Chapter 17
Chase
“Ithink she’s actually going to slaughter Spencer,” I muttered as I watched my pack mate walking Flora home.
If looks could kill, he would have been eviscerated by now.
My honeybee had a vicious streak, and I kind of loved it.
“Well, he’s not exactly behaving normally, is he?” Bear said from the passenger seat.
He wasn’t. Spencer was a logical creature and calm under pressure. Over many years of working together, I had never seen him let his emotions get the better of him, but as soon as he started following Flora, everything changed.
The small omega was shooting Spencer a death glare, and I was just waiting for her to whip the taser out again and jam it into my pack leader’s unmentionables.
“I should have been the one to follow her,” Bear insisted.
“To be fair, I thought you were going to…” I trailed off.
Spencer had pulled rank, which was a rare occurrence.
And it seemed like the only reason was so he could act like a total fool with Flora.
His arm was slung around her shoulder, and he was grinning like a fool…
I wasn’t sure if he was putting on a show or actually acting like a moron.
Outside, in the dark, was one of the few places Bear seemed truly comfortable following Flora. We didn’t give a shit about his facial scar, but we were also realistic about the attention it drew.
College students had a tendency to stare, so myself and Spencer often did the on-campus stuff, and Bear did more of the jobs where a little more intimidation was useful.
Like protecting Pack Garnett at NHL games.
His face was scary as fuck, especially when he glowered.
It was amazing and made people think twice before going anywhere near whoever we were protecting.
“Isn’t this frustrating you?” Bear snarled, his eyes never leaving Flora as she walked up to her building, Spencer irritating her the entire way.
“Spencer making an ass of himself?” I asked.
Bear shook his head. “No. Her being out on her own so late.”
“She’s not on her own—she has us,” I pointed out. It was highly doubtful that Flora Hewitt would ever be alone again. None of us could walk away from her.
“I want her somewhere safer,” Bear said. “Maybe we need to anonymously email the university and get her into a better building.”
“She’s a scholarship student,” I pointed out. “Maybe we could convince the university to add better housing options to her benefits package…”
Bear’s brow rose. “Actually, that isn’t a half-bad idea. I’ll look into that this week.”
We had plenty of savings. Private security paid well, and more often than not, our housing and food were included in our contract.
The fancy, state-of-the-art apartment we were living in? That was courtesy of the Chargers. They wanted us to live near the players we were protecting. They were worried that a crazed fangirl would somehow break into the penthouse and attack them.
“Did you have any luck finding an empty unit in her building?” I asked.
“Every apartment has a resident in it,” Bear explained with a shake of his head.
“You would think people wouldn’t be so eager to live in such a shithole,” I grumbled, looking around at the street for any passersby.
“There are some luxury dorms on campus with doormen, security cameras, and a twenty-four-hour maintenance staff,” Bear said. “I would be much happier if she lived in one of those buildings. Maybe we can get her into one.”
A chuckle escaped me. “She would be suspicious if her living situation changed that much. Flora is a smart girl. She’ll smell something off the moment she’s offered one of those fancy places.”
We needed to pick a place that was slightly safer, but not totally out of the realm of possibility.
When we figured out who was following her and ensured the threat was neutralized, we would make it our priority to get her into better housing.
“It feels weird to be tailing people again,” I said, scratching the back of my head.
Bear snorted. “You’re right. Working for the Garnetts has felt like a retirement.”
We had protected foreign diplomats, accompanied priceless artifacts across the world, and broken into secure buildings. Now we babysat a pack who were gloriously happy and living a painfully normal life, despite their celebrity status.
“Do you ever miss the faster-paced work?” I asked.
“Sometimes… but I think slowing down could be good for us, too,” Bear said, his eyes never leaving Flora.
“Settling down?” I asked pointedly. “I’m all for that. Personally, I don’t miss camping out for hours just waiting for a target. Too many days wasted lying on a desert floor.“
A smile spread across Bear’s face. “You know what… if it’s possible, then hell yeah.”
“It’s always been possible.” I hated that Bear held deeply fucked-up beliefs about his worth because of a few scars.
Bear was the best of us. He deserved to be loved.
Spencer was watching the doorway of the building for a few moments before turning back to the car. His strides lengthened, and he was by us in seconds. The playful swagger he’d had with Flora had disappeared the second she had closed the door and was safely back in her apartment.
“Who wants to take watch tonight?” he asked when he slid into the back seat. Honey and rose clung to him from where he had touched Flora.
Lucky bastard.
I wanted to smell like her again. Her scent tickled a part of my brain that made me so damn happy.
Well, if this was my chance…
“Me!” I said, holding my hand up eagerly while using my free hand to press the ignition button. I was more than happy to babysit the cameras after the show our girl had given us a few nights ago. If I were lucky, maybe I would get an encore.
“You’re a little too excited,” Spencer said, frowning as we pulled away.
“What can I say? I’m a voyeur.” I shrugged.
“Maybe you can camp outside her apartment with binoculars,” Spencer muttered.
“You and I both know that would never work. If there was a good vantage point to see her from down there, Bear would have been sleeping in the car outside her building.”
“Yes, because that would have been the logical option,” Bear said, his tone serious. “I could watch our omega and work on my projects.”
I snorted. It wasn’t a far stretch of the imagination.
Our combined scents filled the car, now joined by Flora’s rose and honey. As I drove the short distance back to our place, I couldn’t help but ruminate on just how damn good we all smelled together.