Page 44 of A Token of Blood and Betrayal

“Blake won’t hurt me.”Not physically, at least.“I’m sure of it.”

“If he loses control…”

“I won’t let him,” I said.

His mouth flattened, but he nodded as if he was agreeing with me.He drew in a breath and stared at the bar on the door for a moment.I was about to reassure him again that I’d be okay when he said, “He’s in love with you.”

My emotions tangled into a chaotic mess.They were impossible to sort.Anticipation and fear both made my whole body feel jittery.They made a vise tighten around my chest.They made me imagine giving in to Blake.

And they triggered an image of Lehr slaughtering him.

“He might think he is,” I said.Please don’t ask me how I feel.“But he’s a werewolf.I’m just a shiny object he can’t have, and he hates being told no.”I felt cruel saying the words, cruel even thinking them, but it honestly didn’t make sense for a man like Blake to be interested in me, not unless I factored in thehard to getelement.

“Just be careful,” Christian said.“I’ll lose it if you’re hurt.”

“I’ll be—”

He held up a hand to cut me off.“If you try to tell me you have everything under control, I’m not buying it.”

I pressed my lips together, zipped them, then turned to the door.

“Kennedy.”Christian’s tone sounded odd.

I looked over my shoulder.His hands were back in his pockets.He shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

“I’ll call when I leave here,” he said.“But I’m going back to my gym, not to The Rain.I’ve neglected it for the past few months and need to dedicate more time to it.Catch up on bills and memberships.The AC needs to be fixed and—”

“Right.No problem,” I said.Why did itfeellike a problem?Why did this conversation suddenly seem awkward?“You don’t have to stay at The Rain just because Melissa is there.I know I’ve made things difficult for you.”

He snorted at that.“Things were difficult long before I met you.You’ve… helped.At least, you’ve helped with everything but the profitability of the gym.”

I relaxed and smiled.“You’re running a business.I’m running a business.We’re both on the verge of going under.We should get together and share notes.”

He laughed.“Sounds like a great way to go bankrupt together.”

“Speak for yourself.I’m totally going to turn things around.”I playfully punched his shoulder before I grabbed the bar on the door.

He moved beside me, said “I know,” then he wrapped his hands around the bar above and below mine.Together, we heaved the door open.It was time to get Blake out of there.

Chapter Twelve

“You’realwayssavingme.”Blake’s words broke the night’s silence.

I slowed half a step to look at him.He didn’t say anything else, didn’t look at me, just continued our walk across the field toward the decoy house.

“I’m pretty sure it’s the other way around,” I said.The dark clouds overhead shadowed his features.There was something unreadable in his expression, something quieter than usual.The violence that had sharpened his aura and defined every muscle in his shoulders and torso had finally faded, replaced by something else, something pensive yet significant.

“When Jared tried to provoke me after erasing the cop’s memory, you came between us when you should have fled.”

Yeah.Thathad been incredibly stupid.“I didn’t want you and Jared to kill each other.”

“You came between my wolf and Malachi outside your apartment.”

It took me a second to remember that night.Arcuro had shown up first, threatening my friends with his presence.That was the first time I’d met Malachi.He’d thrown an emaciated vampire, one of the unsanctioned I’d saved, at my feet, a test to see if a crazy, deranged paranorm could attack me without triggering the treaty.Blake killed the vampire before he had a chance to reach me.Then he’d set his wolf’s eyes on Malachi.

And again, I’d acted without thinking, grabbing a handful of his fur to keep him from attacking.

“Are you admitting you couldn’t take on Malachi?”I lightly bumped his shoulder and painted a grin on my face.He responded like I’d hoped he would, narrowing his eyes at me.Somehow his expression managed to look both amused and irritated at the same time while clearly communicating the thought:Don’t be ridiculous.