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“Sure, if they were going to handle it before the next coming of Christ,” Boone said. “I won’t do anything to him. I’ll just make it clear that if he wants to live, he won’t ever go near you again.”
“By hurting him?” she asked, her stomach twisting even tighter until the bagel she’d eaten earlier threatened to reappear.
“No,” Boone said. “I’ll only talk to him, Hedra. I promise.”
There was a small part of her that wanted to say no. Despite everything, she didn’t want to scare Mateo. Not when he’d been so important to Dianne. But that tiny part of her was easily buried under her anger that Mateo had almost killed Boone. The man she loved could have died because of Mateo’s actions, and as much as she loved Dianne, she couldn’t let this go. Not when Boone’s life was put in danger.
“Okay, we’ll talk to him,” Hedra said. “But not today, okay? You have to go back to work, and I need a nap. Do you think Cooper would be all right with you taking tomorrow off on short notice?”
Boone didn’t reply, and Hedra frowned at the look on his face. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Little lamb, you’re not going to talk to Mateo with me.”
“Yes, I am,” Hedra said.
“No,” Boone said simply.
She glared at him. “You do not get to make this decision for me, Boone. You might be my mate, but you’re not my damn boss.”
He pulled her gently into his lap, careful not to jostle her arm. “I’m making this decision because I’m your mate. I won’t allow you to be near the man who tried to kill you. I won’t bend on this, Hedra.”
She swallowed her frustration. Boone was only trying to keep her safe, but she didn’t want him going there alone. Not when Mateo was no longer the man she thought he was. The idea of Boone being hurt or even dying because of her was terrifying.
“I don’t want you going alone,” she whispered.
He pressed her head against his chest, rubbing her back in long, slow strokes. “Mateo isn’t going to hurt me.”
“You don’t know that. You could knock on his door, and he could open it and have a gun pointed at you.”
“Shifters don’t -”
“I know,” she said. “Male shifters don’t use guns or any weapons against each other because it’s a hit to your manly pride.”
Despite the tension between them, Boone laughed, and the sound eased the tightness in her chest. “But Mateo is obviously unhinged now, so who’s to say he’d follow the ‘we only fight with our teeth and claws’ rule?”
“It’s pretty ingrained in us,” Boone said, “but I’ll get one of the guys to go with me.”
She sat up, studying him intently. “Do you promise?”
“Yes,” Boone said. “I won’t go alone, Hedra.”
“I don’t like this,” she said. “It feels… wrong, somehow, for us not to do this together.”
“You don’t need to be there. And not because I’m going to hurt him,” Boone continued before she could say that very thing, “but because you are safest here at home. I almost lost you a week ago, baby, and I will do everything I can to make sure that never happens again.”
He pressed a kiss against her mouth, his big hand squeezing her hip. “Promise me you’ll stay at the house while I’m gone. I need to know you’re safe when I’m not with you.”
“I promise,” she said. “Boone, promise me you’ll be careful.”
He smiled at her and rubbed the tip of his nose against hers. “I promise.”
CHAPTER 26
“Is Hedra okay?” Coop glanced at Boone before returning his attention to the road.
“Yes.” Boone tucked his phone into his pocket. “Well, mostly. She and Nan were about to watch The Price is Right, and Hedra hates that show. Oh, and Alfie has already stolen her shoe twice. He can sense her weakness with only one working arm.”
Cooper laughed. “Has Nan forgiven you for not telling her about Mateo and the cow tongue?”
