Kate placed her hand on his arm. “It’s okay, Braxton. Beau and I grew up together. I’m sure he’s called me worse.”
“Dude, you should hear some of the names she’s called me.” Beau snorted. He tossed a brown paper bag on the kitchen counter. “I brought you some clothes from the thrift store. It might be safer around here if you had some clothes on.” He arched his brow at her. “Get your phone fixed, Kate.”
Kate chewed her lip and glanced at the dead phone. “I’ll go by the phone company when I run into town today for groceries.”
“Don’t forget the hardware store,” Braxton murmured.
“What do you need at the hardware store?” Beau asked.
“I need a part for the dishwasher.” Kate cocked her head. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about a dishwasher, would you?”
Beau held his hands up. “Don’t look at me. I only work on animals, not appliances.”
“What are the odds that the two men currently standing in my house are appliance-challenged?” Kate sighed.
“Actually, I drove out here to make sure you were okay since I haven’t heard from you.” Beau cut his eyes at Braxton. “Needed to make sure he didn’t eat you.”
Kate’s face heated a million degrees. Braxton turned and looked at her. He grinned slowly, looking very much like a predatory animal.
“Oh, God. Enough with the mental image already.” Beau palmed his eyes. “I take it your shoulder and arm are healing.” He nodded at Braxton.
“They are.” Braxton picked up the bag. “Thanks for the clothes.”
“So why don’t you tell me what I’m dying to know?” Beau glared.
“And what would that be?” Braxton snarled.
“Exactly how did you wind up with an Assassin’s bullet in your body?”
***
Braxton held his breath for a brief second before meeting Kate’s astonished gaze. When he exhaled, he took a slow, deep breath. The scent of male wolf hit him. He jerked his gaze back to Beau, who was standing there smirking.
“Yes. I’m a wolf, too.”
“What?” Kate rounded on her friend. “You’re a werewolf? What the hell, why didn’t you tell me?”
“I kind of figured you’d freak out. Like now.”
Braxton narrowed his eyes at the vet. How come he hadn’t picked up on his scent before?
“I use a camouflage spray to hide my scent,” Beau answered the unspoken question. “Besides, the silver in your system dimmed your sense of smell. That’s why you didn’t scent me.”
Beau narrowed his eyes on Braxton. “Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s get to the real question. Just how the hell did you get an Assassin’s bullet in your shoulder? Who did you kill, Braxton?”
Kate paled, her pretty caramel eyes widening. At that moment, the sliver of trust he’d earned faded from her eyes. It hit him in the middle of his chest like a baseball bat.
“I didn’t kill anyone.” Braxton kept his eyes on Kate, trying to make her believe him by sheer will.
“Assassins don’t go around killing innocent werewolves. We both know that.”
Braxton rounded on the vet. “I’m not a fucking liar.”
Beau held his gaze, daring him to look away. To look away was a true test of lying. All wolves knew that.
Kate swiped the keys off the counter.
“Kate, wait.” Braxton grabbed her elbow. She flinched out of his grasp.
“I’ll be back. Sounds like you two have a lot to discuss.”
***
Kate didn’t remember the drive into town. She’d been too caught up in replaying the conversation between Beau and Braxton and trying to make sense of it all.
Was it possible that Braxton was a killer? She’d made bad decisions before, but to bare herself to a killer was unthinkable.
She shivered and turned up the heat in the SUV.
Her gut told her he wasn’t a killer. But her gut had also led her to believe her ex was a good guy. Look how that turned out.
She didn’t doubt for one instant that Braxton wouldn’t hesitate to get into a fight and do some serious bodily damage, but to actually kill someone? That was quite another thing.
Her shoulders sank along with her stomach.
She didn’t have an excellent track record when it came to men. She’d thought her ex had hung the moon. It wasn’t until he ran off with her life savings and put her in a dire financial situation that she realized how wrong she’d been.
Was she wrong about Braxton, too?
She parked in front of the hardware store and cut the engine. She snuggled down further in her winter coat as she climbed out. The winter breeze stung her cheeks as she hurried to the door.
Mr. Thurmond, the owner of the hardware store, smiled warmly when he saw her. “Hello, Kate. What brings you in today?”
Kate gave him a sheepish grin and held up the dangly plastic part. She hoped she was standing in front of the man who could give her much-needed advice. “You wouldn’t happen to be able to tell me how to get my dishwasher running again, would you?”