Chapter 12
Twelve
Neil
Needless to say, Danny is not my biggest fan, and if it wasn’t clear by now, the feeling is mutual. I can count on one hand the number of times he and I have actually interacted face-to-face, and every single one of those times Raquel has ended up having to step between us to keep the peace.
I doubt tonight will be any different. In fact, tonight might be when I decide to punch the guy in his stupid face.
I couldn’t care less what Danny thinks of me—just like he doesn’t care what I think of him—but I definitely care about how he treats my friend. He’s never raised a hand to her in my presence, but her reaction right now gives me the impression that doesn’t hold true behind closed doors.
Raquel stiffens, her wide-eyed gaze flying toward the front door as Danny’s muffled curses continue.
She shrinks away from me and gets to her feet, staring at the flimsy door and nervously biting at her lower lip.
The seconds stretch out, Danny’s obvious drunken lack of coordination preventing him from getting his key in the lock, but eventually there’s a triumphant shout accompanied by the sound of the key sliding into the lock.
Wolfie hasn’t moved from my side, that low growl still rumbling in his chest. I gently rest a hand on his back and stroke his fur in a silent request for him to stand down.
The last thing this situation needs is an unstable alpha shifter adding to the tension.
He turns his head to look at me, then sighs and settles back onto the floor.
Seconds later, the knob turns and the door flies open. It hits the wall with a loud bang and Raquel jerks, her entire body going tense. She manages a smile, but it’s obviously forced, born from a desire to placate the asshole stumbling into the trailer rather than from actual happiness to see him.
The exact same kind of smile my mom used to wear when my dad came home.
Danny staggers inside, ignoring the rest of us and moving toward the small kitchen. He opens the fridge and leans down to stare inside. When he doesn’t find whatever it is he’s looking for, he huffs in irritation, slams the door, and turns to scowl at Raquel. “We’re out of beer.”
“Sorry. I should have checked.” She shuffles her feet, glancing down at the floor.
Danny snorts, then his gaze slides to me and his eyes narrow. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“I was invited,” I say in a flat voice.
He sneers and mutters something under his breath that I can’t quite make out, but I’m damn sure it’s not a compliment.
Thankfully, that seems to be all he has to say.
He shoots me another glare, then shakes his head and stumbles down the narrow hallway toward the back bedroom, careening back and forth between the walls like a ping pong ball.
The door to the bedroom slams behind him, and the heavy tension in the air begins to dissipate.
That is until Danny shouts Raquel’s name. “Get your ass in here!” His slurred voice calls out from the bedroom. “I got something you need to take care of.”
As if pulled by invisible strings, Raquel immediately starts toward the bedroom. I grab her arm and pull her back, shaking my head. “You don’t need to go back there. By the looks of him, he’ll be passed out soon and we can—”
“Raquel!” The second yell shatters what little composure Raquel was holding on to.
She flinches and tugs out of my hold. “I’ll just get him settled down and then we can figure out our next steps in peace.”
I hate the idea of her “getting him settled down” but I don’t try to stop her again.
She and I have had numerous conversations about how Danny treats her, but until she’s ready to listen, there’s really nothing I can do.
She walks down the hall to the bedroom door and slowly opens it, glancing back and offering me a small smile before she slips inside and shuts the door behind her.
“Lockit,” mumbles Danny, just loud enough for me to hear. “Then get over here.”
There’s a soft click, and I swallow back the burn of bile, disgust twisting in my stomach. Raquel’s never had it easy, and she learned—or, rather, was taught—early on what she had to trade for even a hint of safety and stability.
Eyes burning, I sit back on the couch, actively making an effort to tune out any noise from the bedroom, and run my hand over the top of Wolfie’s head. He’s stopped growling, but he hasn’t relaxed and he’s eyeing the bedroom door with a clear look of distaste.
“Me too, Wolfie. Me too,” I mutter, letting his fur sift through my fingers. His eyes dart up to meet mine and he lets out a low whine. “There’s nothing we can do unless she wants help.”
