“I miss you.”
Divine sniffed. “I miss you too, but don’t you start bawling on me. I changed my hair color. You wouldn’t recognize me now. I decided that brunettes have more fun than blondes.”
Isaiah clicked the button to take Alex off speakerphone and held out the phone to Divine. “Here.”
The older woman hurried over and took the phone before scurrying back to the kitchen to talk. Knowing they might be a while, he wandered over to one of the windows. He could see part of the city from here.
He wondered what Meredith was doing this morning. Had she slept as poorly as he had or had she forgotten him the moment he’d left? She was on the other side of the city, but she was probably up and about, doing whatever it was needed doing. He had no idea of the amount of work that went into running a club. There were probably an enormous number of things to take care of on a daily basis. Everything from cleaning to ordering supplies for the kitchen and booking acts. Not to mention the paperwork.
He closed his eyes and pictured her in his mind. What would she be wearing this morning? Not the skin-hugging, sparkling dress that fit her like a glove. Jeans maybe. Or perhaps black dress pants. Something classy, yet casual. That was more likely. His heart beat heavily, his jeans grew uncomfortably snug and his fangs tingled.
He rolled his shoulders, but there was no way to dispel the tension growing in him. He had to see her again. Tonight.
But for now he had work to do. His family came first. Always.
“Call me anytime. You take care of yourself, Alex.”
He turned around as Divine was ending the call. She handed the phone back to him. He took it and tucked it back into his pocket.
Divine swiped at her eyes and quickly squared her shoulders. “I already packed up Alex’s apartment and gave her notice to her landlord.” Grabbing a set of keys, she headed to the door. He followed silently behind her. “All her stuff is in here.”
She unlocked a rather large storage room at end of the hall. Furniture and boxes were piled almost to the ceiling. “Otto Bykowski, who runs the bakery up the road, and his sons, helped me.” She nodded toward the downstairs. “Leon is one of his sons.
“I wasn’t quite certain what to do with James’s furniture, but I boxed up all his belongings and put them in here too.”
“You can do whatever you wish with his furniture.” James had told him to let Divine have whatever she wanted. Said she’d deserved it for all that she’d done. Isaiah had been skeptical at the time, but now he believed she more than deserved the furniture and the building. “Keep it or sell it. It’s up to you.”
Divine pointed to a gaudy purple chair in the corner. “I put that piece in here. James might not want it, but it was Alex’s favorite.”
“Thanks.”
They left the room, Divine locking up behind them.
“I’m going to watch the garage for a few days before I bring in a truck.”
Divine crossed her arms over her chest and looked thoughtful. “That’s a good idea. Listen,” she began. “If you want to be doubly safe, Otto can bring his bakery truck down some night and put it in the garage. No one would think anything of it. They’d just assume that Leon was fixing something for his dad. We could load up the truck and drive it to another location to make sure no one is watching. You could have a truck waiting and transfer their belongings to it.” She tapped her bottom lip with her finger as if thinking the logistics through. “That would work.”
Once again, Isaiah was impressed with Divine. “That’s smart.”
She gave him a wry smile. “I have my moments.”
He grinned back. “I’m sure you do.”
She gave a short laugh and winked at him. “That’s what we’ll do then.” She walked past her apartment door and down the stairs to the garage. “You let me know when you’re ready and I’ll talk to Otto.”
“You’re sure he can be trusted?” Isaiah hated depending on anyone other than his brothers.
“I trust them more than I trust you.” She turned to face him when they hit the bottom of the stairs. He glanced into the garage to make certain Leon was alone before he entered. Divine was all business now, all hint of laughter gone. “Ask James if you need reassurance.”
“I will.” He might respect Divine’s strength, but he didn’t know her. And the hunters could sometimes be persuasive—in a very violent way.
She shrugged. “Suit yourself. Just let me know when you’re ready.”
“I will.” He started to leave, got halfway across the garage and swore under his breath. He spun around on one heel. “Thank you for being a friend to Alex and James.”
She gave him a sad smile. “They’ve more than repaid it over the years.”
He gave her a curt nod and left. He moved quickly, wanting to be seen by as few people as possible. If any hunters or wolves were watching, they would see him and follow him. Which is exactly what he wanted. He was tense and could use a good fight to work off some of his aggression.
Prowling down the street, he slipped into a rundown apartment building and made his way to the roof. Settling in, he watched the day pass in the neighborhood.
On the other side of the street a man with a set of binoculars took note of the tall stranger. He yanked out his cell phone and hit a number on the speed dial.
It was answered on the first ring. “It’s Warren, boss. That guy is back.”
“Watch him,” came the quick reply.
“Will do.” Warren ended the call and settled in for the morning. Jones was relieving him at noon. Collins would take the night shift. Quinn wasn’t on watch rotation yet because he was the new guy. Macmillan didn’t care how well vouched-for the guy was. He didn’t get left alone until they were one hundred percent certain of his loyalty.
The stranger at the garage moved with a fluid grace that was common in werewolves. Maybe he was just an uncommonly graceful human, but Warren didn’t think so. There was a sense of barely controlled menace about the guy.
No, he was a werewolf and he was here for a reason. The mission was to find out what that was and who was involved. Raising his binoculars, he took another look at the doorway before lowering them. He could easily watch the entrance from here.
He wanted a smoke, but couldn’t risk someone noticing the smell. Those werewolves were wily bastards with enhanced senses. He glanced at his watch and sighed. Noon wouldn’t come fast enough.
Meredith checked her liquor order for the third time. Nothing was adding up today. She blamed that on her poor night’s sleep. And that was Isaiah’s fault.
Just the thought of his name sent a tingle down her spine and caused her sex to clench. She dropped her clipboard on the bar and tugged on her hair in frustration.
“You okay?”
She’d been so caught up in her thoughts she hadn’t noticed Benjamin coming out from the kitchen. He was wearing faded jeans and a T-shirt that should have been consigned to the scrap bin months ago. They all dressed casually when the bar was closed. All except her. As she dealt with suppliers and such, she opted to wear a pair of black dress pants and a tailored white blouse. Classic and simple.
“I’m fine.” She offered him a smile, but his blue eyes, so much like her own, still looked concerned. “I didn’t sleep well last night,” she offered, hoping he’d leave it at that.
“I’m not surprised.” His gaze went to the front windows and he peered out at the busy street. “We’re all a little tense and will be until we’re sure this Striker guy is gone for good.” He stopped behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, his fingers digging at the knot of muscles there.