Crush shut the driver’s side door just as the runes lit up. “What’s that for?”
“To hide in plain sight.”
The alpha gave a terse nod and started up the car, driving almost too slowly out of the parking lot. Just as they rounded a bend in the road, a black car rolled up to the general store. Killian’s danger sense buzzed.
“That’s them,” he said shakily.
Crush breathed out slowly. He gripped the steering wheel and waited until they were out of sight before accelerating.
“Where are we going?” Killian said. “You didn’t give any details when I asked earlier.”
“A cabin up in these woods.” After driving for a while, Crush took a turn, then more forks in the road, until they were on a dirt path meandering through the forest.
As the trees thinned, a log cabin emerged. It was large, beautiful, and well-maintained, with a wraparound front porch and wide glass windows that gave a great view of the outdoors.
“Can someone peek in through the windows?” Killian asked nervously.
“They’re spelled to be one-way, even at night when the lights are on indoors.” Crush gave a quick smile and clicked the remote for the garage door. It folded up smoothly to reveal a spacious garage, several tools lining the floor-to-ceiling shelves. Stacks of tires occupied the far corner.
“Why do you need so many tires?”
Crush’s smile turned wry. “Remember my wheels smoking at that intersection? Drifting on dry roads burns up rubber real fast. It puts a lot of stress on the car parts, too. I’ll have to inspect them for damage just in case. Possibly swap out my tires.”
Killian winced. “Sorry. You had to do that because of me.”
Crush parked and cut the engine. Then he reached into the back seat, strong fingers squeezing Killian’s hand. “It’s okay. I don’t mind.”
Killian’s heart thumped at the sincerity in his eyes. “But—”
“No buts.”
Crush sounded so firm about it that Killian gave in. It wasn’t as though he could afford any of the repairs. “Is there anything I can do to repay you?”
“You don’t have to.” Crush looked thoughtful, though. “Actually, thereissomething you can do. Make yourself at home. We can start talking about this situation. I need to know how best to protect you and Naddie.”
Killian’s instincts purred under Crush’s intent gaze; he wanted to tuck himself against Crush’s chest, hide under that big alpha so he would feel safe.
Instead of doing that, Killian strained his ears, listening for any odd sounds beyond the cabin. There weren’t any—just the rustle of leaves, and small creatures moving in the undergrowth. Even then, he only felt better when the garage doors had closed fully to hide them from view.
He handed a small waterproof envelope to Crush. “These are basic boundary defense spells from Uriel. I don’t know what protections you have in place, but maybe these will help? I would set them up but I don’t feel safe being outdoors right now.”
Crush straightened. “Got it, sweetheart. I’ll set them up.”
The alpha disappeared through a side door. Killian carefully climbed out of the car, only to realize that the shopping cart had followed them all the way here, and was now curiously bumping into things in the garage.
Had Crush not noticed the cart, or did he not care if it made a mess?
“Um, Crush?”
“Yeah?” Leaves crunched.
“You know that you locked the cart in here with us, right?”
There was a thoughtful pause. “I do know. I couldn’t leave it alone out there. It would probably get lost and stuck, and it might attract the wrong attention.”
“Here I thought you had such a big heart. Turns out, you were just covering your butt,” Killian said, hoping Crush would realize he was joking.
Crush laughed. “Well, I’m coveringyourbutt too. And what a nice butt it is.”
