“Fuck. They moved the others.”
“Not just the shifters. The entire operation. Equipment, trucks, people. Everything’s gone.”
I punch the tree, immediately regretting it as pain radiates down my forearm. “I didn’t think they’d move them.”
“They couldn’t take the risk. You attacked them in their front yard.”
“Couldn’t be helped. Once those trucks made it into their compound…” I shake my head. “I could have gotten in, but I’m not sure I would have been able to get her out.”
“Yet another issue with going rogue.”
I ignore his underlying growl. He’s still pissed at me. “Do you still want me at the meeting even though this is no longer a rescue op?”
“That’s why I sent Frank out to get you. Not for you to spy on two unmated females.”
My eyes shoot back to Angel. She’s crouched in front of a ten-year-old, talking to her calmly as she tends to a scraped knee. “Two females?”
“Sadie Lynn.”
I glance to the left where Sadie Lynn’s reading a book to a group of six-year-olds. “Oh, that’s right. Sadie Lynn. And I wasn’t spying. Just keeping my skills sharp in the process.”
“Yeah, right.” Damien grabs the back of my shirt and shoves me to get me moving. I don’t take my eyes off Angel, until I trip over a root and fall flat on my face.
“Not spying, my ass…”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
ANGEL
Sadie Lynn elbows me gently and nods toward the woods. “Did you catch that scent when the wind shifted?”
Did I catch Garrett’s scent? It’s all I can think about, which is why I don’t dare look to where she’s pointing.
“He’s here because of you,” she says, without any contempt in her voice. That’s what I love most about Sadie Lynn. There isn’t a jealous or competitive bone in her body.
“Why would you say that? You said he liked you.” I lift little Madeline after I bandage her scraped knee. She’s rather clingy, even though she finally stopped crying. Holding her soothes my wolf, though, so I’m happy to hold onto her longer than necessary.
As for why my wolf is so on edge, I’m not sure.Shenever stopped liking Garrett, even when I was mad at him.
Was… When did my anger disappear?
Madeline’s little arms loop around my neck and her head rests against my shoulder.
“I never said he liked me. I said I like him,” Sadie corrects me. “Big difference. And I won’t pursue a male who’s in love with another female.”
“Marla’s gone.”
“I’m talking about you.”
“Try again. The male barely acknowledges that I’m here. He made it quite clear he did his job by rescuing me, and all that time we spent on our way back here, talking and getting to know one another, was nothing more than a way to pass time.”
“And you’re buying that?”
“He made it quite clear when he pushed me away.”
“And what does your wolf say?”
I don’t answer.
