As if on cue, his phone rang.
“Reno,” he answered. “Yeah, we’re here. Did Denver call you? … Good, then you might want to get in touch with Wheeler and see when they’ll be back. You know how long they make you wait in those damn human hospitals. … Right.”
His eyes locked on mine while Austin continued talking on the other line. Reno watched me, listening astutely.
“No sweat. Later.”
“Well? What did he say about Trevor?”
Reno set his phone on a small table and kicked off his shoes. “Your friend is fine.”
I exhaled a sigh of relief, covering my eyes for a second. Thank God.
“It wasn’t without a fight. He refused to shift with anyone in the room. Austin cleared everyone out except Jericho, and even then, he had to force his alpha magic on him. It took a few shifts to heal up his injuries, but he’s all right. They rented out the laser room for another hour so they could clean up the mess. Prince is helping them out.”
“Prince?” I smiled at the name.
“A Packmaster from our old territory. He and Austin have a respectful alliance, although we seem to be too much in his debt these days. Come on, let’s get you upstairs.”
“Wait, Reno. We need to talk.” I pressed my back against the wall, scared as hell at what I was about to say to him. When he stepped forward, I held out my arm, my hand flat against his chest. “Please. I can’t do this anymore.”
“Sanchez is taken care of,” he said in a stony voice, pushing his body against my hand. “I personally made sure of that.”
I shook my head as he drew even closer. “It’s not just Sanchez. What if Delgado comes after me?”
Darkness swirled in his eyes and he placed his hand over mine. I could feel his heart pounding against his chest in a steady rhythm. “If anyone ever touches you again, they’ll answer to me. That’s a promise. No one comes after you without coming through me first.”
I jerked my hand away, startled by his declaration to protect me. “That’s my point. It’s not worth the risk. We barely know each other, and you can’t keep sticking your neck out for a mortal. These are my problems and I need to fix them before I get involved with anyone. It’s not fair to you and it’s not fair to me. It’s not fair to us.”
Reno dropped his hand and stuffed it in his pocket, fishing around. “What are you saying?”
My heart constricted and I bit the inside of my lip to keep from breaking down. The nearness of him made it difficult to be candid.
“I’m not part of your world. I’m not even part of Trevor’s world, even though he wants to live in mine. I’m bad mojo, and that’s just the way it’s always been. Everything—my whole life. Rose was lucky. She found a great guy and got out of this mess before it touched her. It’s not just the debt, Reno. I’ve had bad luck following me my entire life. Did you know that when I was twelve I was taken to juvie? I was arrested with a few friends for joyriding. Maybe it wouldn’t have been such a big deal if we hadn’t crashed into a department-store window. My mom had to pick me up from the station, and do you know what she told me years later? That she met her first dealer because of me.”
Reno’s lips curled in and he shook his head.
“She blamed her addiction on me because of all the trouble I’d put her through—all the embarrassment. She said I was worthless and lavished my little sister with all the affection she refused me. I spent two months in juvie, and the only one who came to visit was my dad.”
Then the tears came and I wiped my face, reliving the visceral pain of my mother’s rejection. “I was so scared he would end up hating me, so I tried to be a better daughter. My trailer is paradise compared to where I used to live, Reno. So you think I look like some sweet girl, but I also made my dad go buy chicken.”