Chapter 6
six
About to take the coward’s way out and beat feet to the SUV, where I could hide behind tinted windows until the Walsh cousins were a speck on my horizon, I forced myself to face Rían. “Can we talk?”
“Yes.” He jerked his chin, telling his cousin to go on ahead. “Of course.”
Sloane grunted when Liam shackled her wrist and dragged her away to give us privacy.
“Get the contact information,” I called to her. “It’ll save us some time.”
With a thumbs-up, she marched off toward the salon to fulfil her mission.
Awkwardness descended in record time as Rían and I found ourselves alone.
“I don’t know what to say,” I confessed, “I just didn’t want to leave without saying anything.”
“This isn’t goodbye.” He reached out but let his hand fall short of my cheek. “I’ve waited my whole life for you, Ana. A few more days or weeks, however long you need, won’t change my mind.”
Unable to hold his tender gaze, I had to voice my greatest fear. “What if he won’t let me come back?”
“Do you want to come back?”
“I want answers.” I clenched my hands until my nails cut crescent-shaped marks in my palm.
“I want to know who and what I am, and as much as it pains me to admit it, I don’t expect to receive those answers from Dad.
” I pushed out a slow breath. “I have to go to him, have to talk sense into him and get Tara and the others released, but then…” I couldn’t stop myself from covering his scarred hand with mine, his skin calloused and warm.
“I want to learn my history, discover my potential, and I think you’re the one to teach me. ”
“Fayne is the better teacher, and she would barbecue me if I stole the chance for her to fledge you.” His fingers meshed with mine, holding tight to me. “But I’ll be right by your side the whole time.”
“I’m still not sure about the betrothal thing.” I owed him that much. “It’s a lot. Not you. All of this.”
“Thanks for your honesty.” He brought our linked hands to his mouth and brushed a soft kiss across my knuckles that shot tingles down to my toes. “As long as you’re not giving me a hard no, I’ll wait for you.”
“That doesn’t seem fair.”
Without an ounce of hesitation, he smiled a crooked smile down at our joined hands. “You’re worth it.”
“Hey.” I noticed a glimmer of red and orange where his lips had touched my skin. “What is that?”
“Hold it over an open flame, and it activates a location beacon.”
“You can find me wherever…?” Dad locks me away I almost said but didn’t. “Will it hurt?”
“Most people have never willingly stuck their hand in a fire, so it’s not surprising you wouldn’t know you have a high tolerance for heat.
After you fledge, no matter how hot flames burn, they won’t harm you.
” He hesitated before adding, “Dragon fire is another story, but there are so few of us left, violence among our own kind is almost unheard of.”
“Thanks for this.” I traced it with my free hand, smiling when it reheated.
“I’ll do my best to get out on my own, I don’t want to give my dad another reason to come after your clan, but it’s nice.
” I dared to run my thumb over the top of his hand, and goose bumps rose on his skin. “To have someone watching my back.”
Trust was slow to come for me, but I wanted to believe in the fairy tale he was selling. I wanted to shift. I wanted to fly. I wanted to belong. Maybe even to him. But I had to sort myself out first before I hurt him with careless words that might end in empty promises.
“That’s what clan is for.” He pried his fingers loose then slid his hand free with effort, like our palms had been glued together and refused to unstick.
“We’ll handle the pets here and at GSG. Jess is familiar with your system there, so I’ll ask Fayne to pitch in with making calls and travel arrangements.
Rochele and Mindy can handle this salon’s pets since that process should go faster. ”
“Sounds like you’ve got everything covered.
” I curled my fingers to hold in Rían’s warmth.
“I’ll touch base as soon as I’m able. I left my phone in Brentwood, but I keep burners hidden around the property.
As long as water hasn’t gotten to them, or the caches haven’t been discovered, I should be good. ”
For a second, I thought Rían would ask why I had taken such precautions, such drastic measures, but he clenched his jaw against the impulse.
I was grateful he didn’t press. I hadn’t spent time around any other clan or pack or pride as a whole, and even a couple of days with the Walshes had turned everything I grew up believing as gospel, especially about alphas, on its head.
“Ready?” Sloane flashed a folded sheet of paper. “We need to get this show on the road.”
“Your number,” I blurted, recalling my earlier concerns about contacting him. “I don’t have it.”
“Here.” He withdrew a pen from his pocket and bit his lip. “I’ll write it on your bra strap, if that’s okay.”
