Page 103 of The Thief

“I feel fine. Totally healed.”

He met my eyes. “I meant your mind.”

I shrugged. “A few nightmares. That’s all. It makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up thinking how close he was to my bike.”

The visual of Argento chasing me clung to my thoughts like a spiderweb—even more so than our confrontation. He had planned that stunt to prove I couldn’t escape him, but it was being hunted that bothered me most as a wolf.

“I’d like to tie him to a tree and practice throwing my axe.” Tak stood and aimed his axe at a nearby tree. He threw it, striking the trunk with expert precision.

“I wouldn’t have any objections.”

He locked his fingers behind his head. “Are you sure you want to keep this job? You’re safe on our land. Each time you leave the territory, you put yourself at risk.”

“I’m not quitting.”

He dropped his arms. “Then it’s settled. But until this goes away, you’ll need an escort.”

“They already told me,” I informed him. “I’m okay with that.”

“I don’t like this situation any more than you do. Maybe we should buy you a steamroller and you can take that to work instead of this.” He patted the scooter. “She looks brand-new.”

“Would you like to take her for a spin?”

Tak threw back his head and laughed. “If my cousins caught me riding one of these, they would disown me. Besides, I wouldn’t want to deflate your tires with all this muscle.” He flexed his arms.

I snorted. “Let me know. There might come a day when it’s the only vehicle here and Hope is out of bologna.”

He passed by me and touched my shoulder. “If you need anything, come see me. There’s no rush for you to go back to your job.”

“Oh, yes there is. Calvin getting used to me not being around is motivation enough. Are you coming to the grand opening of the kitchen?”

Tak whistled for Bear to follow us as we strolled to the house. “I’ll be there. I hope you’ll have enough to feed everyone else. We’re bringing our appetites.”

I bumped against his arm. “Then I’ll make sure you’re the first one served.”

“Something tells me this will be a memorable night.”

Chapter 19

Two weeks later.

It was finally the grand opening of the Rabbit Lounge’s new kitchen. Bear had stopped in the day before to start cooking since it would take hours for his meat to smoke, and he’d slept at the bar overnight to keep an eye on his smoker, which he set up in the back. Lakota had given him a ride in the SUV so he could take it back home and have a way to shuttle everyone to the bar. Despite all the preparations, Bear was stressed out that no one but our pack would show up and he would be the laughingstock of Storybook.

When I rode to work, I could smell that barbecue a mile away. Lakota followed me in his truck with Montana, Robyn, and Melody all in tow. The girls were eager to get there and pick a seat even though we arrived midmorning. As tempting as it was to check on Bear, I also didn’t want to add to his stress. The kitchen was his domain.

Not only had word spread, but so had the heavenly aroma. Cars filled the parking lot, and the overflow had parked in the grassy area next to the building.

Once inside, we heard Calvin cussing up a storm because it was so packed that he couldn’t manage the drink orders.

Montana eased up to the bar. “We have a truck outside. What if we rent a few tables and put them out front?”

“Fuck yes!” After bending over to pick up a napkin, Calvin flipped back his long grey hair. “I’m going out of my mind.”

I walked around the bar and put my hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t you take a load off and go with them? I got it from here. If these people wanna be fed, they’ll have to be nice to me. We also need to slow down on the drink orders or everyone’ll be drunk by the time dinner’s served.”

“You mean lunch,” he said.

I pushed him out of the bar. “Don’t get me started. Go with Montana and sort out the table situation. Don’t you worry none. I’ve got everything under control.”

---