Page 18 of Her Convict Wolf

There’s a prickle in my chest. The last few years have been tough. I’ve achieved a lot of success, but it’s come at a price, and there hasn’t been much time for laughing and softness. Being with Emory, though—it’s like the sun coming back out, when I thought it was gone for good.

“And I stand by that—” I start to say, but a ringing phone cuts off the end of my sentence. It’s an old landline style, coming from the hallway.

“Ti, can you get that?” yells Meredith from the bar.

“Sure thing!” Emory skips out of the kitchen and heads towards the hallway. I follow her, staying at a distance, so I’m not in her line of sight.

“Sinner’s refuge, this is Tiana,” I hear her say. Then some music starts up and I miss the next few sentences. But then she turns toward me sharply, eyes full of worry. She’s talking about me, and it’s not good.

6

Emory

“Ma’am, this is the federal prison service,” a ball-breaking female voice barks.

Ice shoots down my spine.

Relax, I tell myself. Maybe they just want another round of prisoner lunches. A laugh bubbles out of me, and I clap my hand over my mouth. Yup, after yesterday’s debacle, I’m sure that’s exactly what they want.

“Can I help you?” I say in a high, tight voice.

“Yesterday, there was an…umm… incident…” The confident tone falters. “And one of the prisoners escaped. I’m calling to ask whether you’ve seen him. He’s unusually tall and muscular. He has a scar running across his right cheek.”

Shit.I swallow hard to get rid of the lump in my throat. “W-why would we have seen him?”

“No particular reason, ma’am. We’re just tracking down leads at the moment. He’s an extremely dangerous individual and it’s in everyone’s interests that we apprehend him as soon as possible.”

What does she mean by that? Do they suspect that he’s here, or are they just fishing?

There’s a sound behind me. I whirl around. Maxim is standing in the kitchen doorway, watching me. A hot, dizzy feeling spills through me.

He’s risking so much by protecting me. His brother’s freedom. His own life. I feel sick at how selfish I’ve been. I should’ve refused his help last night. Told him to leave me alone.

Sending him back to prison would be the right thing to do. Then he’ll still get a chance to save his brother.

Even though my chest hurts like crazy at the thought of being apart from him.

I’m gripping the receiver so tight, my hand cramps.

He’s right here. Come and pick him up.

The words are on the tip of my tongue—

“Emory.”

I startle. I’m not even sure if he said my name out loud. It’s more like I heard it inside my head. Like his beast called to me. My heart pounds.

He shakes his head, his glowing eyes locking onto mine.

No.

This time, I definitely heard the word inside my head. His lips didn’t move.

I heard it because we’re connected.

We belong together. The certainty rushes over me.

I drop the receiver back in its cradle, and I turn to him.

---