The fire of a thousand suns exploded in my cheeks. “Do what now?”
“Fayne taught us it’s a safe place to hide information in a pinch.
They might strip search you or force you to change clothes, but typically women get their underwear back.
” He clicked the cap a few times. “I had planned on giving you my number after the blackout ended, but I doubt the Sartoris would have let you keep your phone anyway to prevent us from tracking your location.” He hesitated. “If you have a better idea…”
“Are you sure you’re not just trying to sneak a peek?”
“Sloane.” I swatted her, but it only made her smirk wider. “This is awkward enough without your running commentary.” I tugged the neckline of my scrub top aside. “Have at it.”
A faint hitch in his movements betrayed his nerves as he slid a finger under the strap, sweeping chills down my arms, and used his thumb to part a section of elastic overlapping the plastic length adjuster.
He wrote a string of numbers without spaces to further muddle their meaning then set the strap back in place, concealing the digits between the layers.
“There you go,” he said, his voice husky. “That should do it.”
“Bye for now.” I straightened my neckline to give my hands something to do. “See you soon.”
Halfway to the parking lot, I glanced over my shoulder to find Rían chasing after me.
Lips tingling with the certainty he was going to kiss me for luck, or maybe goodbye, I smothered my disappointment when he pulled up short.
“Here.” He tossed something at me that glinted silver. “In case you need it.”
“Oh crap.” I fumbled before slapping it between my hands. “I’m terrible at catch.”
“Cue the dog jokes.” Liam caught Sloane’s eye and withered on the spot. “Just kidding.” He cleared his throat when Rían’s head swung his way. “I meant no disrespect to wargs.”
“Turnabout is fair play.” She flashed her teeth as we left him behind. “Remember that, Lizard Lips.”
Once we were locked safely inside the SUV, her shoulders began shaking as she threw it in reverse.
“You know what they say about playing with fire.” I snatched the list from between her fingers. “Something about getting burned. To a crisp. Because Liam is an actual fire-breathing dragon.”
“I know, I know.” She wiped a tear off her cheek.
“He’s such an ass, though.” She rolled her eyes at him in the rearview mirror.
“He either drank the Kool-Aid while he was infiltrating the Sartoris, or he truly believes setting you on a high shelf like a doll no one is allowed to play with is your rightful place.”
Not for me. He didn’t care about me. No. His worry was all for Rían. I was just stuck in the middle.
“Let’s hope it’s the first. Then he can be deprogrammed over time.”
“Nah. I vote we tattle to Fayne. She doesn’t strike me as the kind of woman who puts up with disrespect and male shenanigans. She’s a badass. Just like you. I think she ought to be our secret weapon.”
“Spoken like someone who fully intends to return to Brentwood.”
“I thought that was our plan.”
Our plan. Hers and mine. Was this how it felt to belong? To truly be part of a pack?
“You don’t have to stick it out with me if you would rather stay with the Sartoris.”
“You’re worried what Mercer will do to me.”
“I’m worried what Mercer will do to us. It’s not like you acted alone. I’m willing to take responsibility for my actions, but I don’t want you hurt on my account.” I leaned my head against the cool window. “You wouldn’t have been in this mess if not for me.”
“I had nothing and no one when I came here. Now I have you. Seems like a good trade to me.”
“Let’s see how you feel after we’ve had our meeting with Dad.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” She reached over and took my hand. “Hear me?”
“Yeah.” I sniffled into my shoulder. “But is sticking with me just an excuse for you to torment Liam?”
“Enough about Liam. Let’s talk about Rían. How do giraffes woo prospective mates?”
“You’re never going to let that go, are you?”
“I’m already planning a safari-themed wedding for you guys in my head, so no.”
A low groan slipped out of me, and I thumped my head against the glass. “Please no.”
“I’ll show you some of the sites I’ve bookmarked on my phone. Then you’ll see how serious I am.”
“Just because he wants to marry me doesn’t mean I want to marry him.”
“I saw y’all holding hands.” She made kissy noises. “You can’t resist his giraffe-y charms.”
“I’m going to nap.” I closed my eyes. “Wake me when you come to your senses.”
As soon as she began humming “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” I wrote her off as a lost cause but smiled to myself anyway.
Sloane opted for fast food so as not to slow down the rescue mission. Mostly burgers, a few chicken sandwiches, and one random hotdog. I almost wished she had opted for dine-in to buy us more time.