AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I hissed loudly, making her snicker on the other end of the line. “You didn’t mix that with anything, did you?”
“No,” I whispered hoarsely.
The whole sordid tale poured forth from my mouth in one long run-on sentence. How I met Caleb in the parking lot and helped him through a gunshot wound. (I left out the spontaneous healing.) How we’d bounced around the state fighting crime, sort of. How I’d slowly, almost against my will, fallen in love with him. And finally, how having above-average Internet-surfing skills led to Schuna’s e-mail and the Tasering of a lifetime. I don’t think I used so much as a comma.
“Well . . . damn,” she marveled, stretching the word into two syllables.
“Tell me about it.”
“OK, bottom line. If you were never to see this guy again, I mean, no calls. No Facebook stalking—”
“I am the last person on earth without a Facebook page.”
She continued as if she hadn’t heard me. “No lying in bed half-drunk on merlot, listening to Adele and smelling one of the T-shirts you stole from him. You would never see the barest hint of his existence on this earth. How would you feel?”
I felt like throwing up. Despite the whole brain-melting-anger issue, the thought of never seeing Caleb again was terrifying.
“Having trouble breathing?”
“Yeah,” I wheezed.
“Honey, my husband annoys and amazes me on a daily basis. He may piss me off, but the thought of never seeing him again chokes me up like you wouldn’t believe. In the words of the immortal Cher, I love him awful.”
“I wish I didn’t know what you were talking about,” I groaned. “Both the emotional level and the Cher reference. Who quotes Moonstruck?”
“Appreciate the classics, whippersnapper.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I sighed.
“So do you know what you’re going to do?”
“No.”
“Good,” she exclaimed. “Decisions made in haste usually suck. Take your sweet-ass time making your choice, so you know you’ve made the right one.”
14
The Colorful and Creative Threats of the Alpha Female
I took my sweet-ass time to make a decision.
I picked up the phone to call Caleb and then hung up. I highlighted the best route to the valley and then traced another route to the vet clinic. And then I crumpled the map into a ball and tossed it. I couldn’t seem to force myself to take those first steps toward my new life. I was so angry with Caleb. Yes, I’d lied to him, but not to hurt him or trick him. I’d lied to protect myself. He’d known who I was all along. He knew that Glenn was looking for me. And he didn’t tell me that he was being paid to find me. I couldn’t trust anything he told me. I couldn’t believe him when he talked about loving me, wanting me for the rest of my life. I’d heard those words before, and they’d turned into shackles, keeping me tied to a man who wanted to make all of my decisions for me. I wouldn’t go through it again.
Could I believe Caleb when he said he’d meant no harm? As progressive as the valley pack could be, female alpha and all, Caleb had grown up in a world where the protective, dominant male instinct was not only accepted but expected. Male wolves were expected to take care of their families by any macho, bone-headed means necessary. Whether that meant throwing themselves face-first into danger or leaving out a crap load of key details, male werewolves wouldn’t hesitate as long as they thought their actions would keep their mate safe. While female weres could throw down with the best of them, they tended to be a bit more crafty and manipulative. They were more likely to use sex appeal or casseroles to get what they wanted, or sometimes both simultaneously.
More to the point, Caleb had seemed so sincere when he’d given me his reasons for lying. He’d left me at the hotel with the resources to run. If he was only interested in selling me out for money, he could have hog-tied me like Jerry and handed me over to Schuna as soon as I figured out his connection to Glenn.
I had to admit, the life he was offering me wasn’t without its charms. I would be able to return to the valley, the place I’d felt at home in for so long. After a lot of explaining and groveling, I would be accepted back into the pack, the people who had become like family to me.
And yes, I would spend my life with a certain brown-eyed werewolf who made me feel safe and wanted and made my eyelids flutter like window shades. Somewhere in the darkest, deepest recesses of an extremely stubborn and pissed-off soul, I knew I missed Caleb. There were times I missed him so much that I had to curl under the covers and wrap myself around the aching, hollow feeling that spread from my chest.
I tried to write it off as mating magic or readjusting to living alone after getting used to a warm, solid body next to me in bed every night, but I missed the man for himself. I missed his wry humor and the way he made me laugh. I missed the dozens of thoughtful little things he did throughout the day to try to take care of me, even if it meant annoying me. I missed feeling warm and protected and cared for when I fell asleep tucked under his arm. I even missed his lousy my woman done me wrong, stole my truck, and gave my dog fleas country music.
Sometime during my fifth attempt to escape the lobby, I’d come to the conclusion that I was, in fact, in love with the moron . . . which was inconvenient.
I loved Caleb. I loved his kindness and his generosity, which was becoming harder and harder to reconcile with the informational shell game he’d played with me. How could he lie to me for so long? Why hadn’t he just come out that first day after the shooting and told me, Just so you know, I’ve been hired by your skeevy ex-husband to track you down and drag you back to him, but I think you’re my mate, so I’m just going to keep taking his per diem and keep you for myself. More French toast?
OK, maybe that would have been pushing it. But surely, as we got to know each other, he could have let some hints slip gradually.
