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I glanced at Jo and her friends again, ensuring they were still safe.
“Yeah, there’s a problem. It’s that girl. I didn’t realize the level of danger surrounding her.”
I breathed deeply to soothe my wolf. I didn’t like his tone when he spoke about Jo.
“If I’d known,” he continued, “I would have taken one of the armored SUVs already. This all feels like it’s a bit too late.”
I shook my head. “I had no idea things were this bad.”
He lifted an eyebrow, which was rare. Girard never even danced with subordination, usually.
“She took one street attack and a phone call from an unknown male, but no more than that. I’ll keep you in the loop on all future events so you know exactly what I know, and you can be part of the decision-making process.” It didn’t sit easily with me that I’d share private details about Jo with someone, but I couldn’t offer less than full transparency when I wasn’t sure of the risk I was asking Girard to take.
“Okay.” He nodded, but there was no way he was done.
“What else.” I crossed my arms as I waited.
“Honestly?”
I nodded. I took the concerns of my pack members seriously, even if they seemed to be in direct conflict with the woman my wolf had chosen. For now, though, my wolf was at least subdued, but I think that had a lot to do with the jasmine scent on the air, which strengthened with a fresh wave every time Jo moved.
“There’s at least one of my best soldiers on his way here right now. He’ll be driving an armored SUV, but we might be asking him to risk his life tonight. And it will be the same for any others who take on the patrol duty you’ve promised.”
“They’re soldiers. They know the risks when they take on that position within the pack.”
“Yes, but they don’t expect this. Not for people who aren’t members of the pack, at least.” Girard kept his voice down, but Jo glanced up at his low hiss. “Having our soldiers risk themselves for shifters not in the Silver Claw pack won’t sit well with some of the other pack members, either. I mean, no one will question you directly,” he clarified, “and probably no one will talk to Brody about it, either, but they might privately question your leadership.” He fell quiet for a moment. “I mean, I just wanted to be honest. That’s all.” He looked over my shoulder into the middle distance, suddenly the perfect soldier again.
“I understand.” I rested my hand on his uninjured shoulder. “And thank you for that honesty. I appreciate your candor.” I grinned, but it felt wry. It was true that Iappreciatedhis candor, but I didn’t exactly like it. “And thank you also for putting yourself in harm’s way for someone who isn’t in our pack. I appreciate that on a personal level, as well as a humanitarian one.”
His comments also showed me that now was exactly the right time to move Apex forward into more philanthropic roles. We needed to help as many shifters as possible rather than being so pack-centered and exclusive. I wanted to help the people of Carwyn City regardless of pack affiliation, and whether they had a pack or not.
If we were already doing that, if Girard was already set on that as our central mission, it wouldn’t have crossed his mind to question helping Jo. And he wouldn’t have been worried about how anyone else reacted, either.
It was definitely time to shift the pack mentality, but maybe to do that, I had to start with shifting my own actions first.
19
JOSEPHINE
The armored SUV was a monster that growled into the hospital parking lot. And the guy driving it was dressed in a far more military style than Girard. I glanced at the injured man as I thought his name, guilt now a whisper writhing in my chest.
If Girard hadn’t been driving me, he wouldn’t have been wearing a cast on his arm now. It was almost as though I’d injured him myself. And Patrick’s lovely car. Last I saw, that was being dredged out of the Novelli. I wasn’t ready to think about the whole experience just yet. Snippets flashed through my mind, but I shut them down.
I looked toward Patrick now. He didn’t seem upset about the car. More about us. Girard, me, Wes, and Charmaine. He was with Girard, and they kept glancing at me. Patrick had his hand on Girard’s shoulder like he was reassuring him about something.
I didn’t want to interrupt, but I needed to apologize and suggest we find a different way other than Patrick risking his possessions and his people on my behalf.
The SUV drew to a stop and Wes approached the ride with uncharacteristic hesitation. I could see why. It looked like we were about to go and live in a dystopia, or conduct a huge raid of a jewelry store. The vehicle was a dull gray color and looked like it had been built to withstand the end of the world, never mind being rammed off the road.
Perhaps it even had a secret submarine mode for such an eventuality. With Patrick, it seemed anything was possible — certainly any level of expense.
“Are you ready, Jo?” Wes asked.
“Sure,” I called back, but I glanced at Patrick again.
It seemed rude to just get into the latest vehicle and be driven away. That and something inside me longed to hear his voice again, have his gaze trained on me.
“Wait for me, Wes.” Charmaine jogged behind him to catch up.
