Page 15 of Never Submit (Bad Wolves #2)

Chapter 15

Ren

“ Y ou didn’t have to do that.” I bite down on my lip as the stranger stares at me sidelong.

Jeez, I almost lost my cool in front of them. How embarrassing would it have been to shift again, to show how absolutely unhinged I get when it comes to those four men.

“Do what?” she asks with forced lightness.

She waddles beside me much faster than I’d have thought her capable of moving.

“Get me out of there like I was going to break at any point,” I reply. “And I was.”

I rub at the ache in my chest. Something about being in a room with those guys digs right under my skin and it’s like a wave comes out of nowhere, crashing through my insides.

They smelled so good, too.

Much to my surprise, the woman giggles. “Oh honey, no, I didn’t do it for you. I did it for me. Too much testosterone.” She waves a hand in front of her face to clear the air. “It’s like a boys’ club in there and those are never fun.”

“Only for the boys,” I correct .

She giggles again and the sound is adorable. One of those high chirruping sounds ladies make, the really feminine ladies who seem to float in the air and leave fairy dust behind them.

“I’m Flora, by the way.” Despite her very pregnant self, she doesn’t slow on the way to the elevator, pressing her nail to the button for the ground floor. “And you’re Ren?”

I blink. “I am. It’s nice to meet you, Flora.”

“You could say I work with Mathis.” She bursts into gales of laughter when my gaze drops to her stomach. “Not that way! Owen is my mate. He’s back at home.”

I’ve never seen anyone like Flora before, and to watch the way she stands up to the others…she barely gives them a second to step out of line. Wrangling them with ease seems to be her specialty.

I could learn a thing or two from her. Shit, I’ll have to.

She stops me on the street and points to a truck. “How about we go for a drive? Get a little fresh air. That way, it will give us the space to let some things go.” She leans closer. “And get us away from our tails.”

I glance behind me to see one of Torin’s men and one of Mathis’s, both of them standing in the shadows of the building and grunting at each other. Like their shoulders are so big that they can’t get out of the doorway at the same time and neither is willing to move first.

It’s comical.

“That’s one of the best propositions I’ve heard so far,” I reply.

Flora and I rush toward the truck before either of the bodyguards can free themselves from the mess of their own making, laughter bubbling up inside of me and my chest feeling light for the first time in a long time.

Gosh, when was the last time I saw Aspen or Carrigan? Had a little girl time to just drink and gossip? My friendships have fallen way off the map, other things taking up space and priority, and I miss them.

Flora might be a stranger, but she gives me a little bit of that back. It’s in her aura or something.

She pulls open the door and ushers me inside quickly before taking the driver’s seat.

“Mathis lets you drive his truck?” I ask.

She throws her head back and laughs. “ Lets me? Ha! This is my truck. He’s lucky I let him ride in it.” She pulls a set of keys out of her pocket and jams one into the ignition. “We’re out of here!”

We pull away from the curb just as the two baboons reach us, and the speed in which she takes off presses me into the seat, but I’m laughing too hard to care.

“This is so great!”

“Boys’ club,” she repeats. “There’s only one way to get out and it’s this. Sneaking around. I knew I came with them today for a reason. So, where do you want to go?”

“Rudy’s Bar.” I offer it automatically and then stop, swallowing, my throat constricting. “I mean…maybe it’s not the best place to go, but?—”

“Why not?” Flora interrupts. “Is it familiar to you?”

“I have friends there. Human friends. I always thought the bar was a place for me to escape, but now that I’m out, I miss it.” My lips twist in a smile. “How crazy is that?”

What’s crazy is how easy it is to talk to Flora, even though I just met her.

“When was the last time you got to see your human friends?” she asks. “I’m sorry if it’s prying but I’m curious.” She glances at me. “I’d like us to be friends. If you’re okay with it?”

I smile at her, briefly, something in me softening. “ It’s a long story. I’m not sure you want to hear it. Let’s just say things were complicated when I first got tangled up with the men.”

Flora nods understandingly. “And I’m sure they are only going to get more complicated with your mate bonds.”

“Singular,” I correct. “I only have one.”

“Of course, I’m sorry. I knew that.”

