The silence had stretched out for so long she thought he might have hung up. “Jake? Are you there?”
“I am,” he answered. “Just thinking. Where are you? Judging from the background noise, I’d guess a bar or restaurant. Do you mind if I join you? I need to get out of the house.”
She nearly laughed out loud at the irony of that. “I’m sorry, but I already have plans. I’m meeting a friend. But even if I weren’t, I think you really should consider staying in tonight and getting some rest so you can heal. Oh, there she is. I can see her crossing the room right now, so I’d better go. We’ll talk later.”
Not sounding very happy about that, Jake agreed and hung up.
“Shayla!” Maddie pushed to her feet, grinning from ear to ear. Every single man in the place watched as her stunning Mermaid friend made her way toward their table. With her silky mane of long black hair and her heart-shaped face, Shayla Dover-Cantrell tended to draw masculine attention. Even the large wedding ring on her left hand did little to deter their pursuit. Their other friend, Carmen, had a similar effect on men.
Reaching Maddie, Shayla enveloped her in a hug. “I know it’s only been a couple of weeks, but it feels as if I haven’t seen you in forever,” she said, taking a seat.
“I know. How was the honeymoon?”
For the next several minutes, the two women caught up. Their waiter brought Shayla a glass of chardonnay, her usual beverage of choice, and a second beer for Maddie.
“What’s he like, this Jake guy?” Shayla asked, eyeing her friend. “You really seem to like him.”
Startled, Maddie had no choice but to laugh. “I do, you know. He’s human and stubborn, but he seems to have a good heart. Plus, he’s cute.”
Her comment brought a grin to Shayla’s face. “Too bad on the human part, since he can’t come here.”
Maddie hesitated, and then decided what the hell. “I might as well tell you everything,” she said. “He wants to hire me. For some reason, he’s obsessed with getting inside Broken Chains.”
As Maddie explained, Shayla listened, her expression changing from incredulous to dismayed. When Maddie finished up with how the Pack Protector had threatened her, Shayla shook her head. “You need to dump him,” she advised. “Jake Cassel might be cute, but I don’t think he’d be worth all that trouble.”
“But don’t you see?” Maddie protested. “He hasn’t done anything that other humans haven’t done over the years. You know as well as I do that we get at least one per month, wandering down the alley and trying to open the door. Yet he was beat up, probably by Pack Protectors, and left for dead. Now someone is staking out his house. I’ve clearly been seen with him, and now I’m being threatened. None of this makes sense.”
Shayla tilted her head. “You’re not going to back off, are you?”
“Of course not,” Maddie scoffed. “How could I? You know me. I can’t let a puzzle go unsolved, and that’s what this is.”
Shayla laughed. “Just be careful,” she said, taking a sip of her wine.
“Always.” Maddie noticed her friend glancing at her watch. “What’s up? Is there somewhere you need to be?”
With a sheepish grin, Shayla shrugged. “Not really. I’m just missing Zach.”
“You could have brought him. I wouldn’t have minded.”
“Really? He wanted to come, but I told him it was girls’ night. I thought it might be good for us to come up for air.” Shayla blushed, leaving no doubt as to what she meant.
Maddie pushed away the twinge of jealousy. “Someday,” she told her friend, “I hope to find a guy who makes me feel the way Zach does you.”
“Oh, Maddie.” Shayla jumped up and hugged her. “You will. Wait.” She pulled back, peering into Maddie’s face. “Are you thinking Jake might be that guy?”
“Who knows?” Maddie took a drink of her beer to hide her confusion. “I suppose anything is possible. Maybe. Maybe not.”
“Gut instinct.” Eyes narrowed, Shayla watched her closely. “Let me hear what your gut instinct says.”
Because they were such good friends, Maddie gave serious thought to the question. “I’m attracted to him,” she finally answered. “Intrigued by him. I don’t know how much of that is because of the mystery, though. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind having an intense fling with him as well as getting to the truth of why he’s considered so dangerous to the Pack. Beyond that?” She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Apparently, her answer satisfied Shayla. “Fair enough,” Shayla said, raising her wineglass in a toast.
They sat and chatted another hour, each having one more drink, until the band began to play, making conversation difficult. Finally, their glasses were empty and they settled up the tab. Arm in arm, they walked to the door and outside.
At the end of the alley, Shayla stopped. “Now what?” she asked.
“Now I walk you to your car or to get a cab, like always,” Maddie replied. As a Mermaid, Shayla couldn’t defend herself like a Shifter or Vampire could. Therefore, Maddie or Carmen or both always made sure she was never left unaccompanied.
“Oh, that...” Shayla blushed again, just as an SUV pulled up. “I texted Zach so he’d come and get me.”
“That was quick,” Maddie said, her tone dry. “Let me say hello to the lovestruck fool and then I’ll let you two go on your way.”
“Of course. But what are you going to do for the rest of the night? It’s still pretty early. Maybe Jake would like some company.”
Now it was Maddie’s turn to blush. Unfortunately, when she did, she knew her pale skin turned the color of an overripe tomato, not all soft, appealing pink like Shayla’s did.
Seeing the blush, Shayla chuckled. “I think you should find out if he would,” she said. “Now come say hello to Zach so we can get home.”
Maddie walked around to the driver’s side and Zach rolled down the window. He tore his gaze away from his new bride long enough to smile at Maddie. “Do you need a lift to your car?” he asked. “I’d be glad to take you.”
“Not tonight,” she told him, lifting her head and sniffing the air. “With weather like this, I don’t mind a walk.” And since she was Shifter, she could easily defend herself if someone tried to jump her the way they’d jumped Jake.
Just thinking about him made her blush again. Luckily, Zach and Shayla were too engrossed in each other to notice.
Maddie said her goodbyes and watched as her friends drove away. Then, before she chickened out, she got out her phone and called Jake.
* * *
After ending the call with Maddie, Jake looked outside again. The car was still there. He thought about walking outside with a bottle of water and offering it to the driver, but in the end decided against that idea. His bruised and bandaged body and aching ribs warned him to be more careful.
Though he hated to admit it, Maddie was right. He did need to rest and heal. Instead of giving the stalker something to do, he’d let him sit out there with nothing going on and be bored. At least that made Jake’s mood improve. More than anything, he hated to feel as if he were powerless. After the childhood he’d had, he’d sworn never to put himself in that position again.
He pulled out his laptop and continued his research about werewolves. As far as he could tell, they were the stuff of urban legend. Lots of people claimed to have seen one, but there existed absolutely no proof. They were