Jonas nodded. “Good. So about Gabby and Ethan.” Harris's expression turned wary. “What about them?”
“Don't you think it's time y'all all made up and made nice?”
“I have no idea what you're talking about.” His tone had turned flinty.
“Sure you don't. You know how to find me if you want advice on straightening that out.”
Harris snorted. “Right. 'Cause you're an expert on relationships.” Jonas grinned. “I'm learning at least.”
Harris shook his head, shooting him a dirty look before turning and going back inside the police station.
Jonas got in the truck and turned toward home. His phone rang on the drive, and he might have winced a little when Liza's name showed up on the screen.
“Yeah?”
She jumped straight to the point. “You know, you could have asked me.”
“I thought you'd say no.”
“I would have. At first. We don't need to create an interspecies incident. There was almost a war when my parents mated.”
The reminder made him go cold. “I can take Harper and Dane somewhere away from the pack. Mick will come with us, of course.”
“Oh, give me a break. That is not what I'm suggesting. You're Redhawke. And so is Harper. And now her brother too, I guess.” Liza sighed. “We just need to be prepared.”
“What do you want to do?” Liza was paladin. He'd defer to her on this.
“For today, you take care of Harper and her brother. I'll talk to Ethan and Gabby about increasing patrols and my mom about magical defenses. I'll see you in my office at dawn.”
“Fine. See you then.”
He ended the call just as he drove through the gate. The question was where to put his new charge? Harper and Mick both lived in small cottages with one bedroom. His house had four. No-brainer, right? Except the part where he convinced everyone to move in with him.
He drove to his place. He figured he could tell Harper there was no way he was letting Dane out of his sight, and she'd hustle her cute little butt on over. Mick wasn't so easy. Jonas might have to grovel.
Chapter Nine
Harper was waiting for him. She'd gone to Mick like she had been told. Like a good little girl. It made her spitting mad to be out from under her father's thumb and following the orders of a different man. So she'd hung around a few minutes until Mick's bright gaze finally focused back onto his work, and then she'd sneaked out.
Which was surprisingly harder than it sounded. She liked watching him.
Jonas had farmed her off to Mick a few times, so she'd had time to observe him with his patients. Some he was kind and gentle with, his voice soft and soothing. Others he was just as obnoxious an alpha as Jonas, bullying soldiers until they allowed treatment or examination.
She went to her place, knowing eventually Jonas would come looking for her. If she weren't careful, he'd order her around, and because against her better judgment she felt safe with him, she'd follow. She'd do it blindly, with no explanations from him, and she knew that was just
What would it take, though? To throw him off balance enough he opened up?
To shake him enough he took her seriously? Sighing, she walked to her room. Found her backpack and tossed it on the bed. She couldn't think of a thing. He was just so…Jonas. An immovable force of nature.
How the hell did Mick handle him? She scowled as she moved to the closet and started pulling her few belongings off hangers. She left the things Liza and other women in the pack had given her. When it was all out, she moved to the dresser and did the same.
Then she realized Mick didn't have much more of a handle on Jonas than she did. How many times had she seen him and Jonas interact and nothing but frustration and sadness in Mick's eyes when Jonas turned away? Sucking in a deep breath, she stopped packing and sat on the bed, struck by new knowledge. She wasn't the problem. Mick wasn't the problem.
Jonas, on the other hand… She appreciated that he was a dominant male.
Hell, she liked it. But even a dominant male had to let loose with the people he loved, right? Caleb and Zach didn't seem to have that problem with Liza.
She shoved the rest of her things into the pack and opened the back door.
Okay, Liza didn't have the same problem with her mates, but that didn't mean it had always been that way, right? Dropping the pack just inside the kitchen door, she stepped out, tipped her head back to enjoy the afternoon sun before setting off.
She needed advice, and she couldn't imagine anyone better than her cousin to seek it from.
When she walked up the stairs of the alpha's house, she didn't sense Liza inside. She hesitated but knocked anyway. She'd turned, given up on any answer when it was pulled open with an abrupt “yes?”
“Zach. Is Liza around?” Why did she ask? She already knew the answer.
“Sorry, little one. It's just me.” He gave her a teasing smile and opened the door wide. “Come in. Want a beer? It's five o'clock somewhere, right?” She laughed. “Yes, it is. And yes, I want one.” She followed him to the kitchen and sat at the long table when he motioned. A second later he handed her a cold Coors Light.
“What brings you here?”
She shrugged. He was male and huge and outranked Jonas. He scared her as much as he comforted her. His hand covered hers.
“Harper?”
