Page 27 of The Enforcers: KANE

“I’m not expecting anything,” she said. “I just want to meet them, and see Silverlake, and hang out with you. That’s all.”

He gave her a sideways look and a little smile. And as he pulled onto the road and into the straightaway, he put his hand over hers and held it.

Chapter 9

Kane was glad he’d told Rachelle about the pack. It made him cringe to think of all the stories he’d told about them, trying to pretend it was some fantasy world.

He wouldn’t have wanted to face the look in her eyes when she found out what an ass he’d been, if he hadn’t told her first.

As they made their way up the final section of the dirt road that led to Silverlake, though, he started second-guessing himself. Why was he bringing her here at all? There wasn’t much to do up here, and she’d probably be bored.

He should have taken her out somewhere in town.

“So, I hope you like nature,” he said. “There’s a waterfall up at the head of the lake we could walk to. It’s pretty. Or we could go swimming.”

Shit. He’d forgotten to tell her to bring a bathing suit. Date fail.

“You could borrow a suit from one of the girls,” he added quickly. “Or I could lend you some shorts and a t-shirt.”

“Whatever you want to do is fine,” she said. “I would like to meet some of the pack, though. Even if they’re not superheroes or anything.”

Her eyes were crinkled. Was she laughing at him? Wolf growled.

“Hey,” she said softly, wrapping her fingers tighter around his. “I wasn’t making fun of you.”

“Sorry,” he said. “According to my pack, sometimes I’m a little too serious.” He paused. “More like always,” he admitted. “I’m kind of…not fun at all, actually.” Stop talking, he told himself. Like, now.

“I like you,” she said. “I don’t mind what we do.”

Warmth spread through his chest, and he let out a big breath. “Okay. Good. So, um, prepare to be bored?” Oh, God. Was it possible to get through a date without speaking?

She laughed and squeezed his hand. He’d always thought holding hands was pointless, but now he wanted to hold hands with her all afternoon. Especially if he could do it without having to fucking talk.

He pulled into the level grassy area where the pack parked their vehicles. There were more people around than he expected, for a Monday afternoon. If Rafe had told everyone he had a date just so they could come and laugh at him, he really would rip the fucker’s shirt off and shove it down his throat.

He got out of the truck, trying to figure how he could get Rachelle to his cabin without attracting any attention. The lake was a bad idea—there were a couple of trucks pulled up by the fire pit and people were loading them with coolers, which meant they were planning on a lakeside barbecue.

Damn. Maybe he could take her up to the waterfall instead. Waterfalls were romantic. Especially without an entire wolf pack to ruin the vibe. Girls liked romantic, right?

This whole thing was a mistake.

Then it got worse.

He’d barely gotten Rachelle out of the truck and closed her door before Emma came bounding over. “It’s about time you two got here,” she said. “If you’d been much longer, we would’ve had to start without you.”

Start what? Kane saw Rachelle looking at him quizzically. He shrugged, feeling like everything was running out of his control. “We were going to walk up to the waterfall…”

“You can do that later,” Emma said. She turned to Rachelle. “Those of us who are not working today, on account of just spending an excruciating week in Nashville, are having a barbecue at the lake. And we waited for you because we want you and Kane to come with.”

She linked her arm through Rachelle’s and drew her along the path, Kane following helplessly behind. This was definitely not what he’d planned. He wanted Rachelle to have fun, but with him, not with everyone else.

Which probably wouldn’t have happened, because he was the most un-fun guy imaginable. But he would have liked to try.

As they approached the fire pit, Jace jogged over and greeted Rachelle. “Welcome to Silverlake. I’m Jace, the alpha here.” He clapped Kane on the shoulder. “So, are you two in the fights?”

Rachelle’s eyes went wide. “Fights?” she squeaked out.

Emma elbowed Jace. “She thinks you mean real fights. With blood.”