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The more he spoke, the more I wanted to punch him. To give him a real piece of my mind. My wolf was practically begging for the chance to put him in his place, even if my rational brain told me otherwise.
“What’s going on here?” Donovan asked, shattering that tension at once.
Remembering myself and the deal I made with him, I pulled back. I didn’t need him worrying about me getting involved in any conflicts.
Noah’s initial animosity fell, and he put his hands up again. “I was just doing an honest safety check when Griffin started getting riled up.”
Furrowing my brows, I looked toward Donovan, hoping he would see through Noah’s lie. But he only glanced between us and seemed unsure of how to step next.
“Look, I don’t want any problems here. I apologize on behalf of Griffin, and it won’t happen again,” he said, appealing to Noah.
I understood why, seeing as Noah was a member of the Task Force. That gave him a significant pull, especially since he was in a peace-keeping role.
But it made me bristle.
“I hope not,” Noah murmured, giving him a nod. “Let me or anyone else on the force know if you see any criminal behavior and we’ll sort it out. We can’t have any more accidents around here.”
Donovan agreed to do exactly that as Noah turned and went on his way like he hadn’t been the one to instigate everything. Donovan glanced at me the moment he was gone.
“I hope you’re not trying to test me already, Griffin.”
Pushing back my anger, I didn’t want to sound worked up like Noah accused me of being. I needed to keep my cool, regardless of how difficult that felt.
“I can say with all honesty that did not go down how he described it,” I began, showing him as much sincerity as I could. “I was out here minding my own business when he started asking me questions about the job. Noah insinuated he was keeping an eye on me because I’m new here and from a gang. He got in my face about it after assuming I’d do something to cause trouble here.”
Donovan looked strained from the drama of it, and he shook his head. “I want to believe you, but it’s your word against his at this point. All I can say is, keep it neat. Don’t cause any trouble, and don’t give me a reason to be suspicious of you either.”
“I was doing just that,” I countered, adamant about defending myself. “But how can I sit back and take it when he’s in my face for no reason?”
He sighed. “I don’t know, Griffin. You did look heated. Just promise me you won’t escalate things if you find yourself in a similar situation. You’re a solid addition here, and I’d hate for you to throw that away.”
As much as I didn’t want to admit to doing anything wrong when I had been set up in the first place, I nodded. “Alright, fine. Sorry to cause any problems.”
Donovan gave me a clap on the shoulder. “Good. Now get back to work, we have more cars rolling up this afternoon.”
“You got it,” I said, watching as he made his way back into the garage.
Straying outside for another minute, I took a deep breath and tried to soothe that anger threatening to come out.
Noah was lucky I had enough of a grip on my wolf to keep it in. If Rowan was right about Sara being my mate and affecting me, that would’ve ended much worse for both of us.
Trying to forget about it, I went back in and put my head down as I got to work.
If Donovan wanted me to keep it clean, then I’d keep it clean.
Chapter 18 - Sara
The sun was pleasant as I made my way to the coffee shop, and Rose Valley as a whole seemed to blossom more with the warming weather. I couldn’t wait for summer to arrive.
As I walked, I couldn’t help but think about Griffin and how he was doing. So much had changed in the last little while, and I hoped he was feeling more welcomed in town. We had a bumpy start, but I was glad we managed to patch it.
He was proving to be very helpful on the Ryan front, seeing as I hadn’t heard from him since the grocery store. He didn’t call, text, or show up at my door, and I was more than happy about it.
Griffin was becoming a good friend, but something in me was curious about how he felt. I wondered if he thought about me outside of our arrangement or if he only saw me as his neighbor. The girl willing to parade around as his fake girlfriend.
While I knew it wasn’t real, the thought of taking that label to my name made my stomach squirm with excitement. Griffin’s girlfriend.
His touch lingered in my mind, from that kiss at his parent’s house to the way he held my hand both outside my house and at the store. It almost seemed like he did it instinctually, and it left me with more questions than answers.
