so she ran up to check on Grant again. He was no longer sleeping peacefully, so she leaned into him to whisper in his ear that everything was all right.

That's when things went wrong. Grant grabbed her and pulled her to him. “I want you so bad that you tease me even in my dreams.” He pulled her head down and kissed her, holding her so tight she couldn't get away. What in the hell was he doing?

“No, Grant!”

His eyes opened, and he looked at her. “What in the hell are you doing in my room?”

“You were injured, and I've been checking on you. At least I know you'll be fine in the morning.” Jenna turned around and hurried away. That was a little bit more of Grant than she wanted.

He would be on her mind now all the time. The touch of his lips and the heat of her need would be hard for her to handle. Had he even known who she was? Or was there some mysterious woman that he wanted and needed so badly? That would be on her mind, too. Goddess! Why could nothing go right in her life? She hurried downstairs to check on her crock pots and her bread maker even though everything was already set up and there was nothing to do. Jenna just needed something to take her mind off what had just happened so she could calm herself and prepare to go to bed.

When he had come completely awake and recognized her, it was like he thought she had sneaked into his room to seduce him. Why would he think she would do something like that? Heaven help her. Now, she wanted to do that. Even though her mind was a mess, she hurried up the stairs and prepared to go to bed. Usually, she was awake before the alarm, but it should not surprise her that that was not the case this morning. She'd hoped things would seem better when she woke, but again, it was no surprise everything was still chaos in her mind,

Jenna hurried up so she could have food ready for breakfast in case anyone wanted to eat and, of course, for herself. It was barely ready before Grant came down, and from the look on his face, his mood was no better this morning than it had been last night. He threw some money on the counter and grabbed some of the food that she had just prepared. Grant could always be counted on as a customer, but she didn't think she would ever be able to call him a friend.

He was not downstairs long before the others joined them. She could see from the look on their faces that they all wished to question him. Hell, she wished to question him and know what had occurred, but no one was brave enough. Grant took his plate, grabbed his list, and hurried out of the room, leaving her to deal with the curiosity of the others. Jenna looked at them and shook her head.

“He didn't wait until this morning, and he hasn't said anything. There is nothing I can tell you except be careful.” Jenna explained as she handed out the lists, and people began to leave.

Why did it always seem that everything dropped onto her? He could have told them something because it was obvious that they were all worried. She was sure he had been attacked and that he had taken out whoever had attacked him. But wherever it had happened, he must have left the bodies because Harry didn't know anything about it. It was never good to leave bodies lying around. It was a surprise that no one called to complain about those bodies. Were the haters cleaning up after themselves? That was never something they had done before, and she couldn't see them doing it now.

Maybe she would find out something later in the day, but she was pretty sure it wouldn't come from Grant. Throughout the day, no matter what she was doing, she kept thinking about that kiss. Damn him. That had changed everything, and now all she could do was think about him. Today was a slow day, so she wasn't even busy. She did get a couple of calls and added jobs to the list. Most of the jobs she got came from Rita. The phone rang, and she hurried to answer it.

“This is Moe. You need to be careful today because one of the guys who attacked Grant got away and swore revenge. Don't be mad. Grant just remembered that, and he's afraid that they will come to the office. Harry will be there for lunch, so have something there for her to eat. We will reimburse you. Okay?"

“No problem. I wish we could get rid of those haters. I'm getting so tired of them, and I'm afraid one of us is going to get killed.” Jenna admitted. It kind of hurt her to say that, but it was true.

She was the least likely one to get killed since she had an artifact that would work against any kind of violence or magic. Her grandmother had also given her an artifact that supposedly gave her good luck. Under the circumstances, she was working here and figured any bit of luck was needed. Grant also had an artifact, but it only worked against magic. The thought was that he was a big, tough wolf, and he would be able to get himself out of any violent situation.

Apparently, that wasn't completely true. Maybe he needed a better artifact as well, or maybe some witches needed to be brought in to work as part of the team in the field. If nothing else, some of those haters would be reluctant to come up against a witch. She wasn't very happy about doing it, but maybe she needed to go out into the field a little bit and see what she could do about those haters. If any of her people got hurt, it would be a weight on her shoulders.

Harry flashed in. She was a good surprise. Not only was the company paying for the large amount of food that she was going to consume, but she also liked Harry and felt safe in her presence. Safety was for her own people, not for the haters.

“Got something good cooking for me?” Harry asked.

“I do. I know you like chicken and dumplings. I've got a big pot of it. I've also got half a loaf of homemade bread for you. For dessert, I still have a pie from local berries. How does that sound?”

“If I swung that way, I would marry you. I don't know how a talented and beautiful woman like you can still be available. It just shows how stupid men can be.”

“You preach it, sister. I'm not sure how you are available either, except that you're picky, and you're looking for a good guy, and they're hard to find," Jenna admitted.

“You can say that again and again and again," Harry giggled.

Everyone knew she liked being friends with men, but she wanted the right one to get serious with. There was a rumor that she'd been slowing down a little bit and trying to be more responsible. A responsible Harry sounded a little weird but with her magic she needed to be the responsible one. That magic could be wild, and she fought to control it. Jenna gave it some thought and realized that Harry had changed a great deal since she'd first met her.