Flora navigates through streets until the scenery outside the window changes. Becomes more like the downtrodden dregs of society I’m used to seeing rather than the prim and proper steel uptown. Torin’s world versus mine.

I’m surprised Flora knows how to get to Rudy’s Bar. Unless she has a GPS tucked up there with her, one I can’t see.

Flora chatters away merrily through the rest of the drive until we pull up to the curb outside of the familiar scarred front door.

“If you want to clear the air and talk to them, then there’s no time like the present. The alphas will be busy battling each other in a pissing contest for hours, and we are safe to play while they’re distracted,” Flora continues.

I can’t stop staring at that door. Tears pool in my eyes, a combination of misery and excitement, knowing that beyond the door is a familiar room filled with familiar faces I’m not sure I’m ready to see.

I’m different now.

They’re the same, but I’ve been reborn.

“Come on.”

Flora urges me out of the truck and stands at the door, shivering in the cold, waiting for me to make a move.

“You've got the wrong clothes on,” I tell her.

She glances down at her dress, decorated in white and pink flowers, the brown tips of sturdy boots peeking out from underneath the fabric. “I run hot. I’m not shivering for the reason you think I am. It’s not the cold.”

“Then what is it?”

“Humans.”

Her answer is simple and chilling. Something I never thought about before. In all the stories, the wolves are the bad guys, and the humans are defending themselves against teeth and claws. Aren’t they?

Flora’s fingers are light on my back as she propels me through the door.

I used to wear a cheap wedding band to keep unwanted advances at bay. But Mathis called me on it, called it fake shit , and crushed the ring into a mangled twist of metal.

Now I’ve come back and Flora is my shield. Which totally isn’t fair to ask of a pregnant woman. Wolf. Whatever.

The stench of old frying oil burns the inside of my nose the second I’m over the threshold, so much more pungent than ever before. I gag, my stomach constricting painfully, and I press both hands against it.

Did I simply forget how bad it reeks in here? Or is it somehow worse now than when I left?

“You have to try and tune it out. Things are going to be more sensitive for you now,” Flora warns. “Trust me, I understand.”

Her voice is nearly lost behind the throbbing of my heart. I’ve noticed how strong some scents are since my change, but damn, this goes beyond the pale.

I always said we served deep-fried heart attacks and cheap drinks in this place, and I never felt more right than I did now, with Flora guiding me over the chunks of peanut shells on the floor.

I really liked the anonymity when working here. How I could be anyone I wanted to be once I put on an apron. But there’s no fake wedding ring around my left finger to twist now, not anymore. Nothing except Flora to keep away the perverts.

“Holy damn, is that who I think it is?” someone calls out. One of our usual patrons at the bar who has a perpetual seat with his name on it swivels around to face me.

Head high, I make my way toward the swinging doors separating the front room from the back, and stop halfway. If the smells are bad here, they’re going to be devastating in the kitchen.

Luckily for me, I don’t have to wait long before I catch a look at a blonde with a riot of curls spilling out from her messy bun.

Carrigan pulls up short and her gaze meets mine, conflicting emotions charging across her face. “You couldn’t have called?” she finally says.

Her velvet-over-steel Southern belle voice frees my tears immediately.

“I’m sorry. I should have. You’re right.” My voice trembles.

She might tell me to get the fuck out. Or tell me this isn’t the time or the place for whatever it is I want to say to her.

But Carrigan is Carrigan, no matter what happens, and she runs to me in long strides before crushing me in her thin arms.

“You have a lot of explaining to do, missy,” she whispers against my ear.

My arms band around her in return and I’m not sure which one of us wins the contest of who can hug the hardest. But we’re both in the running for the longest embrace because I can’t let her go. I’m not willing to do it yet .

She’s shaking, and I draw her tremble into me along with her scent, the perfume Carrigan always wears like some kind of warm amber and vanilla shield against the world.

“What happened?” she asks. “I need to know what happened.”

It’s too unbelievable for me to tell her. “Would you believe I went out for milk and got lost?”

She shakes her head, squeezing once more in a clear warning before she leans back to look at me. “Nope, not one bit. You are going to have to throw those excuses in the garbage.” Her gaze promises there will be no escape from her interrogation.

Someone at one of the tables calls for her attention with a snap of his fingers.

