“What happened?”
“She’s fine.”
“What. Happened.”
I rub a hand over my face. “Some alpha had her cornered downtown, like a block from the league offices. He was in her face yelling. She was signing. He wasn’t backing off. He touched her.”
“Korbin.” My name comes through like a warning.
“I took care of it,” I snap. “Relax. He’s gone.”
There’s a long exhale on his end. I can almost see him pacing.
“Is she hurt?” he asks. “Did he hurt her? Did he?—”
“No,” I say. “Scared her. Didn’t get the chance to do more. I put him on his ass. She picked up her papers. Signed something to me and hurried off. I followed her until she was in the building.”
He’s quiet for a second. When he speaks again, his voice is softer. “Thank you.”
The words hit weird. I shift my grip on the phone.
“Don’t thank me,” I mutter. “If you’re serious about her, you should know what happened. That’s all.”
“I am serious,” he says without missing a beat. “And now I’m pissed I wasn’t there.”
“Yeah, well. Join the club. I’m pissed too, that an alpha, thatanyman thinks he can just corner a woman like that.”
Milton glances over from the squat rack like he’s trying not to eavesdrop and failing.
“What’d she do when she saw it was you?” Lincoln asks.
I replay it. The trembling hands. The papers. That soft, deliberate sign I didn’t understand.
“Nothing. Just signed something and ran off,” I say. “I don’t know sign language, but I think she might have said thank you.”
There’s a smile in his voice when he answers. “Yeah. That sounds like her.”
I scrub my knuckles with my thumb, suddenly annoyed at how that makes my chest feel.
“Keep an eye out for her,” Lincoln says. “If you see her around there again, call me. I don’t know why Benton would send her down there alone. He knows headquarters are in a shitty part of town.”
“I’m not her fucking security detail,” I growl.
“You just acted like it,” he shoots back. “You didn’t walk past her, Korbin. You stopped. So either hang up and pretend you don’t care, or admit you care enough to help her.”
I clench my jaw. Milton’s still watching. I flip him off to make myself feel better.
“Don’t make this a thing,” I warn Lincoln. “I’m not doing a shared project on your omega.”
There’s a moment of silence before he speaks. “She’s not mine,” he says. “Yet.”
I roll my eyes so hard it hurts. “You’re a lovesick fool.”
He laughs under his breath. “Still. Thanks.”
“Whatever.” I hang up before I say something that sounds too much like you’re welcome.
I slip the phone back in my pocket and head for the skate machine. Milton’s waiting there.
