Page 16 of Forced Wolf Bride

I scoff. "You think?" He shoots me a look, but I add, "If you let me get some things, I'll make dinner."

He seems to think about it for a moment and then nods. "Okay. You can ride out with me this morning. I've got to head into town, and you can go into the store. My second, Zack, has a sister who works there. Saffy. She can keep an eye on you."

He obviously still doesn't trust me completely, but I'll take it. After all, I shouldn't fully trust him, either.

Given that he seems to be in a good mood, I decide to try for the one thing I really want. "Y-you said maybe I could contact my friend Gina soon?"

He sighs, cutlery clattering onto his empty plate. "Not yet. There are things in play. Things that have nothing to do with you, but you can't be messing things up by running your mouth off."

My stomach churns as I think about how worried Gina must be. "I just want her to know I'm safe," I say quietly.

He looks at me, his eyes flashing with something dangerous. "You gonna tell her exactly how well I'm taking care of you?"

My mouth runs dry at the thought of Gina finding out I've slept with Diego. He laughs, standing up. "Didn't think so. Now, get ready if you want to come."

And just like that, Diego's hardened exterior returns. But I'm not going to miss the opportunity to go out, and by the time we're in the truck, he seems to have thawed a bit again, telling me bits and pieces about the area's history.

We drive by the large sports complex, and to the side is an overgrown field. He gestures to it. "That's where we used to hold those tournaments."

The sports complex has an amazing backdrop of mountains and woods, and I can easily imagine it packed on a glorious day. "Looks like a great spot for them. You should really consider doing them again."

He grunts in reply, continuing to drive slowly as he looks out at the field. I think he's lost in a memory, and I don't want to intrude. As he told me, the sports complex holds many happy memories with his son.

From everything I'd heard from Gina's pack, Tyler was a terrible man. Abusive. I'd never given any thought to how Diego might have felt about his death until being brought here. Now, as I watch him lost in memory, I'm filled with so much sympathy for him.

I reach over and put my hand on his forearm. The simple gesture seems to jerk him back to the moment. He shrugs me off but doesn't say anything.

I wouldn't know what to say, anyway.

We pull into the general store on the main street, and I'm again struck by how pretty this little town is. It's very similar to Silverstar, with a real community feel and some lovely local shops. The park across the street looks green and inviting, reminding me of the damage Diego's pack wreaked on the fountain that I helped rebuild.

I'm finding it increasingly difficult to reconcile Diego's actions with how he is with me and how fondly he talks about his community.

"I called ahead, so Saffy knows you're coming in,” he says. “Stay with her until I get back." He turns to me. "Don't run, Quinn. I'm not stupid."

"I'm not going to run, Diego," I say honestly. "I'm just getting dinner."

He regards me coolly for a moment, but then his eyes shift, and something resembling a smile flashes across his face before he walks away toward one of the other buildings.

I take a deep breath, suddenly feeling exposed without Diego's presence. Some men across the street appear to have stopped what they were doing and are watching me. I don't want to look too closely to see if I recognize any of them from the night I was taken, but I have a bad feeling about them. Turning, I rush inside the store.

"Hey, hello?" I hear someone call out from down one of the aisles.

I poke my head around and see a young woman with stunning long red hair balancing precariously on a stepladder. "You Quinn? I'll be one sec!"

I rush forward as the ladder wobbles. "Are you okay? That looks really dangerous." I grab the ladder to steady it.

The woman laughs as she steps down, and I see how young she really is, maybe nineteen at most. "It's okay. I haven't fallen yet."

"Don't you actually sell ladders here?" I ask, gesturing to the homeware section where some ladders are stacked against the wall.

She breaks out into a beautiful laugh, nodding. "It's probably not the best advertisement for them, me wobbling up there."

We're both laughing now, and she introduces herself. “So, Quinn, right? I'm Saffy, Zack's sister."

"I, um, haven't met Zack properly yet, but I've seen him. Did I see you dropping some things off at the cabin the other week?" I ask.

"Yeah, that was me. Hope everything was okay?" Saffy asks. Looking around nervously, she adds, "I know this is all a bit weird. I think you look pretty calm, and I'd be a mess. I'm just trying to say, I hope you're okay?"

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