He watched her get into the nondescript sedan car that pulled up to the curb, not bothering to stop her. Instead, he jogged back to his bike, hopped on, and drove uptown, taking a few shortcuts and running a yellow light or two, just so he could make it to the Upper East Side before she did. He parked his bike by the entrance of The Enclave and waited. Sure enough, a few minutes later, Isabelle’s Uber stopped right behind his bike.
As she stepped out of car, she glared at him. “What the hell are you doing? If I didn’t make myself clear, I don’t ever want to see or talk to you.”
“You haven’t answered my question.” He walked toward her, reaching his hand out. “What’s going on—”
“Don’t!” She held her arms up. “Just leave me alone,” she said before turning on her heel and fleeing toward the entrance.
Nothing about this sat right with him. After what happened between them, he expected many different reactions from her—anger, cool indifference, or maybe even to laugh at him and pretend nothing was wrong. But, for a moment, he saw fear on her face, and that really made him even more suspicious. So, he chased after her, dashing through the door and followed her into the lobby.
“Isabelle!”
She whirled around, her face a mask of indignation and fury. “What are you—Johnny!” she barked at the young man sitting behind the concierge desk. “Call security! Tell them that someone is trying to breach The Enclave.”
The wide-eyed young man shot to his feet and swallowed. “I-I’m sorry Ms. Anderson, I can’t do that.”
Her hands planted on her hips and she glowered at him. “What do you mean?”
Johnny eyed Ransom and then his gaze slid back to Isabelle. “He’s a guest here, ma’am. The Alpha himself came down here and introduced him to the door staff.”
Slowly, her head turned from the young man to Ransom. “What is he saying?”
“Lucas invited me to stay for a few days so we can iron out details on our alliance,” he said smugly. “And housed me in a guest suite in South Cluster.”
Blood drained from her face. “Tha-that can’t be … you’re joking.”
“Do I look like I’m joking, princess?”
Her nostrils flared. “Fine,” she harrumphed. “But I’m w-warning you. Stay away from me!” Spinning on her heel, she headed toward the door at the end of the hallway, slamming it behind her.
Ransom knew he had pushed her buttons enough for one night. But that didn’t mean he was giving up. Oh no. There was something up with Isabelle, and his instincts and his wolf were screaming at him to find out what it was. And he would not stop until he did.
Chapter Seven
The moment she opened her eyes, a pit of dread formed in Isabelle’s stomach. Glancing at her clock, she realized her alarm wasn’t going off for another ten minutes. Not like I got much sleep anyway. If only she could stay in bed. Forever. If only last night had been a dream. But it wasn’t. Ransom really was here in New York, and he was staying in The Enclave, a few buildings away from her and Evan.
Dragging herself out of bed, she quickly got through her morning routine, refusing to look at her reflection in the mirror because she didn’t need to see how big the bags under her eyes were. After getting dressed, she headed to the nursery where Evan was already up, babbling to himself.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” she cooed as she picked him up. Evan was such a happy baby, always smiling and laughing, though he did have his moods. Whenever he frowned, he reminded her so much of Ransom—he also had a little line that formed between his eyebrows. The dread in her stomach grew as she wondered if anyone would begin to see the similarities between them, now that Ransom was around.
He’s only here for a few days, she reminded herself. No one will notice if you don’t act suspiciously.
The truth was, she’d never expected to see Ransom ever again. After he left that night, she had been a mess. That whole week with him had been like a dream, and there had been an element of excitement, sneaking around with him. She was living in the moment, but certainly didn’t expect him to just leave like that.
He started acting weird when she mentioned her family, and she’d been hurt by his dismissiveness that she walked out. As she was leaving, however, she realized that maybe he was miffed that she was sneaking around with him and that she was ashamed of him. It had filled her with hope—maybe this wasn’t just a fling. Maybe it was something more, that he wanted more. So, she rushed back to tell him she was willing to give things a try.
And that was when she saw him with his bags, and things turned to shit. He wasn’t some golden-hearted bad boy. No, he was just another asshole.
Evan fussed as she held him in her arms, and she realized that she had been standing there, staring into space. “I’m sorry, baby.” She kissed his temple. “Let’s get you breakfast.”
After changing his diaper, she carried him to the kitchen and placed him in his high chair. As she prepared his breakfast, her phone buzzed in her pocket. “Hello?”
“Hey, Isabelle. It’s me.” It was Sofia. “Just checking in. Are we good for today?”
She cursed inwardly. How could she have forgotten? Yesterday afternoon, Sofia had called and said she had to go into the station early today. Her job as a detective for the NYPD meant that she was on call, especially when she had a large load of active cases. So, she asked Isabelle if she could watch Alessandro and Kier until their regular babysitter came at ten, when Isabelle left for work. “Don’t worry, I’ll be upstairs by
