Page 49 of A Token of Blood and Betrayal
“Why are you arguing?”He finally sounded as irritated as I was.“You just said you didn’t want anything to do with pack business.”
All I could do was shake my head.
“I really can’t take you,” he said.
“It’s fine.”
He sighed.“I know what fine really means.”
“Do you—”
He opened his door and grabbed my waist at the same time, then he exited the truck and hauled me across the seat.
“Blake!”I grabbed the steering wheel, which is exactly where he wanted me: in the driver’s seat.
“She’ll get you home,” he said.His eyes were a dark and human obsidian brown, intense and focused.
What choice did I have?
“Fine,” I said, this time just to be difficult.
His mouth twitched into a brief smile, then he leaned back into the truck to reach under my seat.When he straightened, he held a screwdriver in his hand.
“In case the storm breaks,” he said.
Glaring, I grabbed the stupid tool.He didn’t let it go though.Instead, he held on and brought his lips so very close to my ear.“I haven’t been with anyone since before Beltane.”
Chapter Thirteen
BythetimeImade it to The Rain’s parking lot, I was ten times as pissed.I still felt the warmth of his breath on my neck.My skin still felt the shiver his words sent through me.He’d known what he was doing.Iknew what he was doing, but my body reacted despite all the logic and sense I threw at it.
The only thing more annoying was the squeak of the windshield wipers and the screwdriver sticking into a hole in the side of the steering wheel mount.
Easing my foot off the gas pedal, I scanned the parking lot and let the truck creep forward.Vehicles were scarce since our small number of guests had left last week.I’d allowed the werewolves who had signed my tent list to stay at The Rain.I’d booted the others from the makeshift camp they’d set.That had been the first time guests had stayed since my parents’ murders, and it had been my first attempt to wrestle control away from Lehr and Arcuro.
I scrutinized the shadows and the spaces between the vehicles.Despite Blake’s advice to park inside the Null, I wasn’t doing it, especially with this rain.Knowing my luck, the truck would have dug ruts into the grass and gotten stuck, becoming a permanent fixture on our front lawn.
Ishouldbe totally fine for a short sprint from the parking lot to the front porch, but I couldn’t quite shake off the paranoia warning me that Canyon could pop out of any shadow.It didn’t hurt to be extra vigilant anyway, so I unfastened my seat belt and opened my door, prepared to jump out before the truck came to a full stop.As soon as it did, I shifted into park, yanked the key from the ignition, then ran, all the while scanning my surroundings for potential hiding spots or ambushes.
Maybe that was why I didn’t notice anything off about The Rain.I was too focused on what might happen outside The Rain’s walls to notice what was missing within them.
It wasn’t until after I shouldered open the tall oak door, slipped inside, and closed it behind me that I realized just how damn dark the lobby was.
Alarm tickled the hair on the back of my neck, then scurried down my spine.Slowly, cautiously, I turned away from the door to take in the room.
The storm made it as dark as night in here.I might not have been able to see anything if candlelight didn’t flicker from the wraparound bar to my right.The lobby itself appeared empty, but four people were in the restaurant, one standing behind the bar and three sitting in front of it on stools.Sullens occupied the nearest stool, and the way he rotated toward me said this situation was one hundred percent my fault.
My mind rewound through the past few days, trying to recall what I’d screwed up when it eventually landed on the past due notice that had arrived last week.
“Ms.Rain,” Sullens said.
I strode toward him.“I had sixty days!”
“From the first notice.”He slid a file toward me when I reached the bar.
I focused on Garion first, meeting and holding his gaze for several seconds.His face hovered between grim silence and his normal, reserved expression.I gave him the briefest smile to indicate everything was okay, something he probably didn’t believe, then I turned my attention to the folder.
I flipped it open.It contained all the recent bills, but the electric bill, stampedPast Duein bright red ink, sat on top.I scanned it, found what I was looking for, then jabbed my fingers at the bolded letters that said60 Days.“See?”