Page 23 of The Delta's Rogue
Sarina laughs. “What a dumbass.”
“A dumbass who will face my brother’s wrath,” I amend, grabbing the bag with silver handcuffs from its hiding place. “Do you have your transport stone?”
She pats the pocket of her leather pants. “Yes.”
“Good. I’ll need it to get back to the pack quickly after we get him. It’s too much of a risk to drive him back to Crescent Lake.”
We take off through the city, staying in the alleys, Sarina following along behind me. When we reach the building, Levi is there in wolf form, along with four other wolves I don’t recognize and assume are Sarina’s nomad pack mates.
The largest wolf from her pack approaches her, his nose nudging her hand and his eyes shining with concern.
“What’s wrong?” I ask her.
She shakes her head. “Nothing. He’s just making sure I’m okay.”
I whip my head away, nostrils flaring and lycan growling in my mind at the display of concern, affection, and familiarity between her and the male from her pack. But I shake it off and shove the irritation down.
This isn’t the time for that. We have a scumbag lycan to catch.
“Riven said they’ll stay down here, in the alley,” Sarina says from behind me, “in case Lennox jumps out the window or something.”
Levi’s dark brown wolf nods at me, agreeing with the plan.
“Don’t kill him unless you have to,” I remind them all. “My brother will want to question him, and he can’t give us any answers if he’s dead.” I glance over my shoulder at Sarina. “Are you ready?”
She nods, and I gesture her forward with my chin, walking towards the service entrance without checking to see if she’s following.
I know she is. I’m hyperaware of her at all times.
I flip the keypad open, punch in the passcode—59226, the same security code my dad uses for every building we own—and yank the door open, holding it so Sarina can walk in first.
“Does your pack own every business in town?”
I scoff. “No. I told you we don’t own The Black Door.”
“That’s one business,” she points out, chuckling.
I smirk at her. “We own a decent portion. Silver Ridge and Amber Forest own some as well. It’s a tourist area, so it’s quite lucrative.”
We’re both silent as we enter the stairwell, creeping up towards the floor Haven and Maya live on. I stay in the front, guarding Sarina. Even though she’s more than capable of guarding herself, my lycan—and I—need her safe.
Her fingers lace through mine as we climb. It’s the first actual physical contact we’ve made since we left The Black Door two nights ago, and I pause on the landing, gazing down at her.
I’m fine, she mouths, answering the question on the tip of my tongue before I can ask it. Her hand tightens around mine, sending another tiny jolt of reassurance through me, before she lets go.
I stare at the now empty space between us, where our hands were joined only moments ago, and I frown. Something nags at the back of my head, a thought snagging and itching in my brain like a worm niggling and working its way through an apple to its core. I tear my gaze away, ignoring the seed trying to take root in my thoughts, as I creep down the hall to Haven and Maya’s apartment.
The door is ajar, and I gesture for Sarina to wait. It could be a setup. He might be waiting right on the other side of the door for us to come flying in, and then he’ll attack.
I lean forward and sniff while listening for his breathing, staying on the outside of the apartment and not crossing over the threshold. I hear him inside but not near the door. No, the sound I hear, accompanied by the scent drifting towards us, has me fuming and holding in a roar.
I glance behind me. Sarina’s lip curls in a silent snarl, a sign that she’s come to the same conclusion I have: Lennox is jacking off in Haven’s apartment.
I press my finger to my lips, reminding her to stay quiet. She follows me into the apartment, both of us squeezing through the propped-open door.
“Can you get up the fire escape?”I ask Levi as I glance around the living area of the apartment.
“I’m way ahead of you, Seb,”he replies.“I grabbed some shorts from the back of the SUV, and I’m waiting out here in case he triesto bolt this way.”
