I’ve been too caught up in the mistakes of my past to remember what I’ve done right. And being with Angel is as right as I could ever be.
Once I leave the lake, I find Angel’s scent in the wind fairly quickly. She’s running, and not on any foot path.
Her scent hangs on low lying branches, the bark of several trees, and the snow. The course she’s taking is erratic.
“Angel?” I call out, so as not to frighten her.
She doesn’t answer, which unnerves me. A mile later, I spot her sitting on a log, breaking off pieces of a pine cone.
“I’m sorry I ran,” she says without looking up, without waiting for me to say anything. “I got upset. I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Baby, I can’t fix whatever’s wrong if you don’t tell me.”
Her head snaps up. “I don’t need you to fix my mistakes. That’s for me to do.”
My palms fly up in surrender. “I’m not trying to tell you what to do. But running from me isn’t the answer either.”
What little remains of the pinecone falls at her feet as she brushes the dirt from her hands. “You’re right, it isn’t.” She stands, tosses her hair back, adjusts her scarf then marches up to me. “We have a date back at our cabin, don’t we?”
“Don’t shut me out,” I say as she passes me.
She stops but doesn’t turn around. “Hurts, doesn’t it? Never knowing what the other shifter is thinking, always wondering if you’re good enough for them.”
I swing her to face me, gripping her chin harsher than I intended, but it gets her attention. “I don’t regret what happened between us tonight. I’m falling for you, Angel, but I’m not surewhat I’m doing. Any of it. Tell me what you need and I’ll do whatever I can.”
“I need you to have not rescued me, Garrett. Not without the other shifters.”
My hands drop to my side. “I didn’t want to leave them there.”
“But you did. Because of me. Now they’re in some impossible to breach fortress and you or others could get killed trying to free them.”
“How did you find out—” I shake my head. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter. What you have to understand, Angel, is that there will always be another mission, an impossible to win situation, but that doesn’t stop us. It can’t, or we lose without even trying. But that doesn’t mean we go in half-cocked. Rescuing you was foolish only in how I did it. Without backup and against orders. I broke a lot of rules that day, but I won’t apologize for it. It brought me you. And yes, I wish I could have rescued the others at the same time, but life isn’t always fair, is it? Not every mission is a success.” I cup her face. “None of this is on you. You were taken, and used. If you could have escaped you would have. You needed help. That’s something we all need at times. You’ve helped me in ways I can’t even put into words, and I didn’t even realize how much I needed you.Needyou.” I lean my forehead against her. “We will free them, Angel. It’s only a matter of time.”
Hope shines in her eyes, as she swipes away the tears. “I want to help.”
An image of Marla flashes before my eyes. “You’re not going to like my answer.”
“Try me.”
“You help by staying out of it. Let me, Callen, Frank, and the others do our job. I need to be fully focused on what we’re doing, but I can’t, not if I’m worried you’re going to take off and try to prove yourself like Marla.”
“I’m not a fool.” She winces. “I shouldn’t speak ill of her. Shewas your friend. But I’m not her, Garrett. I’m not sure you can see that.”
“You’re right. You’re not her, and she was foolish. And selfish. Things you’re not.” A new fear grips me by the balls. “Tell me you’re not planning to go after those shifters yourself, Angel.”
“I already promised you that?—”
“I know,” I snap as images of Marla—all smiles as she convinced me to train her—flash through my mind. She’d made promises, too.
“Things change. Shifters change. And I’ve been fooled once.”
Anger seeps into her face. “I’ve never lied to you.”
“No, not intentionally. But as I said, shifters change. I need you to tell me that all this training, all your questions about tracking which you don’t need for escape and evasion, isn’t about going after those shifters.”
“Would you believe me if I said no?”
That’s a damn good question.
