“I don’t want beer. I justwant—”
Liam walked out of his bedroom then, buttoning up his shirt, hair tousled as though he’d just taken a nap. When his gaze landed on mine, hefroze.
And so did everything and everyone in the room. Even the air seemed to congeal into one thick, unbreathablemass.
Liam shot Matt a look, and something passed between them—probably an order spoken through the mind link. Matt all but leaped toward his Alpha, skirting around him and into the bedroom. He shut the door so fast I guessed Liam had someone in there he didn’t want me tosee.
I pressed my lips together and swallowed. I had no right to be jealous, and yet . . . and yet I was. Or maybe I was just disappointed by how quickly I’d been replaced, especially after he’d told me he would wait forme.
That I was worth waitingfor.
Apparentlynot.
I swallowed again, but the lump grew larger and more jagged.Crap.I closed my eyes and breathed in through my nose.Crap.Why did it have tohurt?
I didn’t want back in his arms. I didn’t want back in hisbed.
So why did it have to hurt so damnmuch?
His voice crashed into my mind:It didn’t mean anything tome.
But, tome, itdid.
It meant that for all my insistence to the contrary, I’d still been hung up onLiam.
I felt a hand cup my shoulder and then I smelled him—mint and musk—but I also smelledher.
Whoeverherwas.
I hoped Matt would keep her inside, because I didn’t want to see the girl’sface.
“Ness?” This time Liam spoke outloud.
His voice was like wind. It gusted over my skin, making goose bumps rise, making my heart shudder. I stepped back and opened my eyes. I was afraid to speak. Afraid of what my voice would sound like. But I did itanyway.
“I need to—” I was right to be afraid. I sounded like I’d just spent the evening shouting at the top of my lungs. I swallowed again. “I need to talk to you about”—I glanced at the girls sitting on the couch, both of them jiggling their folded legs—“about something I found outtonight.”
Liam followed my line of sight. “Hey, Amanda, can you and Sienna go into the kitchen aminute?”
Amanda’s lips opened as though she were about to protest, but she must’ve sensed it wasn’t a suggestion. She got up and, towing Sienna, vanished into Liam’skitchen.
“What is it?” he asked, tracing the shape of my face with his darkeyes.
“I ran into Everest’s ex-girlfriend.” I glanced at Lucas. “That Megangirl.”
Lucas’s blue eyes flashed ininterest.
“She’s not a UCB student, and she’s not an escort, but Everest apparently tried to recruit her.” I crossed my arms over my chest and hugged my torso tight so I would stop trembling. “She claimedheran the agency. Apparently he was using the girls to spy. I think—” I gulped, and my saliva went down like a dulled knife blade. “I think he must’ve spied on aCreek.”
Dexter speared his fingers through his spiky brown hair. “Everest was apimp?”
Michael—or whatever his name was—placed his cards face down on thetable.
“My guess is Everest stole the Sillin to use on the people . . . on thewolveshe sent the girls to,” Isaid.
Lucas frowned. “Aidan Michaels keeping tabs on us is one thing—he’s a shifter-hater. But Everest? He’s . . . hewasone ofus.”
“I know. Look, I think we should try to locate the woman he was working with.” I unknotted my arms to dig through my handbag for my phone. My fingers trembled so hard the slick device almost slipped out. “Uh. I’ll forward the Red Creek Escort contact toyou.”
