Eleanor shifts in her seat, a scowl marring her forehead. “I don’t want you involved in this.”
“Too late,” Fox snaps. “You gave us permission the second you triggered that tracker, which, in case you weren’t aware, has now been turned off.”
“Of course I’m aware.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to leave it on, since you are in danger?”
“It’s got an automatic feature. If I don’t respond to the notification every twenty-four hours, it will switch itself on. If that happens, I am in shit.”
“Change it to twelve,” I suggest.
“What? Why?”
“And give me access. We are going to be together most of the time, so I will know if you are missing before a tracking app does.”
“Ghost, that makes a lot of sense,” Honor pushes.
Eleanor drags her teeth over her bottom lip, her fingers drumming against her thigh. “Fine. Now, if you don’t mind, I haven’t eaten, so I need sustenance.”
“Keep us updated,” Fox adds before Eleanor disconnects the call.
She closes her eyes and leans her head against the seat, puffing out a long breath. “This is why I don’t have friends.”
“You have people who care about you. Is that so hard to accept?”
“Yes.”
“You showed up for them when it was dangerous and stressful, but you don’t expect that to be reciprocated?”
“Honor’s husband was a monster, but he was, for the most part, operating on his own with the danger isolated to her. My monster has his hands woven into too many influential pies to continue turning a blind eye.” She shifts, her lips thinning as silence settles around us. “They won’t hesitate to support him by eliminating any threat to keep their disgusting and illegal practices safe and secret. There is so much more on the line than my life, which means I should be doing this alone.”
“You’re wrong.”
Her eyes snap open, and she whirls to look at me. “Please, after being in my world for five fucking minutes, tell me how I am wrong.”
“The beast you are hunting might be bigger than Honor’s dead husband, but he is, at his core, another predator who thinks his connections make him invulnerable. Untouchable. He’s not, but he’s walking around like his actions don’t have consequences.”
“Oh, he’s aware of the consequences. But they don’t bother him.”
“All the more reason why you need to surround yourself with capable people who give a shit. Don’t do this alone, Eleanor. Stay with me for a few weeks until Christopher gets bored of his hunt. Take a minute to put your research back together in the spare room, then get an outside perspective and let’s get this done.”
“You, I suppose, are the outside perspective?”
“I am.”
She hums, turning to look out the window. It’s neither a yes or a no, which is all I can ask for now. Her phone rings again, her shoulders relaxing at the caller ID. She sighs as she accepts the call.
“Gail, I’m sorry, I need to reschedule.”
Interesting—her tone is a little softer. Who is Gail? Family? Friend? Although she seems adamant she has neither of those things.
A feminine voice plays through the speakers. “Oh no, missy, we discussed this. You don’t reschedule or cancel. That leads to the road of ruin.”
“I have a genuine reason.”
“Unless you are naked and riding a man, you do not have an excuse that flies with me.”
I raise my brows as I imagine Eleanor naked and straddling my thighs. Damn, now it’s all I can think about. Readjusting my jeans, I hope my arousal isn’t obvious. I just stopped fantasizing about her, but now she’s going to be in my private space, her scent, her body, her aura eating up my world. I’m fucked.
