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Not even her.
“Tell Sully to send two of the enforcers downstairs up to guard the door to my penthouse. I need Madi safe.”
“Done.” Eagle ends the call.
“Brick?” She appears, wrapped in a towel. “Weren’t you going to join me?” She sees me buttoning up my work shirt, and her playful grin drops away. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Pack stuff.”
“Pack stuff? What–”
“It’s handled.” I cut her off. My wolf hates that I’m being rude, but I don’t have time to explain the intricacies of pack hierarchy right now. Not when my pack is about to implode. “I’m heading into the office.”
“Okay. How can I help?”
“You can’t.” I grab a suit jacket and shrug it on. I don’t bother with a tie. If things go south at the pack meeting, I might have to fight a few upstarts for dominance.
“Okay. I’ll get ready… Do you have anything I can wear to work?” She’s trying to sound teasing, maybe make a joke about keeping a stash of peek-a-boob dresses here in my closet but can’t quite manage it.
“You’re not going.”
Her head jerks back. “What?”
“I’m sorry, Madi, but you’re not going back to the office–not today, not ever.”
Her face goes white like I’ve slapped her. “You said you didn’t replace me.” Her voice is dangerously quiet.
“It’s not safe for you out there. We’re under active attack by the Adalwulfs. And no, there’s nothing you can do to help. You’re not a part of it. You can’t be–you’re human. ”
Her expression hardens, her walls slamming into place. I see the moment when all the trust, all the beautiful intimacy between us goes up in flames. She presses her lips together, her eyes narrowing.
The anger in her scent riles my wolf even more than the threat to my pack, but there’s nothing I can do to fix it. I’m the one who’s made her angry.
“I see.” She heads for the bed, grabbing her yoga pants and putting them on under her towel.
I can’t bear to watch her close down, shut me out. I force myself to turn and head for the door. “I have to go.”
My wolf whines like he’s been wounded. But he knows we have no choice. Madi is safe and secure here. We have to protect our pack.
She’s fully dressed, and on my heels. I whirl and pull her close, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
I’m sorry, I want to say. But I can’t. Because I have to choose my pack.
One day, she might understand.
* * *
Madi
I push Brick away, incensed. “So, I’m still fired?”
His expression is pained. “For now. You can’t come to work. The situation’s…delicate.”
Delicate? I am perfectly capable of problem-solving all the sticky situations that arise for him. Even when I was falsely accused, I was the one who solved the mystery.
“And I can’t be trusted with the details? Have I not proven I can solve any problem?”
Brick’s expression is unyielding.