“And you brought a friend?” Carrigan faces Flora, absolutely ignoring the customer.

“This is Flora. She’s—” A spy, an acquaintance? “She’s keeping me company.”

“You have no idea what kind of a tizzy you threw people into here. Rudy has been crazy without you, struggling to find good help.” Carrigan’s hand goes to her hip. “It’s been pure chaos and that’s just on the work front. Do you have any idea how crazy Aspen and I have been, worrying about you? You’re turning me gray before my time.”

She reaches up to tug at a particularly curly curl around her face.

“This shit is gonna have to be dealt with, Ren. I swear to God. I am not going to let you out of my sight ever again.”

Well, that poses a problem.

I force a smile on my face to banish the rest of her fears, but the lump in my throat isn’t going anywhere. Especially since the last time I saw her, Dax had shifted into wolf form and trashed her place.

“Not to mention the customers are asking about you. Seriously, like, the woman at table five has been requesting you specifically every time she comes in and she won’t accept it when I tell her you haven’t shown up for work.”

Carrigan casts a critical eye down my front but finding me in one piece isn’t satisfying her.

“What woman at table five?” I ask.

And how the hell am I supposed to say goodbye to Carrigan? It’s impossible. Like cutting off one of my arms and living without it.

Carrigan points, and I force myself to follow her gaze across the crowded floor. At this time of day, the regulars are manning their posts, drinking until they practically float out of here. If they ever leave. Only a few of the tables are taken up by people willing to try Rudy’s cooking, and one of them, the one at table five, is familiar.

It takes me half a second to place her, and when I do my eyes go wide, my stomach dropping strangely.

It’s her. The woman who gave me a ride.

“Cocoa Puffs,” I blurt out.

She had them all over her van. What was her name? Shit, it’s right there on the tip of my tongue?—

Anna .

Something about her draws me forward, and I leave Carrigan behind with Flora, somehow knowing neither of them is going to move.

Okay, this is strange. Really strange.

How is Anna here, and why is she asking about me?

She worked at a hospital and had kids. Those were the only two things I remembered, besides the cereal everywhere. This isn’t the kind of place someone like her should be, especially not alone.

I approach on heavy legs and stop by the side of her table, pausing until she looks up from her meal and recognizes me. Her smile is still pleasant and her eyes light.

“There you are! It’s good to see you again,” she says.

What had I told her? I search my memory, scrambling through the bits and pieces I can recall through the terror of that moment. I’d said I lived in Rochester, close to downtown.

My chill is back and cutting deep.

“It’s good to see you, too.” The words fall out of my numb lips.

Because it’s not good to see her. Not really. Not even when she’s smiling at me like the first glimpse of sun over the horizon on a spring morning.

“I hope you don’t mind. I was so worried about you after I dropped you off, I did a little digging and found out you worked here. For my good friend Rudy,” Anna continues, merrily grabbing a greasy french fry and lifting it to her lips.

She’d cut her cheeseburger into four pieces. Who does that? A maniac, that’s who.

A pinching sensation gathers between my eyebrows. “Wait a minute. You know Rudy?”

Flora is there just behind me, close enough for me to sense her but giving me the semblance of privacy I need—if any place in this dump can be considered private.

“Oh yes, Rudy and I go way back. We actually grew up on the same block.” Anna chuckles. “Do you have a moment to sit and catch up? If not, I totally get it.”

It’s the out I need. “Actually, I’m only here to chat with Carrigan. And then I have to go. ”

“No need to run off yet! Sit down, show me what you’ve been up to, darlin’.”

I jerk straighter, the ice along my spine freezing in place.

She might look innocent, but something about her strikes me as wrong, wrong, wrong. Especially since the last person to call me darlin’ was Andras.

Andras .

Surely he’ll be after me because he’s not the type to be okay with someone escaping his grasp. He’d take it personally. I shouldn't be here, and I definitely shouldn’t talk to Anna.

The pieces in my mind are sluggish to click together, but I take a step back.

“Thanks again for helping me the other night. I really appreciate your giving me a ride.” Somehow, my voice holds steady.

Anna reaches out to touch me, the tips of her fingers brushing my knuckles. “Are you sure you’re okay, Ren?”

