“What, you don’t think I could do it?” she demanded, some of the anger she’d been stuck with for the past few months coming out. She might be a freaking mess, but that didn’t mean she wanted her pack mates to treat her like a soup sandwich. They were supposed to support her, dammit.
“Of course we do,” Zane said, though he didn’t sound convinced.
Diego didn’t even bother to hide his concern. It was right there on his face for everyone to see. “You sure about this?”
Rachel wanted to growl at him but couldn’t find it in her to be angry with him. Diego wasn’t the oldest member of the Pack, but he worried about everyone like a big brother, and since he’d watched her experience those nightmares firsthand in LA, he worried about her constantly.
So instead of biting his head off, she gave him a warm smile. “Yes, I’m sure. I think it would be good for me to focus on someone else’s issues for a while instead of mine. And if I run into something I can’t handle, you’ll be the first one I come to for help.”
That seemed to satisfy him and the rest of her SWAT teammates—or at least shut them up—and after another round of handshakes and comments on how much they were looking forward to working together, Diego, Trey, and Zane left to go check out the security command post.
“Well, that went well,” Knox murmured the moment they walked out.
Rachel cursed and held a finger up to her lips to shush him before he could say anything else. Only after she was sure her pack mates were out of earshot did she turn and look at him.
“Okay, they’re gone,” she said. “I’m not sure how well developed your hearing is yet, but werewolves can clearly make out a normal conversation from a block away. It wouldn’t be a good idea to have the other members of my pack realize I know you already—or that you’re a hunter.”
“Ex-hunter,” he corrected. “But I get your point. I take it they wouldn’t be thrilled to hear about my background?”
Rachel snorted. “They’d be thrilled, all right. Though you wouldn’t because they’d probably kill you.”
There was a perverse part of her that hoped to get a reaction out of him with her threat, but she ended up disappointed. He didn’t even bat an eye.
“Dead isn’t a good look on me,” he quipped. “So, thanks for the warning. I’m getting the feeling there’s a lot more I’m going to need to learn than I’d realized. I never thought about being able to hear better now that I’m a werewolf.”
“Yeah, well, at least you’re getting a chance to learn all this from someone else. I had to pick most of it up on my own and it sucked.” Knox looked curious, but she waved him off. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll tell you tonight. You’re still coming over, right?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I helped Theo put together the duty roster and made sure I’m on day shift with you.”
Huh. That’s convenient, she thought as she headed for the door. “Good. I’ll see you then.”
“It’s a date.”
She stopped like she’d hit a brick wall, immediately turning halfway around to poke her head back in the door. “No, it’s not a date. It’s a meeting. It’s a training session. It’s a chance for us to talk. But it is most definitely not a date.”
Rachel left before Knox could reply, but as she walked down the hall, she couldn’t miss the amused chuckle he let out. Damn her own werewolf hearing.
Chapter 4
The mouthwatering aroma of a home-cooked meal wafting out of Rachel’s apartment hit Knox the moment he reached the second-floor landing. He paused, amazed he could possibly discern the smell was coming from her place considering it was all the way down at the end of the hallway. Then again, how did he also know it was something homemade and not takeout? Since getting the answer to questions like those was the reason he was there in the first place, he did his best to ignore his nose as he headed toward Rachel’s.
He ran a few opening lines through his head as he went, hoping to come up with something to make up for that lame-ass comment about tonight being a date earlier. He had no idea why he’d even said it. The words had simply slipped out. He was usually smooth with the ladies, but there was something about Rachel that threw him completely off his game.
Knox lifted his hand to rap his knuckles against the door, but she opened it before he could knock. Unfortunately, he still hadn’t come up with the line he’d been looking for. Not that it mattered. His mind vapor locked the moment he set eyes on Rachel.Crap, this is embarrassing.
Luckily, she didn’t notice his mouth was hanging open like he was an oversized carp because she turned away, busy typing something into her phone and motioning him in with a jerk of her chin.
“Addy Lloyd was a little freaked out this morning about the whole security detail thing, so I gave her my cell phone number in case she needed to talk, but I think that may have been a bad idea,” Rachel said as she continued across her small living room toward the kitchen. “She’s been texting me nonstop since I got home. I can’t believe that girl is worrying about what she’s going to wear to a high school dance when there are people out there trying to kill her family.”
“It’s probably because she doesn’t have any idea how much danger she’s in.” Knox closed the door behind him. “Or she does realize and is using the dance as a way to cope with the fear.”
She kept tapping on her phone. “Assuming Addy takes after her mother, I’ll go with the former. Jennifer is obviously a brilliant woman, but I get the feeling she thinks this whole security detail is a bother.”
He couldn’t argue with that. “If it wasn’t for her daughter and husband, I don’t think she would have even accepted the protection.”
Rachel nodded in agreement as she sauntered into the kitchen, silky blond hair hanging loose down her back. His gaze lingered on the curve of her butt as she moved. He was a little disappointed she wasn’t wearing the same shorts she’d had on last night, but the jeans she wore looked damn good, too. He also loved the way her snug T-shirt had a tendency to ride up as she walked, showing off a little glimpse of skin above the waist of her jeans. He had a crazy urge to run his fingers across all that exposed perfection to see if she was ticklish.
He forced his attention away from the distraction that was her body and looked around the apartment as he tossed his leather jacket over the back of the couch. He’d been too keyed up last night to notice much beyond the superficial. He hadn’t even gotten a good look at any of the framed photos she had on display. There were pictures of her with an older couple who had to be her mom and dad, and some with a tall guy and two women who looked enough like her to be her siblings, as well as some fellow cops. And if her southern accent hadn’t already given her away, the apartment’s decor definitely betrayed her country roots. There was a homey feel to the place, with pictures of old barns, tree-covered mountains, and crystal-clear lakes. The banner from the University of Tennessee on the wall over the TV as well as the orange-and-white fleece blanket with the signature checkered pattern on either end, along with a bold T in the center, thrown over the back of the love seat were sort of a dead giveaway, too. He wasn’t a fan of the Volunteers, since he grew up in Kentucky Wildcats country, but he decided not to hold it against her—much.
