Page 20 of Bold Mercy

Nell hurried back into the room. “Come with me, Kait. I have your bedroom ready for you. I put your cell phone and your weapons on the dresser.”

“Don’t you ever sleep, Nell?” I asked her, eyeing her dress and her perfectly applied makeup.

“Oh, I sleep when I need to.” She grinned and linked her arm through mine. “You look like you’re ready to fall over, though, so let’s get you tucked in.” She sobered as we walked down a long hallway to the back stairs. “You and the alpha…you will get her, won’t you?”

“Yeah,” I said, grimly. “We will.”

The bedroom she showed me to was at the top of the stairs on the right, and just before she led me in, she paused to point at another door at the end of the hallway. “Jared’s bedroom.” Her voice was soft and when she looked at me, there was something in her eyes. Craftiness? Amusement? I didn’t know.

I said nothing, but once again, my body roared to life when I thought of Jared in his bed, lying sprawled and defenseless and naked beneath crisp white sheets.

Damn.

“If you need anything, there’s a call light right here,” she said, pointing out a discreet white button, “and this is an emergency button. Push it, and you will have half the warriors in the pack in your bedroom before you can take a breath.” Again, she grinned, and now her eyes held only mischievousness. “Not a bad thing, if you ask me.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m too tired for emergency buttons.”

“Get some sleep, honey. I’ll wake you in a few hours, if you’d like.”

“Five hours. Thanks, Nell.” I fell into bed. The bed was nice. The room was nice. Not too big, not too small, with a bathroom and a walk-in closet. But I missed my bed, and I missed my dog. If it wouldn’t have disturbed him and Lucy, I’d have sent for him.

I was asleep before the thought was completely formed, and I dreamed the entire time. I dreamed of the alpha and his gleaming skin, his muscles, and his fierceness. I dreamed that he came for me, and kissed me, and it was so real that when something woke me and I opened my eyes to find him there above me, I thought for a minute that it hadn’t been a dream at all.

He stared down at me, as silent as I was, then, “It’s dark in a couple of hours.” His voice was quiet and smooth, and his words didn’t really penetrate my groggy mind. Just the sound of his voice, the glittering of his eyes, the sensual curve of his lips.

“The more I’m around you,” I said, but then I stopped, because I couldn’t say what I wanted to say. I wasn’t that groggy.

But he knew.

Then I glanced at the bedside clock. “Three o’clock,” I practically yelled, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. “I told Nell to wake me in five hours. I have to…” I climbed out of bed and stood there, trying to get everything straight in my head. “The world is imploding and I’m lying here sleeping. What’s the news?”

I didn’t even have clean clothes. I started to panic when I realized my blade wasn’t with me, but then remembered I’d handed it to Rick for safekeeping. I could only imagine what the detective was dealing with since the city had fallen into chaos, but I was pretty sure he wasn’t sleeping through it.

Jared gripped my upper arms. “Lucy brought some clothes for you. Your bag is in the bathroom. I had Eli go get your car, it’s parked out front. Moreno called me when he couldn’t reach you, and I told him you were safe. Things have changed in the city, but it will be no different whether you sleep for five hours or for eight. Take a shower. Breakfast and coffee will be waiting when you’re finished. Okay?”

Slightly calmed, I nodded. He was right, and my head was fuzzy. I needed to let myself fully awaken, drink some coffee, and clear my mind. “Everyone is okay?” I asked, and he knew who I was talking about. My mother, Lucy, Zach, Rick, Joe, Max…everyone.

“Everyone is fine.” He continued holding my arms, squeezing just slightly. “I’m worried about you, Kait. You have to take care of yourself.”

“I do?” I lifted my eyebrows. “I thought that’s what you were for.”

He smiled. “Deal.”

Uncomfortable, I pulled out of his grip. “I have to get ready.”

“Yes,” he said. “You do.” And he meant something totally different than I did.

I left him standing there while I went to get a quick shower, and when I came out, he was gone. There was a tray on the table, though, holding coffee and enough breakfast to feed half a dozen wolves. I ate it all, grimly refueling, gearing up for the coming night.

A night of hunting, hoping, and death.

Preferably not mine.