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Grace huffed, but there was no real anger in it. “Where the hell have you been?” Ah, there was the anger.
“You missed my freaking wedding, Audrey! I’ve been so worried. I thought maybe you’d been kidnapped”—Audrey glanced at me, and I narrowed my eyes in warning—“or were dead or something!”
“Um, yeah. I’m really sorry, Grace. Something important came up or you know I never would have left before the reception.”
“What could possibly have kept you away from a party with all of my super good-looking—ewww, I can’t believe I was able to get that out of my mouth—single cousins?”
An involuntary growl rumbled in my chest, and Audrey tossed me a look that reminded me of her wildcat nature and made things very, very uncomfortable in my pants.
“I can’t tell you right now, Grace. I will eventually, I promise.”
“Audrey, do I need to call my dad?”
“No!” she almost shouted. Then she lowered her voice immediately. “No. It’s all good. I just have some stuff to deal with.” I raised an eyebrow and smirked. Audrey ignored me, making me chuckle. “I’m not sure how long it will be before I come home.”
All of my amusement fled, and I growled as I scowled at her, only to be ignored some more.Hmmm, little kitten is clearly looking for a spanking.
“What was that?” Grace asked.
Audrey cleared her throat. “There’s a dog here.”
“Here where?”
“Grace, I love you, but you need to trust me and let it go.”
I grunted in annoyance, not happy to hear her say those words to anyone but me.
“Okay. Oh, before I forget. I heard on the news that Paul Barrington is dead.”
Audrey gasped and then sighed. “Good riddance,” she muttered.
“Agreed. I guess it was a drug overdose. No one was shocked by that, and they already closed the case. Oh, and my dad said he’s looking into the disappearance of the girl from your dorm?”
“Yeah, I didn’t know what else to do.”
“He told me he acquired some information about her and was able to talk the police into finally opening a proper investigation.”
Audrey closed her eyes and sighed. “Finally.”
“I’ll keep you updated...wait. Why didn’t you call me from your phone? Whose phone is this? Are you in trouble? I’m calling my dad.”
“Grace!” Audrey cried, stopping her friend’s rambling. “I’m fine. I lost my phone”—she glared at me, and I grinned—“and I’ll call you later. Love you, bye!”
She stabbed the button to hang up the phone and slumped back into her chair as if she’d just finished a workout and needed to rest. I had let her call her friend because I thought it would make her happy. But she looked as though the ordeal had worn her out.
“If talking to Grace is going to stress you out like this, I’m not sure I’m going to allow it anymore,” I muttered. I didn’t like seeing her sad.
“Excuse me?” Audrey snapped, straightening in her seat and glaring daggers at me.
Much better.I’d rather see the wildcat and have her claws swiping in my direction than see her look so down. “You keep contradicting yourself, Merrick. I’m not a prisoner, but I can’t leave. I can make a call, but you have to listen. I can call my friend. And now you won’t ‘allow’ it." She used air quotes and scrunched her nose in frustration.Cute. “What’s next? Chaining me to the bed?”
I scratched my chin, looking thoughtful, then drawled, “Not the worst idea.”
Audrey growled but just started eating while glaring at me mutinously. Eventually, our plates were empty, and the silence between us had grown thick with tension. I didn’t like it.
I stood and went to her side, squatting down in front of her. “Kitten, everything I do is to keep you safe.”
“Okay, but…”
