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Lee watched her. Both of his eyes had thick, dark shadows around them. “You…saved me...” He shook his head. “Don’t...re-remember much. How—how did...you know...where I w-was?”
This was the hard part. Erin eased into the chair next to the bed. Okay. The man had almost died. She figured he was owed the truth—the whole truth. He might not believe her. He might think she was certifiable, but she was going to tell him. What he did with the knowledge, well, that would be up to him. “Lee, I’ve got a story to tell you.” She glanced at her small, oval nails. “One you might not believe at first, but I swear, every word of it’s true.”
The machines beeped quietly.If he gets too crazy and starts screaming for help because there’s a monster next to him, I can always blame his reaction on the drugs. I’m sure the orderlies would buy that.
But maybe excuses wouldn’t be needed. Erin took a deep breath. “You see, Lee, there’s a whole lot more to this world than most people realize...”
* * *
Jude was waiting for her when she came out of the hospital room. He’d heard the soft whisper of her voice and been stunned by her words. But probably not quite as stunned as Lee Givens had been to hear that Erin was a sort of werewolf.
Her shoulders were slumped when she came out, but her eyes seemed to lighten a bit when she saw him. Good sign. He caught her hand and led her to the elevator. It was nearing one a.m. now. A curly haired kid slept on his mom’s lap in the waiting area. The mother brushed back his curls, humming softly and crying a bit with each slow movement of her hand.
Erin glanced at them, swallowed, and let him push her inside the elevator.
He waited until the doors closed before he spoke. “The man seemed to take it well.”
“H-his grandmother was a charmer. He already knew about theOther.”
He’d caught that part of the conversation, but he let her talk anyway. He figured she needed to.
“I thought he’d blame me.”
The lights on the elevator wall blinked as they descended.
“He didn’t.” She shook her head. “He just thanked me. He let me talk, let me tell him all about Harper—and he thanked me.”
Maybe Lee wasn’t as much of an ass as he’d always thought.
“He said things would be different for him, that he had a second chance.”
Second chances were damn rare.
The last light flashed on. They’d hit the ground floor. The doors opened with a whisper. Erin stepped forward, but hesitated. “I don’t want to go home tonight. Not there, just...not tonight.”
And he wouldn’t take her back to his cabin. The police were still combing that road. She didn’t need to see the death scene again so soon.
“Don’t worry,” he told her, catching her fingers and bringing them to his lips.Alive. She was alive.He kept having to remind himself of that very important fact because the image of the wolf with his fangs over her throat wouldn’t stop playing in his mind. “Got it covered, sweetheart.” He stared into her golden eyes. “I’ve got it covered.”
* * *
When he shoved open the hotel’s front door, Jude caught sight of the same punk kid he’d seen before at the front desk.
The kid’s eyes widened, and Jude knew he’d been recognized, too. Blue eyes darted to Erin’s face and lingered for a bit. “Two rooms again?”
Smart-ass. Jude slapped the money down on the countertop. “One, with a king-size bed.”
The acne hadn’t cleared up a bit for the punk. “You sure you only want one room?” The question was directed at Erin.
Why did he have to put up with this ass? Hadn’t his night been hard enough?
“One room.” Her voice was husky and soft and sounded like pure sex.
The kid gulped and shoved a key card across the countertop.
Jude kept his hand around her lush curves and guided her toward the stairs.
“Lucky bastard.” The kid probably thought he wouldn’t hear that, and if he’d been human, maybe he wouldn’t have caught the whisper.
