“This isn’t fair. It’s nothing.”
Oh, he had seen the interest in her eyes, enough to make him uncomfortable because he didn’t want to think of her—or any of his sisters—that way. But the way she blushed harder confirmed his suspicions. And that concerned him.
“He’s part of The Family, right?” he said, mentioning the name of the organized crime group that had taken residence in Jersey. “Those people causing trouble for Mama?”
“We’ve taken care of it,” she said defensively.
“It’s your territory and your business.” He placed a hand on hers. “I know the women in our family are capable and strong. None of you would stand for me and Papa coming in like white knights, but promise me you’ll tread carefully. Especially around that one.”
“I—yes, I promise!” she said in a petulant tone. “But you have to promise me that you won’t ignore me again. That really hurt, Lucas.”
That stabbed through him like a knife. “I’m sorry, Adrianna.” He squeezed her hand. “I swear I won’t do that to you again.”
“Good.”
Their waitress’s arrival seemed to have broken the tension, and they switched their topic of conversation to more mundane subjects. They seemed to have come to a silent agreement—or perhaps an impasse—neither wanting to get into the other’s business for fear that they would have to talk about sensitive subjects.
Surprisingly, he found himself having a good time. Or not surprisingly, actually. Adrianna always had this way of soothing and calming him. And this place reminded him of the good memories from the past, not just the bad ones that had been swirling in his mind.
When the waitress came with their check, she insisted on paying and he let her. “Did you drive by yourself here?” she asked as the cashier handed her her change.
“No, but I had Zac with me, so we didn’t have to get anyone on the Lycan Security Team to come and follow me. He’s waiting outside.”
“He is?” She frowned. “Why didn’t he come in with you?”
“Don’t worry, Astrid’s with him,” he explained. “He couldn’t lie to her and then she insisted on coming. Besides, she took one look at the reviews of this place and gave a hard no. Do you want to say hello?”
“It’s okay.” She gave him a dismissive wave. “You guys should go before anyone suspects anything.”
He pulled her into a hug, taking in her familiar, comforting scent. “This was nice, Adrianna. I really needed this.” He meant every word. “Thanks for telling me to come here. I knew your bossiness would come in handy someday.”
“Ha! Now you admit I’m the boss because I’m older.”
“By one minute,” he relented. “I’ll talk to Mama and Papa, and we can figure something out. It’s ridiculous that we can’t even be in the same room together.” It really was unreasonable; they couldn’t expect them to stay apart indefinitely.
“I know. Have a safe drive back. And call me if you need to talk. About anything,” she said with genuine concern.
He shoved his hands into his pockets. “I will.” Heading toward the door, he exited the diner. Darius was there, and their eyes met, and a kind of silent truce–agreement passed between them as their wolves assessed each other. He would stay out of their business for now, but if he hurt Adrianna, there would be hell to pay.
He strode back to his car, opened the door and got in. “Hey—fucking hell, really?”
The seat beside him was empty, as Zac was in the back. At least, he assumed it was Zac that Astrid was straddling, with his hand up the back of her shirt.
“Oops.” She giggled and scrambled off her husband’s lap.
“Sorry,” Zac said, though the grin on his face told Lucas he wasn’t sorry at all.
He sighed. “C’mon, lovebirds, let’s go back to Manhattan. Ugh. It stinks in here.” It smelled like desire and passion.
“I’ll pay to get it cleaned,” Zac said as he entered the front seat.
“You should just buy this car from me,” he grumbled.
“Maybe I will,” his friend countered. “Those seats in the back are nice.”
“Really nice,” Astrid purred.
“Shut up, both of you,” he groaned. He was just glad he had gotten there before they actually started having sex. He put the car into gear and pulled out of the parking lot. As he was waiting for his turn to exit into the street, his phone beeped. There was a message from Adrianna.
Darius says you’re being followed. Watch out for a dark sedan. Want us to follow you back? He typed a quick reply telling her he would take care of the matter.
Lucas didn’t need two guesses to figure out who was following them. Sofia Selinofoto was bold. And she was great at maintaining a tail without being detected.
“Lucas? The road’s been clear for about ten seconds.” Zac frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“We have a tail.”
Astrid turned around. “Where? Who?”
“Who do you think?” Zac asked. “I told you she wouldn’t like it if you went after her.”
He didn’t even know the half of it. “I’ll take care of her.” He drove out from the driveway, his senses on alert as they pulled onto the highway. If it wasn’t for shifter eyesight, he wouldn’t have seen the dark sedan a few cars behind them. The driver was definitely a woman.
Yes, she was good. But he was better.
Chapter Eight
Sofia prided herself on keeping her cool in any situation. But last night shook her up more than she cared to admit. And she hated being rattled because that meant she did stupid things. Like, following Lucas Anderson.
Last night she had undoubtedly crossed a line. Obviously, she had struck a nerve when she mentioned Kevin Hall’s name. Did she really have anything to fear from him? If she didn’t, surely, she did now.
Still, here she was, following him. Like he had me followed. She used a different vehicle from the precinct pool. It was unmarked and would blend in. She had arrived at the Fenrir Corp. building just after five, so she was surprised to see Lucas in the driver’s
