Page 30 of Her Wolf

“Take Bailey. Go have a drink or something.”

He frowned at her, taking a step back so he could study her. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” she said, but in a voice that weighed a thousand pounds. “Just…ask him to tell you what he told me.”

“Cora—?”

She stripped. “I’m okay, Finn. Just…let me have a soak. I’ve got a lot to think about.”

He caught himself giving her bare back a nod, as if he’d just accepted an order from a queen.

But we have, haven’t we?

He pushed away the voice, and forced himself to head out the bathroom.

“Oh, and Finn? Can I have my underwear back?”

“Nope,” he said, pushing the door closed behind him.

He heard her frustrated growl, but it didn’t make him smile as wide as it should have. Bailey was stacking the half-signed papers on Cora’s table, not even looking as if he’d been reading them.

Because he was a good guy, or just fucking good at pretending?

“Let’s give her a bit,” he said, grabbing Bailey’s shoulder in a hand.

“You sure? Shouldn’t we be—?”

“I’ll send Lars up to keep guard.” He clapped his hand on Bailey’s back and then strode ahead.

The sun hung low and sullen in the sky when they arrived on the roof. Finn made himself a cup of coffee at the bar while Bailey cracked open a can of beer. They stared at each for a few seconds before Bailey pointed out his radio. “You gonna call Lars?”

Finn shrugged. “You do it.” Then he turned and walked out onto the roof.

It wasn’t that he was letting his guard down—anything but. If Bailey was coming on board, then he’d have to step up.

Finn heard Bailey talking over the radio, and smiled faintly as he sipped his coffee. Bailey still didn’t know how call signs worked, and Lars was a fucking stickler for them. He took almost five minutes to get Lars to head up to Cora’s room, and when he came outside his face was blotchy with the effort.

“Sorted?” Finn asked, trying to hide his smile behind his cup as he leaned forward and rested his arms on the banister circling the roof.

“Yeah, sure,” Bailey replied briskly, before downing half his beer. “Said he’ll be up as soon as he’s done with the lion.”

“Whoa, easy there,” Finn said, straightening.

Bailey frowned at him as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “You got something to say?”

“No,” Finn said, ignoring the man’s prompt. It had been a strange day for everyone—this wasn’t the time to piss over each other territory.

Not that Bailey had any.

“I got something to ask,” Finn said.

“So ask.” Bailey turned to the view and took another long swallow of his beer.

“What were you talking to Cora about today?”

Bailey shifted his weight, but didn’t turn to Finn. “That’s her business.”

“Which makes it ours.”

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