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“D is looking for you,” Cheyenne warns as I climb out of my truck at the motel. She grips onto the edge of my truck door, holding it open for me as I step down onto the pavement, a little crease of concern forming between her brows.
“Great,” I mutter sarcastically, shoving my keys into the pocket of my jeans.
My mother is arguably thelastperson I want to deal with right now. She’s been hounding me for an update on the six-pack situation, and honestly, I don’t have one to give her. It’s been a while since I asked Madd about the status of our pack joining the alliance, and as far as I know, there’s no news on that front. I haven’t exactly pushed the issue, because my attention has been diverted elsewhere- I’ve been spending every second I can with Lo.
I step away from my truck with a sigh and Chey slams the door closed for me, spinning around and leaning back against it with her arms folded over her chest. “Pretty sure she’s waiting in your room, so if you were planning on doingrecontonight, you may wanna consider getting back in your truck now and heading out.”
“Actually, she’s-” I catch myself, snapping my mouth closed and pausing before reverting to talking in code. “The packs are occupied tonight, so I won’t be doing my usual recon.”
She nods in understanding. “Gotcha. Well, that’s a shame. I know how much you’ve been enjoying your recon lately.” She wags her brows, her lips tipping up into a knowing smirk.
I shove her shoulder playfully, rolling my eyes as I turn to head for the front of the motel. With each step, my jaw clenches tighter, my anxiety mounting.
My mom’s superpower is her ability to observe people. She’s quiet and unassuming, fading into the background, but she’s always paying attention.Always. It’s the reason I’ve been actively avoiding her lately, because if there’s anyone who would pick up on the slightest change in my behavior, it’s her. It’s nearly impossible to keep a secret from Delilah Cruz for long.
As I approach the door to my room, I don’t bother fitting my key into the lock. If she’s truly waiting inside, then there’s no need. I try the knob, and sure enough, it’s unlocked, the door swinging open for me to step inside. I cross the threshold to find my mother sitting in the old wooden chair nursing a plastic cup of Tequila, the half-empty bottle resting atop the dresser beside her. It’s one Chey left behind- and last I checked, it was tucked away in my top drawer. So, I guess I don’t have to wonder if she went through my things.
“Hey Ma,” I grumble, swinging the door closed behind me.
“Ah, so youdostill live here,” comes her immediate snarky response.
Yeah, she totally had that one teed up.
“Very funny,” I say with an eye roll, kicking off my boots.
Crossing the room, I grab the bottle of tequila off the dresser beside her, holding it up. “So have you been breaking into everyone’s rooms to raid their liquor stash, or just mine?” I ask, tilting the bottle back and forth in demonstration, the gold liquid inside sloshing.
“Please,” she scoffs. “If I was looking for booze, I would’ve only had to go to your little girlfriend’s room.”
My hackles raise in response to her dig at Chey. Setting the bottle back down on the dresser, I shove my hands into my pockets to retrieve my keys and phone, tossing them down beside it. “So what do you want?”
Mom’s eyes widen as she presses a palm to her chest, jaw dropping as if I’ve offended her. “Can’t a mother just want to spend time with her only son?”
I flicker a side-eyed glance her way, arching a dubious brow. “Most mothers, sure. But you wouldn’t be sitting in here waiting for me if you didn’t want something.”
“Javier, I’m hurt,” she declares, making a big show of being the doting matriarch. “You’ve been disappearing so often lately that we haven’t been able to spend any time together. I miss you. The pack misses you.”
I spin around, leaning back against the dresser and dropping my hands to grip the edge of it on either side of my hips. “I haven’t shirked any of my responsibilities to the pack, if that’s what you’re insinuating. Hank is handling the day to day.”
“He’s useless,” she mutters with the flippant wave of a hand.
“He does well enough,” I insist.
“An alpha runs a pack, not a beta.”
“And Iamrunning the pack.” I blow out a breath to calm my rising agitation, stabbing my fingers through my hair as I turn to face her fully. “What’s this really about, Ma?”
She frowns, setting her plastic cup off to the side and rising to stand. “Where have you been disappearing to?”
“Nowhere,” I reply firmly. “Just… recon stuff.”
She narrows her dark eyes on me, tilting her head. “You’ve never been away this much before.”
“And we’ve never been in a situation like this before, have we?” I counter. “There was never a need for me to be out scouting.”
Though I’m trying my best to retain my composure, I can tell she’s definitely suspicious of how evasive I’m being. She studies me for a long moment, folding her arms tightly across her chest and pinning me with a hard stare. Then, she asks, “It’s a girl, isn’t it?”
“What?” I blurt, a little too defensively. “No.”
