His desire that I not embarrass him in front of them.
I swallowed a snort and walked away. So he wasn’t standing off to the side simply watching me anymore, but he was still fucking up and not giving me what I needed.
Whatever, not my problem.
“The wolves weren’t involved,” Rita told me. “We received word from Councilwoman Watson on the side that they took the threats of that ancient seriously and weren’t coming for you. However, she couldn’t get us word sooner that there was a leak to your address. Not with the eyes on her.”
I snorted. “And she probably knew it was a trap and didn’t want to risk my plan.”
“That was the impression I got, yes,” she confirmed, patting my arm. “The meeting wasn’t as big of a mess as you think. Really, it wasn’t. I agree that a lot of long-term wins probably will come from it.”
I nodded and thanked her before heading out, ignoring that Aidan probably wanted to catch me too. There was one thing I needed to handle and get off my conscience before I dug into the next part of my life to hopefully fix more than I broke.
The human was beyond shocked to find me waiting for him at his vehicle after his shift. Then anger filled his eyes as he glanced around and stormed down on me.
“I talked to the friends I told you about,” I told him in way of greeting as I handed him a piece of paper. Well, the twins had on my behalf, but I’d gotten word that they were more than willing. “They know a good club that one of them works at and needs security. Clock in and clock out, but the pay is a living wage.
“It’s not forever, but he said the music drowns out the noise of his past and he can sleep easier.” I nodded when the guy swallowed loudly. “You can crash with him for a month while you find your own place and they have a few leads if you want the help, but if not, that’s cool too. And yes, they do acceptstraysinto the group. It’s how the group formed.
“If nothing else, call. Please. Talk to any of them listed. Theyimmediatelysaid to give you their number, and even if you don’t want to move, maybe they know someone closer or could get you to the right people.” I swallowed loudly when he still hesitated. “They’ve been where you have and come out the other side. Isn’t that worth this one last push of hope? Please?”
“Yeah,” he said so quietly that a human might not have heard him. He took the paper with a shaky hand. “Why me?” He met my gaze and saw too much. “I heard you were out—gone as fast as you came in and people were pissed. Why come back for me?”
I took in a slow breath and let it out. “Because you were worth taking the time for. Someone saw that in me and I found the strength to reach out for that hope.” I nodded to the paper. “Don’t break my heart, and be strong this last time to keep fighting. You made it this far. Don’t let the assholes win when you deserved better.”
“Thanks. Really.”
“Good luck.”
“I won’t ever see you again, will I?” he hedged, his desires turning to interest in me as a woman.
I gave him a sad smile. “My dance card is full, but honestly I’m not in much better of a spot than you. We would drown trying to help each other. Go find an amazing woman who can help you not dump water on your head trying to stay afloat.”
“Fair.” He let out a heavy breath. “I hope he heals you.”
I slowly nodded knowing I was going to talk about the twins together as if one person. “He’s helped me see I do more than I thought and it’s okay to let people support me. For now, that’s a lot and I’m trying to do better in it.”
“That’s all we can do and I hope it works out for you,” he said as I walked off.
Me too. It was nice he said it though, especially when I took the time to help him. It really was.
Oddly enough, not a lot of people did even when I spent so much time worrying and caring about them. People could be so inherently selfish that it was hard not to give up on them as a whole.
Or just life in general.
Mason was actually still working on cleaning up my mess when I arrived home, and I didn’t want to disturb him, so I just went to bed.
I woke a bit later… But didn’t.
I was so used to the dreamscapes now that I wasn’t worried or scared, but it had been a bit, so that threw me. I blinked around and couldn’t hide my shock as I took it in.
Honestly, it looked like an Instagram photo shoot of someone bragging about their Valentine’s Day. Not so cheesy, but it was perfect like that.
I found Evan standing off to the side watching me carefully. “What is all of this?”
“What we had ready for you on the 14th,” he admitted, nodding when I did a double take. “It wasn’t just our stuff we were trying to get with you about, Jasmine.”
I felt small. “I ruined all of this? My first Valentine’s Day?”
