Heart of a Fighter (Rocky River Fighters 1)

secrecy. It’s because of him that you’ll find no record of your wreck anywhere. Give me just a second and I’ll get you the info,” she said, pulling out her cell phone and dialing a number. She spoke for a few moments before grabbing a notepad and pen, writing something down. “Here you go. That’s the address where your car is. It’s not damaged too much, but it’s at the junkyard. He thought that would be less conspicuous than leaving it at the impound. He said to tell the person at the desk you’re a friend of his, and they’ll show you where it’s at.”

Reaching out, he took the paper from Adara and looked at the address. “Thanks for taking the time to talk to me, Adara. I really appreciate it.”

“Is there anything else you need, or do you have any other questions?”

He stood, shaking his head. “That was basically it. I just wanted to be here in person when I asked, so you could see for yourself I don’t have bad intentions for the info. And I wanted to warn you about making sure you keep to yourself. I don’t see Ivan coming after you, since you’re mated and he has new quarry, but you can never be too careful.”

Adara walked him to the door. “I really appreciate the warning. Like I said before, I’m not too worried about myself. It’s my girls who need the most protection. Good luck with everything.”

“You, too. Thanks again.”

He walked outside, heading to Seth’s bright orange ’68 Charger. It was a little flashy for his tastes, but it was a beautiful car, and drove like a dream. He looked at the slip of paper Adara wrote the address down on, and decided to go there now. It would give him an excuse for leaving Rocky River tonight, if nothing else.

Starting the car and driving toward town, he prayed Cammie could accept the excuse. He was struggling to act like everything was okay, to not give anything away until he figured out how to tell her the truth, but he knew he was failing miserably. She was becoming more concerned, and more suspicious, with every passing moment, he could tell. No, no more stalling. His time for figuring things out was at an end. He knew it all now, so no more excuses. Tonight when he got back to Rocky River, he was sucking it up and coming clean. He had to. He couldn’t keep lying to her, and he had to tell her before she figured it out on her own.

But more importantly, she needed to know Ivan was looking for her. Alex would take no chances with her safety. And if he could claim her, it might stop this altogether. Ivan left Adara alone when he learned she was mated to a shifter, and he prayed he would do the same if Cammie was mated. As long as she let it happen. She might be too hurt to stay with him at all, much less agree to them claiming each other, mates or not.

Blowing out a breath, Alex tried to steady his nerves. This was going to be the hardest thing he ever did, because he knew he’d probably lose her. But he had no other choice. So this was it. He was telling her all tonight, baring his heart and soul to her, sink or swim. It was go time.

Chapter Twelve

A soft knock sounded on Cammie’s door, and she stared at it for a moment before grudgingly opening it. Glaring at Alex, she tapped her foot, arching her eyebrow.

“Can I come in?” he asked wearily.

Frowning over how tired and beat down he looked, some of her frustration and anger faded away. She gestured him in, watching as he collapsed to a sitting position on the side of her bed. His head was hanging, his shoulders slumped, and despite herself, she felt herself softening, concern over his appearance washing her ire away. Chiding herself for turning into such a softy and losing some of her tough edge, she walked over and sat down next to him, pulling her leg up and planting her foot on the bed.

“Are you okay?”

He glanced at her in surprise. “I thought for sure you’d be too mad to even let me in the door, and here you are, asking me if I’m okay.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m still pissed. Kind of. But you look like you just lost your best friend. I’ve never seen you look like this before.”

He took her hand and gave it a squeeze, holding it tightly and rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. “It was just a long day. A long two days, really.”

“Where did you take off to tonight? You worried me.”

Shaking his head, he closed his eyes tightly for a moment. “I’m so sorry, Cammie. I didn’t mean to worry you. I just had a lot of questions I didn’t have answers to, and I wanted to take a drive, try to find some answers. Oh, and,” he reached into his pocket, pulling out a set of keys, “I found out where my car was, and stopped by to check it out.”

“You have it back?” she asked.

“Yeah. Well, kind of. I have the keys and can get it any time. I couldn’t drive it back since I was driving Seth’s.”

“It’s a little much, isn’t it? Flamboyant, and an attention getter.”

“My car?” he asked in surprise. “It’s a black Toyota sedan.”

“No,” she said with a laugh. “Seth’s Charger.”

“Oh. Yeah, it’s a little much for me, but it’s a nice car. And it practically screams Seth,” he said with a chuckle.

“That it does,” she replied, smile fading as she looked at him closely, taking in the strain around his eyes. “Did you find the answers to your questions?”

“Not the most important ones,” he said with a heavy exhale.

If anything, he looked more beat down than he had when he knocked on her door, and she squeezed his hand. “Give it time. They’ll come.”

He glanced at her and a flash of guilt passed through his gray eyes, there and gone so fast she was left wondering if she saw it at all.