So assuming he was telling the truth, the important question was why would a hunter put himself at risk for a werewolf?
Rachel gave him another covert glance, but other than noting for the second time in two days that Knox was sinfully good-looking, the answer to that question remained elusive. She bit back a growl. What the hell was wrong with her? Knox was a hunter. She should hate his guts. More than that, she should turn him over to Gage and the rest of her pack. But the simple truth was, while she might not entirely trust him, she didn’t hate him, either. And the idea of turning him over to the Pack had never entered her mind last night for even a second. Just thinking about it right then made her stomach twist uncomfortably, though she had no idea why.
Great. Another question she couldn’t answer.
Nodding now and then to make it seem like she was paying attention to the conversation going on around the table, Rachel continued running through last night’s discussion with Knox, realizing maybe she hadn’t been truthful about not trusting him. How else could she explain telling him how she’d become a werewolf? No one in the Pack but Gage knew about the clown who’d attacked her.
Then there was the part where she’d agreed to meet with Knox again and give him a chance to explain himself. If that wasn’t evidence of some kind of trust, she didn’t know what was.
But why the hell would she do that?
There had to be a reason—beyond the fact that Knox Lawson was ruggedly handsome, smelled delicious, and had a droolworthy body.
Oh. My. God. Had she seriously put the wordsdrool- worthyandformer hunterin the same thought? What was wrong with her?
Rachel was still considering how far around the bend she might have traveled to even think crap like that when Adalynn Lloyd, Jennifer and Conrad’s sixteen-year-old daughter, appeared in the doorway. Petite and slender with wavy, dark hair just past her shoulders and blue eyes, she regarded Rachel and the others around the table curiously.
“Mom, Dad,” the girl said, sounding more than a little nervous. Rachel didn’t blame her. The fact that the family needed private security—and four SWAT cops—to keep them safe had to be terrifying. “Dominic said you wanted to see me?”
Conrad waved her in. “We do. Come in, Addy.”
The girl slowly made her way over to the table, still looking a little unsure about this whole thing. Addy seemed to relax after she sat down and her father introduced her to everyone, but Rachel got the feeling it was all an act. The girl’s heart still thumped as fast as it had when she’d first walked into the room, and the scent of fear coming off her made it obvious she was scared as hell. It only got worse as Theo went into detail about some of the security measures, like sweeping vehicles for explosive devices three times a day and keeping the curtains closed to reduce the chance of a sniper getting a clean shot. Maybe they thought Addy would be fine with hearing that stuff, but Rachel knew she wasn’t. In fact, she was on the verge of hyperventilating. Rachel’s heart went out to her. Addy reminded her of Hannah so much right then, and it hurt to see the girl so anxious.
Since Addy was sitting beside her, it was easy for Rachel to lean over and speak to her without interrupting the conversation the rest of the table were having.
“You want to get out of here and go talk about some of this stuff?” she asked softly. “I promise it isn’t as scary as it sounds.”
Addy looked at her mom and dad, then at everyone else at the table, before giving Rachel a nod.
The teen led the way over to the spiral staircase and up to the catwalk area, then kept going until she reached the gigantic window with an equally large built-in bench seat. Rachel waited until Addy sat down, then did the same, taking in the picturesque view of the big backyard and woods beyond.
“Wow,” Rachel breathed. “It’s gorgeous up here.”
“I know.” Addy smiled. “Besides my room, this is my most favorite place in the house.”
“I can see why.” Rachel turned back to look at the teen. “So, like I said downstairs, this whole thing isn’t as scary as it sounds, and I don’t want you to let any of this stuff freak you out, okay? You have my word that we aren’t going to let anything happen to you or your parents.”
Addy regarded her thoughtfully for a moment, like she’d never had a soul make a promise like that to her. It must have been exactly what she needed to hear, because her heart rate started to slow to normal and the tension began to visibly seep out of her body.
“I’m not naive,” the girl said softly. “I know my mom could have been killed in that explosion and that someone I met at last year’s Christmas partywaskilled. But to hear you guys talking about searching our cars and having to worry about someone shooting through a window just makes everything so much more…”
“Real?” Rachel asked.
Addy nodded. “Yeah, I think that’s the word I’m looking for.” She played with the strings on her Dallas Cowboys hoodie, her brow furrowing a little. “Dad said you guys will be around for a while. How long do you think the trial Mom’s working will last? I’ve asked her, but she doesn’t want to tell me anything about it.”
Rachel shrugged. She hadn’t exactly been keeping up-to-date on the Alton Marshall front. Her slowly dissolving sanity had been a bigger concern for her. But Addy deserved at least some kind of answer. It was her life after all.
“I don’t know much about the trial but, best case, a couple weeks,” she said. “It could drag out for months, though.”
Addy’s eyes widened, but then her expression changed, taking on a panic-stricken look. “Does this mean I’ll be on total lockdown that long? I won’t be able to go to school or…date?”
Rachel resisted the urge to laugh. Addy was in danger and she knew it, but she was also a teenager with a social life that was probably more important to her than heractuallife.
“The plan is to make sure you have as normal of a life as possible,” she assured the girl. “That means sending guards with you wherever you go. They’ll be discreet when you’re at school, so hopefully, no one will even know they’re there. And as far as dates, I’m sure we can work something out.”
Addy breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God. The Valentine’s Day dance is coming up soon and I can’t miss it. Aaron asked me weeks ago to be his date.”
The girl’s heart began to pitter-patter for a completely different reason now, and Rachel couldn’t help but smile at the obvious signs of young love. Or at least what a sixteen-year-old thought was love.
