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They would, but I was just as shocked. Not by the keys, but the car he’d chosen. Was that Liam’s car or Cassius’s? Either way, they both made too much money for them to be purchasing such a normal vehicle for financial reasons.
Were they trying to blend in?
It was impossible to remember what car they were normally spotted in. The cars were always black, but I was positive they were sports-car-shaped. Maybe those had been a choice – approved to be seen by the public eye.
Well, now I wanted to know how much they’d gone around undetected.
Celebrities were pretty good at going incognito since they used disguises. Those never worked on me though, not if I’d met them before or heard them on TV. Voices and scents were too distinct for me to miss, and yet I’d rarely heard Liam speak until today.
He didn’t like to do interviews if he could help it.
Frankie pulled me toward the elevator and I resisted on instinct, grimacing when she gave me a look.
“I’m not walking down seventy flights of stairs and then some,” Frankie growled, yanking me into the elevator when the doors opened and then smacking the right button. “Plus, you could slip and fall since you’ve already done that twice today.”
I grimaced again, hating when she used logic against me.
Resting my forehead against the cool metal of the wall, I tugged her closer and she slid her arm around my shoulders. The scent from her wrist was so subtle no one else would notice it, but this close to my nose…
I breathed in the scent of her floral tangerines and let it wash away the awful tang still sitting in the back of my throat.
“I’ve never seen you react to pheromones like that before,” Frankie murmured, turning her body to face mine. It blocked her mouth from one camera, but the other would still be able to see it.
Then she sighed and rested her forehead on my shoulder, curling her body around mine.
Reaching up, I pulled off one of the black bands around my neck so she could breathe in what little scent I possessed and recalibrate.
“You don’t even react to my father’s scent like that,” Frankie whispered. “I thought you were immune to alphas.”
So did I.
Tucking the black scent blocker adhesive into my pocket, I chewed on the inside of my lip as I watched the numbers on the screen count down.
“Are you going to be okay?” she asked, pulling me closer by the lapel of my coat.
“I don’t know.” It was instinct to run my fingers through her red curls to soothe her, some small part of my omega instincts picking up on her distress. “I’m fine for now though.”
“Liam’s wearing scent blockers. What happens if he takes them off?” Frankie held onto my coat as we descended, clinging to me more than she usually did.
“To be honest, I’m more worried about you.” Pushing her hair back, I forced her to look at me. “How close is your rut?”
Her tired smile made my stomach flip-flop. Should I just send her home?
“Before you freak out, I have about a week. Maybe two if I’m lucky.” Her arm slid around my waist, those alpha instincts always so much worse when she was this close to her rut. “At least by then I’ll know if those two can be trusted if I have to take some time off.”
I didn’t like the idea of that, but it was really the only way when we were in the middle of a case.
“Is that why you keep bristling at them?” I asked, gritting my teeth when the elevator paused for what felt like an eternity on the fourth level of the parking garage.
“Partially.” Frankie gave me another tired smile before slipping my phone in my pocket and putting space between us when the doors opened. “But I think it’s mostly the way you reacted to them.”
She pulled me along and then stopped to inspect the row of black cars. This level must be where the Valors kept their personal cars.
“Too bad he didn’t give us the keys to that Lambo.” Frankie hit the button and one of the black SUVs flashed their lights. “Do you think he’ll let me drive?”
“No.” I eyed the woman who’d been my partner for the last five years, and my best friend for nearly fifteen. “He’s even more annoying than you are.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Cassius said, plucking the keys from Frankie’s hand as he walked by.
