I snorted and looked over at him. “That’s not the best joke after the week I’ve had.”
Nash smiled and turned on the radio. An old song by James Taylor played like a distant dream.
Iwasfeeling kind of loopy, but I’d been up since before dawn and hardly slept the night before. I glanced in the back to get another slice of pizza when I noticed a black bag next to the open box. Curious, I touched the zipper and realized it was an empty bowling bag.
A sinking feeling formed in the pit of my stomach. “Where’s your bowling ball?” I asked, slurring my words.
Nash reached over and patted my head. “Nighty night.”
Chapter 29
After he’d shifted to wolf form and back, the deep gashes on Tak’s shoulder fused enough for him to seal it permanently. He went into the bathroom and prepared for the painful process. In his tribe, warriors who kept battle scars rarely used liquid fire. Not shifting to heal was a show of bravery, and the elders insisted suffering was the only way to honor their ancestors. But they used liquid fire for tattoos, and Tak knew firsthand about the excruciating process.
They didn’t call it liquid fire for nothing. It wasn’t an actual liquid; that would be a dangerous weapon. It came in a grease form—like ointment—and it only required a small amount to do the job.
“Do it fast,” he muttered, psyching himself up for it.
He gripped the basin with one hand and gritted his teeth as he smeared the liquid fire across each scar, his skin searing as the potion performed its magic. He left alone the parts of the wound that were still open. He’d have to wait for those to naturally seal before he repeated the process to make a more uniform scar.
Tak bellowed in pain, his teeth clenched in a futile attempt to keep quiet. Four claw marks ran from the back of his shoulder right over the front—one precariously close to his neck. Just an inch higher and it would have sliced his head halfway off.
A knock sounded on the bathroom door. “Are you in pain?” Lakota asked.
Tak grimaced as he wiped the residual ointment away with a rag. “What gave it away? The screams?” He glanced in the mirror at the lump on his head, which wasn’t as ominous as it had been earlier that morning. The shifting helped, so he didn’t bother worrying about it.
Tak couldn’t braid his hair with the fire still shooting down his arm and chest, so he left it free. At least he had his own clothes, the ones he’d left behind while guarding Hope’s front door. She’d washed and folded them. Damn if she wasn’t the most thoughtful woman, even in times of crisis.
Tak opened the door, his white muscle shirt in hand.
Lakota glanced down at it. “Need help?”
“Are you my nurse?”
Lakota grabbed the shirt. “For the right price. Raise your good arm, Your Highness.”
Tak put his good arm through the sleeve hole while Lakota looped the shirt over his head. He needed help with his right arm since his muscles were sore and it was excruciating to lift it. Another shift would do him some good, but he wanted to stay lucid for a little while and find out what was going on.
“I’m sorry I left Oklahoma without talking to you,” Lakota said, straightening the shirt before stepping back. “I tried, but you’re a stubborn asshole, and maybe I didn’t try hard enough. I was afraid if you knew the truth about why I was there, you’d think I lied to you on purpose. Our friendship was real. You were like a brother to me. In the end, it was easier to just leave without explanation.”
“Why was it so easy for you to doubt my word?”
Lakota held on to the doorjamb. “Because in my line of work, a man’s word isn’t good enough. Bounty hunters lose their lives for placing their trust in the wrong men. Under any other circumstances, we would have been fast friends. But I still had a job to do. I couldn’t tell them you were innocent because you said so. I’ve got to rule out everyone and make a strong case. I insulted you under your own roof, but you walked away from our friendship without looking back long before I did. I’m telling you, man, I never intended to take advantage of the trust and kindness your tribe gave to me. I didn’t know walking in what it was like behind those walls. I’ve been undercover before and lived with packs, but all of them were involved in criminal activities, and none of them felt like a home. It wasn’t easy to leave, but what choice did I have? Your father practically shoved me down the aisle with Mel.”
Tak tossed back his head and laughed. Lakota joined in, and just like that, the rift between them mended. They no longer spoke of forgiveness or blame. Tak trusted Lakota, and so did his wolf. Yes, he’d felt betrayed, but now he understood why Lakota had done what he’d done. It wasn’t an apology he needed so much as finding out if the bond they shared was real. It was an unconventional way to form a friendship, but Lakota was a strong wolf whom Tak respected. Maybe one reason Tak liked him was that he could envisage a future where Lakota was his second-in-command. Tak hadn’t made any concrete plans about leaving the tribe, but maybe he’d thought about it enough that it was time to give it some real consideration.
“Now that we’re good, I should probably ask why you’re still in town, hanging around my baby sister.”
“All I wanted to do was protect her. I know you do things differently in the city, but I couldn’t in good conscience leave her alone. Especially a woman inexperienced with weapons. Didn’t your father teach her how to use a knife?”
“Hope had her own interests, and they didn’t involve hunting deer. Besides, most of us city wolves don’t need weapons. We’re civilized, remember?” Lakota gripped Tak’s good shoulder and led him down the hall. “Let me get you a beer.”
Tak chuckled. “I should probably mention I’m a recovering alcoholic.”
Lakota stopped cold and searched his eyes. “No wonderyou never drank the beers I bought you. All this time I thought you were just being an asshole.”
Tak winced when another streak of pain lanced through his shoulder. “If I’d told you I was an alcoholic, I would have had to tell you my story. The two go hand in hand, and I didn’t want you to know.”
“What story? You mean the one about you getting into the accident and the woman dying?”
