Page 48 of Healer's Call

Cade huffs out a laugh. “Mad that you basically proved that they’re the ones behind what’s happening to our pack? That would be a no. Now, we can make a plan to bring them down.”

“But Maverick was so mad. I thought...”

“Maverick was mad because you were in danger,” Cade says quietly.

“No, that’s not it. He laid into me about messing things up and acting like a two-year-old,” I say with a scowl. Apparently, I’m still not over it.

“Maverick acted like a jerk,” Cade concedes. “But he was acting out of fear. For you—his mate.”

I look at him to see if he’s serious, and he is. He really believes what he’s saying. I glance over at Eli, and he turns from looking out the window to glance over at me. “You did good.” That’s allhe says before he looks back out the window again, ready and alert. Somehow his three words feel like a mountain of praise.

“Why would that be?” Stu mutters from the front seat. I can hear his fingers running over the keys on his keyboard, and I wonder what he’s found. But I don’t interrupt him, as he’s obviously working on figuring something out.

“Notice anything, Eli?” Cade asks.

“No.”

“Me neither, and I'm not sure if that worries me even more,” Cade says. Eli doesn’t say anything in response. “Be on alert when we get back and go ahead and double the evening patrol.”

“Got it,” Eli says.

The trip back to the pack house seems to take forever. I can feel the tension in the car, and it’s stressing me out. Finally, we make it back to the pack house. “Wait in the car for a moment, Rose, until we can be sure it’s clear.”

Eli and Cade both climb out and circle the car before walking over to the second car. I watch as Maverick and Van climb out. The four of them talk for a moment before they come back. Cade opens my door. “It’s safe.”

Stu is still working in the front seat. I’m not sure how long he’s going to be there, so I leave him to his work. “Maverick is going to make sure you get inside safely,” Cade says.

I glance over at Maverick. His arms are crossed over his chest as he talks to Eli. He does not look happy. “Are you sure?” I ask Cade warily.

Cade glances over at Maverick and then back at me. “Do you want me to instead?”

As if he hears the question, Maverick looks over and locks eyes with me before starting in my direction. I take a deep breath and prepare for him to argue with me again, but he surprises me. “I’ll walk you in.” He doesn’t say anything else. I walk next to him, being careful to keep my distance. He holds the frontdoor for me and follows me as I walk up the stairs and to my apartment. When we get to my apartment, I unlock the door.

“Thanks for walking me to my door,” I say quickly and step inside and start to close the door. A large hand stops it.

“Can I come in?” he asks. I freeze a moment before I swallow and nod, not trusting my voice. He follows me into my apartment that suddenly seems so much smaller with him standing in it. “I shouldn’t have talked to you like that.” His words shock me. “I was angry, and I took it out on you. I’m sorry.”

“Are you apologizing to me?” I can’t help the words; they just tumble out.

He gives me a look. “Yes.”

Again, it’s like my mouth opens, and the words in my brain just sort of tumble out. “Wow. What is this world coming to?”

Chapter 24

Rose

“You done?” he asks dryly.

I bite back a smile. “I’m not sure. I feel like I should document this.” He shakes his head, and I can’t help but feel a small victory. We're talking, like two normal people. “So,” I hedge, wondering if I want to go down this road and ruin the truce we seem to have at the moment. “I’m sorry if I messed everything up; I really was just trying to get the most out of the meeting. I'm tired...No, scratch that. I’m angry at what’s happening here. I just wanted to try to get to the bottom of it.” He studies my face, and I feel my face grow warm with the intensity. “What?” I finally ask.

“I’m just trying to reconcile the girl who rarely talks and who’s scared of her own shadow with the one that was in the restaurant tonight.”

“I wasn’t always like that, you know,” I tell him feeling myself getting irritated. “Maybe tonight was who I really am.” I stare him in the eye, challenging him. Before he can say anything, I add quietly, “I wasn’t always a loser.”

His face changes, and he frowns. “I never said you were a loser.”

“You’ve implied it enough times” I argue. I briefly wonder what’s gotten into me tonight. It must be adrenaline still in my system, causing me to act so out of character. But then I remember this feeling, this confidence...it’s been a long time, but it’s still there. It's just been buried. For some reason, I feel the urge to explain. “I used to be confident; I had to be. Iaged out of the foster system at eighteen and was on my own. I had to make my own way; I’ve always had to but even more so once I was eighteen. I worked at a tech start-up right out of high school. I worked there for over two years and did well for myself. I went on almost every lunch or dinner or coffee date with potential investors. I worked hard and rose in the ranks, becoming an asset to the company. I also learned a lot of tech from the company—coding, programming, and more. That was all before...” I don’t know if he knows my story or not, so I add, “Before I was kidnapped by the vampires. Since then, I haven’t been able to find my equilibrium...until tonight.” I finally stop. “Sorry, I don’t know what’s gotten into me tonight. I know you didn’t come in here to listen to my whole life story.” I’m suddenly embarrassed at just how much I shared.

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