Page 70 of Never Submit

I turn back sharply in time to see Anna scribblesomething on a piece of paper. She tucks a couple of twenties into the paper, folding it around the money before handing it to me.

“Take it.”

I shake my head. “No, sorry, I’m not working. I don’t feel comfortable taking a tip.”

She doesn’t smell like wolf. Or like any of the wolves I know. She smells human, normal, but the realization isn’t enough to get me to lower my guard, and definitely not enough to make me trust her.

“It’s not a tip,” she insists. “Please. It would make me feel better to know you have a little change in your pocket. Just in case you find yourself in another predicament.”

She’s not about to take no for an answer and her gaze holds mine, unwavering.

The shiver goes from the tip of my nose all the way down to my knees, and I lock them, determined not to back down.

The Moon Goddess once told me in a dream that I didn’t have a backbone. She said that my parents were much braver than I was.

Maybe that’s why I bite down on my lip and reach for the paper. Taking it from Anna without blinking.

“Thank you,” I say simply. “I appreciate it.”

She only watches me, lifting another fry and nibbling at it before I turn around and finally break eye contact.

My fingers are shaking as I take the paper to the back, Flora following behind me and Carrigan talking to one of the guys at the bar. She’s got her hip cocked out to the side, but her attention is on me.

“What’s that?” Flora asks, drawing in a deep breath. “What did she give you?”

“I’m not sure.”

Just like I’m not sure why I trust Flora more than I do Anna, although both women are veritable strangers. I shouldn’t have taken the money.

I unfold the note. Two words are scrawled across the otherwise blank white paper.

Find me.

Unthinking, I crumple the note into a ball and toss it in the trash, missing and watching it bounce off the rim. With a groan, I grab it and shove it down deep into the mix of food-covered wax paper and cheese wrappers.

The money, on the other hand, I tuck into the back pocket of my new jeans, purchased specifically by my sweet mate.

“What are you going to do now?” Flora asks.

She is absolutely out of place in this bar, but I smile at her regardless; she’s a pretty flower in a garden of weeds. “Now, I say my goodbyes to Carrigan and we get out. Take a walk somewhere else, I don’t know. The longer I stay, the more danger it puts her and Rudy in.”

“Where is the namesake himself? I expected him to be here, part of the reason you wanted to come.”

“You know, I’m not sure. It’s a little weird not to see him in the kitchen.”

Carrigan pushes through the swinging doors, carrying a tray of empty bottles. “Hey, if you have a second later, we need some girl time. I’ll text Aspen. You can bring your girl here, if you want. But there is some serious explaining to do, dude. You’re not off the hook,” she warns me.

My mouth goes dry again. “I’d like that.”

There won’t be a later, though. I know it now. I thought I’d be fine to come here and see her, to assure myself she’s okay, and to say goodbye.

But it’s only tightening the threads between us and dragging Carrigan into more danger.

Simply by being around me.

I grab her in another hug because I can’t help myself. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

She squeezes me back. “You’d better.”

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