Page 69 of Unforgivable

"Good." I flit my eyes over him. He gets nervous, moving away to the other end of the bar.

I sit and watch the growing crowd for a good half hour. I'm not sure if the bar is extra crowded, or it just seems that way because no one sits on the barstools or the small table next to me.

I don't see Ezra's usual drinking buddies. At least they know me a little. It feels incredibly awkward sitting here by myself, but I figure I'll give it another half hour, then maybe Lyri will be sleeping before I get home.

Did I mention I'm a fucking coward?

Disgusted with myself, I stand up. I might as well go home. Maybe this is a sign that I need to explain myself to my female and just take my medicine.

"Heading out?" Owen says to me.

"Yeah, better shit to do than sit here," I tell him, not caring if I'm insulting his bar.

"Yeah, not your favorite company," he agrees. His dark eyes slide to his left, to a dark corner of the bar. I follow the path naturally, peering into the shadows only to see four wolves glaring at me with pure avarice. I let my gaze drift over them as if I don't see them staring bullets at me.

I turn back to Owen and pick my beer up again. "Who the fuck are they?" I ask around the bottle.

"Yule Brenn, Brian Taylor, and their mates, Krista and Darci," Owen says.

I nod at him, forcing a smile, so it looks like we're discussing something else. "And they're important to me?"

"They were there," Owen mumbles.

I take another sip. "Interesting. Yet, they have mates."

"Bitches who keep running their mouths," Owen breathes before he's called over to another customer.

I twirl the bottle in my hand. My mind is racing. I've just placed myself at the bar. Nothing can be done tonight. Doesn't mean I can't do a little recon work. I wait until the two females stand up to go to the bathroom.

I stroll past the table with the male wolves on my way to the toilet. Once I'm down the hall, I can hear the two females bitching away.

"I can't believe they still show their faces around here. He took her back to that ranch. It's amazing that they didn't kill her."

"No one needs a rankwhore around. Think of all the males she could corrupt. Kayla told me that so many of the males are still talking about her."

"Who cares? She'll never have the guts to show her face around here again."

"Seriously, if she does show up here, Alpha Jax would kill her for real. Imagine how much it sucks to have your son fall into her trap?"

"If she dies, we all move up in rank."

"She's rankless now, Krista. You're so stupid. And, you'd have to ditch Yule if you want a better rank."

"He's so stupid for going there that night. Ugh, I just can't."

Their voices cut off as they pee, then wash their hands, their gossip switching over to some other hapless wolves.

Part of me contemplates never allowing these two to exit the bar, alive. They're all closer to my age than to Lyri's. They're talking about my female dying as if it would be a boon to them.

But I'm smarter than that. I think I'll just help the females with their little mate problems. Not that they'll ever know it was me. That's fine. I don't need their thanks.

I wander back to the bar, glad to see Ezra's new best friend, Franco, sitting at a table with a female I vaguely recognize as one of the pack trainers.

I grab a vacant chair from another table and plunk it down next to the female, ignoring the huff of outrage from the wolves behind me.

"Rhet," Franco greets me respectfully. I nod back, then look at the female. Her hot glare makes my lips quirk up in amusement. I'm sure she could give me a good fight, but I won't indulge her without a damn good reason.

"It's surprising to see you here," the female says frostily.

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