Before Murphy could respond, a loud buzz sounded from the coffee table in front of him. Startled, he looked down at the surface, taking a moment too long to register that it was his cellphone.
Typically, Murphy only kept it in his office to receive alerts about the weather or other human emergencies, but since Nessa couldn’t communicate with him telepathically, he’d begun carrying it around when he was away from her, just in case she needed him.
He reached for his phone, snatching it up. The screen lit up, showing a text preview from Nessa. Murphy smiled to himself. She must have been thinking about him and wanted to check in.
Using the passcode, he clicked on the text icon, scanning over the message. His smile slowly faded.
‘Hey. I’m probably just being ridiculous, but I saw someone in town. I thought it was Angelo, and now I’m worried. Can you meet me and Hunny at this pizza place?’
A growl left Murphy’s throat, and he all but leaped from the couch, his senses going haywire.
“What is it?” Jasper asked immediately.
Another text popped up—a pin drop to Nessa’s location.
“Nessa needs me.” Murphy hurried toward the front door. “I have to go.”
“We’re coming with you,” Jasper stated, quickly moving to Murphy’s left side.
“Absolutely,” Colter chimed in as Zeke moved to Murphy’s right.
Pride and affection swelled in Murphy’s chest at their insistence to help without even knowing what the problem was. He led a bear clan full of good shifters, despite the fiasco with Dante.
His phone buzzed again, and Murphy looked down as he reached the door.
‘Actually, I think I’m overreacting. Talking last night probably just stirred up old memories of my brother, and I’m sure I just imagined seeing him.’
That was a plausible explanation.
But he wouldn’t risk the safety of his mate and his pregnant sister-by-mating.
Quickly, he sent her a reply.
‘I’ll be there as soon as I can.’
He pocketed his phone, pulling open the door and moving onto his porch. The footsteps of his family echoed behind him. “I’ll reach out to Tank; we’ll pick him up on the way.”
Chapter 32
Nessa stared down at her phone, the knot of anxiety sitting like a rock in her stomach finally easing.
“You okay?” Hunny asked, drawing Nessa’s gaze from her phone and to her friend, who was perched on the other side of the booth. They’d been seated less than ten minutes ago, and while the server had been polite, she’d also been dismissive. “You’ve been staring down at your phone for like five minutes.”
“I have?” Nessa shook her head to clear it. “Yeah, I’m fine. Murphy’s going to stop by soon.”
“Here?” Hunny looked around the mostly empty diner curiously. “I thought he was back home? That’s like an hour away.”
“He is.” And it was. But he hadn’t hesitated to drop everything after she’d texted him, even after she’d told him she wasoverreacting and to just ignore her. The odds of seeing Angelo after all these years were insanely low, and she hadn’t left a trail behind when she’d moved to Montana.
How could he have even found her?
Hunny reached across the table, careful to not knock their drinks over. She took Nessa’s hand and squeezed it affectionately. “You know you can always talk to me,” her friend stated.
Nessa nodded, her chin wobbling as she fought to suppress the torrent of emotions overwhelming her.
“I know I’ve hinted at my past before,” Nessa said quietly, her gaze snapping to the front door as it opened, a bell ringing overhead announcing a new patron’s arrival. She tensed until three strangers walked in, two of them laughing at something the other had said. “I don’t enjoy discussing it, and I’m not really ready to do so now, but I left an extremely bad situation in Chicago a few years ago.”
“I’ve pieced together a few things, Nessa.” Hunny leaned forward and whispered, “I’m pretty sure you left a bad man. Someone who hurt you. And I don’t think he let you leave willingly.”
