Chapter 6 #2
“So, for now, we can’t let anyone know we’re there on council business,” Jacob reminded them. “We don’t want to spook those three or anyone who might still be loyal to Ronan.”
“How about who could lead the clan?” Olivia piped in. “Do you know any good candidates?”
Sloane breathed out a sigh. “That’s the tough one. To be honest, I don’t really know. Eli?”
He shook his head. “Way above my pay grade.” And it was true. He had been a foot soldier and wanted nothing to do with politics or leadership of the clan. All he had cared about was protecting Sloane and keeping his own head.
“That might be something the council has to work out.” Jacob chewed at his lower lip. “We can’t decide the fate of one clan in just a few days. We’ll have to tell the Alpha and the High Council our honest opinion, including if we think there’s no one who else who can lead the clan.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Eli said.
“There’s one more thing.” Sloane tapped her finger and her chin, her eyes moving from Eli, to Olivia, then back to Eli. “This”—she wagged her finger between the two of them—“isn’t going to work?”
“Excuse me?” Olivia said.
“Whaddaya mean?” Eli asked at the same time.
Sloane smirked. “You’re supposed to be a happily True-Mated couple about to have your first kid, yet you’re both acting like strangers on a blind date.”
Both he and Olivia shifted in their seats uncomfortably.
“To be fair, they are essentially strangers,” Jacob pointed out. “But, Sloane’s right. You’re gonna have to act more … couple-y than that. Especially when we’re in front of our suspects.”
“You know that sonofabitch O’Grady’s gonna start sniffing around if he realizes anything is off,” Sloane pointed out.
Olivia glanced at him, a worried expression on her pretty face.
“We’ll make it work.” Despite the confidence in his tone, Eli cursed to himself. I should have insisted she stayed in New York.
Initially, when they agreed they would give things a try, he thought there’d be time to get to know each other.
Sure, when he was around her all he wanted to do was kiss her senseless and take her on the nearest horizontal surface, but he kept himself under control.
But now they would have to move things along and act like they were a couple for this mission.
Which meant touching her and pretending they had deeper feelings than just that initial spark of attraction.
She deserved so much more than me.
The truth was, he had no plan as to how to move forward with this “getting to know you” bit. He had an idea of course, but with his fucked-up life, he didn’t have a clue as to how to even begin a relationship.
“How will you make it work?” Sloane prodded.
“We will, okay?” Eli sent her a look that silently told her, drop it.
There was no more talk of tomorrow’s plan, and as soon as they finished all the pasta, they cleaned up after themselves.
“I’ll take first watch,” Eli said once they were first done.
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Jacob said. “We’re a long way from Boston territory.”
“It’s fine.” Before they could argue any more, he trudged out of the kitchen door which led to the spacious yard. A cold breeze came in from the sea, but thankfully as a Lycan, it didn’t bother him too much.
He spent the next hour familiarizing himself with the property, checking at all the possible points of entry and vulnerabilities, and made mental notes of things to watch out for.
The process of securing the perimeter had become a habit for him, even back when he was in Boston.
It also allowed him to take his mind off of tomorrow and Olivia.
Sloane was right, after all. If anyone, especially O’Grady, even had a hint that there was anything wrong, it might tip them off.
Unfortunately, the former crew captain was impulsive and unpredictable.
He could lash out and hurt others in the process, including Olivia.
For the next few hours, he continued his watch, patrolling around the house and the beach area. He was making his way across the front yard when his enhanced hearing picked up a noise from the inside. He glanced down at his watch.
Just after midnight.
He slipped back into the house via the front door, his Lycan vision quickly adjusting to the darkness. The living area was empty and there were no trace scents in the air either, but then he heard a rustling sound. It was coming from the hallway where the bedrooms were located.
Olivia.
Without another thought, he rushed toward the bedrooms, his adrenaline surging further when he saw the shadow just outside the bedroom Olivia had picked. He growled as he rushed forward and reached out, grabbing at the figure.
“Eli! It’s me!”
He froze, then quickly released Olivia. “What-what—” He sucked in a deep breath. “What are you doing out here?”
“I was just, uh ...” She looked around. “I was … looking for you.”
