Chapter 8 #2
And they did. The mood across Boston was wary but hopeful.
They wanted a new Alpha, someone who could lead without fear and intimidation.
No one had a clear candidate, and neither Eli nor Sloane could point to one, but the willingness to accept a new leader was there.
With O’Grady out of the picture, the immediate threat of a hostile takeover from within had been significantly reduced.
Mickey and Danny were cooperating, or at least claimed to be.
Eli and Sloane would recommend to keep tabs on both of them, but neither posed the same danger O’Grady would have.
“Good,” she said. “We can have a long breakfast then.”
“Fine, but don’t steal my fries again.”
She propped her chin on his chest and blinked up at him. “I do not steal your fries. You offer them.”
“After you inhale your own basket and give me those sad doe eyes. I keep telling you, you can always order more.”
“But I want yours.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Why?”
“They taste better when they’re yours.”
“Woman …”
She laughed. She rather liked this side of Eli. He could be funny when he wanted to be and also more relaxed and settled. Even her she-wolf noticed it, perhaps in response to his wolf’s unguarded state.
But there was still a part of him she hadn’t been able to reach. A door that stayed firmly shut no matter how close she got to it. And while she wanted to give him space, she was beginning to worry.
“So, we’re going home soon,” she said, keeping her tone casual. “And I was wondering about something.”
“Yeah?”
“We’ve been to all the places you and Sloane and Matty used to hang out.
But where did you go when you were by yourself?
Like, the places that were just yours.” He had already seen one of hers—the secret rooftop at Blood Moon, overlooking Times Square.
She longed for him to share that with her, something that could just be theirs.
“I don’t have any places.”
“Surely there was somewhere—”
“No.” His blew out a breath. “You don’t want to know. Not any of that,” he added, finally sensing what she was trying to ask.
“But what if I do?” she insisted.
“Trust me. You don’t.”
She pushed herself up on one elbow, looking down at him. “That’s the problem, Eli. I don’t know if I can trust you.”
His expression hardened. “What the hell does that mean? You think I’m going to hurt you?”
“No. Of course not.” Not physically.
“Then what do you mean?”
“You won’t open up to me. I feel like you’re keeping something from me.”
“Like what?”
“Your mother, for instance. What happened to her? You shut down that day Sloane talked about your life before Boston and you’ve changed the subject twice when I tried to bring it up. Everyone we’ve talked to, even Matty and Patrick, don’t seem to have a clue either. Don’t think I didn’t notice.”
A muscle in his jaw ticked. “You don’t have to know.”
“I know I don’t have to.” She hated how her voice broke at the end. “But what if I want to?” The subject obviously was a sore one for him, but maybe what he needed was to talk it out before it ate him alive.
“Drop it, Olivia. Please.”
But she couldn’t, not anymore. “But—”
“I said drop it.”
It was the same tone he’d used with Sloane that day in the office. The sting of his words made a knot twist in her chest.
His phone buzzed on the nightstand. He grabbed it, his irritation still visible as he answered. “Yeah?”
Whatever was said on the other end erased the annoyance off his face and replaced it with something far worse. He sat up, every muscle in his body going rigid.
“When?” His voice was flat, but something bubbled beneath the surface. “How long … yeah. Yeah, I understand.” He hung up and stared at the phone in his hand.
“What’s wrong?”
“That was your father. Garret escaped.” He was already out of bed, pulling on his jeans. “From the holding facility. No one realized until just now. He’s been gone for at least two days.”
Her blood went cold. “Oh my God.”
“And there was a fire at the Lone Wolf office. “
She sat up. “Was anyone hurt?”
“No, it was the middle of the night. Lizzie’s still pulling surveillance footage to figure out who did it.” He yanked a shirt over his head and shoved his feet into his boots.
“Was it Garret?”
“Has to be. He’s cunning and smarter than most people give him credit for. Once he sets his mind to something, he doesn’t stop.” He grabbed his jacket off the chair. “I need to go. I have to talk to Sloane.”
“I’m coming with—”
“Stay here.” He stopped at the door, turning to face her.
His expression was completely closed off.
The Eli she’d made love to moments ago, the one who laughed with her disappeared, leaving only the man who had suffered under Garret McCall for fifteen years.
