A wave of nausea swept through me when I watched the remaining money in my retirement account melt away. When the transfer was complete, I stared at what remained.
A hundred and thirty-eight dollars.
After years of saving, doing my best to be responsible for the years ahead—since I knew Tessa wouldn’t be—that was what I had left. A hundred and thirty-eight dollars.
Needing a pick-me-up, I texted Prish.
So much to tell you. I’m back in Chicago. We rescued Tess. The SF is aware of everything. Meet up tomorrow? I gotta work tonight.
Her response came a moment later.
Yes! Gods, I have so many questions. If I wasn’t with my mother right now, I’d be calling you.
I promise to tell you everything tomorrow.
Okay, see you then. Love you. xx
Love you too. xo
After stuffing my phone back into my purse, I wrapped my arms around myself and watched the city drift by. I tried to think about the store, the conversation I would need to have with my sister, and my upcoming get-together with Prisha, but as much as I tried to distract myself, my thoughts kept circling back to flame-filled eyes and the tightness around the hunter’s jaw when I’d run away from him at the Supernatural Forces.
But I’d done it. I’d made a clean break, and now, it was time to get on with my life.
Chapter 4
Somehow, I managed to lose myself in work that afternoon. While Nicole and Sajid had kept the shop afloat over the past few days, a number of deliveries had come in that still needed to be processed.
I spent a few hours cataloging and inventorying everything. Tessa never showed. While that wasn’t surprising given what she’d been through, a tiny bit of resentment filled me. The last few days hadn’t exactly been peachy for me either, yet here I was, elbow deep in boxes doing the grunt work that kept our business afloat. But perhaps Tessa was at the SF answering questions so legitimately couldn’t be here.
One good thing did come from the afternoon. I offered Nicole a manager position, complete with extra pay and added bonuses, and she’d accepted. She’d actually been ecstatic, thankfully, so now I could start delegating more work to her, which would hopefully lighten my load, even if that meant my pay would need to take a cut.
“You sure you don’t need any more help?” Nicole asked as she flipped off the lights at the front of the store. Nine o’clock had arrived so quitting time was finally here.
“I’m fine, really, I am,” I assured her.
Behind her, Selena was straightening items on a few of the shelves. As one of our newer part-time employees, Selena was still learning the ropes, but she showed up for each shift and had a willingness to learn. I appreciated her so much for that.
“All right, if you’re sure.” Nicole slung her bag over her shoulder. “Selena and I are gonna split. I got class in the morning, so I won’t be here to open, but Alex is on too, so he’ll be here with you.”
It wasn’t lost on me that she didn’t mention Tessa. Practically Perfect’s employees were so used to my sister being unreliable, that half the time, they acted like she wasn’t also a part owner.
“Thanks, Nicky. Now go on and get outta here, and thanks again for everything. I don’t know what I would have done without you over the past few days.”
She beamed, a large grin splitting her lips. “I was totally happy to do it. I’ve been waiting for you to offer me a management position.”
I laughed. “I should have done it sooner.”
She sauntered back to the front and grabbed Selena before both disappeared out the door. Hearing the bell jingle reminded me that I’d have to craft a new illusion enchantment since the Fire Wolf had destroyed the original one.
“Just add it to the list,” I mumbled to myself with a sigh, before returning to what I was doing.
∞ ∞ ∞
Tessa was already asleep when I got home. Not surprising since it was after ten o’clock. Her cracked door greeted me when I tiptoed down the hallway, and I peered inside her room.
Her hair was splayed across her pillow, and a soft snore drifted up from her. Despite our fight, a fierce wave of love bloomed through me. A part of me was terrified that she’d be taken again. Jakub was still out there, and it suddenly struck me that I needed to place some serious protective wards around our apartment. Prisha and her father had offered to do it for me years ago, but I’d never seen a need for it. Now, I wished I had. I had no idea if the bad dudes knew where we lived, but if they did . . .
I should do it now.
A heavy feeling filled my head when I contemplated how much magic that would take and how time-consuming it would be. I wasn’t proficient in protective wards around something as large as an apartment, so it would no doubt take several attempts before I got it right, and I was already freakin’ exhausted.
Tomorrow. First thing tomorrow.
With that decision firmly in place, I took a short shower, brushed my teeth, and put my pjs on before crawling into bed. A quick check of my phone had my heart leaping when a text appeared from an unknown number.
Convinced it was Jakub, I swiped it open with a knot of dread balling in my stomach.
Hope you sleep well tonight. Kaillen
My breath rushed out of me. Not Jakub, but the Fire Wolf.
I looked at those words as I sat in stunned silence. The Fire Wolf had kept his distance since I’d fled the SF, but he was still wide awake considering his text came through only twenty minutes ago. He also didn’t seem to be taking the hint that we had no reason to communicate anymore.
As for how he’d gotten my phone number, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
But Kaillen, hmm? That was what Miranda, his vampire collaborator in Portland, had called him. So the Fire Wolf’s given name truly was Kaillen. And Commander Klebus had called him Mr. King.
Kaillen King.
So that was his birth name? And it was a name he’d now given to me to use, except I didn’t have any intention of keeping in touch.
Nibbling my lip, my stupid stomach flipped when another text came through from him.
Thinking of you.
Oh. My. Gods. He did not just say that, and my heartbeat did not just trip.
This was ridiculous. His wolf was ruling him. Two days ago, the man had found my arousal amusing. Now he wanted to bang my brains out. ’Cause his wolf told him to.
“Gods.” I flopped onto my pillows. Put your phone away.
I picked my phone back up and studied his number. It was an area code I didn’t recognize. A quick internet search placed the area code in Montana. Huh, who would have thought. I had assumed it would be Portland, Oregon, but it wasn’t, so what did that mean? Did he have another man cave in Montana?
Of course, I didn’t know, ’cause I’d only known the dude for three days.
But I did smirk that the menace of society had a cell phone and he texted. A few days ago, after I’d called Jenkins for a contact following Tessa’s abduction, Prisha had insisted that the Fire Wolf would have a phone despite Jenkins’ assurances that the Fire Wolf didn’t have a contact number.