Page 22 of Corbin (Wild Wolf Pack from the world of Gallize Shifters #2)

A half mile from her apartment, Eirene asked Ivarson, “Please stop along here.”

His alarmed face filled the rearview mirror. With the privacy window slid open, he was able to ask, “Why?”

Sighing mentally at having to constantly explain herself, she said, “I want some time to clear my mind. Leszek has crammed my schedule. To give him what he wants, I’ve got to think through a few things.”

Sounding slightly annoyed, which surprised her, he replied, “I will do as you ask, but I request that you allow me to follow you.”

That was the last thing she wanted. “No. I’m fine. I’m in a safe area for humans. Let’s call it a night. I won’t need you before seven tomorrow morning.” She hit the button to close the window and slid the curtain into place, ending all conversation.

Ivarson conceded defeat by pulling to the curb a quarter mile from her apartment building. He had never been a fan of her disguises, but he kept the cloth bag she’d filled with an assortment of everything from clothing and multiple pairs of glasses to hats and wigs in the vehicle.

This time she donned a short-cropped blond wig, black-rimmed glasses with clear lenses of no optical strength, and an embroidered blue vest over a faded red T-shirt she now wore in place of the blouse.

She changed from pants to casual khaki shorts and a pair of black sneakers, both showing heavy wear from plenty of repeated use.

Once she stepped out onto the sidewalk, her sedan drove off with an unhappy Ivarson. He seemed grumpier these days. Maybe he needed a vacation. She’d told him to let her know whenever he wanted a break.

Doing her best to care for female shifters in need left her little energy for those in better situations. Ivarson was a grown man, and the label paid well. He merely had to ask for time off, but she doubted that was the problem.

He wanted to know where she was every minute. Keeping secrets from him was more likely the cause of his foul mood.

She would not tell him about her exploits. He’d be safer kept out of that loop.

A warm breeze teased loose hairs around her face as she walked along the sidewalk pretending to be any other young woman out for a stroll.

Those women also had problems of all kinds, but they didn’t have to hide an animal from the world or battle to move around without hundreds of eyes on their every step.

Or try to keep that loony blackmailer, Nova, in line while also needing her to save the females Eirene found in deep shifter trouble.

A grumble built in her throat.

Wah, wah, wah . Enough whining. Someone out there always had it much harder.

She forced herself to focus on one problem at a time.

The first one? How to get away from everyone to check on the two shifter sisters she’d hidden?

She had to slip out of her apartment tonight without Ivarson finding out, because she’d caught Mr. Overprotective keeping an eye on her from afar in recent weeks.

If she didn’t leave too late, she could take the bus. Nope. She tossed that thought aside. The older warehouse district was not that far away on foot for a shifter. The fewer people she ran into, the better luck she’d have not being caught.

Also, she’d once climbed on a bus with a shifter who tensed the moment he’d scented her. She didn’t need some rogue to cause her trouble.

At the third corner, she took a right onto Pearl Street. An older brick warehouse, once used for manufacturing and now converted into her apartment building two blocks away, came into view. She still had problem number two, Leszek, but the short walk had released some of her tension.

She smiled, enjoying the late-day cool air on her face, and kept working out her escape plan as darkness closed in on the city.

Someone peeled away from the building and stepped into her path.

She slowed and stopped, not believing who stood there.

The tall, brooding male figure stepped toward her. This day refused to get any better.

She dismissed apologizing to him and demanded, “What are you doing here?”

“I could be here to thank you for introducing me to Spartanburg’s finest.” Corbin crossed his powerful forearms on display with the black T-shirt he’d changed into. “I could be here to ask why you did that to me. I could be here to—”

Holding up a hand, she said, “Stop. I only called for my driver. I did not set you up to be arrested.”

Below the dark sunglasses, his lips almost curved up. Was he laughing at her? He said, “I see. The police who thought I had been stalking you showed up as magically as the sedan. Sure, I’ll believe that.”

Heat climbed her throat. It had been her fault, but the law enforcement part had not been her doing. “I thought I hit the button alerting my driver to come pick me up. I didn’t. I accidentally pushed the button that asked him to come get me immediately. He thought maybe someone was threatening me.”

Tapping his cheek, he said, “Ah, now I see. All that occurred because you pushed a panic button. Good thing someone with the nuclear codes doesn’t have your twitchy finger. I’ve never known a shifter to have a panic button of any sort.”

Why did he have to pile on top of her embarrassment?

She had no strong comeback. She might have inadvertently put him in a bad spot earlier, but he started this, not her. “I don’t owe you any explanation. You showed up out of the blue and chased me while I was minding my own business. You should apologize to me.”

“What?”

“You know what? Never mind. I don’t care about your apology. In fact ... ”

Reaching out so fast she hadn’t seen his hands move, he cupped her arms and lifted her off the sidewalk, placing her to his right next to a tall bank building. He called out, “Hey, slow down, buddy.”

She heard the grinding sound against cement heading their way.

A kid with curly red hair on a skateboard whizzed by over the spot where she’d been standing. “Sorry, man.”

She should have been yanking away to free her arm, but her thoughts stalled at the gentle strength he’d exuded simply to protect her. In fairness to her brain, she might have shaken off his hold, but one thumb slowly brushed across her arm, sending tiny shockwaves along her skin.

Added to that was his intoxicating scent. Every breath confused her hormones as much as her brain.

