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“Can the macho bullshit, Nate. I told you, I can take care of myself.”

“Never said it wasn’t safe for you. It’s not safe for me .”

“Excuse me?”

“I can’t tell you what I know. Certain, uh, people would be pissed if I spilled the secrets. They’d come for me, and it would be a whole thing.”

“What people? Like the cops? Is Ollie gonna arrest you?”

“Something like that,” I said, dodging the truth.

To my surprise, Cameron picked her mug back up and sank into the couch again.

I cocked an eyebrow at her. “That’s it? I was sort of expecting a bigger fight from you.”

“I get it. I’m sure the police here aren’t as corrupt as back home, but in Zamora, if you ran your mouth, you were likely to get a bullet in the head. That went for the gangs and police. Whatever you’re scared of, I can relate.”

“Hard to leave that life behind, I take it?”

Cameron nodded toward the hall. “Mom’s still got a gun. Just in case. She’s a pretty damn good shot, too.”

“Your mom has a handgun? In Canada ? Is that legal?”

Cameron’s cheeks reddened, and she put a finger to her lips. “She got it before the law changed. If you won’t tell, we won’t tell.”

I chuckled. “Secret’s safe with me. Keep that outlook—stay quiet about this whole thing. For now, try to be vague about this second attack. Maybe don’t even mention it at all, even when you talk about it to your family and that boyfriend of yours.”

“ Oh, fuck ,” Cameron hissed and put her mug down again. “I need to call Rick back. Where’s my phone? He’s probably freaking out.”

She gave an irritated little shake of her head. Not the look a person made when their significant other might be worried about them. Instead, she looked like she’d rather do anything else but call him. Strange.

I tilted my head and used my enhanced hearing to try and catch her heartbeat. Definitely more of a staccato rhythm, one that usually meant someone was nervous or dreading something. Interesting.

“It’s in my pocket,” I said. “Almost forgot.”

When I tugged the phone out of my jacket, the notification screen showed seven missed calls and ten text messages. It must have been on silent. I handed it over, and her expression morphed into one of irritation.

“So many messages,” she muttered to herself and gave a weary sigh.

“Was that the guy on the phone? Back in the alley?”

She nodded absently as she tapped her screen.

“Yeah. Rick.” She read for a moment, then groaned, rolling her eyes.

“He says he wants to come over and check on me. God, I’m gonna tell him I tripped and accidentally put my phone on silent when I picked it up.

” She glanced up at me, a faint hint of desperation in her eyes.

“Does that sound believable? You said not to say anything about the attack.”

“Sounds fine to me.” I gave her a knowing grin. “You don’t want him to come over?”

“Absolutely not. First off, I’m supposed to be at work.

What’s he gonna think if I’m not there? Also, if he came here , how would it look if he showed up and you’re sitting in my living room?

Even if Rick and I aren’t…” Cameron trailed off, looking a little embarrassed.

“Uh, never mind. It would just be bad, okay?”

She’d wanted to say something else. Her heartbeat had sped up even as she’d spoken. Something was going on between her and this Rick guy. Trouble in paradise, perhaps?

For some reason, that thought sent a warm and pleasurable tingle up my spine.

“Ah, I see,” I said, grinning at her. “Worried he’s gonna think you’re banging the hot dude who’s hanging out in your living room?”

She smirked and shot me a look. Just like that, the wall between us fell away. Between the attack and this fun banter, things were more natural and relaxed between us. The change was nearly tangible. Suddenly, we were friends. Not close friends, but more than acquaintances.

“Very funny,” she said. “I see you’re modest, too.”

“Not unless I can help it.”

Her phone buzzed, and she looked at the screen. “Rick bought it,” she said. “I told him I was driving home and couldn’t call. He’s not going to try to come over here to see me.”

She let out a breath, obviously relieved.

The way she acted about her boyfriend struck me as a little weird, almost like she was afraid of upsetting him.

Was he abusive? I didn’t think so. She didn’t seem like the type to put up with that shit.

It had to be something else, then, but I couldn’t nail it down from the limited knowledge I had.

The weirdest part was the flicker of jealousy that thrummed in my chest when she talked about him. I had no reason to be jealous of this guy, yet I was. There was something she wasn’t telling me. A secret I hadn’t discovered yet.

“What do I do now?” she asked. “If you can’t give me whatever info you have, can you at least tell me how to stay safe?”