Her friend was still young, even by human standards. She was practically a baby witch by paranormal standards. The talent that she showed was unbelievable. Few witches could match her, and then that were her age. Jenna fixed her food and made sure that she had plenty. She would feed her the whole crock pot if that was what she needed. It was important that Harry had her energy because they wouldn't have sent her if there wasn't a possibility that it would be needed.

“How are things with you and Grant?” Harry asked.

“There is nothing between me and Grant.”

“Blow smoke up someone else's ass but be honest with me. I can see there is something between you two, and you are both fighting it like crazy.”

“Yeah, he hates me. I've never had someone be that mean to me so consistently. I also think there's someone else that he cares about that doesn't want him, and that's why he's such a mean, bitter guy," Jenna admitted.

“I think that person is you, and for some reason, he doesn't want to get involved. That's why he's pushing you away as hard as he can. Maybe you can't see it, but I can. Believe me, I've seen enough fated mates fighting fate to recognize it immediately.”

Maybe that was true because Harry had been around plenty of them in her blood drug days. But she was wrong this time because there was nothing good between her and Grant. Maybe Harry was just a romantic and was looking for mates everywhere. She was busy eating and thoroughly enjoying her food, and since it was lunchtime, Jenna grabbed a bowl of chicken and dumplings, too. It was one of her favorite meals. It could cook all day and just get better. She had a handful of meals that she fixed in the crock pots, and they were always popular, and no one ever complained about there not being more variety

Occasionally, just for the hell of it, she'd throw out another meal. The Internet was an easy place to find all kinds of meals. She'd even made spaghetti and meatballs, although the spaghetti couldn't be cooked all the time, or it would break down into mush. Salads and vegetables were more difficult because those had to be brought in. Harry was finally through with eating and sat back, patting her tummy. Jenna waited because it was never smart to rush Harry, and she was sure that Harry had something to tell her.

“Grant did manage to kill several of the guys that came after him, but one escaped. The bodies just disappeared, and no one knows what happened to them. To say the least, that is disturbing. The haters have never cleaned up their messes, and I don't think they will start now. Maybe there is a paranormal group that doesn't want bodies left lying around, but I really can't imagine why they would care since the bodies were human.”

“You don't think someone's eating them, do you?” Jenna asked.

“There are certain kinds that would, but that's pretty unlikely. Most of them live on the other side of the veil. It may be a mystery that's never solved.”

“Are they expecting the office to get attacked? I can't think of any other reason that they would send you here, although I'll admit I'm glad to see you. It gets kind of lonely here, and you're the best possible kind of company. Maybe you could teach me a spell?”

“I'd love to teach you a spell. Tell me what you think would be helpful?”

“You never taught me that simple back-at-you spell.”

“It is very simple. You just say whatever you send to me comes back to you and think about all your magic rushing back to them. It doesn't always work because they know what the spell can do, but it might make them leave. The exception would be someone like the last witch that came after you. It was because she didn't believe your magic was strong enough to do anything to her. We went to check on our family, and mom is trying to manage the children right now. It's hard on her because she's not a witch, and she really needs to find a magical person to take over handling them. I don't suppose your grandma would be interested. I know the triplets would be difficult for her, but there's a 10-year-old who might be helpful.” Harry explained.

“Is that why you came? I understand if it is, but I'm not sure my grandmother can handle them. Is there any way to get her a teenager to help? I can't believe she had triplets. No wonder she was so worried about making money. I wish she had been more worried about leaving them without a mother.”

“Me too. Now, we have to figure out what to do. Those babies are adorable. Two girls and a boy smile all the time like they're happy. Even though, at first, they cried all the time because they missed their mother. I'll go check with your grandmother and see what she's willing to do. Do you feel safe here, or do you want me to stay a little longer?” Harry asked.

“You're good to go. Does that spell work on violence as well as magic?”

“I've not used it in a long time, so you'll have to see. Gotta go.” With that, Harry was gone.

It had been nice having Harry visit and the chicken and dumplings were gone. She pulled the money out of the register and put it in her pocket to cover what Harry had eaten. She said the crockpot to soaking because food that had been simmering all day could be hard to clean up. It was rare that anyone would come by the office at lunch, and she had plenty of other crock pots full of food waiting so she didn't worry about making any more.

What she did worry about was someone coming to cause her trouble. It was a surprise when Grant came by. What the hell would he want? Maybe he had run out of some equipment and had no choice but to come by.

“I needed to pick up some line, so I thought I'd come by and get lunch here. Do you have any of the chicken and dumplings left?” Grant asked.

Figures that would be what he wanted. “Sorry, Harry came by, so that crock pot is empty.”

“Just give me a bowl of anything, some bread, and a serving of whatever your dessert is.”

“I'm on it.” It surprised her because he usually grabbed his own food. She fixed him lunch anyway and set it on the counter for him to get and grabbed the money that he had set there.

Grant seemed to like all the food that she fixed, so there was no danger in giving him something he didn't like. He grabbed the food and then sat down and ate, but he kept looking at her, and it made her feel weird. Was it possible that Harry was right, and that Grant didn’t hate her? Anything was possible. She walked by him to get the dishes, and he grabbed her and pulled her into his lap.

“I just can't help myself anymore.” He admitted as he kissed her, and she could feel passion flair.