Page 38 of A Monstrous Claim, Part 2

Her excitement forces a smile onto my face, and I grow more confident by the second that this is exactly what I’m supposed to be doing. At least she hasn’t hung up on me yet. I take it as a good sign.

“Yeah, I was hoping you’d want to hang out.” I shift uncomfortably in my chair. “If you’re free or whatever.”

“Absolutely,” she answers quickly. “Do you want to meet me anywhere or should I pick you up?”

“If you could pick me up, that would be great,” I sigh. “I haven’t gotten a rental car yet or anything.”

“Sure. I’ll be there in a minute.”

ChapterTwenty

DEVYN

One minute is more like fifteen, but when she pulls up to the curb in her familiar green car with a moth decal on the back window, I fight the urge to squeal. I grab my things and hurry outside, skirting around the hood of her sedan, and falling into the passenger seat grinning ear to ear.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” she says, leaning over the console to throw her arms around me. Her red hair is braided in pigtails and she’s wearing new, purple-rimmed glasses. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

“I–” I choose my words carefully, terrified of slipping up and saying too much. I know I can trust Cara, and I doubt she would call the cops if I started rambling about shape-shifting monsters, but I know it’s best to keep her out of the loop. I’ve seen enough crime shows to know that the less you know, the less trouble you get yourself or others into. Hence the whole reason my mates leave me out of their politics. I’m protecting her by not telling her the whole truth. “I just got here. Azarius and Elio’s job got relocated, so I’ll be staying here for a bit.”

Nice save.

Her eyes light up and she puts the car in drive. “That’s awesome. So we have plenty of time to catch up. I’m sure you have lots of stories after all this time.”

That, I definitely do. Not many I can share though.

“Cara, I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner,” I say as we turn onto the main road. “I feel like a terrible friend. Life just got a little crazy for a while.”

“You don’t have to apologize, Devyn,” she assures me. “I get it. We’re adults. We’re busy. I’m just glad you’re okay and happy. And I’m glad I get to spend some time with you.”

A weight instantly vanishes from my shoulders at her reassurance. Here I’ve been worried she’d be mad at me for disappearing, and she’s just happy I’m alive.

Cara’s a much better friend than me.

“So how are Prince Charmings?” she asks, wiggling her eyebrows while keeping her eyes on the road. “I’ll beat them up if they aren’t keeping you happy.”

I snort an unattractive laugh, which melts some of the anxiety in my body. I can imagine Cara pointing an angry finger in either of their faces and going off while they watched in amusement, but there’s no need for that. When they’re with me, I couldn’t be happier.

Without them, however, is a different story.

“They’re great,” I assure her. “Just busy.”

I follow up with a vague story about traveling and work and boring business meetings that I avoid like the plague. I don’t like lying to her, and it isn’t easy, but I fumble my way through a decent breakdown of the last few months before swiftly changing the subject.

“Are we going back to your place?”

“Yeah, I want to get out of these work clothes, but then I’m free to do whatever you want.” She grins. “What are you in the mood for tonight?”

I shrug. It’s been a while since I’ve been out, even before I followed my sexy mates through the portal to the monster realm. “What is there to do around here on a Tuesday?”

Expecting her to list off things we would possibly go do later, I’m taken aback when Cara bursts into a fit of laughter until she’s gasping for air. I stare, one brow cocked, until she calms down, trying and failing to figure out what’s so fucking funny.

“Did I say something funny?” I ask.

“Y-yes,” she cackles and flips on her blinker. “Devyn, it’s Friday.”

The blood drains from my face and I reach for my phone. I glare at the screen, disbelief mounting. Sure enough, it’s Friday afternoon.

How the fuck did I lose track of time so badly?

---