The bottom drops out from under me and a new sensation in my chest lifts with a life of its own, standing to attention.

I never gave her my name. I’m sure of it.

I back up another step and her touch falls away. “I’m fine.”

She looks genuinely concerned about me. But if she’s connected to Andras in any way, then she’d be a great actress. I’m sure of it. The kids and the minivan are probably all a story to lull me into feeling like she’s safe. When she’s definitely not .

“It’s good to see you,” I manage, moving away.

“Hold on.” The steel in her tone stops me.

I turn back sharply in time to see Anna scribble something on a piece of paper. She tucks a couple of twenties into the paper, folding it around the money before handing it to me.

“Take it.”

I shake my head. “No, sorry, I’m not working. I don’t feel comfortable taking a tip.”

She doesn’t smell like wolf. Or like any of the wolves I know. She smells human, normal, but the realization isn’t enough to get me to lower my guard, and definitely not enough to make me trust her.

“It’s not a tip,” she insists. “Please. It would make me feel better to know you have a little change in your pocket. Just in case you find yourself in another predicament.”

She’s not about to take no for an answer and her gaze holds mine, unwavering.

The shiver goes from the tip of my nose all the way down to my knees, and I lock them, determined not to back down.

The Moon Goddess once told me in a dream that I didn’t have a backbone. She said that my parents were much braver than I was.

Maybe that’s why I bite down on my lip and reach for the paper. Taking it from Anna without blinking.

“Thank you,” I say simply. “I appreciate it.”

She only watches me, lifting another fry and nibbling at it before I turn around and finally break eye contact.

My fingers are shaking as I take the paper to the back, Flora following behind me and Carrigan talking to one of the guys at the bar. She’s got her hip cocked out to the side, but her attention is on me.

“What’s that?” Flora asks, drawing in a deep breath. “What did she give you?”

“I’m not sure. ”

Just like I’m not sure why I trust Flora more than I do Anna, although both women are veritable strangers. I shouldn’t have taken the money.

I unfold the note. Two words are scrawled across the otherwise blank white paper.

Find me .

Unthinking, I crumple the note into a ball and toss it in the trash, missing and watching it bounce off the rim. With a groan, I grab it and shove it down deep into the mix of food-covered wax paper and cheese wrappers.

The money, on the other hand, I tuck into the back pocket of my new jeans, purchased specifically by my sweet mate.

“What are you going to do now?” Flora asks.

She is absolutely out of place in this bar, but I smile at her regardless; she’s a pretty flower in a garden of weeds. “Now, I say my goodbyes to Carrigan and we get out. Take a walk somewhere else, I don’t know. The longer I stay, the more danger it puts her and Rudy in.”

“Where is the namesake himself? I expected him to be here, part of the reason you wanted to come.”

“You know, I’m not sure. It’s a little weird not to see him in the kitchen.”

Carrigan pushes through the swinging doors, carrying a tray of empty bottles. “Hey, if you have a second later, we need some girl time. I’ll text Aspen. You can bring your girl here, if you want. But there is some serious explaining to do, dude. You’re not off the hook,” she warns me.

My mouth goes dry again. “I’d like that.”

There won’t be a later, though. I know it now. I thought I’d be fine to come here and see her, to assure myself she’ s okay, and to say goodbye.

But it’s only tightening the threads between us and dragging Carrigan into more danger.

Simply by being around me.

I grab her in another hug because I can’t help myself. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

She squeezes me back. “You’d better.”

Flora is a constant presence at my side as we head out of the kitchen. I draw in another breath because underneath the stench of old frying oil, there are the familiar scents of life. Of all the time I spent in this place carving out a future for myself.

Working and struggling and saving, all the while the clock ticking down to my birthday.

Maybe the goddess had been right, that my parents were braver than I am because it doesn’t feel like bravery to come here today.

It feels like cowardice.

“Let’s get back,” I murmur to Flora. “And then we can?—”

She pulls me up short, her hand fisted in the back of my shirt, a growl rumbling in her chest.

I glance up sharply when my senses tingle. A hint of a warning and danger have added another layer of scent to the air.

The front door opens and two strangers walk in.

My hackles lift, and I peel my lip back in a snarl. They might not be familiar, but I know their scent.

They belong to Andras. And they’ve found me.