Chapter 34

Lia sat with her hands clenched together in her lap, knowing Riley was waiting for her to open her car door and get out. She was trying to control the worst case of nerves she could remember having in a very long time.
"It's okay," he assured her yet again. "I promise they won't kill you."
"That's not funny," she said. "There are some things worse than death."
"Well, this won't be it. You have my word. Come on, they're expecting us."
By the time she undid her seat belt and gathered her purse, Riley had jogged around to her side of the car and opened the door for her. He reached a hand out to her, and she put one of hers into its blessed warmth. When he circled his fingers around it, she drew strength from him.
This was so not like her. She was usually fearless, never afraid of anything. But this was so important, on so many fronts. It would be a turning point in her life.
"Trust me," he told her.
She let out a long breath. "Okay. I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be."
He kept her hand in his as they climbed the few steps to the front porch and Riley rang the bell. The door opened almost at once, and the tall, muscular man with the black, black hair and golden eyes stood there facing them. Lia would hardly have called the expression on his face either friendly or welcoming. For a moment, she was tempted to turn around and run back to the car.
As if sensing her sudden anxiety, Riley put his warm hand against her back, a reassuring touch. And at that moment, Mike's lips curved upward in a smile, and he reached out his hand to her.
"Hi. Mike Volka. Please come in."
Lia let out the breath she'd been holding for far too long and stepped inside the house.
"Hello. Thanks for inviting me over." When she dropped her hand, Riley slid his own down to link his fingers with hers, giving them a gentle squeeze. "It's nice to meet you." God, could she sound any more timid? She cleared her throat. "Thank you for agreeing to talk to me."
Mike ushered her into their living room as Jamie came in with a carafe of coffee, mugs, and a plate of cookies. She set the tray on the cocktail table.
"I always feel conferences are best held over food." She, too, smiled at Lia and held out her hand. "Despite our rocky beginning, it really is nice to meet you."
"Thank you. And let me say this before we get into anything else. I really enjoyed your book. You have a gift for storytelling, and I hope you continue to use it."
"Thank you." Jamie's voice was soft and warm. "I appreciate you telling me that. I worked very hard on the book."
"And since the topic is already on the table," Mike said, "why don't we sit down and get right to it?"
"Mike." Riley's voice had a warning note to it."
"It's okay," Lia told him. "This is much better than tiptoeing around it."
"If you say so." But he gave her hand one more squeeze before he sat on the couch, tugging her down next to him."
Jamie looked at Mike and burst out laughing.
"What?" Riley asked.
"You have the most ferocious look on your face. I promise we won't attack her, okay?"
Beside her, Riley relaxed slightly. "Okay. You're my friends, and I trust you. So. Who wants to start?"
Mike leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs, one foot resting on the opposite knee. He looked totally relaxed, but Lia was sure he was anything but.
"I will. I think the biggest question here is what book you think you're looking for and why it's so important to you."
Again, Riley tensed. Now she was the one reassuring him.
"He has every right to ask, Riley. Let me answer him." She took a moment to gather her thoughts. "I am the only one left in my family. I didn't even know there was a book I should look for until my bunica was dying."
She went through her story, everything she knew to tell him, leaving out only the one major point. She was a shifter, and the family she was looking for was the remnants of her pack. She wanted it to come from him, first. He asked her a lot of probing questions, not just about the present but what she knew about her ancestors in Romania.
"I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable in any way," she told Jamie. "That wasn't my intention. I just needed to find out if you had the book I was looking for. It's important to me for a lot of reasons."
"Can you tell us more about your family?" Jamie asked. "Where exactly in Romania they came from? When and why they came over here?"
"Sure. I'll tell you as much as I can, but I'm afraid it's not much." She gave them everything else she knew then sat back and waited for the next opening to come from them.
"Were they feuding with another, um, family?" Mike asked. "Someone they had combative relationships with? Maybe fighting over a pecking order or something?"
Lia stared at him. Had she been right from the beginning? Was he wolf? Was that why Jamie had written the books?
"You mean like with other members of the family? Cousins or whatever?"
He shrugged. "You know, I'm Romanian, too. I've heard all the stories about the old country and how feuds split families apart. Or, sometimes, it was two different families."
"I don't know."
He held up a hand. "Sometimes they fought over land, sometimes over position. Could be a lot of things. And sometimes the battles were ferocious enough that people died and the bitterness carried with them when they emigrated over here."
Lia wasn't sure how to answer him. She had to find out if he was enemy or friend before she told him anything else.
"Okay." He uncrossed his legs and sat forward. "I know you're nervous and probably rightfully so. Let me put this on the table. Are you thinking our two...families...knew each other in Romania? That they were engaged in a bitter feud? You're trying to find what's left of your people, and you don't know which side of the fence I'm on. Did I get that right?"
"Uh, yes. I'd say you did."
"Can you then put yourself in my place and understand I have the same reservations?"
"Of course."
Riley had been silent throughout the entire conversation, letting her do her thing. Most of this, she had already told him. She was grateful for his strong presence and for letting her tell things at her own pace, not interrupting her to tell her say this or that. She could actually feel his strength and his emotion infusing her body and flooding through her. Into every part of her.
Into her heart.
Yes, Lia, your heart. So get this taken care of and then maybe you can find a way to tell him the truth about you and hope he doesn't run screaming into the woods.
Suddenly, she realized no one was speaking, and Mike Volka had focused a penetrating stare on her.
"Did I say something wrong?" she asked, wondering what it could have been.