Page 19 of Fangs and Fudge

I kicked her under the table, and Cross smiled slightly.

When the waiter returned, Cross ordered every dessert they currently offered.

I was in heaven until it was time to stand and walk. My stomach hurt, and I knew I’d suffer from my gluttony at work later. But I had so many ideas to add to my pastry notebook, thanks to his generosity.

Before we made it to the door, Cross stopped me.

“You have another watchdog. I will leave you here and speak with you again in the morning.”

“Feel free to use that fancy new phone she got you,” Vena said. “It’d make our lives easier, and I wouldn’t need to keep traumatizing Anchor.”

Cross shot her a look then disappeared.

“Like you’d stop traumatizing Anchor,” I said. “You had your underwear under your pillow before we even got home last night.”

She grinned unrepentantly as we left together.

“Will you look at that,” Vena said softly, glancing around the street. “Mr. California is here.”

I followed her gaze and saw MC leaning against a building across the street. He still wore the jeans that prominently displayed his beaver basher.

He nodded to us, and I offered a smile back.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not what MC stands for,” I said quietly, hoping the sound of traffic would drown out our conversation.

“Half the fun is trying to guess,” Vena said. “Muff-munching Champion? Maximum Capacity? That could apply to anything that tries to accommodate what he’s packing.”

“If you spend too much time guessing, he might think you’re interested,” I warned her.

“It’s hard not to be interested in his super-sized muscled self. Just think of the workout.”

I elbowed her as I wrapped my arm around hers and continued to the car.

“Remember the trouble we just got out of, and try not to throw us back into more.”

“Fine. You’re right. It’s still early yet,” she said. “Let’s stop and check on Miles. Maybe he’ll have some alternative housing ideas.”

Her phone buzzed with a message on the way to the car, and she made a happy sound when she read it.

“My parents are extending their trip by a few days. No specifics, but more time is good.”

“Why?”

“Seriously? We’re sandwiched between wolves and vampires, Miles was already kidnapped by one, and we have the other staying on our couch at night. Do you really think my parents won’t notice something’s up when they’re back?”

I made a face, knowing she was right. The extra days would give us time to make sure Miles was okay or get him help. It wouldn’t help with our other problem, though.

I loved her parents. They were great and super supportive of their kids. However, they also frequented the Shadow Trade as much as Miles and loved to pop in for unannounced visits. The likelihood of them running into Cross or a wolf guard was pretty high. Especially if Cross and the wolves were following us. Something I’d thought we would avoid because of the tracking app. Shepard had used it yesterday. Why send someone today?

“Do you think it’s weird that MC was outside of the restaurant?” I asked once we were in the car.

She shrugged. “Not really. They came here to help Shepard and his pack, right? But, now that you mention it, Shepard is overly protective of you. I would have thought he’d send Anchor or Doc. Maybe Buzz.”

As I pulled into traffic, I glanced back in the mirror and saw MC still leaning against the wall. He hadn’t moved, but he was still watching us as he grew smaller with distance.

“I got it!” Vena said.

“Got what?”

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