Turning, she shoved open the door of the ladies’ room and hurried inside, rushing over to the sink. Over the water, she swore she heard the man laugh, but she was too intent on washing the perfume off her wrist and couldn’t be sure.
It took a long time and a lot of soap to get the worst of the stuff off her skin. Even after that, her nose still burned so badly her eyes watered. She splashed water on her face, hoping that would help. When she did the best she could, she dried her hands and face, grimacing as she looked in the mirror and realized her makeup was a complete disaster. She dug into her purse for her cosmetic bag and quickly put on some mascara and a touch of lipstick.
As she was putting her makeup back in her purse, she realized the funny sensations she’d experienced earlier were gone now.
Weird.
Lana stepped out of the bathroom to find the big man still standing in the hallway, blocking the way to the restaurant. That was when she noticed something that made her gums tingle and fingertips ache all over again—a second man standing at the far end of the hallway, near the emergency exit.
The first man took a step her way, smiling without any humor.
A metallic taste filled her mouth like she’d bitten her tongue, and a tremor of something halfway between anger and fear rumbled up her throat.
“Lana, there you are!” her mother said, coming toward them from the restaurant. “What the heck is taking you so long?”
Relief washed over Lana as the big man who’d sprayed her wrist with perfume earlier brushed past her and headed for the emergency exit. The second man shoved it open, and they disappeared outside.
Why hadn’t the alarm gone off?
She had no answer to that question, just like she had no way to explain why her body stopped buzzing and tweaking the moment the door had closed behind the two men.
“Who was that?” her mother asked.
“He said he was an officer from Central Division,” Lana said, not wanting to alarm her mom or attempt to describe all the weird stuff that had just happened.
Her mother frowned. “Really? I didn’t recognize him. What’s his name?”
That’s when Lana realized the man had never told her. “He didn’t say.”
* * *
Max was parked on the couch in his apartment, staring at the TV, hoping Wallace was full of hot air and wouldn’t go through with his threats to file a complaint against him, when his phone rang. He grabbed it from the coffee table, cursing when he saw Gage’s name on the screen. Thumbing the green button, he put it to his ear.
“What’s up, Sarge?”
“Get your ass down to the compound. Now,” Gage said in that tone he used right before he usually exploded and started throwing werewolves around the office like rag dolls.
Shit.
Even though it was well after 6:00 p.m. when Max got to the compound, there were still quite a few vehicles in the parking lot keeping Gage’s Charger company. In addition to Xander’s, Brooks’s, and Cooper’s vehicles, there were two others he didn’t recognize. He wasn’t so concerned about the late-model piece of shit with rust spots and a pervasive burnt-oil smell about it that suggested the thing was on its last legs, but the generic white Chevy Caprice sedan worried him. It screamed DPD unmarked car, which meant it was someone from internal affairs or headquarters.
Double shit.
Brooks was there to meet him, a concerned look on his face. “What the hell did you do, Max? Gage and Xander are in there with IA, and none of them looks happy.”
Max shook his head. He’d never felt more like a complete frigging idiot than he did right now. “I got a call earlier from that old guy on Park Lane, Ernest Miller. He said he heard a lot of shouting and sounds of a scuffle coming from the Wallace place. Northeast Division sent out a patrol car, but the wife told them the kids had been watching TV too loud, so I headed over there to check things out myself.”
Brooks must have known where this was heading if the look on his face was any indication. “Damn, Max. Please tell me you didn’t do something stupid.”
Max wished he didn’t have to tell Brooks anything of the sort. The Pack’s biggest werewolf had always been a friend and a mentor to him, and Max felt like he was letting him down.
“Yeah, I pulled a stupid,” Max admitted. “I heard one of the Wallace girls scream, so I busted into the house. I hoped I could catch that bastard in the act of beating one of his kids, but the moment I saw the boy was standing there trying to protect his mother, blood seeping through the bandages on his hand, I lost it. I ended up pinning Wallace to the wall and almost choking him out.”
Brooks shook his head, and the disappointment Max saw on his face was almost enough to crush Max’s soul. “Why would you do something like that?”
Max shrugged. “Because it’s not in me to let that woman and her kids stay in a house with a man who beats them.”
Brooks looked at him like he was a complete idiot. “I know why you did it, you moron. I’m asking why you didn’t think to tell me or anyone else in the Pack. Cooper, Becker, Zane—hell, any of us would have gone with you and helped make sure we got this piece of crap. What, did you forget you’re part of a Pack?”
