Shelly was sitting cross-legged in the middle of his bed still dressed in his day clothes, his chest mostly hidden by the pillow he was glaring at me over. “What the hell, Dane?”
I glanced at the broken door and back to him sheepishly. “Sorry. Bear was worried about you and we got a little carried away.”
I could normally rely on Shelly to grin at any mention of my goofy inner beast, but this time he didn’t even seem to notice.
“I told you to go away.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, but you also told me you were sleeping and you’re not.”
Shelly’s eyes narrowing told me thatthatwasn’t the winning argument I was going for. He continued to glare at me for a moment and then flopped over on his back and pulled the pillow over his face, releasing a massive fake snore loud enough it could have rattled the windows.
“Are you happy now?” Shelly’s muffled voice from under the pillow was cold and distant. “I’m talking in my sleep so leave me alone!”
I hesitated and then sighed. “I’m sorry, Shelly.”
I backed out of the room, carefully pulling the door closed and wiggling the broken knob in the hopes that it would keep the door latched. I went back to the couch, tuning out the game in front of me and trying to puzzle out why my favorite Omega was so angry with me.
I got that he was creeped out by Myke accosting him in our kitchen, but the look on his face when I accidentally broke into his room was more hurt than anything else and the red tinge to his eyes made me think he’d been crying.
It was going to be a long night without answers but I was determined to get Shelly to talk to me in the morning. Except when my alarm went off thirty minutes early the next day, the condo was already silent as a tomb.
I didn’t know where he was, but my Shelly was gone.
ChapterThirteen
Mitchel
The pounding on the back door of the All Things Wild Animal Rescue office came a little after seven. I knew it would hold because we had a veterinary clinic of sorts which meant we had controlled substances. And where ketamine went, addicts followed, so all of our doors were solid steel and would easily stand up to Dane’s interference. Unlike the hollow-core piece of shit that had given way under his hand the night before.
Movement on the security monitor across from my desk caught my eye. Knowing I was probably in my office, Dane was jumping up and down in front of the backdoor security camera, using his cane for balance while he tried to get my attention. Not that he needed to, the jerk had been all I’d been able to focus on since we met.
Which probably explained why the few past relationships I’d had were such colossal disasters.
I tapped the remote on my desk and shut the monitor off, turning my focus back to the pile of applications in front of me. We’d assisted in shutting down an illegal fainting goat breeder several months back. They were all vetted and with the deadbeat breeder finally agreeing to a plea that removed the animals from her care, it was time to start trying to place them in permanent homes.
By the time the first of the volunteers checked in at nine, I’d managed to convince myself that I’d forgotten all about Dane and his betrayal.
“Mitch?” Sarah sounded a little hesitant as she called my name.
“Hey! How are you this morning?”
Sarah took a small step in, forehead wrinkled in concern. “I’m not sure yet. Did someone die?”
My head popped up. “Not that I know of. Why?”
“There’s, um, a memorial or something outside.”
“A memorial?” I repeated back, thoroughly confused. “What kind?”
She shrugged, flipping her fat blonde braid over her shoulder. “The sort you see after a bad traffic accident on the highway or when someone shoots up a store,” she finally said.
Well, that was clear as mud. “Show me.”
I followed her out the back door and groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose.
Instead of a memorial, I saw the pile of random crap for what it really was – a bribe. Since I wouldn’t talk to him, Dane was trying to convince me to forgive him. A box of pop-tarts. An extra-large cup from my favorite coffee shop. An insulated lunch bag from my favorite deli that almost definitely held a turkey and swiss on rye. A copy of my favorite author’s newest release that I’d been dying to pick up. A bouquet of straggly daisies. A stuffed bear that looked remarkably like Dane’s inner critter.
“Hey, pop-tarts!” Harry walked around the building while I was staring at the pile.