Unfortunately, Raquel and I are a lot alike in that respect: independent almost to the point of isolation—except with each other.
My hand pauses, and I glance down at the wolf at my side. I’m not alone anymore, and unless one of us chooses to walk away from the fated mate bond, I never will be again, not really anyway. The thought makes me feel strangely conflicted.
On one hand, fate has basically given me someone made just for me, someone whose broken pieces are supposed to fit perfectly with mine.
But on the other, I haven’t had a lot of choices in my life and, considering the circumstances I found him in, I don’t think Wolfie has either.
In some ways, the whole fated mate thing feels a lot like fate stole yet another choice from both of us.
Wolfie leans his body against my legs as if he senses my emotional turmoil and he’s trying to reassure me. I give him a soft smile and scratch behind his ear. “We’re going to have a lot of things to talk about once that collar comes off and you can shift again.”
The wolf, of course, doesn’t have a response for that. He just rests his chin on my knee, his attention returning to focus on the bedroom door with a quiet intensity as I continue running my hand over his head.
Raquel’s voice is a quiet murmur behind the thin barrier, and now that he’s not yelling, Danny’s slurred responses aren’t any easier to make out—shifter hearing or not.
The bedsprings squeak and the voices continue, my friend’s tone soft and placating.
They go quiet for a few seconds, then Danny lets out a grunt.
I close my eyes, taking a deep breath and curling my hands into fists. She’s lived with him for nearly two years. She knows what she’s doing. Still doesn’t mean I want to listen to it.
And definitely doesn’t mean I don’t absolutely hate this for her.
“What do you mean you didn’t get any money?” Danny’s sudden yell makes me jolt and my eyes fly open. “I let you hang around that faggot and you don’t even come through? I’ve got bills to pay!”
And of course, he expects Raquel to pay them. Anger courses through my body, quickly turning to white-hot rage when there’s the unmistakable sound of a hand hitting flesh, and Raquel lets out a whimper.
“Stupid, useless bitch,” says Danny, the words little more than a snarl.
I’m on my feet before I even think about it, a low growl vibrating in my chest as all thought of letting Raquel handle the asshole on her own disappears.
She lets out another cry of pain as I sprint down the hall toward the bedroom.
The doorknob won’t turn, but it doesn’t take much effort to kick the flimsy door open.
Fury flows through me when I take in the sight inside the room.
Raquel’s on her back on the bed, Danny straddling her with her hair wrapped around his fist, pulling her head to the side.
Tears of pain shimmer in her eyes and there’s a visible red mark on her cheek.
For a second, specters of the past overlay the scene in front of me, Raquel’s face becoming my mother’s, and I have to give my head a brisk shake to push the memories away.
Danny turns, the surprise on his face quickly morphing into a sneer. “I didn’t think women were your thing, but if you want a piece, you have to wait your turn.”
“Get off her,” I say through clenched teeth.
He laughs and yanks her head even further to the side as Raquel grabs his wrist, trying to relieve some of the pressure on her hair. “Fuck you. This bitch is mine. I can do whatever I want with her.”
“Get off her,” I repeat, my voice strained with the effort of holding back a lupine snarl.
He scoffs, meeting my gaze, nothing but cruelty in his eyes. “And if I don’t? Are you going to make me?”
“Yes.” The word passes my lips without inflection, and I can feel my wolf stirring in my chest, begging to be let out, to bite and claw and rip until Danny’s blood paints the walls.
Danny looks me up and down, a mocking smile curling at his lips. “You and what army?”
“I don’t need an army.” I smile back, letting a bit of wolf shine through in my eyes and not bothering to hide the fact that my teeth are slowly growing sharper in my mouth.
His eyes narrow and he opens his mouth to respond, but then his gaze flicks to the side and he goes pale, scrambling off the bed and backing up until he has his palms pressed flat against the wall on the other side. “What the fuck is that?”
