Under normal circumstances, I would’ve driven straight to Mr. Claymore’s ranch to drop off Seraphina, but these weren’t normal circumstances. My grandfather was in danger and had been since Dax had called. Instead, I drove straight to the house where I could negotiate with Dax. Get him away from Pops and tell him I’d get him the ketamine locked in my office at Mr. Claymore’s.
So I drove into my neighborhood at eight in the morning still hauling the horse trailer behind the ranch truck. I had to park it in the street since there was no way I could back it out of the driveway later.
Stomach gurgling and rancid from no food and only caffeine, I jumped out of the truck.
I dashed into the house, slipping on the rug in the entry with my haste. “Pops!” I called.
I heard his heavy footfall coming from the kitchen. “Well, look who’s here,” he said with a big grin. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes. How’s my girl?”
I looked around. Dax wasn’t following him. Wasn’t in the living room, behind the curtains. “Are you alone?” I asked instead of answering him.
He frowned, just noticing my panic. Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm down because he didn’t seem upset. “Yes, but Mrs. Vasquez said she’d stop by later to go through the newspaper fliers with me. She likes to cut out the good coupons. I was just putting my breakfast dishes in the dishwasher then was going to change into a new shirt because I spilled a little jelly on this one.” Patting his chest, I saw a red smear.
“Oh.” I went past him down the hall to the kitchen. No, Dax wasn’t hiding in the pantry.
“It’s Sunday, and I don’t want to miss the late service,” he said, following behind. “I hope Mrs. Abrams brings those little barbecue drumettes for the lunch after. I love those.”
Okay. Everything was fine. Too fine. I turned to face him, leaned against the peach colored counter. The kitchen hadn’t been updated since I was in grade school. “On the phone last night, you had a visitor.”
He nodded his gray haired head. “Nice fellow. Said he worked with you.”
I bobbed my head in agreement and said, “That’s right. How late did he stay?”
He put his finger to his lip, his usual thinking gesture. “Not past eight. I like my shows.”
Dax had left at eight. Maybe fifteen minutes after he called me. Fuck. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to cry or scream. He’d had me drive through the night thinking that Pops was in danger. Immediate danger. There was no question he knew where we lived and had easily gained Pops’ trust. Dax wasn’t any less of an issue than the night before, but what he’d said on the phone and reality didn’t match.
I had never wanted to kill someone so much in my life. I’d driven all night! And shit, Seraphina was still in the trailer out front.
Since everything was fine and there was no real reason to have him cancel his usual plans for church and an afternoon spent with friends at a luncheon, I told him, “I stopped in on the way to the stable to say hi. I have to get the horse into a paddock to stretch her legs.”
He came over to me, and gave me a hug. “It’s good to have you home, sweetpea. I just didn’t expect you until next week sometime.”
Me neither.
“Want me to give you a ride to church on my way?”
He shook his head. “The Merrimans are picking me up.”
“Right.” That was the routine for Sunday mornings. He was picked up by fellow church members who lived a few streets over, stayed for the organized lunch after. I rarely went with him because I often worked.
At least he would be with others and out of the house if Dax decided to return.
I closed my eyes, took a breath. I wanted to go upstairs and climb into bed and sleep for about ten hours. But Seraphina needed to be let out of the trailer, and I had a blackmailing asshole to finish.
I couldn’t wait any longer. I didn’t want to. It was time to find Dax and finish him.
I just had to hope it didn’t finish me in the process.
25
LEVI
I had a mate. I was a fully shifting wolf, and I’d found my mate.
Ordinarily it would be cause for celebration, but considering my mate was a goddamn drug dealer who’d left during the night without even saying goodbye, I wasn’t feeling all that chipper.
In fact, it was all I could do not to rip the inside of the airplane to shreds.
Yeah, I was on a plane. Nothing worse than that for a prowling wolf than a tin can in the sky.
I hadn’t thought what else to do. My wolf sure as shit wasn’t going to sit at Wolf Ranch and stew over my mate walking out on us.