Doubts instantly plagued me, even as I told myself Cynthia was just doing what she’d always done. “Are you finished?” I asked harshly. “I have food to shop for. You know, for Rico?”
I tossed my hair over my shoulder and grabbed several tomatoes at random.
“Of course,” Cynthia replied in a sickeningly sweet voice. “It’s just going to be such a shame seeing your face all sad again when he leaves you. You’ll be all alone again. When he goes back home, you know, as he’s planned to all along.”
How would she know anything about that? Valor chose me. Rico chose me. He wasn’t leaving me. But Cynthia saw she’d struck a nerve and kept pushing. “Surely you knew that he planned to go back to Arizona and work for his grandfather?” she asked. “If you’re so close, he would’ve told you that already.”
“Fuck off, Cynthia.” I walked away and left Cynthia in the produce section, her giggles invading my head. I kept telling myself that Cynthia was a bitter has-been. She was popular in high school, and her family was rich. But when she didn’t go to college as they’d wanted her to, and then she didn’t marry the popular, successful man she expected to, she’d had to resort to dead-end jobs to make ends meet. The whole town had talked about her family cutting her off until she grew up.
She still hadn’t. She was the same spoiled brat, but now she had nothing to lose.
Yet still, as I finished my shopping, still trying to be alert, scenarios of Rico leaving kept flashing through my mind.
Hell, I’d encouraged him to start self-defense classes. What if he met someone? I knew Valor had chosen me, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t choose someone else. He hadn’t bitten me, after all. We’d had sex since he shifted for me and he hadn’t done it yet, even though I’d made it clear I wanted it.
I told him I loved him. He said he loved me.
But Cynthia knew that Rico had planned to leave. I was pretty sure he’d changed his mind, but he hadn’t actually come out and said he planned to stay in Black Claw. I didn’t want to move away. My foster father and sister were the only family I ever had. Until Rico, they were the only people I had in the world. No way I’d leave them after they chose me and brought me into their lives and their hearts.
I might’ve gotten everything on my list, but probably didn’t. Regardless, I headed for the checkout. The only thing I wanted now was to talk to Rico and get it straight from him, while he looked me in the eye, that he had no intention of leaving Black Claw.
I remembered to be alert and kept looking all around as I threw the groceries in the back of the truck. No hairs stood on end, and I didn’t get that watched feeling. But I couldn’t get my mind off of every conversation Rico and I had ever had, searching for a moment he might’ve mentioned staying in Black Claw.
He’d talked about enrolling in the local community college but hadn’t done it yet. Nothing meaningful had happened, besides him showing Valor to me. But who was to say that wasn’t a fleeting fancy that made him do it? How much did I really know about Rico?
By the time I got home and got my groceries loaded in my arms, my mind was in a frenzy. I hadn’t had anxiety like this since I graduated high school and got away from those assholes. I’d been on medication for it but had stopped taking it a few years ago as I needed it less and less often.
I was already in the back door and had hauled all the bags up onto the kitchen island before I realized the front door was standing wide open. How had I not seen that?
Dropping the bags as fast as I could get them off my arms, I scrambled against the counter, putting a wall behind me and turning so I could see from all angles as I searched my bag blindly for the stun gun.
Once I had it in hand and turned on, I yanked my phone from my back pocket. “Hey, Susan,” I said loudly.
The automated AI responded immediately. I didn’t want to take my eyes off my surroundings for a second to look at my phone. “Call the Black Claw Police Department.”
“Calling now,” she responded, and the sounds of a phone ringing came through the earpiece on speaker. Bless technology.
“Black Claw PD, Axel Kingston speaking.”
“Axel!” I yelled. “This is Kara Hannon. I’m Rico Kingston’s—”
He cut me off. “I know who you are, Kara.” His voice was calm and soothing. “What’s wrong?”
My voice wavered and I fought to keep it steady enough to get the words out. “I just got home. Someone has been in my house. The front door is standing wide open.”
I heard shuffling noises from his end. “Stay calm. Are you inside?”
My eyes kept raking from left to right, trying to make sure nothing changed. No movements, no sounds, nothing. “Yes, I came in the back door. I have my stun gun on and I’m in a corner.”
I was close enough to one. If I shifted all the way into the corner, I wouldn’t have been able to see my bedroom door. This way I could see if anyone came out of it. I didn’t want to close or lock the back door in case Tye was still in the house. I didn’t want to go running back out the back door in case he was out there waiting for me. This felt like the safest place.
“Kara, I’ve already texted my family. They’re all on the way. I’m not sure who is closest but stay on the phone with me.”
“Okay,” I said shakily. My adrenaline was through the damn roof.
“Good. Tell me if anything
