“Get a grip and breathe,” I whisper to myself, but of course, Henri hears me.
“Larken,” he says, turning so he can see me clearly, drawing the attention of everyone else. He’s frowning hard, and I feel even more embarrassed to be on the verge of freaking out over something I can’t explain. “What’s wrong,” he asks in a low, irritated, almost growly voice.
“Nothing,” I give a weak smile. “Just got a little hot. Will you be okay here for a few minutes? I need to go to the restroom.” He looks me over thoroughly, then nods his head with permission for me to leave.
“I’ll be fine. Hurry.” His stiff speech has my heart beating more than before and I quickly make my way to the bathroom family always uses when we visit Aunt Marianna. It’s far enough away from the main crowd and will give me a few moments of quiet to get a handle on my emotions.
Reaching the bathroom, I lock the door behind me and place my hands on either side of the sink. Staring into the mirror, I count to fifty while breathing at a controlled pace.
Once it’s under control, I take a good look at myself. Face flushed. Eyes wide. Hands shaking slightly. Other than that, I feel great, now.
“What the hell was that?” I ask Her.
Want to go. Need to run.
“We can’t leave yet.”
Go! Now!
A loud knock on the door breaks my thoughts...
"Lars, you alright?”
“Uhm, yeah. Just give me a sec.” Turning the cold water on, I wet my hands and lightly pat my face before cupping a small handful and taking a drink. The crispness of the liquid goes a long way to calm me further. I use the hand towel to dry my hands and face before inhaling deeply and opening the door.
“Hey,” I say lamely when I see my big, bad biker cousin standing at the door waiting for me. His scowl deepens and I feel as though he were looking right through me, seeing what I try best to hide.
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
“Not sure I believe that,” he states matter of factly. “Surprised to see you here, though.” He searches my face for something then continues. “Especially with a date. You don’t usually do the whole dating game.” Yep. Even my secondary family knows how much I don’t do the whole crowd scene. Why can’t Mother?
“Henri,” I reply, hating that Etienne wants to talk about this. Can’t he just mind his own biker business? Of course, not. Everyone has to take care of poor, delicate Larken.
“Dupree,” he frowns. “I know who he is. Do you?”
“What do you mean?” Everyone knows the Dupree family. They’ve had a hand in everything since this town was founded. They're practically royalty.
“You don’t look like you want to be here, and I know it’s not because of the number of people. Yet, here you are. Even when you have your panic attacks, I know you had one, you don’t look this miserable.”
Can’t he just let this go? He shakes his head when I don’t readily answer.
“Aunt Isabella?” Lowering my head, I release a long sigh and nod. “Look, if you need to leave, just do it. Not gonna bother me. We’ll make sure your mom thinks everything was fine.” And this is why I love Aunt Marianna and my cousins.
“Thanks.”
“No sweat, kid.” With a chin jerk, he strides away back to the main party.
“No sweat,” I repeat. “Sure.”
Dear God, please let this night be over quickly.
342
Hacker
“Party’s in full swing,” Roark’s mate, Kendra, informs me as she peeks in my door. “Come on out and have a little fun.” Being the Prez’s Ol’ Lady and mate, she’s taken to the role quite well, always making sure we’re all taken care of in her own way.
“I’m good,” I nod, stretching my back and arms.
“That’s not a request,” Prez grumbles behind her, hands gripping her waist. “Get your ass out there,” he demands, tugging a willing Kendra away and back to the main room.
“Might as well do as he says,” I mutter aloud while picking up my cell and texting someone to come watch the monitors for me. Nothing happened earlier when X and I were watching the bank, but there’s no way I’m leaving anything unsupervised for a second time.
It only takes a few minutes to get Eliot, the prospect closest to getting his patch, in my office and given the low-down of what he’s responsible for while I’m gone.
“You gotta take a piss, you don’t leave until you get someone else to replace you. You gotta eat? Don’t. You need a drink?” I toss him a bottle. “Here’s water. Got it?”
“One-hundred,” he nods, not blinking once. This is one shifter I have no problem considering sharing a patch with.
“Later,” I give a chin jerk and leave him to it. “This should be fun,” I sigh on my way down the hall. The music is loud and I can hear my brother’s voices echoing off the walls as I get closer.
Looking around the room filled with brothers hooking up with club girls or their ol’ ladies, I weave my way through them to grab a bottle of whiskey from behind the bar. Amy, a cougar shifter and one of the older brother’s daughters, is running the bar and has a bottle of my favorite, Canadian Club, ready when I reach her. She knows when I'm in a mood.
Sitting on one of the few couches near the back I find Roark, Banshee, and Ry sitting with their mates enjoying the party.
“He does exist,” Banshee’s mate, Dorian, teases when I take a seat across from where Banshee sits in his lap. The rest of them laugh at my expense, even Ry’s mate, Lexi. You’d think I haven’t been here in months with the way they’re laughing it up.
“Surprised you’d notice anything with the way you and Lex are always sucking face,” I taunt in response. I swear those two
