The Vow (Black Arrowhead #1) - Dannika Dark Page 0,19

chin. “And now I know how quickly you will cast me aside if I renegotiate.”

I clenched my hands beneath the table, trying to quell my frustration. “We see this as a blessing in disguise. Hope doesn’t want to deal with outsiders for the same reason as you. She values the relationships among the tribes and would prefer doing business with the tribes. If you raise your rates to a fair price, that’s one thing. But jacking up prices because you see a golden ticket is another matter, and that’s the position we were put in by our previous dealer. He was manipulating and browbeating us.” I leaned forward and smoothed out the rough edges in my voice. “If I can get Hope to come up here, will you negotiate?”

He slowly shook his head.

“So this has to do with me,” I said to myself, sighing deeply and lowering my head.

Even though Hope had two other guys lined up, she’d said Shikoba was her first choice. Few could secure a contract with him, and his pieces were of the finest quality—rumored to be blessed by their spiritual leaders. I’d given him my best pitch, but in the end, the real disappointment was knowing that I’d blown the deal. Hope would eventually find someone else, but she might secretly resent having partnered with me. Am I going to be the one who held her back from the deal of a lifetime? The reason she can only sell second-rate gemstones?

“Why didn’t you just turn me away instead of inviting me in and wasting my time?”

“What kind of host would I be? How a man treats a stranger says more about his character than how he treats his family.”

“What about the guy who smacks his woman around but gives a big tip to the waitress?”

Something dark flashed in his eyes. “How many packs do you know that would allow a man to beat his female? Even raise a hand to her in threat? With Shifters, masks are worn among family. You remember that, young wolf. A man will kiss his mother to keep peace within the pack, but he will always show his true face among strangers. He will berate women, disrespect his peers, and frighten children. You cannot trust a man with a painted smile and a stony heart. My mind was made up from the moment I saw you, but I respected you enough to offer my hospitality and hear what you had to say. You seem like a strong woman with a good head on your shoulders, even if your hair is the color of a wildflower that grows north of here.”

The sky was darkening outside, and I glanced around for a clock.

“Is there somewhere you must be?” he asked.

I collected my notebook and tucked it back in my purse. “I need to find a motel before dusk. The roads around here are like a labyrinth, and I don’t want to get lost in the dark.”

Shikoba gripped a cane and rose to his feet. “You’re a brave young wolf to journey so far into unfamiliar territory. That will get you far in this life. Let me show you out.”

I lollygagged on my way to the door and admired the backyard. “You have a nice piece of land.”

“Yes,” he agreed, his feet shuffling across the floor. “It’s been in my family since I was a boy.”

Wow. That was certainly a long time. Shikoba must have been around eight hundred. Shifters aged slowly and lived different life spans, but most of us didn’t live past a thousand. Those who lived that long were purebloods from royal lines, and not many existed since most Shifters at some point in the family tree had interbred with another animal type.

The smell of homemade bread wafted from an adjacent room as we headed to the front door. Instead of salivating, I felt a wave of nausea creep over me—probably one reason I was eager to leave the premises so hastily.

Shikoba’s cane tapped on the front porch, and the women bowed to him as they went inside. A small truck was parked next to my Jeep, and when I swung my eyes to the right, a wave of terror came over me.

Lakota was standing amid the group of men, the sun catching on his bare chest. He’d stripped out of his jacket and T-shirt, leaving nothing to the imagination. His shoulders were broad and rounded with muscle, and his torso tapered down to the V in his abdomen, which