Chapter 3 - Tolliver
Tolliver wasn’t prepared. He thought he had been after seeing Laila on screen. He was convinced he’d be able to keep his composure if he saw her face to face. However, this… seeing her right there, just a few feet away, was like being punched in the gut. His breath caught, and the world tilted off its axis for a second. His wolf lifted its head and howled, the sound echoing in Tolliver’s mind.
The beast rippled under his skin and clawed at his chest, wanting to get to its long-lost mate. Tolliver had the overwhelming urge to pounce over the counter, which separated him from Laila and reclaim what was rightfully his. She was the woman Mother Nature had created for him, the other half of his soul…. and she was right there.
He swallowed hard and exercised every ounce of willpower he possessed to stay where he was. “Laila…” Her name tumbled off his lips as a sigh that resonated with longing. His jaw clenched as he told himself and the wolf, creating havoc inside him, to get a grip.
She stared at him, wide-eyed and disbelieving. Her lips parted and closed, then they parted again as if she struggled to find words.
It seemed he’d forgotten how to speak, too. He wasn’t sure how long their staring contest went on as he drank her in. Her hair was caught up in the same messy bun she used to put it in whenever she was baking. Her eyes were alive, so expressive, giving away her emotions like they used to. She was the same, yet different. There was a harder, skeptical edge to her demeanor, contrasting with the trusting innocence she once exuded.
Focus, Tolliver.
He had a job to do. That job didn’t include getting swept up in old feelings, even if seeing her again made him feel like the ground had been yanked out from under him. He prioritized getting her out of danger and keeping her safe, as he’d do for any other. Yet she wasn’t just another job, was she? Laila was so much more. He sighed inwardly.
“Laila, you’re in danger,” he blurted. Tolliver mentally facepalmed himself. That wasn’t very smooth.
Laila blinked, her expression shifting from shock to confusion. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, her dove-gray eyes darkened to ash. He’d always loved how the intriguing orbs changed with her mood. “What the hell are you doing here?”
His eyebrows elevated at the hostility in her tone. Of course, he hadn’t expected a warm welcome or a great-to-see-you hug, but he was still shocked because Laila had always been the gentlest soul he’d ever known.
As if she finally registered what he said, her eyebrows furrowed. “Danger? What are you talking about?”
“I don’t have time to explain everything right now, but you have to trust me,” Tolliver said.
After a beat of silence, Laila’s laughter filled the bakery, but there wasn’t an ounce of humor in it. “Trust you?” She shook her head. “You’re kidding, right? This has to be a joke.” Her gaze swiveled around the room. “Someone has decided to play a sick joke on me. That’s what is going on here.”
The pain and the edge of panic in her voice made Tolliver feel bad. Telling her to trust him was a bad move. He broke up with her abruptly all those years ago. Of course, she wouldn’t trust him.
Tolliver sighed as he glanced over his shoulder to peer through the window. He quickly scanned the area. The scent of the mysterious shifter lingered in the air, but it was faint. Nevertheless, he needed to get Laila away from here. “Laila, I’ll tell you what’s going on later. I just need you to come with me. Now .”
She snorted and folded her arms over her chest. “You have some nerve showing up after five years, expecting me to follow your orders. Your lord of the manor act is not cute anymore.” Her face flushed crimson at that, and her eyes skated away from his.
Despite the urgency of the situation and his growing impatience, Tolliver felt a sliver of amusement. It was no secret that Laila didn’t mind his lord of the manor attitude and his penchant for dishing out orders attractive… especially in bed. He used to get her to bend to his will with just one provocative look. But that was because they were meant for each other, and their sexual chemistry was off the charts.
Her expression hardened. “Get out of my shop, Tolliver.”
“Laila—”
“I need you to leave.”
The slight crack in her voice disarmed him. He ran a hand through his hair, his frustration building. Just as he got desperate enough to resort to kidnapping just to keep her safe, a girl waltzed through a swinging door. She was tiny, with short blonde hair and pink tips. She stopped in her tracks when she spotted Tolliver, and then her eyes swung to Laila.
“Um… A late customer?” she asked.
“No.” Laila huffed. “He was just leaving.”
The girl, Cora, as Tolliver had heard Laila call her during his time spying on them, folded her lips. “I see… I detect some tension here.” She turned to Tolliver. “Who are you?”
“I’m Tolliver Sterling, and I’m here to—”
Her dramatic gasp cut him off. “Tolliver? Holy cow! You’re him ! He-who-should-not-be named.”
Tolliver’s eyebrows hiked up. “What?”
“Cora, hush,” Laila hissed, her blush intensifying.
“Oh, wow.” Cora hurried forward, her wide eyes fixed on Tolliver. “Laila, forget about the professor. He-who-should-not-be-named is so much hotter. Are you here to grovel and beg for Laila’s forgiveness? Because if you are, I fully support a rekindled romance between you two.”
“For the love of the gods, Cora.” Laila glowered at her. “Be quiet.”
