The last twenty-four hours had been the worst day of her life—and she’d had a lot of bad ones. She’d woken up this morning to the knowledge that the guy she’d been falling for was some kind of monster, then she discovered Kelsey was missing. Those two things alone should have been enough for the world to dump on her. But no, she had to learn that she didn’t know a damn thing about her baby sister as well. Finding out that Kelsey had a fake ID so she could get into bars was bad enough, but hearing that she slept with guys she barely knew was hard to wrap her head around. It was even more difficult knowing that the sister you thought shared everything with you had been lying to your face the entire time.
If Alex and Wendy hadn’t been here for her, Lacey wasn’t sure what she would have done.
That thought brought her back to problem number one—her ex-boyfriend. Lacey sipped the iced tea Wendy had brought in with the sandwich. She had no idea why the hell Alex was even helping her. She’d run screaming from him in terror only to come back because she needed something from him. He could have just as easily slammed the door in her face, but he hadn’t. She didn’t really understand that. No more than she understood why she felt better and more hopeful when he was around, like maybe this would all work out somehow.
That was beyond stupid. Any woman with a lick of sense in her head knew that depending on a man to walk in and solve your problems was a surefire way to end up disappointed and alone. She should know that.
Lacey reached for her sandwich again, keenly aware of Wendy and Leo watching her with worried expressions, when the doorbell rang. She put down the sandwich, praying it was Alex back with good news, but when Wendy opened the door, she saw it was Everly.
“Hey.” Everly gave her a small smile as she walked over, her long, colorful boho skirt swishing around her ankles. “Hope you don’t mind that I stopped by. I just wanted to see how you’re holding up and if you’ve heard anything yet?”
Lacey felt a sharp reply bubble up, but she forced it down. She didn’t know why she was suddenly so angry at Everly. Then it hit her. She was mad because Everly had almost certainly known what Alex was and hadn’t told her. Not only was that stupid, but it was immature too. What did she expect, that Everly was going to come out and announce to a person she’d just met that her future husband and the rest of the SWAT team were monsters? Hell, maybe Everly didn’t know. Come on, how could she not know? She was marrying one of them.
“No,” Lacey said. “We haven’t heard anything yet. But Alex left a little while ago to talk to Becker and Max. Something about videos.”
Everly’s smile faded to be replaced by concern as she sat down on the couch beside Lacey. “How are you holding up?”
Lacey shrugged. “I’d say I’m okay, but that would be a lie, so I won’t bother.”
“Stupid question, I guess,” Everly admitted. “But here goes another one. Is there anything I can do to help?”
Lacey leveled her gaze at the woman. “It would be nice if you could tell me how long you’ve known what Alex and the rest of the SWAT team is.”
She expected Everly to immediately go on the defensive or say she didn’t know what Lacey was talking about. She didn’t do either. Instead, she looked from Lacey to Wendy and back again.
“I’m not sure this is the best time to talk about this,” she said quietly.
“You don’t have to worry about Wendy,” Lacey told her. “She already knows about Alex. She’s the first person I talked to after seeing…what I saw. She knows everything I know, which isn’t very much. I’d appreciate it if you could help change that.”
Everly considered that, then sighed. “I’ll tell you what I can. There are some things I can’t tell you because I don’t know them and other things I can’t tell you because they aren’t my secrets to share.” She looked from Lacey to Wendy. “But it’s very important both of you understand that you can’t reveal anything I tell you to anyone else. There are people out there right now who would kill people like Landry and Alex—and everyone else on the SWAT team—because of what they are. If you repeat what I tell you to anyone, it’s as good as killing them yourselves.”
Lacey didn’t really understand what Everly was talking about, but she nodded all the same. It wasn’t like she was ever going to breathe a word about it to anyone anyway. They’d think she was insane.
“I learned Landry’s secret shortly after we met,” Everly continued. “Like you, I was stunned. And like you, I didn’t handle it very well.”
Lacey wasn’t sure if she’d agree with that assessment. She’d handled it like any normal, rational person—she’d run away.
“What about the others?” Wendy prompted. “When did you learn about Alex and the rest of the SWAT team?”
“Shortly after learning about Landry,” Everly answered. “I’m sure you’ve seen how close the members of the team are. It’s no coincidence. They were all brought together because of how unique and special they are.”
Lacey exchanged looks with Wendy. Her friend had been right. The entire Dallas PD SWAT team was made up of monsters. That was scary enough, but one thing bothered her a whole lot more.
“There’s something I don’t understand,” she said to Everly. “You’ve seen what Cooper turns into, and yet you still decided to marry him?”
Everly smiled. “I love him, more than I ever thought possible. Claws, fangs, and fur could never change that. Like I told you at the engagement party—when you meet The One for you, nothing else matters.”
Lacey had expected that to be her answer. Everly seemed even more idealistic than Kelsey.
Her doubts must have shown on her face, because Everly took her hand. “The most important thing you need to understand is that Landry isn’t a monster, and neither is Alex. There are lots of real monsters in the world out there, and few of them have fangs and claws.”
Lacey wasn’t so sure about that. “If they’re not monsters, what are they?”
Everly hesitated. “What has Alex told you?”
“Nothing.” Lacey shrugged. “Though to be truthful, I really haven’t given him a chance. I ran away from him last night, and today I’ve been focused on Kelsey.”
“Understandably,” Everly said. “If it helps you to know exactly what they are, the answer is simple. They’re werewolves.”
