He looked thoughtfully at the clouds and leaned forward. “Looks like a good day for ice cream, but it’s too damn hot.”
She looked up at him hopefully. “No it’s not.”
“Maybe if you cool off with some orange juice and a few pieces of bacon, I might think about it.”
She bolted out of the chair and beamed at him with the most endearing smile. “You mean it?”
He frowned. “You want a strawberry cone or not, little girl? Skedaddle!”
Maizy squealed and ran back inside.
“And don’t forget the toast!” he yelled at the door.
“You’re good with kids,” I said, taking the empty spot to his right. “Even though you’re kind of a dickhead with adults.”
“Hey, I gave you a dress.” He combed back his hair and settled his indigo eyes on me.
“Yeah, but how long did you sit on this porch staring at my ass?”
“I’m pleading the fifth.” His eyes darted toward the road. “Here they come now. Have fun with that. I need to grab something to eat,” Denver said, standing up.
At the end of the private road, a cloud of dust swirled behind a black Dodge Challenger and a vintage motorcycle. I swallowed hard and tried to remember the last thing that had happened. It was…
“Oh my God, is April okay?”
“She’s fine. That’s her on the back of the bike.”
I buried my face in my hands. “Oh, hell’s bells. I almost had a heart attack.”
“I’m taking you to work in a little while, after Austin has the ugly talk with you.”
“Work?”
“Yeah. Feel free to get fired if you want, but I happen to know your shift starts in a few hours. I talked to Rosie and she said there’s an extra T-shirt and pair of shorts in the dressing room. I didn’t explain why you needed them.” The door slammed as Denver went inside.
That’s how Shifters rolled. We dealt with drama and soldiered on. Even the trusted humans among our kind rarely related to our lifestyle, so I was surprised to see how well some of them were getting along within the Weston pack.
As soon as the black car prowled to the parking area on my right, Austin got out and stalked toward the house. He lifted his arm and pointed at me.
“You, away from the house. Now.”
My stomach did a flip-flop.
“Austin, wait!” Lexi ran up beside him. Fury colored his face, and the power in his alpha voice compelled me to get off my rear and do as he said.
“Lexi, stay out of it. This is between the Packmaster and—”
“Austin,” she hissed. “Don’t you pull that alpha shit on me.”
There was a little standoff between them, and my brows popped up, not having seen many women talk back to a Packmaster in front of the pack. Lexi was tough, definitely an alpha female. After she narrowed her eyes and he folded his arms, she conceded defeat and stormed past him.
He playfully popped her on the behind. “We’ll kiss and make up later, Ladybug.”
She slammed the door. Austin caught my arm, helping me down the steps and toward the tree with the wooden swing. When he motioned for me to sit in it, I obliged.
Behind him, April warily looked in our direction as she joined Lexi inside. Reno headed our way, and I began to feel outnumbered and a little confused.
“Did anyone tell you what happened?” Austin asked.
I shook my head, gripping the rope tightly.
“You killed a human in Jericho’s trailer.” He slid his jaw from side to side. “What happened before you shifted?”
I took a deep breath, and Reno tossed his helmet to the ground. He was wearing the same button-up blue shirt as the previous night, his short brown hair neatly combed. Austin, on the other hand, had messy hair and a wrinkled white tank top.
“April stopped by because she’d lost track of Reno, and we started talking. Then this guy shows up at the door, pounding on it to get in. I told April to hide in the bathroom, and he forced his way inside.”
Austin folded his arms. “Who was he?”
“He works for Delgado—the guy Hawk was selling drugs for. I found out Hawk was taking an extra cut by jacking up the prices on the drugs he was selling. Now Delgado wants the money and the drugs.”
“Then give it to him.”
I laughed and threw my head back. “That would be so easy, if I actually knew where he stashed them. I’d happily give it over because I could care less about any of it. I just want this guy off my back.”
“You sure about that?”
I stared at the cleft in his chin and realized what he was implying. “The money means nothing to me. You could shred it into ribbons and I wouldn’t care. I’d never put Jericho or any of you in danger on purpose.”
Austin and Reno looked at each other. “She’s telling the truth,” Austin murmured.
“This Delgado has been a problem,” Reno stated matter-of-factly. “He’s a human, but he’s knee-deep in the Breed world. He got a taste of our money, and he’s been buying up local Breed clubs.”
“Shit,” Austin breathed.