Page 31 of Lavender and Lightning

“Let’s text the pack and let them know we’re going out of town, but then we should put our phones on Do Not Disturb.”

I purse my lips as I consider. After Rhett’s reaction to me just going to work and not telling him, I’m hesitant to cut off contact completely. I won’t be alone, which should help him cope, but I don’t want to reignite that argument again. “What if there’s an emergency?” I ask.

“I have Rhett’s work number set to bypass the block, and you can set someone as the designated contact, just in case. But I want to spend this time with you, and not have to worry about the bullshit of the last few weeks.”

And, my God, that sounds like the most heavenly thing. Just a few days where I can be with Mateo and not have to think about anything except enjoying myself. And being somewhere other than the pack house will be just the cherry on top.

“I’m going to let Lucas know to contact Gabby if there’s a true emergency. And I’ll tell her that if someone isn’t dead or dying, then it’s not a true emergency.”

Mateo laughs as I type out the messages, and then with a resolute press of my thumb, I set my phone to silent and Do Not Disturb, shoving it deep into my bag. Mateo does the same as we stop at a red light. He throws me another one of those stomach-fluttering smiles, and my cheeks heat lightly.

“Let’s blow this popsicle stand.”

The sound of our laughter accompanies the squeal of his tires as we take off the moment the light turns green.

thirteen

Rhett

IreadMateo’smessageas I’m walking out to my car from the St. Clair Foundation offices, and I can’t help the little growl that spills out of my throat. It’s not the first time Mateo’s gone off on his own, but this is not the time for his flighty behavior. I stew all the way home, getting more irritated with each mile.

When I walk into the house, the sizzling and popping of food cooking draws me into the kitchen. Lucas is dressed in just a t-shirt and jeans, minding some pans on the island cooktop. To my surprise, Lex is perched on one of the stools across from him, an open bottle of wine and a half-full glass in front of her.

“Did Mat text either of you?” I ask, the words coming out a little more harshly than I’d intended.

“No, but Lydi did,” Lucas replies, not looking up from the pan as he flips the contents with one expert flick of the wrist.

“He’s bolted again, hasn’t he,” Lex drones, the question sounding more like a statement.

“Yep,” I say, popping my lips as I take a seat next to her.

“I wish he would stop fucking doing this,” she goes on, taking a sharp swig of her wine.

“I don’t know why you’re surprised. It’s not like he hasn’t done this before,” Lucas mutters, and I catch him rolling his eyes.

I want to argue, but he’s right. After Seth used his heat to trick Mateo and Lex into bonds, there were stretches of days when I wouldn’t see Mateo at all. He’d show up for client meetings and other work-related things, but beyond that, he disappeared. We were still dealing with getting Seth out of the Valencia suite where we were living at the time, and it wasn’t until he moved out that I saw Mateo sleep in his bed there again. He would never say where he went during those months, but it took the public break up announcement, and the completion of Wickland House, for us to start seeing him around more frequently. And, if I were being honest with myself, he’s spent more time with the pack since Lydia came into our lives than he ever did when Seth was around.

“I guess I’d just like to know where they went,” I say at last.

“Why? So you can intrude on their private, romantic getaway?” Lucas returns with a teasing lilt.

I growl low in my throat, but he just shakes his head, completely unaffected. My nerves are frayed just enough that I consider punishing the attitude out of him right here, but I push that aside. For now.

“We looked into the tracker and it’s a bust,” Lex says with a heavy sigh.

Another thing to stretch my already paper-thin patience. Finding out that Lydia’s car had been bugged was a rather unpleasant surprise. I’d asked the booth attendant from the parking garage near her old apartment if anything suspicious had been happening in the last few weeks, but it was a dead end. No one was seen wandering among the cars, or loitering, or taking weird pictures. And we know someone had eyes on Lydia’s apartment, just based on that absolutely disgusting photo she received the night of the accident.

“Have either of you noticed that Seth’s been awfully quiet? My team has been keeping an eye on his social media. There’s been the usual slew of self-indulgent gym mirror selfies and brand deal posts, but he’s not interacting with commenters or anything,” she continues, taking a long pull of her wine when she’s done.

“Good fucking riddance, I say. It’s about time he stops trying to fuck us over and gets on with his life,” Lucas replies, flipping the stir-fry again.

“I don’t think we’d be that lucky. He’s got to be planning something,” I say, scratching at my beard in thought.

It is odd that Seth just so happened to fall off the face of the planet right around the time Lydia’s stalker tried to break into her apartment. But short of hiring someone to follow him around, all we can do is speculate. And while I would do just about anything to keep Lydia safe, we don’t want to sink to his level.

“And there’s one more thing,” Lex says, swirling what’s left of her wine in a slow circle.

“You are just a barrel of sunshine and good news today, aren’t you,” Lucas says with an exaggerated sigh.

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