Page 28 of Matched into the Mob

I’ll wait until he’s asleep and lie outside his room. If he awoke in the middle of the night, I’d hear him immediately.

I climbed into bed after brushing my teeth and phoned Flint. The road between the city and the cabin was cut by flood waters in several places, and the whole family, including my dad and Uncle Arnie were holed up in my apartment, high above the flooded streets.

And while outside was pitch dark, the roar of the river was so loud it had to have overflowed and flooded the lower section of the property. Thank gods my grandfather had the foresight to build the house where he did and construct a drainage system to divert water away from the building.

“Any news on Dane?”

“The car was there, banged up, blood in the front and back seats.”

I asked if there was any confirmation that Dane knew of my being there. While the mafia packs closed ranks around their members, there was always a whisper here, a rumor there.

“No, but I’d assume he does.”

I’d done that already.

None of us could go anywhere, including Dane. Not even a helicopter could fly in this weather. But I had to consider what to do when the road was passable. My family and pack could protect us, but if Dane wanted revenge, it could lead to a full-blown war.

But Dane had threatened Matt, and to any shifter, marked or not, the bond they had with their mate absolved them of what humans might consider wrongdoing or crimes.

I hadn’t killed the man or his goons, hadn’t touched them, even though he was intent on killing Matt. It was his so-called driver’s ineptitude that resulted in the crash. All I did was remove my mate from the blood-soaked car.

The La Luna Noir Council would rule in my favor. The Supreme Shifter Council that represented all shifters would do the same. The mating instinct was non-negotiable.

But Dane had a tendency to act first and ask for forgiveness afterward rather than wait for permission.

Matt would never be safe.

You know what you have to do?My wolf was all about protecting Matt, as was I.

Yes.

Technically I didn’t need Flint’s permission because protecting our mates was enshrined in our law. But I’d have to run everything by him.

We could accomplish nothing this evening, so I stopped worrying and concentrated on the images in my head of my mate clad in one of my bathrobes. It was three sizes too big and he’d tripped up the stairs, almost knocking the candles out of my hand.

A noise outside my room had me grabbing the gun from the nightstand. I hadn’t locked the door in case Matt needed me.

“Owww!” That was my mate who couldn’t see in the dark. I leaped up and shone the phone flashlight on him. He hadn’t changed out of the robe, and he squinted and shielded his face with one hand.

“Ranger?”

“I’m here.” I led him inside and flipped the phone over on the bed so the light illuminated the room.

But as he gazed at me, he shrieked and held up his hands in surrender. “Don’t shoot.”

Shit, I’d forgotten about my weapon. “Sorry.”

Matt backed away, hitting the bed, and toppled onto the mattress. He scuttled back until he hit the headboard and wrapped his arms around his knees.

“Are you planning on killing me?”

“No, I wasn’t sure it was you.”

“But you told me Dane couldn’t?—”

Shit, my words were coming back to bite me on the ass. “Putting it away.” I shoved it into a drawer. “Did you need something?” Me, perhaps, though putting a gun in his face didn’t bode well for a thawing of our relationship.

“Yeah, not to get shot. If it’s not too much trouble.” He crawled under the covers.

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