As much as I’d like to think I’m just that intimidating and he’s suddenly scared of me, I’m not what has him practically plastered on the wall trying to make a Kool-Aid man style exit from the trailer.
No, what stole all the blood from his face is the fact that Wolfie has stepped up beside me, snarling with his lips pulled back from his teeth.
If a giant, chest-high wolf was looking at me like that, I’d be scared shitless too. I’d laugh at the terrified noises Danny was making if I wasn’t so pissed off.
“Raquel,” I say, my gaze never leaving her asshole boyfriend. “We’re leaving.”
Her tearful eyes dart from me to Danny, painful indecision written on her face. She bites at her lower lip for a second, then looks back to me as she scrambles off the bed and hurries to my side. Still growling, Wolfie angles his body so he’s between us and Danny.
Danny eyes the wolf, then narrows a poisonous glare at Raquel. “If you leave, I’m done with you. You don’t get to come back.” Raquel’s hands move to cradle her stomach and he sneers. “That goes for the bastard you got in there too. It’s probably not mine anyway.”
“I… I… haven’t,” she stammers out.
He scoffs. “Yeah, right. I bet half the men in Vegas have had a piece of you.”
“Well, you’re wrong.” Raquel sniffles and purses her lips, straightening her shoulders and curling her hands into fists. “I can’t believe I’ve been so stupid.” She glances at me, then back to him. “Fuck you, Danny.”
He roars and lurches toward her, but Wolfie shifts forward and Danny backs down. I wrap an arm around Raquel’s shoulders and gently lead her out of the room, leaving Wolfie in charge of Danny.
As much as I would have preferred to keep Raquel out of any more shifter business, I’m damn sure not leaving her here. “Is there anything you want to take with you?”
She shakes her head, a slight tremble in her shoulders. “No, I… there’s nothing.”
I glance around the trailer. There’s not much here, but there must be something that belongs to her. If nothing else, she has clothes and stuff. I sit her down on the couch, then return to the bedroom where Danny still hasn’t moved except to shift slightly to the right, closer to the nightstand.
“I’m taking Raquel’s things,” I say.
He scowls, but doesn’t say anything in response, his attention focused on Wolfie—or maybe the sharpness of Wolfie’s teeth.
Either way, he doesn’t give a crap about what I’m doing as I grab a backpack from the corner, walk to the dresser, and start shoving things inside.
I probably end up grabbing some of Danny’s things too, but I don’t give a fuck.
Once I’m done, I sling the bag over my shoulder and return to the living room, gesturing with my chin for Wolfie to follow. The wolf pads quietly along behind me and moves to stand by the front door while I walk over to where Raquel is on the couch and kneel by her feet.
“Are you ready?” I ask.
“No,” she says, lifting teary eyes to meet mine. “But I will be.”
I nod in understanding, a sad smile on my face, and help her to her feet with one hand on her elbow.
“It’s probably better this way, right?” She sniffles and swipes at her eyes with her index fingers.
“Yeah,” I say.
She blows out a breath and nods to herself, then tugs out of my hold and detours toward the kitchen.
Climbing on to a small stool she drags over, she roots around in the cabinet above the fridge, tossing things onto the floor as she digs deeper into the contents.
Finally, she pulls out a large coffee can and shoots me a grin as she lifts the edge of the plastic lid to display the jumble of money inside.
She refastens the lid, tucks the can under her arm, and jumps down from the stool.
She moves toward the door, but before she can take more than a couple steps, Danny darts out of the hallway and grabs her arm.
He pulls her backward against his chest, keeping a white-knuckled grip on her bicep, and the coffee can falls, the lid popping off and crumpled bills in various denominations scattering over the floor.
“You think you can just walk in here and take what’s mine?” he asks in a snarl as he lifts his arm and presses the barrel of a gun to Raquel’s temple. “She’s not going anywhere with you.”