“Duh.” She wrinkled her nose. “But no wonder you stayed way clear of the shit in there.” The contraband. Drugs of all shapes and sizes. People would sell them, too. I almost got wrapped up in being a cover-up for that shit until Tate was switched to my unit.
“Have you contacted Tate?”
“Yes, once, she asked about you.”
I hadn’t. As soon as I’d come out, it was about getting on my feet and figuring out my new normal. Then Lucian crashed into my life, so I hadn’t even had a second to breathe.
“What’s your address?”
I froze, my entire body stiffening. He knew where I lived; he’d find me. “I . . .”
She peeked over at me, her eyebrows scrunched together.
“Girl, it’s okay. You can crash with me for as long as you need.”
My face heated, and I immediately wanted to say no. A clear aspect I’d inherited from my dad. He never wanted handouts or help of any kind.
“I’ll start applying for jobs,” I blurted instead.
“Don’t worry about that right now.”
“No, I can’t just stay without pulling my weight?—”
“Breathe, babes.” She put her hand up, cutting me off.
“I can ask my boss if they’re hiring, if you’re interested?” She wrinkled her nose. “It’s harder to get a job with a record, but they’re very open, and since they know me, they’ll push your application through.”
“I would really appreciate that,” I mumbled. All I wanted to do was curl up in a ball. The sadness in my voice made me cringe. I hated how weak and feeble I sounded. “I don’t want to take up too much of your space. I mean, I’ll get out of your hair as soon as I can.”
“You can stay in my office, I say I’ll use it, but never do,” she snorted. Relief dropped my shoulders. I’d make enough money to get a flight out of here with time, I’d leave all of it behind me. Only after I found out where Cierra was and who the two male voices were.
“Thank you,” I rasped.
“No worries.” Each tap of her finger on the steering wheel was loud. “It’s too quiet.”
She reached for the stereo, and music blared through the speakers. “I live on the outskirts of the city, so settle in.” She was driving to the opposite end of town from where we were now.
I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. As much as I hated admitting it, fucking Lucian calmed the restlessness in my veins. Maybe in the future, we could come up with some sort of arrangement to see each other when the ache became too much . . . No, I doubted he’d stop fucking other shifters, and I wasn’t interested in catching anything.
My forehead thumped on the windowpane.
Verity’s cell phone rang, the sound high-pitched. She fumbled for it.
“It’s you?” she muttered, holding up the phone in my direction. I took it from her and answered.
“Hello?” Alex said from the other end.
“How did you get this number?”
“Redialed . . . My contact . . . back to me.”
“You’re cutting out.” I must have fucked the phone up even more when I tossed it on the floor.
“. . . be at Red Fang Pub,” the line sizzled. “This Saturday.”
“Wait, are you talking about Stools?” I gasped.
Another fizzle of the phone, a faint, “Yes,” and then it went silent.
