Page 38 of Married into the Mob
“There are reports of shots fired and a car chase.”
“We’re in one piece,” I assured him. Physically that was true, but I couldn’t guarantee Odell wasn’t going to fall apart. He wastough. Most humans would have collapsed in a heap back in the alley. But though Odell survived, he might not thrive. Perhaps he did need his aunt and not just to talk to.
“That can be arranged. I’ll call you back.”
Flint could be anywhere. I suspected the family were still in the panic room, or the bunker as I’d begun to think of it, but they couldn’t stay indefinitely. The air-conditioning drained the resources. His aunt might not be comfortable being around mafia, and it was possible she and her husband had been moved already.
And she wasn’t disposed to think kindly ofhim,as his addiction led them to Draven.
I sank onto the old couch and put my head in my hands.
My brothers’ relationships with their mates had been a whole lotta mess, but they got through it pretty damned quick. Odell and I took a half step forward and then fell into a deep dark hole.
The phone on my lap vibrated. “Yeah.”
“Put Odell on.”
“Hold on. He’s in the bathroom.” I refused to admit my mate was pissed at me and might shout abuse when I knocked on the door.
I made a light tap with my knuckles on the door with the peeling varnish. “Odell, I’ve got your aunt on the phone.”
He cracked the door and stuck out one hand. I hesitated because I wanted to tell him not to say too much about what had happened in case anyone was listening. But I placed the device in his palm and he slammed the door.
Ouch!That hurt my wolf’s ears. And mine.
Having enhanced hearing wasn’t always an advantage.
I pressed my ear to the wood as Odell spoke. I picked up a few words such as escape and safe. There were a lot of listening noises from him, until his footsteps heading toward the door had me leaping away.
He poked his head out. “I know you were listening.”
How? No way. He was guessing.
“If you’re keeping me safe and my aunt, why can’t we be safe together?”
Oh shit. This wasn’t a party, and I’d been banished, unlike when Ranger took off with Matt. Though there were similarities in that the former head of the Obsidian pack contacted the shifter council. But Ranger was protecting his mate and had done nothing wrong, and I was doing the same. Trouble seemed to find our family. Maybe our scent encouraged strife.
“How about we sleep on it and think how we can undo everything that’s happened and then you can meet up with your aunt?” I gave him the best puppy-dog eyes I could muster, though my wolf complained he was no puppy.
Odell yawned and rubbed his eyes that were a little bloodshot. His shoulders slumped. If I had to guess, the fight had gone out of him.
He nodded and closed the door. But seconds later he returned, dressed in an oversized tee. Pretty damned sure Flint didn’t pack that bag of clothes. He tossed me the phone and his brows shot up when I made an almost impossible catch—for a human.
“How’d you…” He held up a hand and yawned again. “Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”
He trailed into the bedroom, yelling over his shoulder, “Do you need bedding from here?”
I did. And I removed a thick quilt and pillow from a closet and said good night. Another door slammed in my face, and I was left with an empty room, a meal that was still partly frozen, and a lumpy couch that was to be my bed.
After shoving the TV dinner in the fridge and making another sandwich, I opened a can of soda and sat on the sofa, wishingUncle Arnie had a TV. But like my mate, I was exhausted, and I put the empty plate and can on the floor.
Worried that Odell might need to use the bathroom during the night, I left a lamp on so he wouldn’t stumble into anything and closed my eyes. My body ached with tension, and I longed for sleep, but my wolf made sure I stayed awake by insisting a hunt would satisfy him and I could sleep while he was tracking, killing, and eating his dinner.
But Odell might wake up and need me. Even I didn’t believe that based on his behavior before he went to bed. He hated me. Maybe tomorrow he wouldn’t, but as of bedtime, I was his least favorite person in the world.
I reasoned that he was warm, he had access to the bathroom, and the fridge was stuffed with food. I could leave a note saying I’d gone for a walk.
Okay. But make it quick.
