I stare at him, and he waits me out.
Minutes tick by.
He’s good at this Alpha shit. I obviously crack first. “What do you want me to say?” I finally ask.
“I want you to tell me where he is.”
My pulse spikes. “Why?” Mentally, I’m already running through a list of Lucius’ human guys I can call who might stand a chance helping me hold the shifters off, and—
He takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out, like he’s trying to stay patient. “I’mnotgoing to hurt him. We haveshiftersliving in the building, and maybe not all of them have gotten the message yet. I don’t want anyone freaking out.”
“Why should they freak out? He can’t enter an apartment if he’s not invited.”
“Work with me here,please? I’ll have one of my guys stand guard outside your door while you’re gone. Because he’s in your freakingcloset, isn’t he? Your apartment is an east-facing efficiency apartment. That’s not exactly secure, and frankly, the pack stands to make a lot of damn money off him. I’d kinda like to keep him alive.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh. Can I put my glasses back on now? It’s bright out here.”
“Sure. Sorry.” I release the steering wheel and shake out my hands. “We literally sat there talking on my fuzzy pink rug and lost track of time.” I think about the pain and loss and grief in his voice as he told me about his love. “He’s a good guy.”
He smiles and waves at a couple who park a few spots away, waits for them to head inside, then glances around. He ducks his head into the window and drops his voice to a whisper.
“Iknow, Connie. I’m not happy about this weird little business merger, except Amber says it’s what has to happen for the good of everyone. I might not trust leeches, but I trusther. And she says we can trust him. Because of you, if nothing else. So, I’ll put a guy in front of your door.”
“He won’t go inside?”
“No, he won’t go inside, I swear. He’ll also make sure no one else does until you return. But word of advice?Pleasedon’t make this a regular occurrence, okay? Fuck him here, if you want, but have daytime sleepovers at his place or at Club Toxic. I don’t want people freaked out. And make sure Lucius knows and passes the word that it’s a special,conditionalexemption for Dexter and his two menonly. It’snota new free pass for everyone.”
“I will. Thank you.”
He nods and pats the roof of the Audi. “You look good in this. Should have him buy you one of these. That 4Runner of yours is a death trap.”
“It is not, and you know it. Your guy did the work on it and said it’s in great shape now.”
He grins. “Van Sussex is rich. He should buy you pretty things. He can afford it.”
I roll my eyes. “Gotta go, Garrett. Thank you for looking out for me.”
He pats the roof again, in a different spot.Fricking hell.Like he thinks I don’t know what he’s doing. “Well, you’re pack, sort of. Adopted. You ever get tired of working for that leech, I’ll put you in Eclipse, or at Fight Club. We could use someone like you full time. Management, even.”
I think about my mom, how she sometimes fought. How the smells in Fight Club are very much what she smelled like sometimes when she came home from a fight, bruised and sore, but usually having made rent money in just one night’s fight.
How Ihatedthat she was forced to do that for us.
Forme.
Because she had to raiseme.
I think I instinctively knew the reason we were on the run—why I couldn’t go to regular school—was because ofme.
“I don’t know if I could work at Fight Club,” I quietly say.
He cocks his head. “I-I’m sorry, hon. I didn’t mean to hit a nerve.”
“No, I know. It’s…a long story.” I force a smile I know doesn’t fool him.
But he doesn’t move. “Tell me the truth—do you think he’s the one?”
