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That should have been fucking obvious.
He was there when it happened.
“Rafe was going tokillher.”
“Yeah, and you’ve brought this entire clusterfuck of a situation upon us,” he says without glancing my direction. “Way to go.”
An argument forms on my tongue, but I swallow it down. I don’t know what crawled up his ass in the last five minutes, but I’m not fighting him in the middle of downtown Atlanta. I also don’t want to waste any more time. We’re on a schedule, and if we don’t hurry up, we’re going to be late.
I’ll deal with Elio later.
A familiar blue car catches my attention by the curb. It’s a four-door sedan with a Tennessee license plate and a small dent in the back door.
“Hey, isn’t this Devyn’s car?” I ask, even though I’m sure it is. “How has it not been towed yet?”
The meter by the car has half an hour left on it, as does the one next to it. Someone must have come through and put money in all the meters so the cars left overnight didn’t get towed.
I don’t think I’ve ever been so relieved by a small act of kindness.
“Yeah, I think so.” Elio stops beside me and pulls out a set of keys. “Want to go for a joy ride?”
“Only if I’m driving.” I hold out my hand expectantly. “I’m never riding with you again after Douglasville.”
I might have only driven a handful of times, but I’m way better at it than Elio, and I’ve never almost killed us.
He sighs and drops the jingling keys into my palm. “That was two years ago. Let it go already.”
I shake my head and make my way around the car, pressing the unlock button on the key fob. “And that chicken house will never be the same.”
The shift in conversation seems to have improved Elio’s mood as we climb into the car and get situated. I can hardly fit my legs under the steering wheel and have to slide the seat back as far as it will go to sit comfortably. After adjusting all the mirrors from Devyn’s tiny vantage point and familiarizing myself with the levers and knobs on the dash, I crank the engine and we pull away from the curb.
The GPS on Elio’s phone says the restaurant is only fifteen minutes away, but judging by the clock on the dash, we’ll be right on time for our meeting with Ross.
I’m ready to get in and get out as quickly as possible.
Elio can do the talking.
I’ll just be there for backup if anything goes sideways.
“Sorry about that back there,” Elio says suddenly, catching me by surprise. The edge to his voice is gone. “I just have a lot on my mind.”
“It’s fine,” I assure him. “Everything’s screwed up right now. I get it.”
He’s quiet for a moment before clearing his throat. “I do have a question for you.”
“Shoot.”
The stoplight we’re approaching turns red. After I tap the brakes a little too hard, we stop abruptly, and I chance a glance at Elio out of the corner of my eye. He’s rubbing his beard methodically, staring off into space.
For a moment I wonder if he forgot his question.
“I know you claimed her because Rafe was going to kill her,” he says slowly, “but do you actually want Devyn to be your mate?”
Blindsided.
Of all the things I expected him to ask, that definitely wasn’t one of them. Is Devyn the reason he’s been in such a piss poor mood today?
It’s possible, but it doesn’t make any sense. He’s been annoyed by her since the beginning, and probably would have let the Malev eat her if I hadn’t intervened.
