Chapter 12 #3
I glance over at where Raj is talking to Felicia and the other cat shifters.
There are a lot of serious faces, so it’s probably not just us picking up on it.
It feels like the most helpful thing I could do for Raj at this point is to discuss this more with Harley, somewhere we won’t be in danger of having our conversation watched.
‘Fancy a pint?’ I ask.
Now that I’ve asked, I realise that Harley and I haven’t properly hung out since we both gained our freedom.
Between my piss-poor finances, getting involved in Raj’s investigation, and Harley wanting to make up for lost time with his niblings, we’ve only seen each other at work.
A night at the pub will be fun, once we get the work conversations out of the way.
His eyes flash with his wolf. ‘Just us?’
I frown, not sure what he’s getting at. ‘Yes.’
He glances at Raj, who’s now leaning against the courtesy car his insurance company provided, scrolling on his phone while he waits for me. ‘Give me an hour. I’ll meet you at the Kelpie O’Kenmare.’ He walks off before I can reply.
Hoping a couple of beers will improve Harley’s mood, I head over to Raj and get in the car with him. His shoulders are tense, his movements stiff as he starts the car and drives us home.
‘You okay?’ I ask after he’s parked in the space allocated to his flat and we’ve got out.
He manages a tight smile as we head for the door into the building. ‘Worried about a few things.’
‘There’s a lot going on.’ I keep it deliberately vague since we’re in a public space. ‘I’m meeting Harley for a drink, but I’ll give you a massage later if you like.’
I’m sure we’ll discuss the case when I get back, and that’ll get Raj even more stressed, but maybe I can help my tactile tiger unwind enough to sleep.
He stops at the bottom of the stairs next to the mailboxes, a frown on his handsome face. ‘It’s not safe to go out alone.’
‘I won’t be alone,’ I sign, trying to ignore my dragon’s unhappy vibration. My dragon wants our treasure to see us as capable and impressive, not vulnerable and weak.
Raj doesn’t reply as we head upstairs to our floor. He follows me into my flat, waiting until the front door is closed before responding. ‘It’s dangerous to go out right now. You know that.’
‘We’re meeting in a public place.’
‘It’s Monday. It’ll be dead everywhere.’
‘It’s just a pint in a neutral zone pub!’ My hand movements are big, a knot forming in my stomach.
His shoulders rise and fall, his hand movements careful. ‘I’m not trying to keep you locked up. I just need to know you’re safe.’
I take a deep breath and shake out the tension in my fingers. I don’t want this thing between us to end just because I have issues with the people I love trying to look after me.
This time I manage gentler hand movements. ‘I’ll wear the tracker if you promise to stay safely inside your flat wards.’
‘Deal.’ He tugs me closer with a finger in my belt loop and kisses me. ‘Want me to help you shower before you leave?’
My lips twitch into a half smirk, my cock already thickening. ‘I’ll never say no to that.’
The first thing I notice when I walk into the pub isn’t the racing green leather bench seats or old-fashioned wooden chairs, it’s Harley talking to Ayo and a guy I don’t recognise, full drinks in their hands as they stand at the bar.
Raj was right about it being quiet—there are only two strangers in the entire place, at a table towards the back—so I can’t help wondering how much of a coincidence this actually is.
Did Raj send Ayo to keep an eye on me? But I didn’t tell him where I was going, and Ayo’s here before me, so maybe I’m being paranoid.
As I approach them, I pick up the scent of wolf from the stranger. His messy black hair looks deliberately styled that way, and he’s got storm-blue eyes and a friendly smile.
Harley turns when I get closer, looking behind me as if expecting someone else before his tense shoulders drop slightly and he up-nods me. ‘You couldn’t take a shower before you came?’
I punch his shoulder. ‘Fuck off. Of course I washed the stink of fae magic off me.’
‘But not the stink of cat shifter.’ He wrinkles his nose.
I frown, because he’s been making similar comments ever since Raj and I started sleeping together, and it’s beginning to piss me off.
‘Who are your friends?’ I ask, changing the subject.
‘We don’t have to sit with them,’ he signs, his shoulders tense.
‘At least introduce me, for fuck’s sake. You’re being rude.’
‘Oh, you know what manners are?’
I shove him, making him grin as he stumbles back a step.
He turns to Ayo and his friend and SimComs, ‘Bryn, this is Zaiden, my alpha’s younger brother, and Ayo, his best friend.’
Both men wave hello and use my sign name that Harley shows them, with Ayo giving no hint that we’ve met before. I wave hello as well, then they move away to a table.
