“Why do you have to be so stubborn?” he demanded.
“This wouldn’t be the first time we got into a dangerous situation,” I said. “When we rescued Emily Garner, you didn’t seem so concerned about the vamp that took her.”
“That was an entirely different situation. One twisted vamp, I can handle, but if Blake is behind this rhabo mess that means this is major. Other dangerous people will be involved.”
I let out an exasperated sigh. “Another reason for you to have backup.”
Rosalina, who had been watching the volley of our conversation, rose to her feet and went downstairs, shaking her head. It seems she’d had enough and was checking out. I didn’t blame her.
“Dammit, Toni!” Jake exclaimed. “Tell me where Blake is.”
“Nope.” I crossed my arms over my chest. I didn’t have to tell him anything. “You’re not the only one who can go on his own.”
“That would be the stupidest thing you’ve ever done.”
“Really? I beg to differ.” I looked him up and down to indicate he was the stupidest thing I’d ever done.
Rosalina’s feet tapped on the steps as she walked back up, then she walked in our direction, holding a gun in her hand. Jake and I jerked to a standing position.
I put my hands up. “Wow, put that down. I promise we’ll stop arguing.”
She rolled her eyes and set the gun on the bed. “Here, you take the gun and watch his back like you said.”
“You should be on my side!” An expression of incredulity shaped Jake’s features.
Rosalina gave a resigned sigh. “If you knew anything about Toni, you’d realize that once she gets an idea stuck in her head, there’s no talking her out of it. She’s not as helpless as you would assume.”
I gave her a warning glance. This was not the time to spill the beans about my true nature. Despite what Eric had said about pack life, and what Walter Knight expected of his grandson, I did have a terrible itch to tell Jake everything and let him be the judge. In the end, his mate would have to be his decision and not his grandfather’s. Besides, even if Jake decided not to become pack leader, he could still fulfill the promise he’d made his father by picking me.
Still, the timing was off.
Rosalina wrinkled her nose and shook her head slightly, letting me know she knew better than to share my shocking news with Jake. I relaxed and breathed a little easier.
Instead, she said, “Look, unless you want her to go chasing after Blake all by herself, you need to quit arguing. She’s holding all the aces. Toni will be the one to decide whether to let you come with her, not the other way around.”
Jake raked stiff fingers into his hair, exhaling in frustration, then pointed a finger at Rosalina and another one at me. “You two are impossible.”
I stepped closer to my friend and grinned at Jake. Feeling pretty smug, I started to drape an arm across Rosalina’s shoulders, but she stepped away.
“Nuh-uh, no ma’am, don’t think I’m happy about this. I’m just trying to protect your ass because, lately, something about you ain’t the same.” She narrowed her eyes, clearly indicating my wolfishness. “You are being reckless,” she scolded, sounding just like my mother.
I opened my mouth to say something, then closed it again. I couldn’t argue. She was right. I was different. And why wouldn’t I be when there was a whole new side to me that I needed to explore. I was barely scratching the surface of who I’d become.
So instead of arguing, I inclined my head and said, “Thank you for looking out for me. I promise I’ll be careful.”
“You’d better be,” she said between clenched teeth, then turned to Jake, “And you’d better bring her back without a scratch.”
Jake sighed, finally accepting defeat. “All right, but that won’t do.” He pointed toward the gun on the bed. “Follow me.”
He marched downstairs and led us to his office, then to his own loft. I expected to see the same mess I had the last time I’d been here: a bare mattress pushed against the wall and clothes piled on the floor, but instead, an array of computer monitors was arranged around a semicircular desk as wide as the room. The setup looked pretty fancy.
“What’s with all the computers?” I asked.
He gave a dismissive shrug. “New hobby.”
Ignoring the high-tech equipment, he walked toward the closet in the corner and slid out a large, plastic trunk with metal clasps and a digital keypad in the front. Quickly, he punched in a code and threw the lid open. Rosalina and I both inhaled sharply as we laid eyes on the contents.
Several mean-looking weapons were embedded in gray foam padding. I didn’t have a name for everything that was in there, but there was a big ass rifle, several handguns, serrated knives as long as my forearm, and even a few grenades.
“What the hell, Jake?!” I exclaimed. “Are you planning to start World War III?”
He blew air through his nose and smiled like a little kid with the coolest toys in the neighborhood.
“This is nothing.” He went back into the closet and came out with a black vest. “Kevlar,” he explained as he started wrapping it around my torso, attaching Velcro straps over my shoulders and sides, encasing me snugly into the stiff contraption.
“Well,” Rosalina said. “That gives me a tiny bit of comfort. Do you have anything she could wear on her hard head?”
“Sorry, no.”
I ran my hands over my chest, feeling quite bulky, and wondering what would happen if I tried to shift through this thing. Probably, it would be best to take it off if it came to that.
Jake reached for a can that looked like spray paint. “Also this.” He vigorously shook the can and proceeded to spray the heck out of me, leaving me in a cloud of stinky mist.
I batted at the air,