Tolliver gawked at the rambling girl, wondering if she always talked so fast. She brimmed with energy, and something about her hinted that she was one of them. Not a shifter, but something else. He squinted as he studied her carefully. He’d know that crackling aura anywhere. It was unpredictable and radiated heat in waves. The same energy swirled around his sister, who was a witch.
“Are you a witch, Cora?” he asked, turning his attention to her.
Her eyes sparkled. “Uh-huh, and you’re a wolf shifter.” She gave Tolliver an assessment from head to toe. “Laila’s ex-boyfriend. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Her eyes narrowed to slits. “Not good things.”
“I imagine…” Tolliver muttered as his gaze shifted from Cora to Laila, who had gone quiet and was staring at him.
“I’ve had enough of this,” Laila snapped as if coming out of her trance. She pointed at Tolliver. “I want you gone, and you, ” she shifted the commanding finger to Cora. “Start cleaning up. We’re about to close.” With that, she stormed off and disappeared through the back door.
Tolliver was a little stunned by her rapid and unexpected retreat. Before he could react, he was left alone with Cora, the chatterbox, who stared at him accusingly.
“Great. Now, you’ve upset her,” she said.
He sighed. “I didn’t mean to.”
“What do you want, he-who-should-not-be-name?”
“I want you to stop calling me that,” Tolliver returned.
He saw the teasing glint in the girl’s eyes. She was nowhere near as pissed as Laila was. She had been excited about him showing up to grovel. Suddenly, he saw an ally in Cora.
“Actually, you were right before, Cora… sort of. Laila and I rekindled our romance weeks ago.”
She eyed him with a suspicion that, thankfully, turned to interest. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“She never said anything…” Coar’s eyebrows dipped.
“I think that’s because she’s mad at me. I went on a… business trip. She didn’t want me to leave again for so long, but I had no choice. So, I guess I am here to grovel for her forgiveness.”
“Oh, my gosh.” She clutched her chest. “I think that’s so sweet. I knew there was still something between you two, or else Laila would have moved on by now.”
“With someone like your sociology professor?”
She was back to being suspicious because her eyes narrowed to slits. “How do you know that?”
Tolliver inwardly cursed himself for letting that slip. “I overheard…”
“Exactly how long have you been here?”
“Look, Cora, I was merely lingering around, waiting for Laila because she wouldn’t talk to me, and I had to resort to ambushing her before she closed up. I’ve been calling her for days…” The lie went off without a hitch because Cora’s eyes became less squinty.
“Oh. She never mentioned it. Sorry about the whole professor thing. Had I known you were back in the picture, I would never have tried to match make.”
Tolliver’s jaw tightened at the idea of Laila dating some human. “I need your help to win her over.”
Her eyes lit up. “Are you going to perform a big romantic gesture?”
“Sure…” Tolliver felt absolutely no shame lying to the girl or for the way he was about to whisk Laila right out of the bakery. He’d do whatever it took to keep her safe and deal with her anger later. “I want to take her on a romantic getaway for a few days. Quality time alone will help us to talk and work things out. I want to propose to her.”
Cora opened her mouth, and Tolliver knew she was about to squeal . He placed a finger over his lips and whispered, “It’s supposed to be a surprise.”
She pursed her lips, muffling her excited shriek. “A proposal?” she whispered. “That is so romantic. But if I know Laila, you’ll never get her out the door. She won’t want to leave the bakery.”
“But you’re capable of running things until she gets back, aren’t you?”
“I am.” Cora nodded enthusiastically. “I’ve been dying for her to give me more responsibility. She’s taught me everything I need to know. I can whip up pastries almost as well as she can.”
“Great. Maybe you can go back there and help me out. Convince her to come with me…? It would be great if we could leave tonight.”
Core grinned. “I can be very persuasive.”
“Thank you, Cora. I owe you big for this, and remember not a word about the proposal.”
Cora aimed for the door Laila had disappeared through, but she stopped and looked over her shoulder. “You won’t hurt her again, will you? It’s taken her a while to recover.”
Tolliver was caught off guard by the concern clouding the young woman’s eyes and her revelation. A while to recover? Five years ago, Laila had pretty much pushed him through the door when he said things weren’t working out between them and he was leaving. He knew he was an asshole for dropping that on her abruptly—and it had been a complete lie—but she hadn’t seemed all that broken up. He’d been low-key hurt by her calm reaction, which was selfish because why would he want her to shed tears and beg him to stay?
Her surprising reaction comforted him a bit. He assumed she’d quickly move on with her life to be happy. She’d finished school and accomplished her dream, so he thought she was.
“Uh… no…” He answered in a tone that was barely above a whisper.
Cora stared at him a moment longer before she went through the door.
Tolliver combed his fingers through his hair and glanced outside. The streetlights illuminated the front of the shop, and the number of people walking through town dwindled. He bet that shifter was lurking in a corner, waiting for the moment Laila was alone. He might have even planned to break into her apartment upstairs to take her away in the middle of the night. Thinking about it got Tolliver riled up, and he needed to stay calm, so he blew out a slow hiss of breath and waited for Cora to work her magic.