‘Why were you being weird about introducing me to them? Embarrassed to be seen with me?’ I’m mostly joking because I know that won’t be the reason, but it’s not like Harley to be awkward.
He squares his shoulders as he switches back to BSL. ‘Because that’s Ayo Muroyi, and he’s a member of the task force. Wasn’t sure how you’d feel about drinking in the same pub as an officer of the law. We can go somewhere else if you want.’
I barely manage to stifle a laugh. ‘I’m good here if you are. I’m not planning on doing anything illegal any time soon.’
‘Thank fuck. I didn’t want this to go to waste.’ His shoulders relax and he takes a deep drink of his pint. ‘What do you want?’ He attracts the bartender’s attention from where she’s scrolling on her phone.
‘It’s fine, I’ll get it.’ I point at the beer I want that’s on tap.
Once I’ve paid, we sit down at a table on the opposite side of the room from Ayo and Zaiden. I lean back in my chair. ‘First time in a pub since I got out.’
‘Well, cheers then.’ Harley clinks his glass to mine. ‘I lasted a week before Dante dragged me to The Winking Wolf. He tried to pay for my drinks, but I was too fucking proud to let him. Ended up blowing all the money I’d saved working in that shitty prison workshop.’
I snort, because I understand that kind of pride.
When I found out Milo had transferred my prison wages to my new bank account instead of using the money to pay for some of the stuff he’d bought for me, I transferred it all straight back to him.
I’m still keeping track of what I owe, but now that the task force are paying me a consultancy fee I can at least afford to do small things like go to the pub and buy my own drinks.
Doesn’t mean I can’t take the piss out of Harley, though. ‘That was stupid.’
He shrugs. ‘Worth it, though. It was a great fucking night. Hooked up with Zaiden and felt a billion times better afterwards. Dry spells are the worst.’
I smirk. ‘Dante probably wasn’t expecting you to sleep with his brother when he invited you, mate.’
‘Ha, no, definitely not.’
‘So are you and Zaiden…?’
He immediately shakes his head. ‘Nah, he’s great, but it was just a one-time thing. What about you and Dhiren? How long are you going to keep making that mistake?’
I throw one of the beer mats at him. ‘Give it a rest; Dhiren’s not a mistake.’
His shoulders are suddenly tense as he takes a long drink of his beer.
I sit forward, frowning. ‘Seriously, what’s your problem with him? I get that your pack have that whole feud thing going on with the Alejo Prowl, but Dhiren isn’t even from Birchester, and I swear you glare at him more than any of the other cats at work.’
For a long minute I think he’s not going to answer, or maybe make another joke about how bad cats smell, but then he sits forward, mirroring my pose. ‘He’s using you.’
I tense. ‘What?’
He scowls, his hand movements big and angry. ‘He’s just trying on a bad boy for size, giving himself extra street cred because he’s crossed that invisible line between us and them.’
My chest gets tight, my hands stiff. ‘That’s not true.’
‘It fucking is, mate. You deserve better than some tiger who doesn’t understand what we’ve been through, who comes between you and your friends, who has no real feelings for you.’
I take deep breaths, resisting the urge to just get up and walk out.
He doesn’t get it. He has no idea how badass Raj really is, that my tiger has plenty of better options and is still choosing me.
I don’t know how deep Raj’s feelings for me are yet, but I’m never going to deny how much he means to me.
‘You know what?’ I sign angrily. ‘Dhiren deserves better than your judgement and shitty attitude. I’m playing for keeps, so you need to stop being such a tosser and get over it.’
‘I’m just fucking trying to prevent you from getting hurt, you big turnip.
But if that’s how you feel, fine. I’ll back off.
’ He sits back and takes a large gulp of his beer before setting the glass down again.
‘So did I tell you my old fire station manager contacted me? They have an opening and he wants me to apply for my old job. It’s fucking crazy talk, but I still haven’t figured out what to do instead, and I’m running out of time to get something lined up.
Dante offered me a labouring job if I need it, but that feels like charity, you know? ’
I let him change the subject, my stomach tense and my dragon vibrating at the knowledge that yet another person is trying to protect us.
Maybe I should follow Harley’s example and prioritise my career, because I have to find a way to prove to everyone that I’m more than my past mistakes.
That I’m capable of far more than hauling boxes, and don’t have to be fucking taken care of, even if it’s just financially.
Because if even my former cellmate feels protective of me?
Something needs to change.