Turns out it wasn’t just cum Blake was licking up last night.
My cheeks heat at the memory and my gaze involuntarily slides to Blake in the passenger seat. He’s quiet again today, the full sentences and detailed explanations from last night reverting to only a few syllables strung together at a time, but it’s a morecontented kind of quiet. I think I understand him more now. Despite the bond not being completed, there’s enough of a connection between us for me to pick up on some of what he leaves unspoken.
I return my attention to the road, but Raquel catches my eye in the rearview mirror. She’s been eyeing me all morning as if she can tell something’s changed or possibly just because she’s not happy our planned incursion onto Rockcastle territory will involve only me and Blake. The last thing I want to do is leave my best friend behind, alone and unprotected, but taking a human onto shifter pack territory would not be a good idea.
Our plan is simple enough: enter Rockcastle territory from a mostly unused fire road, search the building where Blake was held before being sold for any records of his brother, then get the hell out. But there’s a nonzero chance that we might get caught, and I don’t want to put Raquel at that kind of risk. After almost four years, Blake doesn’t know if the same Alpha is still leading the pack, but even if Earl and his mate, Wanda, are gone,somebodyis in charge and most Alphas would simply kill the human first and ask questions later.
It’s just past noon when I pull into the parking lot of yet another roadside motel. I park a few spaces down from the office and turn the truck off, glancing in the rearview mirror at Raquel who’s fastasleep with her neck twisted in what’s probably an uncomfortable position.
“And you’re sure she’ll be safe here, right?” I ask Blake.
“No,” he says, lips tightening and brows lowering. “But this is as safe as she’s going to get.”
I sigh, nodding slowly to myself. We have no idea exactly what we’re walking into and Raquel can’t protect herself the same way Blake and I can. Turning in my seat, I reach out and gently shake her shoulder. She blinks awake and glances around at our surroundings.
“Bathroom break?” she asks, her voice rough with the remnants of sleep. “Or end of the line?”
“For you? End of the line,” I reply.
She frowns. “I’m still not sold on this idea. Why can’t I just go with you guys? Or why can’t we, I don’t know, call over there and just ask what’s going on and if Blake’s brother is there?”
“The only phone is in the Alpha’s house,” says Blake, shaking his head. “If Earl and Wanda are still around, I’d rather not tip them off.”
Raquel sighs. “Okay, I can see where that could be a problem. I still don’t understand why I have to stay here.”
“You remember what it was like in that ring under the casino, right?” I give her a pointed look. “Well, imagine say… ten wolves standing against us instead of only three.”
“There were only two wolves actually ‘against’ us,” she says mulishly, crossing her arms over her chest. “Blake doesn’t count.”
I roll my eyes. “Okay, fine. I’ll give you that, but it doesn’t disprove my point. Going intoanyshifter territory would be dangerous for a human, much less the territory of a pack like Rockcastle.”
“And what about for you?” she asks, voice tight. Her expression hardens. “What if something happens and you get hurt or killed? How would I even know? It’s not like I’m listed somewhere as your next of kin.”
“I won’t let anything happen to him,” says Blake in that calm, deep voice.
She turns a narrow-eyed glare on him. “Can you really promise me that?”
He gives her a hard look and nods once. “As long as I’m breathing, nothing will happen to Neil.”
Skepticism is still clear on her face, but she doesn’t argue any further. Instead, she huffs and turns her head to look out the window. “At least this place is a little nicer than the others.”
“Yeah, it’s a real luxury resort,” I say wryly, gesturing at the greenish rectangle surrounded by a rusty chain-link fence. “There’s even a pool.”
Raquel snorts. “More like a science experiment, but beggars can’t be choosers, I guess.”
Tension broken—or at least lessened—Raquel and I get out of the truck and head into the motel office. The clerk, an older man with long, stringy hair, eyeballs us, giving me an unimpressed up and down look, and his mouth twists into a frown.
“Yeah?” he asks. “What do you want?”
I fight the urge to roll my eyes.Great customer service there, buddy.
Raquel puts on her “performance” smile and bats her eyelashes in the guy’s direction. “Hi there,” she says in a breathy voice. “We’d like to get a room for two nights.”
“It’s a hundred per night for double occupancy,” he says in a flat voice. His lips press together. “And a $250 deposit for incidentals.” He smirks. “I’ll waive the early check-in fee.”
Wincing slightly, I quickly run the math in my head. That’s going to take almost all the cash we have left. I’m not sure how much more he’s charging us for “double occupancy,” but I’d rather eat the cost than have this guy knowing Raquel is staying here alone. The deposit is even more ridiculous since I’msure even if we stole everything not nailed down in this entire place, our take wouldn’t total $250.
But, like Raquel said, beggars can’t be choosers.
