Chapter 16
A loud crash ripped me out of the most restful sleep I’d had in weeks.
I sat up in the plush bed, blinking sleepiness out of my eyes. It took a moment for me to yank myself out of my disorientation. Lucian’s bedroom . . . Last night roared to the forefront.
Where was he?
And that bang—had he been hurt? I shoved to my feet and ran out of the bedroom.
Lucian was trying to keep his leg straight while bending to pick up the broken mug from the floor. He gripped the single crutch in a hard grip. He didn’t have shoes on, and he was right next to the broken ceramic.
“What are you doing?” I snapped, hurrying forward.
His eyes flew to me and followed me until I crouched to collect the smaller pieces onto the larger one. It was fortunate it was just a mug.
“You should have woken me up if you wanted tea.”
“I’ll clean it up,” he groused.
Ignoring him, I carefully collected a pile of the largest pieces.
“Don’t move.” I jabbed my finger at him and rushed to get his slide tucked under the bed. With one in hand, I returned and dropped it on the floor before him. He slid his foot in and grabbed the crutch, leaning on it.
“Just leave it, I’ll have someone come clean it up.”
I arched my neck to meet his earnest hazel eyes. My heart responded, making me quickly drop my gaze to the mess on the floor.
A tray rested on the slim hallway table with a flower on it. I crouched and plopped the wet tea bag on the pile.
My heart throbbed like I’d been stabbed.
Warm chamomile tea, the flower . . . He’d been bringing it for me. Emotion swelled to a suffocating extent. I stood and cleared my throat. Lucian watched me, his mouth pinched, disapproval clear on his face.
“Let’s get you back to bed,” I mumbled, pressing against his side. He slid his arm around my shoulders.
A knock came from the door, insistent and loud.
“I’ll get that.”
“Not without me,” Lucian barked.
The rapping of knuckles on wood came again.
“Coming,” I shouted.
I didn’t bother arguing and helped him down the stairs. We reached the door together to find Alex hovering at the entrance.
“Uh, hey,” he said awkwardly.
“Any news on Duane or Cierra’s whereabouts?” Lucian snapped.
“No,” he dragged the word out.
Lucian grunted, “What do you want then?”
“I’m not here for you.”
Lucian stiffened, and a snarl lifted his lips. He made to step forward, and I grabbed his arm.
“Your ankle.” I stepped in front of Lucian, my back against his front, while I faced Alex. “What’s wrong?”
“Your phone kept ringing.” Alex’s eyes skittered away from mine, and he angled his body to the side as he shoved his hand in his pocket.
“The screen is shattered, so I accidentally answered.” He wrinkled the bridge of his nose, handing me the device.
“It was your parole officer, asking where you’ve been.
He dropped by your house multiple times yesterday. ”
“Fuck.” I scrubbed my palm across my temple. “Jordan is a hard ass.”
Lucian growled.
Yesterday was the scheduled time for him to come check up on me. Fucking shit. I met Lucian’s eyes, ignoring his irritation. I messed with my broken cell, but the screen kept glitching. It was done.
“Lucian, can I borrow your phone? I have to call my parole officer.” The words coming out of my mouth felt off. My embarrassment obvious. At my question, he clenched his teeth with an audible click. He shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled it out.
“Oh, and um, can my parole officer come here for my check-up?”
Lucian grunted, and I plucked the phone from his hand. I left them talking and shuffled away so he wouldn’t overhear me apologizing.
I’d have to find a way to get away from Lucian when he came because he wouldn’t be happy with any tests Jordan would have to put me through.
I reached the kitchen as he answered.
I had no choice but to tell him I’d gotten engaged, which was the reason for my change in address.
The words spilled out of my mouth like I had no damn filter.
The whole parole situation made me nervous.
It was immediate proof of my past, even though I’d done nothing to merit the hand I’d been dealt.
I sat next to a quiet, sulking Lucian on the couch, trying to ignore the nerves. Jordan was on his way here, and I was on edge. I’d made sure to shower and comb my hair into a tight bun. The entire time I flitted around, Lucian sat on the edge of his bed, watching me.
I tried not to pay him much attention. Especially because every time I did, he began to talk.
I’d cut him off each time and made it clear I wasn’t up to conversation right now.
The only thing I kept drilling into him was that he had to behave.
I didn’t need more scrutiny than what I was already under.
I checked the time and got to my feet. Jordan would be punctual. When I reached the hall, the crunch of pebbles under tires reached my ears.
A few moments later, a knock thudded on the door.
I burst forward. With my hand on the knob, I smoothed my other sweaty palm on my jeans and opened it to an unfamiliar man.
He was lean and short, closer to my age than the older Jordan. His thumbs were hooked into his vest. I scanned the parole vehicle in the drive, expecting to see him.
“You’re not Jordan.”
“Luna.” He lowered his head. The earthy shifter scent reached me. “Alpha.” He looked over my shoulder. Lucian hovered a few feet behind me. I scowled and turned my attention back to the shifter.
“What’s going on?” Or more accurately. “What did you do?” I whirled on Lucian.
His lips thinned, and he approached with halting steps caused by the single crutch; the cast thumped across the wood floor as he came down the hall.
The man on the porch cleared his throat.
“I’ve been reassigned,” he said to me, his eyes settling around my nose. “I’ll sign off on your case each visit, so there’s nothing to worry about.” I eyed the name tag: V. Spaws.
“Oh,” was all that I could come up with.
Spaws inclined his head and stepped off the porch to return to his car. I could only stare. Lucian shuffled closer and reached over my head to shut the door.
He curled his arm around my waist and guided me back to the living room. I was so shocked that I followed him. He dropped onto the couch, and I thumped down next to him.
He remained silent while my brain whirred. This was all Lucian’s doing. The angry part of me wanted to snarl at him for putting his nose in my business, but the other part of me, the logical one, knew it was better this way.
“You could have told me,” I mumbled.
“I tried.”
Touché .
Tension leaked out of my body.
“I reached out to a lawyer to get your record expunged.” I perked up, whipping my head toward him. It hadn’t even occurred to me to try. “We can’t strong-arm our way out of it, but he’s looking into our options moving forward.”
I furrowed my eyebrows. More meetings, more lawyers . . .
“I don’t want to deal with any of that anymore.” As soon as the words were out, it felt right. Too much went into filing an appeal. I shivered. “I only have a year of probation, so I’d rather just move forward and not reopen anything.”
Lucian frowned.
“Unless it bothers you that I have a record?” I didn’t know why that came out. I didn’t care what he thought anymore.
He scowled. “Not at all.”
I rolled my lips between my teeth and tried not to focus on the blush blooming across my face. Fuck, his vehemence warmed my stomach.
“I have something for you.” He reached over the side of the couch toward the little stand where a familiar white box lay.
“I ordered you another phone for you.” He cleared his throat, eyes skittering away. “If I had known sooner that you didn’t have one, you would have had one sooner.” He slid the phone over to me. It was an exact replica of the one I had shattered.
“Oh,” I breathed, palming the box, at a loss.
There were two options here, but I did need a way to contact people. I bit my lips.
Instead of trying to refuse it like before, I just replied, “Thanks.” There was no point refusing anything from Lucian.
I was learning to pick my battles.
He patted his lap.
“Lay with me?” The temptation was almost too much to resist. I eyed the strong, jean-covered thighs. I gave in yesterday, and it was pure bliss.
I couldn’t do that to myself again. I couldn’t be weak.
“I have a few things to do.” I cleared my throat and stood so quickly I made myself dizzy. With my new phone in hand, I rushed out of the living room and headed to the kitchen to keep myself busy.