Page 27 of Song Bird Hearts

She may want him in many ways, but one of those ways is for what he means standin’ here. And hell if that ain’t somethin’ to be afraid of. . . or proud of. Maybe both.

Knox doesn’t say a word.

“I hope you know what you’re doin’,cher,” I tell Val as I tuck my gun away. “You just invited the wolf into the pig pen.” I frown. “Don’t eat Kevin,” I tell Wolf adamantly. “Val wouldn’t like that.”

Wolf? He just smiles.

What a mix we make. The Country singer, the Cajun heart throb, the ex-militarycouillon, and the Wolf.

Grand Poisson-Chathelp us.

Chapter14

Valerie

The tension in the cabin is so thick, it’s a wonder no one chokes on it.

Knox won’t look at me. He just stands by the door with his arms crossed, like if he keeps glaring at Wolf long enough, the man will dissolve or spontaneously combust. I’m not sure which one he’d enjoy more.

Gilden? He’s kicked back with one loafer on the coffee table, watching the two of them like he’s got front row rickets to the best damn drama he’s seen in weeks.

I can’t take it.

I slip outside, leaving the door open behind me just enough to hear if any shouting turns to gunfire. The air’s colder out here, the high mountain wind slipping down my collar, sharp with pine and the sounds of the forest. I wrap my arms around myself and let my lungs stretch for the first time in hours.

What the hell have I done?

Letting Wolf in, it felt like instinct and a whole lot like survival. But it doesn’t make sense. Not really.

He found me when no one else could, knew where I’d be because he bugged me. God, how long as he been stalking me and why doesn’t it bother me more that he has been? When I look at him, I feel seen in a way I can’t explain, like he already knows the shape of all my shadows. But I shouldn’t feel safer around him. I should feel scared. Stalkers aren’t the best kinds of people to hole up with.

I’m still trying to make sense of it all when I hear the creak of the porch floorboards behind me. He doesn’t announce himself. He doesn’t need to.

Wolf moves like fog rolling along the pasture, quiet and slow. He doesn’t come too close, just comes out far enough to stand beside me with plenty of air between us, hands in his pant pockets, gaze fixed on the tree line like he’s trying to memorize it.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

I don’t answer right away, chewing on my lip until I find the words I feel like I can say. “You dropped a bomb in there,” I say instead of the words caught in my throat. “They’re probably drawing straws for who gets to kill you first.”

He exhales through his nose, something like amusement. “If it happens, I’ll try not to bleed all over the floor.”

I glance at him. “Why are you like this?”

He tilts his head, unreadable as he looks at me. “Like what?”

“So calm. So sure. You show up out of nowhere, crash into my life like a ghost with a plan, and you act like none of this is strange. Hell, you tracked me here, with a tracker you slipped in my coat pocket! That’s not normal!”

He looks at me now, really looks at me. Wolf is a handsome man, almost too handsome. He’s the kind of man that must have no lack of attention from women. It doesn’t make sense that he’s standing here in front of me, declaring loyalty like I’ve earned that right.

“It’s not strange to me,” he finally says.

The way he says it—low, certain—makes something flutter hard in my chest.

His eyes glitter. “I’ve been watching you for a long time.”

“We’ll talk about how long here in a minute. But, you bugged me,” I remind him, my whisper sharp. “That’s a violation, not protection like you seem to think it is.”

“It’s both,” he says. There’s no apology in his voice, just honesty. “I knew you’d need me.” His eyes trace down my body, making me shiver from his gaze rather than from the cold. “I waited.”

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