“I’m a resourceful man,” he said in a thick voice.
“My wolf is not suicidal.” The silence filled the room. When I managed to staunch my anger from bleeding through my words, I continued. “And your man collected my body and brought me here.”
“Correct. It’s not until you shifted that I recognized you.”
A pang of worry went through me. “Has anyone called Austin? He must be looking everywhere for me.”
He averted his eyes.
“You can’t erase your tracks from this one, Lorenzo. Let your man face Austin and take the punishment.”
“I protect my pack.”
“At what cost?” I said, my voice rising in pitch. “You would risk the Council breaking apart your pack to protect one man?”
He launched to his feet and stalked forward. “Woman, I’ve had enough of your insolence. I’ve given you more than a person could ask for in your situation. My bed, food, a warm fire, healing magic… What more could you want?”
“Am I free to leave?”
Lorenzo sat on the edge of the bed and glowered. His hair picked up a lustrous shine from the light of the fire, and it made me want to touch it. “Cole will use this against me,” he said in low words. “I have much to lose.”
I reached out and touched his arm, curling my fingers around his wrist. “Austin is a benevolent Packmaster. Perhaps he’ll recognize the generosity you’ve shown me and call it even.”
He peered at me through his hair. “Perhaps piglets will fly and diamonds will spurt from their asses.”
“Well, if you end up with a golden toilet, nothing would surprise me.”
He smiled warmly and tucked his hair behind his ear. Then I felt the heat of his eyes as he studied every feature about me. His gaze traveled from my eyes to my mouth and then down my body until finally settling on the end of my long braid. Lorenzo reached out and touched my face, sliding his finger down my cheek and to my lips. I nervously watched him as he slipped his fingers along the crease in my robe, gently tugging it closed in a spot where it had loosened.
Two hard knocks sounded at the door and Lorenzo sprang to his feet. The door eased open and a man with long curls of black hair that covered his head like a messy mop peered in. He looked like someone from Robin Hood’s Merry Men, not a Shifter pack.
“Say, bad timing?” he asked, slanting his eyes my way.
Lorenzo caught the direction of the man’s gaze and ripped the covers over me so fast I scarcely had time to breathe. The way he moved was predatory, and he approached the man at the door with such a slow stride it made me shudder.
“Has war been declared?”
“No,” the man replied, a smile hovering on his lips. “I just need you to tuck me in.”
Lorenzo’s face flushed when I giggled.
“Go on, Thunder,” I said. “It’ll give me time to finish gnawing on my plate of bones.”
The man’s brow arched and he looked at Lorenzo with amusement dancing in his eyes. “Thunder?”
Lorenzo placed his hand on the man’s chest and shoved him backward. “I’ll be just a moment,” he said to me without looking back.
I immediately felt his absence when he left the room. What a powerful presence he had. We were going into the second day, and I’d be healed as much as my body would allow by the third. Four days was as long as I planned to stay in Lorenzo’s custody, even if that meant climbing out one of his windows.
***
Lorenzo shut the door behind him.
William laughed silently and stared at Lorenzo’s crotch. “As in Thunder from Down Under? That’s quite a reputation to live up to, kemosabe,” he said, his expression deadpan.
“Keep it up, William. I’ll have you riding on a donkey instead of that BMW if you wish to continue. When you go back downstairs, bring up a container of cream cheese and a spoon.”
William scratched the stray hairs on his jaw. “I’m afraid your snack is going to have to wait. Austin Cole is on the property.”
Lorenzo cursed under his breath. “What does he want?”
“He showed up under the guise of speaking with you about the female’s disappearance. As soon as he parked his car, his packmate shifted and began sniffing around. The wolf picked up her scent.”
“Cunning bastard.”
William glanced down the empty hall. “Indeed. So now my involvement is clear since he smelled the blood on my car.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t piss on the grill.”
William shrugged. “I didn’t want to ruin the paint by using bleach, so I sprayed it down with the hose. Can bleach damage your paint?”
Lorenzo smacked him on the forehead. “Lead me to them.”
They trudged down the stairs and Lorenzo met the eyes of those in his pack who hadn’t left for work or gone down to the bar. They were restless and waiting for his command. Four men guarded the door and Lorenzo pushed them aside. “Move away.”
When he opened the door, Austin Cole greeted him with a stony gaze. His unnatural blue eyes were frosty and unblinking.