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Sniffing, she moved aside to let a pedestrian pass. “I’m not fussing.”
He ushered her near the wall, out of the way of the people walking up and down the sidewalk. “Yes, you are. You’re fretting over how there’s no imprint bond yet. You’re the one who told me to be patient; that you can’t rush it.”
“I know. And I’m not worried the bond won’t form. I’m just eager to see you settled.”
Sensing by her shifty expression that there was more to it, he folded his arms. “What’s going on?”
Andaya absently pulled at her earlobe. “I bumped into Cherrie.”
Both he and his cat went motionless.
Distress lining her face, Andaya continued, “She knows you’re mated. I don’t know who told her, but you can be sure she’s not pleased about it. She wants only misery for you.”
“What did she say?” Because the woman had obviously said something that had his mother all wound up.
“That she feels sorry for ‘the girl’ for having unknowingly bound herself to a cold-blooded killer.” Andaya wrung her gloved hands. “Cherrie ‘suggested’ maybe someone should tell her. What if she makes it her business to find out who Quinley is? What if she approaches her?”
His cat’s upper lip quivered at the idea of it. “I’ll be seriously fucking pissed if Cherrie goes near her.” So pissed he’d want to burn shit down. “But there’s nothing she’d be able to reveal that Quinley doesn’t already know. I gave her the full story.”
“Yes, but Cherrie wouldn’t give her the real story; she’d talk complete rubbish. She can be convincing. You know that. She had a whole bunch of people on her side until Vinnie revealed he’d identified the culprit as Eddie.”
Tate caught his eye from further down the street, where he stood with Deke and JP. The Alpha lifted an Everything okay? brow.
Isaiah gave a subtle nod of reassurance.
“I told her that your mate is well-aware of everything. Cherrie said, ‘She might know his version, but not the truth.’”
“Mom, I get why you’d worry that Cherrie could cause problems for me—she’s damn good at it. But I don’t for a second believe that she’d make Quinley come round to her way of thinking.”
Andaya tilted her head. “What makes you so sure?”
He hesitated. “I won’t give you the full story—it’s Quinley’s to share or not to share. But she’s been the subject of bullshit rumors herself. She’s wise to what such liars are like. Wise to how manipulative they are. Cherrie would not find her whatsoever easy to fool.”
Andaya’s face went soft. “I’m sorry to hear Quinley had to deal with that. No one should have to. And Cherrie…” Trailing off, she sighed.
He settled a reassuring hand on his mother’s shoulder. “I don’t actually think that Cherrie will go near her.”
“You don’t?”
“No. Her Alpha male is tough, but he fears Tate—he’d be furious with any pride member who caused trouble for one of ours. She’ll know that. She has probably even been warned to keep her distance from us, given our history. If I was her Alpha, I would have issued such a warning. My guess is that Cherrie just wanted to mess with our heads—it’s kind of her thing.”
Andaya frowned, thoughtful. “You’re right. She probably just took the opportunity to bitchily make us worry.”
Hearing his phone begin to chime, Isaiah told her, “I have to take this. Now, don’t go stressing yourself out over what Cherrie said. All will be fine.”
She gave a weak smile and nodded. “Okay.”
He walked off and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Quinley. He tapped his thumb on the screen and answered, “Hey, you good?”
“Isaiah, this is Adaline.”
He stopped in his tracks at the shake in her voice. “Why are you using Quinley’s cell?” he asked, dread taking root in his belly. “Why doesn’t she have it?”
“As she left work to go to her car, I noticed her shift across the road and flee,” replied Adaline, her words coming sharp and fast. “A group of guys chased her. Some shifted into wolves.”
Isaiah’s blood ran cold, and his cat froze. Fuck. He bolted down the street, heading for the cul-de-sac.
“She sprinted past the lot opposite the salon. She seemed to be heading in the general direction of the park behind it… but after that I don’t know. She will have gotten away, Isaiah. Whoever they are, they won’t have found her. There’s no way they’d have managed that.”
