But Jules waved away her apology. “Don’t worry about it. I just wish I’d kept my damn mouth shut for once.” They stared at each other for a moment until Jules said, “So, what are you gonna do now?”
“I guess I need to go see Adam and try to explain.”
Jules nodded. “Probably a good idea.”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.”
“Am I being stupid?” Faye blurted out.
“For talking to Adam?”
“No. For making up this entire story instead of just telling Jeff to fuck off.”
“Yes,” Jules told her without hesitation. “Except…”
Faye held her breath. “Except what?”
“Except I know Jeff as well as you do. And he’s as stubborn as those damn cows that Addison lets roam around town and won’t let anyone eat. I think if you told him to fuck off, he’d just take it as more of a challenge.”
Faye’s heart sank. Jules was right. “Okay, then. My only other option is to talk Adam into going along with this stupid plan until Jeff loses interest or I die. Whichever comes first.”
“Right.”
“Right,” Faye repeated. She gave her friend a hug. “I’ll let you know how it goes. Do you need a ride anywhere?”
Jules shook her head. “No. I’m good. Call me later.”
Faye nodded and got into her car. She glanced in her side mirror to make sure there weren’t any cars coming and saw Jeff pull up in front of the coffee shop in his oversized truck.
She gave Jules a wave and pulled away from the curb, grateful that her friend was there to keep him from following her. Still, the hair rose on the back of her neck, and she knew he was watching her drive away. Faye took the first turn she could, only releasing the breath she was holding when she didn’t see him behind her.
Chapter 5
Adam
Adam sensed her before he saw her. This wasn’t entirely unusual. His heightened sense of sight, smell, and hearing meant he knew when someone was there before most people did.
But this was different. This was an awareness he’d never felt before. Something that made his wolf whine inside of him and scratch at his ribs to escape.
Faye.
He knew right away that she was nervous, a little scared even, and he wanted to drop the torque wrench into the old Chevy he was working on and rush into the lobby, find out what was going on, and then kill whoever it was that was making her feel this way.
But he did none of those things. Instead, he kept on working like any normal male would. Doing anything else would expose him as something “other.” And although he worked there at the garage with the majority of the local wolf pack, there were also a half dozen or so non-shifter males and females who worked there with him.
Rocky, Adam’s best friend and companion for the past four and a half years, give or take a month or two, lifted his furry white head and stared at the door to the lobby. His long tail thumped on the concrete floor as though he, too, sensed an old friend he hadn’t seen in a long time. Adam watched him with curiosity. Rocky was half wolf, and although he was well trained and pretty chill, he didn’t normally take to strangers right off. Sometimes it took him months to warm up to a new person.
A few seconds later, Tommy opened the door and yelled over the sound of the machines and Judas Priest blaring from the radio in the back. “Adam! You’ve got a lady requesting you!”
Acting surprised, he set down his wrench on the bench behind him and picked up a rag to wipe his hands. “Rocky.” Adam made a sign with his hand and Rocky hefted his large frame up onto his giant paws and padded after him. He would’ve been fine left where he was, but Adam was curious to see how he would interact with Faye after the interest he’d shown when she walked into the shop. Dropping the rag on a table, he pulled open the door that led to the office and motioned Rocky through, then followed him.
Faye stood in the far corner of the waiting room with her back to him, watching the snow flurries out the window. Her pretty hair fell in loose waves just past her shoulders. Her coat was folded over her arm, and she was wearing a long-sleeved emerald-green shirt and black pants that hugged the curves of her ass and thighs. A pair of worn sneakers covered her feet. The heater kicked on and her scent—like a warm summer field basking in the sunshine—washed over him, warming him from the inside out and making him hard all at the same time.
Rocky stepped in front of him with his nose in the air, honed in on Faye, and headed toward her.
Worried the huge mutt would scare her, Adam said quietly, “Rocky. Hold.”
