8

MADDY

Maddy

“What the hell, Maddy?” Abi said as she barged into my room in the clinic.

She’d been in a full-tilt panic when I’d called her that evening after another short nap. She’d opened the bar by herself, but had been freaking out when I didn’t answer my phone or show up on time. After leaving the bartenders and the doorman to run things while she was gone, she must have hauled ass to get to me. Our place was a good fifteen minutes across town, and that was when the traffic wasn’t backed up. She burst into my room less than ten minutes after I hung up the phone with her.

“I can explain,” I said.

“Explain? I’d sure hope so. What the fuck are you doing in a shifter’s clinic? And why do you look like you got the shit beat out of you?”

I sighed and lay back on my pillows. “Did you guys not see the blood on the floor when you came in to open the bar?”

Abi frowned. “Uh…no. Wait…blood? There was blood on the floor? What the fuck happened last night?”

I looked out the window, which was a dark square in the white wall of the clinic. No blood? I’d seen my pile of clothes in the corner of the room. They’d been covered in blood. There was no way I hadn’t bled all over the place. Had Nico sent guys to clean the place up after he got me to the clinic? Locked it up all nice and neat, like nothing had happened?

Abi stepped over and put a hand gingerly on the scratches and cuts on my arm. “Maddy, are you in trouble? Who did this to you?”

I quickly told her about what had happened the night before, and how the group of shifters had jumped me after we’d closed. I even told her about Nico and his friends saving me and getting me to the clinic, and about the offer of protection. I added the last bit to see what she thought about their offer.

Abi had pulled up the doctor’s stool to sit on as she listened to the story, her face growing more horrified as I went on. When I was done, she shook her head in wonder. “What the hell is going on here? Maddy, you’re crazy if you turn down this Nico guy’s offer to help.”

“I know, but I don’t know these people.”

“No, but they saved your ass. They must be decent guys. You know, there are asshats in this town who’d find a bloody and beaten girl and wouldn’t think twice about sliding the old zipper down and having a little fun while she’s knocked out. These guys saved your life and offered to protect you from these other psychos? I haven’t met them, but they pass the vibe test.”

“But living in their, like, compound? Or worse, having some strange dude share my toilet and kitchen for however long? Does that sound like fun to you?” I wasn’t sure why I was arguing against it so hard. There was something about Nico I inherently trusted, but I hated the idea of my life being upended. Although, the thought of being beaten to death was much less appealing.

“I don’t care what you have to do to stay safe. I just don’t want those crazy wolves to finish the job.”

She had a point—the same point Nico and Luis had made. It made the most sense, but it still galled me to have my choice taken away. Something this important should have been a much more difficult decision.

“Okay. He’s going to come by later to get my answer. I’ll think about it. I’ll be fine. You can head back to the bar. It’s a Saturday, they’ll be getting killed.” I winced at the metaphor even as it came out of my mouth.

Abi rolled her eyes and wrapped me in a gentle hug, trying not to hurt my bruised and bandaged body. She looked me in the eyes as she pulled away. “You call me the moment you need me. Got it?”

“Yes, mom.”

“Bitch.”

“Whore.”

“Love you,” Abi said with a laugh as she headed toward the door.

“Love you, too, lady,” I called after her.

I spent an hour going over the pros and cons of the decision I had to make. Lose some personal privacy, and not die. Have someone watching me 24/7, and not die. Uproot my life and move to a strange place, and not die. I huffed out an irritated sigh. The mental math was playing out 100-to-1 on the side of taking Nico up on his offer.

Less than thirty minutes after Abi left, Nico returned. He swept into the room, and I had to admit, I’d never seen a man look as smooth as he did. Somehow, he made even mundane things look graceful, like opening and closing a door. He nodded at me and pulled up the stool, taking a seat in front of my bed.

He glanced over at the hospital phone beside my bed. “I heard you made a call. Had a visitor.”

“I had to let my friends know what was wrong. Did you guys clean up my bar? After you brought me here?” I asked, changing the subject.

Nico gave me a half grin. “I thought it would be for the best.”

“You couldn’t have grabbed my phone while you were there? I had to dial my friend Abi from memory.”

“Uh…sorry. To be honest, I didn’t even think of it to be honest.” That had caught him off guard. Good. I was glad to see someone else as out of sorts as I had been the last twenty-four hours.

“It’s fine. I’m just in a bad mood.”

“Are you in that mood because you’ve made a choice you don’t like?”

“That’s a smooth way of asking whether I’ve made a decision,” I said.

He shrugged. “I try.”

“Okay, let’s talk. First off, having a complete stranger living in my house is totally off the table. Not gonna happen.”

Nico nodded once. “Understood.”

“So, hypothetically speaking, if I did choose to stay with the pack, what would that look like?”

He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head. “As in?”

“Do I get to come and go as I please? Will I have my own place? Where would I live?”

“Oh.” Nico looked relieved, as if it was an easy question. “You’ll live with me. At my place.”

That information sent a wave of tingles through my entire body, my heart rate kicking up a few notches. For some reason, the idea of being in close proximity to Nico, living under the same roof, made my body react in a way I wasn’t ready for.

I couldn’t deny that Nico was attractive. Jesus, he was gorgeous. I still had to remind myself that nothing romantic was going to happen between us. This wasn’t him coming on to me or trying to seduce me. He was trying to protect me from certain death.

“You’ll have your own room with an attached bathroom,” Nico added. “Locks on all the doors, the whole nine yards. You’ll have all the privacy you want, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Okay. What about freedom of movement? Coming and going?” That was the big sticking point. I didn’t want to feel like a prisoner.

He nodded. “Whenever you want. Just let me or Luis know and we’ll make sure you have a tail. Someone following to watch out for you.”

“Free meals?” I asked, only half joking.