Page 12 of Rescued By the Mothman

“A couple of days ago, sweetheart. Seemed real twitchy.”

“Did he have a phone with him?”

“Yeah. Whoever he was calling wasn’t picking up, though, and he was mad about it. Said he thought his friends were coming for him, though. To pick him up.”

This changed the game.

“Thank you so much.”

“A pleasure, sweetheart.”

Delaney wouldn’t be fleeing town if he thought his clueless little monster hating pals were coming here. He must have gotten word from them. It seemed unlikely they would come all this way just to leave again without causing trouble. Delaney had grudges, and he wasn’t above hurting those he didn’t like. I wondered if that extended to the family he’d fallen out with. I didn’t like the way the pieces of this puzzle were coming together.

I ate quickly, shooting off texts to Gariss to check in and update him. He must have been in the office with the others, as within moments I got one from Kiy.

“Got into trouble or made it complicated yet?”

“Not at all.”

A complete lie. This couldn’t get any more complicated for me. I was getting emotionally entangled with the target’s sister. I looked out the window, downing coffee. As soon as I saw her, I finished up and paid my bill. I was going to speak to Clarissa today after all.

Chapter 10

Clarissa

The trolley creaked as I pulled it along, trying not to get distracted and daydream. I was not going to spend any more time thinking about the bounty hunter who was chasing after my brother. I’d met types like him before. All swagger and no commitment. Yes, he had very nicely shaped biceps, but he was probably completely self-involved and terrible in bed. I shelved a book and then double checked it was in the right place. I couldn’t trust my brain today.

I moved to the next row, and the familiar gentle scent of a forest tickled my nose. It took me a moment before my mind connected the dots and I looked up. At the end of the row stood Sable. Quietly, arms crossed, just watching me. A shiver ran down my spine. Quickly followed by annoyance. I just wanted a quiet day at work not thinking about this situation with my brother.

“What do you want?” I snapped.

He walked into the row with me and stopped far too close. But I didn’t step back. I didn’t want to move away from him.

“Your brother has friends coming to town to collect him and probably to cause trouble.”

A flash of red-hot rage flowed through me, and I threw the book in my hand on the floor. Sable raised a pointed eyebrow, which infuriated me further.

“Don’t you look at me like that. This is easy for you, he’s not your family.”

I knew my voice was getting very loud and high pitched. Luckily, we’d just opened and there weren’t many customers here yet. I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead. A large hand squeezed my shoulder, and I looked back up into soft red eyes.

“This isn’t easy for anyone. I have a job to do, yes. But this isn’t like any other job.”

“Because of your sister?”

He looked like someone trying to decide something.

“Because of you.”

My brain got stuck between outrage that he thought I was making things difficult and confusion at the intensity of his gaze. It took me a moment to figure that look out. It was longing. I’d never had someone look at me that way before. With lust, yes. But not pure, unadulterated, open longing. He moved his hand from my shoulder to my chin and tipped it up slightly. My whole body tingled. I parted my lips slightly as he leaned down to me. He paused millimeters from my mouth.

“Is this ok?”

My stomach flipped at his words and the feel of his breath on my mouth.

“Yes.”

Our lips met, and powerful arms wrapped around me, pulling me close. I melted into him, hands wandering up his arms, taking a moment to enjoy those biceps before finding his head. Iran my hands through the soft fur, and he moaned slightly into my mouth. It was the most sensual sound I’d ever heard, and it made me dripping wet.

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