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"Okay, I give up then. What are you doing here, and why did you come loaded up with a hell of a lot of serious firepower? What exactly do you want, Kade, the non-wolf hunter from north of Fairbanks by way of Boston?"
"I told you that when we talked earlier today. I want answers. I need to have the truth--the entire truth--about what happened to your friends. I think you can help me with that, Alex. I think you might be the only person who can."
He glanced down to where her hand was still settled on his arm. Alex abruptly drew it away, his deep voice vibrating inside her, his words making her feel that she possibly could trust him, whether her instincts could confirm it or not.
She did not want to warm to him, dammit. She didn't want to put her trust in anything he said when her heart was racing at hyperspeed and everything in her screamed for her to run. Run, before she made the mistake of letting this man into her private hell when she didn't know anything about him.
"What are you trying to pull?" she asked softly, wishing she had the strength just to walk away and leave him standing there instead of giving in to the curiosity that made her want to know more. "What kind of game are you playing here?">She couldn't read Jenna's expression, which seemed trapped somewhere between misery and envy. Before her highly persuasive friend could launch into a counteroffensive argument for why Alex needed to stay, a loud roar of masculine enthusiasm went up from the area of the bar.
"What's all that about?" Alex asked, unable to tell what was going on with her back to the ruckus.
"Did Big Dave's team win or something?"
"I don't know, but he and his crew just bellied up to the bar in a hurry." Jenna glanced back at her then and exhaled a soft curse. "You are my best friend, Alex, and you know I'm damned picky when it comes to my friends. You can't sit there over a half-eaten slice of pie in the middle of hockey night at Pete's tavern and casually drop a bomb on me about you're thinking of moving away. Since when? And why haven't you talked to me about any of this? I thought as friends we shared everything." Not everything, Alex admitted silently. There were some things she wasn't brave enough to share with anyone. Things about herself and things she'd seen that would label her either mentally unstable or positively deranged. Jenna didn't even know that Alex's mom and little brother were murdered, let alone how.
Slaughtered.
Attacked by creatures out of the worst nightmare.
Alex and her father had concocted a more believable lie as they'd made the trip to Alaska to begin their lives without the other, missing half of their family. To anyone who asked, Alex's mother and kid brother were killed by a drunk driver down in Florida. They had died instantly, painlessly. Nothing could have been farther from the truth.
Alex had felt guilty for perpetuating the lie, especially to Jenna, but she'd consoled herself that she was only protecting her friend. No one would want to know the horror that Alex and her father witnessed and narrowly escaped. No one would want to think that evil so terrible--so bloodthirsty and violent--could actually exist in the world.
She told herself that she was still protecting Jenna, shielding her friend in much the same way that Alex's father tried to shield her.
"I'm just thinking about it right now, that's all," she murmured, then drank the last sip of her warm beer.
No sooner had she set it down than a platinum-haired waitress came over carrying two fresh ones. The bright pink streak in her bleached-blond hair matched the garish shade of her lipstick, Alex noted, as the young woman bent down to place the chilled bottles on the table.
Alex shook her head. "Oh, wait a second, Annabeth. We already paid our bill and we didn't order these."
"I know," she said, then jerked her thumb over her shoulder toward the bar area. "Someone out front just bought a round for the house."
Jenna groaned. "If it's from Big Dave, I'll pass."
"Not him," Annabeth said, grinning broadly, her whole face lit up. "Never saw this guy before--tall, spiky black hair, incredible eyes, absolutely smoking hot."
Now it was Alex's turn to groan. She knew it had to be Kade, even before she pivoted in her seat and shot a searching look into the small crowd of men gathered at the bar. He towered over the others, his silky, dark head at the center of the throng.
"Unbelievable," she muttered as the waitress left the table.
"Do you know him?" Jenna asked.
"He's the guy I saw at the back of the church last night. His name is Kade. I saw him again today out at the Toms settlement when I was making my supply run."
Jenna frowned. "What the hell was he doing out there?"
"I'm not entirely sure. I found him in Pop Toms's cabin, looking like he'd just rolled out of bed in the middle of the afternoon. And he was well armed, too--I'm talking high-powered rifle, knife, handgun, and rounds intended for some very large game. I gather he's looking to help out with our supposed wolf problem."
"No wonder Big Dave seems so fond of him," Jenna remarked dryly. "Well, I couldn't possibly drink another beer, free or otherwise. I'm beat. I need to stop by Zach's to drop off some files he asked me for, then I really should head home."
Alex nodded, trying not to think about the fact that Kade was in the same room with her, or the unnerving way her pulse seemed to skitter at the idea.
Jenna stood up and pulled her long down coat from a hook on the wall. "How about you? You want me to give you a ride to the house?"
"No." Late as it was, and as crowded as Pete's seemed to be getting now that Kade was there, it still beat the thought of what awaited her at home. "Go on, don't worry about me. I'm going to finish this pie and maybe have a cup of coffee to wash it down. Besides, I'd rather walk the two blocks home. The fresh air will do me good."
"Okay, if you're sure." At her nod, Jenna gave her a quick hug. "No more talk of moving away, all right? Not without consulting me first. Got it?"