That was a good question. It showed me she was pragmatic. Rather than panicking and losing her head, she wanted to know how to stay safe. The more I was around her, the more impressed I was.

“First off, try to limit the time you spend alone, especially outside in the open,” I advised.

“Going to and from work or the store should be done in the company of someone else. As soon as I’m done here, I’m going to call Ollie and check if he can get a police detail to watch your apartment and follow you to work and back. As an extra precaution.”

“Well, uh, what about you ?” she asked, fumbling over her words and not looking me in the eyes.

“What about me?” I refused to look away from her. A small wavering flame of excitement threatened to ignite in my stomach, but I crushed it as fast as I could.

After a beat of silence, she met my eyes. There it was. In that look, I could see a confirmation of what I thought I heard in her voice. She felt safe around me. I’d saved her from certain doom, whisked her away, and brought her home. She didn’t want me to leave.

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from grinning at her.

“I guess that…” she started. “I mean, I know you. Wouldn’t it be better if you watched me instead of some random cop? That would be just another stranger.”

My wolf gave a low and hungry growl I was barely able to suppress. The thought of watching over her appealed to the creature within me. And to my human self, if I was being honest.

I eyed her speculatively for a few moments before answering. “I could stay here, I suppose,” I said, my voice low and almost flirtatious. “If that makes you feel safer.”

Cameron’s face flushed, and her scent changed. Fear, worry, excitement, and embarrassment all in one floral-scented burst of pheromones. Again, I forced myself not to smile.

“The couch is fine,” I added.

Her eyes widened, and she glanced around with a scandalized look on her face.

“But what about my family? You said not to worry them about a second attack. Kinda hard to keep a six-foot, muscle-bound biker on my couch a secret.”

“Six-foot-two inches, to be exact,” I amended. “We’ll just tell them that Ollie’s worried a second attack might come. I’m insurance he set up for you. That’s all.”

Before she could argue, the door to the apartment banged open, and a young boy’s voice called from the entryway.

“Cam! My friend Javen showed me how to download an NES emulator to my computer. He gave me some cheat codes for the mutant turtle game I wanted to play and?—”

He skidded to a halt when he saw me, and his eyes popped wide.

An awkward silence stretched out like some miserable piece of pre-chewed gum.

The kid had the same dark olive complexion as Cameron.

His hair, though not as curly as hers, was the same shade of raven.

His bangs stuck to his forehead, a little sweaty from running from the school bus, if I had to guess.

The silence continued. Deciding to be the one to break it, I said, “You ever played that game before? The one you were talking about?”

“Huh?” the boy said, flinching at my words. “What? No, I’ve just read about it. I, uh, I like retro games. NES, Super NES, Sega Genesis. Stuff like that.”

“A man after my own heart,” I said with a grin. “I’ll give you a bit of advice. That ninja turtle game? Watch out for the underwater portion. You swim under a dam and disarm bombs. Major pain in the ass.”

The kid grinned at me, excitement lighting up his face. “I heard about that. It’s all over the message boards. Did you ever beat it?”

I shrugged and gave him a cocky smile. “I might have gotten through that one a time or two. Though, I didn’t have an emulator on a computer.

I found an actual game system at a garage sale when I was about your age.

Bought it and about two dozen games for like twenty bucks.

The old lady I bought it off could have sold the stuff for probably a few hundred bucks even back then.

It was like Christmas for a poor kid like me. ”

“No way!” the kid exclaimed. “Are you for real? Do you still have it?”

“Unfortunately not,” I replied. “I’m more of a wanderer these days. No place to keep something like that.”

“A wanderer? Like a nomad? Sweet .” He swung his head to Cameron. “Is this your new boyfriend?”

Cameron choked on her coffee. “What?” she replied between coughs. “No.”

This was getting even more awkward now that the kid was looking at me in awe.

“My name’s Nate, by the way,” I said. “I take it you’re Gael?”

“Yeah! That’s me,” he said, obviously happy I already knew his name.

“Cameron, can I use your shower real quick?” I asked. “I’m a little dirty from earlier.” Brick dust from one of the buildings was still all over me, even after the wind from the bike ride, and I’d sweated through my shirt from the exertion of the fight.

“Sure,” she said. “Down the hall. There should be towels in there.”

I gave her a wink and strolled down the hall toward the bathroom. Behind me, Gael peppered her with more questions. I grinned as I locked the door behind me.