Page 43 of Cold Foot Komodo

They finalized plans and strangely enough, she did feel a little better. She wasn’t coming home to a destroyed house alone tomorrow. She had plans. Even if she was exhausted after her shift, it would be so nice to spend time with a good-mojo woman like Beth. She wouldn’t have to just come home to the mess in here, and overthink about what she’d done wrong to turn Reed off.

She could use a little break from the chaos in her mind.

Chapter Eleven

Reed clenched and unclenched his fist. When he spread his fingers out, they were shaking.

It was the anger that kept him on the verge of a Change.

The first gray streaks of dawn were painting the horizon as he stalled on making this call. It had taken him half the damn night to even track down Mayer’s phone number. He’d forgotten it during his years at Cold Foot.

Now, he didn’t keep in touch with his old Bank of Komodo shifters, nor did he want anything to do with any of them. Everything had gotten so messed up at the end, and he’d taken the fall for every toxic habit the Komodos had built up. He’d spent an hour digging into old memories and trying to decide who to contact for information. Mayer was the one who was most likely moved on and out of that Bank, but there was still the risk of him still being roped in. Farrah was really good at that part.

He'd had to pay for a background check service to get this number, and nothing in him wanted to make this call right now.

Reed dragged his gaze to the hospital entrance, where a blue car was pulling up to the emergency room doors. He’d cleared the road for Sasha again. No, she didn’t need it. He knew Sasha didn’t need him doing that, but he couldn’t help it. He would probably always clear the road on bad-weather days if his animal had any say in the way he started his mornings.

Texting her to end things between him and Sasha had gutted him.

She was too good for any of this, and Farrah was a monster. Sasha didn’t need to be in the path of the storm. He already cared about her too much.

Fuck, he’d been happy here for a minute, but now? The Cold Foot Crew was leaking information about him, and that was the part that really pissed him off. He’d been through enough betrayal.

All Banks were the same. Apparently all Crews were the same too.

Reed connected the call to Mayer, but no one picked up. He tried to calculate the time difference, but Mayer was an early riser too. Always had been.

He called again, and this time a familiar voice came on the line. “Hello?” he said gruffly.

“Mayer?”

His old friend went silent.

“It’s Reed,” he gritted out.

“I know who it is. I didn’t get a collect call from a prisoner prompt. Are you out of Cold Foot?”

And that right there told Reed that Mayer was out of their old Bank. If Farrah knew, she would’ve called a meeting and briefed everyone. “Are you out of the Bank?” he asked, wanting to know for sure.

“By the skin of my teeth,” Mayer said. He inhaled deeply. “Why are you calling me? Are you coming after me?”

“I have no interest in all that. No revenge. Karma will do what she needs to do. I never want to see any of you again. I’m calling for information.”

“What kind of information?” Mayer asked somberly.

“Farrah’s kid.”

“Farrah’s kid?” Mayer asked in a confused tone.

“Is it mine?”

“Jesus, how would I know that, man? I haven’t seen anyone from the Bank since about a week after you were arrested. Jack, Drake, and I bolted after everything went down. I’m still in hiding. Farrah will never quit hunting. I’ll be in hiding for therest of my freaking life, and speaking of, how did you find my number?”

“From a background check. If I can get it, so can she. She found my number too. Far as I can guess, she must be talking to someone in my new Crew.”

“Man, I don’t know what to tell you. I can’t be doing a paternity test on some kid I’ve never seen for you.”

“Mayer, you owe me, and you know it.”

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