“He doesn’t know we’re here. Just stay in the room.
I’ll be back.” He pivoted and stormed out before she could protest.
Olivia sat in the silence, the knot in her chest tightening.
First, he wouldn’t let her in, and now he was locking her out.
That door he refused to open for her remained shut and dead bolted for good measure.
She understood the danger, she wasn’t stupid.
But being told to stay like she a fragile doll that needed to be tucked away made her want to throw something at the wall.
Her stomach growled, loud enough to fill the room.
Of course.
She glanced out the window. Across the street, the neon OPEN sign of the diner glowed in the morning light.
She grabbed her clothes.
Granny’s was a quintessential American diner, with its stainless steel exterior, black and white floor tiles, and a wraparound bar just outside the steamy kitchen. Olivia slid into one of the Formica booths along the wall, the worn red leather of the seat squeaking as she scooted to the middle.
“What can I get ya, honey?” the waitress asked in her thick native Boston accent.
They’d eaten here three days in a row, so Olivia knew what she wanted. “One All-Day breakfast with bacon, eggs over easy and an extra order of sausages. A stack of pancakes, French toast, and fried chicken steak.” She paused. “And an extra basket of fries.”
The waitress didn’t even bat an eyebrow. “Sure thing, honey. Coffee?”
Olivia wasn’t sure if that was safe for the baby, even if it was a True Mates one. “No, thank you. Just apple juice?”
“Gotcha. Be back with your drink.”
Uneasiness grew within her, about Garret escaping and possibly breaking into Lone Wolf.
The fight with Eli didn’t help either. Did she push too hard?
She thought that in the last couple of days, they had grown closer, not just in the physical sense.
Both she and her wolf had never felt so safe around anyone.
The harshness of his words had begun to fade and now she worried that she shouldn’t have forced the issue.
What he had gone through during his days in the Boston Clan had been atrocious.
Perhaps what happened before had been equally or more so and locking it away and never speaking of it was the only way he could survive the mental anguish.
I need to apologize.
On instinct, she took her phone out of her purse. She took a breath and unlocked the screen, her thumb immediate going to the texting icon. As she began to compose her message, she paused.
Oh crap, I don’t have his number.
She didn’t think to ask for his—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A scream pierced the air just as a pain exploded in Olivia’s chest, temple and stomach, making her jolt upright. A dark blurry figure dashed away from her, so fast that a normal human wouldn’t have seen it, but with her own Lycan senses, she just barely perceived its presence.
There was another scream and a crash, this time, from the waitress as she stood over Olivia, shards of glass and spilled juice at her feet, empty hand frozen as her eyes bulged out of the sockets. “You … you….”
Liquid trickled down her forehead and into the corner of her eye.
She swiped at, then gasped as something red and sticky came away.
Slowly, she lowered her head to look down at her own torso.
Two bright red spots bloomed on her white T-Shirt, one on the left side of her chest and the other in her stomach.
She’d been shot.
“Help,” she cried out, the excruciating pain ripping at her. Her hands swiped at her chest, ripping the shirt down in half. Two angry bullet holes pierced her flesh, but to her surprise, they slowly began to close up. The magic of her True Mate pregnancy was protecting her.
Olivia held the edges of the table in an effort to bear the pain, waiting for the wounds to completely heal. However, right before the tissue closed up, it stopped and burst open again, blood spilling out.
What the hell?
Her vision turned to red as the pain became unbearable. The blood sputtered out of her, and each time she felt her mind drift into unconsciousness, she was jerked back awake.
Make it stop!
The waitress looked at her in horror, and the other patrons began to surround her. Someone yelled to call 911.
Unable to hold herself upright, she slid down the booth and onto the floor. It was like she was dying over and over again, and she wasn’t even allowed to feel the relief of death.
“Olivia!”
Strong arms held her. The ringing in her ears was deafening, but she managed to pick up a few words here and there.
“Shot … in the head … chest.…”
“Bullet didn’t go through.…”
“Stuck inside her.…”
“Please!” she screamed. “Help me. It hurts so bad.”
“She’s dying.…”
“No!”
Eli’s voice rang clear in her head. He was the one holding her.
At least he was here now.