His heart picked up its pace again, though this time for an entirely different reason. “Me? Why? Are you okay? Is the baby—”
“No, I’m good. We’re good.” She smoothed her hair away from her face. “Oh my God, I didn’t even think to brush my hair. I must look terrible. No wonder you looked scared.”
He swallowed. Even with her hair mussed and dressed only in a matching pajama set that covered her entire body, she was still gorgeous, like an angel from heaven. It made him think of that night, of how she rode him hard—
Not wanting to continue those thoughts, he cleared his throat. “So … you were looking for me?”
“Yeah, um. I couldn’t sleep. I never do when I’m somewhere new. And then I thought you might be cold.” She held something up—his leather jacket. “I forgot to give it back after the restaurant.”
“Oh. Uh, thanks.” Gingerly, he took it from her, avoiding her touch. Goddammit, Sloane was right. This wasn’t going to work if they kept acting like awkward teenagers. They would have to start getting more comfortable with each other. But how was he going to bring this up?
Maybe it was best to just say it.
“So—”
“We need—” he said at the same time. “Go ahead.”
“N-no, no, you go ahead.”
“No, you first.”
“I just … we haven’t had the time …” Olivia paused, then squared her shoulders. “I guess I also wanted to tell you, about tomorrow … we should do what Jacob and Sloane said, of course.”
“I agree.” Their mission depended on it.
“So … do whatever you need to do.” She bit at her lip. “And I’ll play along. I’ll consent, if you want to like, touch me and stuff. Around the other Boston Lycans.”
Now his heart completely stopped and his throat turned so dry he couldn’t speak. He must have waited too long to react because her expression dropped.
“Or not. We don’t have to do anything,” she said flatly. “Anyway, th-that’s it. I’ll—”
“No, that’s not—” He raked his fingers through his hair. There were so many things he wanted to tell her. But he just couldn’t find the right words. “Fine. We’ll do what we need to.”
“Okay. Goodnight.” With one last nod at him, she pivoted and hurried back into her room.
He let out a long, deep breath. He really should have insisted she stayed back.
For one thing, they didn’t really quite agree on what “getting to know each other” meant, as they had been interrupted yesterday during their talk.
At the very least, being apart might have given them the chance to figure out what they each wanted.
Or she changed her mind about him.
Without thinking, he brought the jacket to his nose, inhaling her deliciously sweet, cinnamon scent which had permeated the lining.
The very thought of never being able to touch her again, to keep his distance while she had their baby …
well it sent his thoughts into such a dark direction that he feared he wouldn’t be able to pull himself out.
The next day, they set off for Boston in the morning, taking their time as they stopped for both breakfast and lunch before arriving at a quiet suburb just outside the main Boston city center.
Sloane suggested they go see Martha first, and then have her call Matty and Patrick over since they didn’t live too far away.
They pulled off at a gas station and Sloane called her aunt’s friend from there as Jacob filled up the car.
“Well?” Jacob asked as Sloane climbed into the passenger seat after her phone conversation. “What did she say?”
“She was ecstatic of course. And I asked her to tell Patrick and Matty. The word should spread from there.”
There would be no use sneaking around anyway, and that wasn’t their goal. They had to let the rest of the clan know about their presence, but it had to be organic. Just two former members of the clan coming back into the community now that Ronan was gone.
“Anyway, she said to come over now.”
“I guess we’ll have to check into our hotel after.” Jacob caught Eli’s eye from the reflection in the mirror. “That good with you two?”
“Yeah, that’s fine,” he said.
“Of course,” Olivia answered.
As Sloane gave Jacob directions to Martha’s house, Eli snuck a glance at Olivia, who stared out the window.
She looked even lovelier this morning in a light lavender dress that matched her eyes.
The morning had been surprisingly not as awkward as it had been during the drive or even last night.
Eli had spent the rest of the night on patrol, with Jacob relieving him sometime after two o’clock in the morning.
He was so damned tired that he crashed and didn’t wake up until around seven when Jacob was banging at his door, telling him they were leaving soon.
Soon, they were pulling up to a pale-yellow Cape Cod with green shutters. The driveway had a crack running down the middle where weeds popped up and a birdbath sat slightly tilted in the yard. A wind chime made of seashells hung by the front door, clinking together as the breeze blew by.