She leaned in for a deeper inhale.

His thumb stopped moving... the moment shattered.

He slowly released her arms, leaving her standing like an idiot.

She took a step back, embarrassed at having lost her composure, and snapped, “You could have simply warned me the child was headed our way.”

“If I’d known which way would be his final swerve, I would have, but he was looking down at something. Not at who he was about to knock over.”

A reasonable explanation.

She wanted to be gracious, not chiding him for taking a protective action. “Okay ... thank you.”

He started laughing. “That sounded painful.”

Screw being polite. “So now you’re laughing at me? Not so much a gentleman after all.”

Hooking a hand around the back of his neck, his words came out with strained patience. “I was only teasing you earlier to see what your smile might look like, but you got more pissed at me for trying to keep you safe. You must be tough to date.”

Date? She couldn’t define that word.

The only young man she’d spent intimate time with had been her awful attempt at self-medicating against the anguish of her father’s murder.

That guy turned out to be a human gold digger.

She’d been isolated from regular contact with others for so long that she’d come to realize what she’d always suspected.

Her soul had been damaged beyond repair, and her father’s death had broken her.

She did not possess the ability to recognize when a man was poking at her to get a smile. Her life didn’t give her much reason to smile.

Had he been ... flirting with her?

“Hey, don’t take that to heart.” His soothing words tugged her out from under the dark cloud hovering over her thoughts.

Completely flummoxed by this man, she searched for the fury from earlier but could not find it.

An apology might fix this, but she still had an issue with him.

“I’m sorry for my part in how things went down between us today.

With that being said, I want to know your real reason for following me around.

Don’t waste my time with the bodyguard explanation. ”

All signs of teasing and humor fled. He lifted his shoulders. “I don’t know what you want to hear. I’m doing my job. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“No. You appear in the middle of my life like it’s normal and on Beckham’s team to boot. Are you here to snoop around in my life, or do you think I had anything to do with those guard deaths?” She wouldn’t give up.

He shoved a narrow-eyed look her way. “I would never falsely accuse anyone of anything.”

She mentally reeled from him taking a dig at how she’d gotten him in trouble with the cops, but she held back from retaliating. She’d let him get it all out.

“I’m working for a group who have shown me more decency than anyone else in my life. My pack leader runs security and rescue operations sometimes. I was asked to help him. If I learn anything about those deaths, I will report it to him. Is that clear enough?”

She snapped her mouth shut. Damn him.

Why was he still so angry? She apologized. What else could she possibly have done to cause this man to go from teasing to furious in a blink?

She would be justified in shouting at him. Right?

That would not be helpful right now.

Above all, she wanted to know why he had crushed her heart. Why had he gotten her hopes up and then left without a word? She deserved the truth.

That would likely be a waste of time. He’d probably dismiss her as a whiny celebrity.

She dropped her head back to stare up at the tall bank building next to them.

Evening had shown up sooner than expected because of storm clouds gathering overhead, turning everything dark.

She had to get moving, but oddly, this had been more casual conversation than she’d shared with anyone in a while, even if he did irritate her.

Pulling her chin back down, she said, “I’m tired. Let’s call it a night.” She made a move to step around him, and he blocked her path.

Her wolf growled inside her. Pixie rarely growled unless they were in danger.

His scent locked up her brain when he leaned close to say, “I now realize you meant me no ill will today. Thanks for clearing that up.”

“You’re welcome,” came out breathless. Oh, great. She hated to embarrass herself, but she clearly lacked the ability to channel her inner control freak around him.

Chiseled lips moved slightly, enough to make her wonder what caused that action. She’d been so busy staring at his mouth, she’d lost track of the conversation until Pixie told her, He should not come up with us.

“What?” Eirene mumbled, leaning back from him.

“I said I need to follow you up to your unit and ensure your apartment is clear of any threat.”

Thank goodness Pixie had been paying attention. Eirene shut that down with a firm, “No. I’ve been clearing it myself since I moved in. You can watch out down here.”

She stepped past him this time only to hear, “I can find my own way in.”

Part of her wanted to throw down a bet.

Her apartment building had some of the best security in the city, thanks to a man living there who also worked in upper management at the high-end security company contracted to protected the residents and building.

She continued walking until she reached the entrance and greeted the silver-haired gentleman with impeccable manners who opened the door for her.

She never looked back.

With rain coming, she couldn’t see Corbin standing out here all night.

The longer she spent away from his mesmerizing scent, the more her head settled back into a functioning unit. Everyone in the know understood that she’d agreed to humans only on her security team.

Had Beckham brought in two shifters to sniff out who could be attacking his men? Could that be the only reason?

Or did Beckham think she was behind the deaths because she wanted no bodyguards?

That possibility sent her blood pressure shooting up again.

No shifter was safe from SCIS if found guilty of a crime against a human.

Not even her. She had done nothing to harm anyone. Innocent people still went to prison.

SCIS for a shifter was far worse than ending up in prison for a human.

As the elevator stopped on the top floor and the door opened, she pulled out her business mobile phone and called Beckham.

She closed the phone before the call connected because a new thought hit her.

Could Corbin possibly work for Leszek on the side? That man paid off everyone to get what he wanted.

She refused to believe that of the wonderful boy she remembered.

A niggle of worry climbed her neck.

That boy had grown into a man she didn’t know.