“I’m scared for Lakota.”
He threw his Ferrari in park and turned to face me. Lorenzo moved like a hunter, and when he unlatched my seat belt and lifted a tendril of my hair between his fingers, I shivered. He stroked my cheek with his finger and tilted my chin to face him. His dark eyes seemed bottomless, and I fell into his gaze. “Do you trust me?”
I nodded. “A little more than I should.”
Austin stood on the front porch, leaning on the railing with both hands. Reno came up beside him and they were posturing—throwing off as much menace as they could at Lorenzo.
“Stay here,” Lorenzo said, getting out of the car.
He walked around and opened my door, holding something familiar in his hand.
“What’s that?” I asked, looking at a stick.
He crouched down and the wind blew some of his hair away from his face. “It’s the spear you used to take down the wolf. Everyone in my pack has talents, and there’s a woman who knows how to fashion things out of wood. She took off the spearhead, cut it down, and added this silver grip to the top. This is a walking cane, Ivy. Something I want you to be proud to use.”
Lorenzo tipped the cane toward me to admire. I had taken something of his that was once a useless weapon and turned it into an instrument of fear with a single strike to a rogue wolf. Lorenzo was honoring me by transforming this weapon into an instrument that would support me the way I had supported his pack. When I looked at the grip at the top, I realized it was in the shape of a wolf’s head—a fierce wolf baring his teeth, his ears flat.
“This is beautiful.” I turned it in my hand and admired it from top to bottom. “When did you have time to do this?”
“This was the pack’s gift to you. They presented it to me this morning for my approval. It’s a noble thing to save a life. Are you ready?”
I smiled wistfully and touched his face. “Ready as I’ll ever be. I’m sorry that it ends here, but you have my confidence. Everything we talked about in private will remain between us.”
Lorenzo helped me out of the car. “Your left side is weaker, so grip the cane with your right hand,” he suggested.
While Lorenzo shut the door, I walked ahead of him, learning how to use my new cane. It drew immediate attention from the men on the porch. Austin stood up and ran his fingers through his dark hair, his eyes on my leg. I was growing more confident about my walk, so I didn’t hesitate ascending the steps.
When I faced Austin, I looked up and waited for him to speak first. Lorenzo lingered halfway up the steps.
“Are you healed?” Austin asked, his blue eyes sharpening on my cane.
“Yes, but I’m not whole. If not for Mr. Church, I’d be dead.”
Austin glanced at Lorenzo and nodded once to show his gratitude. I gasped when he cupped his hands around my neck and kissed my forehead. “We’re glad you’re home safe, Ivy. Everyone’s been worried sick. Why don’t you go in and visit with them while I have a word with Church?”
“Is she here?” I heard Lexi yell out anxiously from inside the house.
The door opened and Lynn stepped out. She wrapped me in a warm embrace and kissed my temple. Lynn was a loving woman and we often sang together early in the morning while cooking breakfast. I’d bonded with her as if she were my own mother.
“Come inside and I’ll make you some hot tea.”
I regretfully took off Lorenzo’s coat and handed it to him without a word.
***
After Ivy went into the house, Lorenzo slipped on his leather coat and discreetly drew in a deep breath. It still smelled like her. Before they awoke that morning, when she was nestled closed beside him, Lorenzo had leaned in close, drawing in her scent, running his nose along her shoulder and then her hair. He’d needed to breathe her in—consume all that he could before she left him.
The sunshine warmed the chilly air, but it didn’t faze Austin in his sleeveless army-green shirt. They walked toward the tree Lorenzo had first seen Ivy swinging from and something about standing beneath it filled him with contentment. Reno followed behind and leaned against the trunk of the tree with his arms folded. He had on mirrored shades and a leather coat similar to his own.
Austin kicked up a clump of dirt. “Maybe you need to talk to me about what happened to Ivy.”
Lorenzo didn’t bother to shake away a few strands of long hair that tangled in front of his face. “Earlier that night, I sent one of my men to get information on the woman.”