“A plan to get you back to the apartment so you can retrieve your stuff,” Dodge said slowly, giving Evershaw a sideways look. The alpha might not have had any qualms about discussing hunting down Bridger and her goons and doing away with them permanently, but Persephone wasn’t ready to hear that kind of conversation. Dodge didn’t want her toeverhear that kind of conversation. The less she knew about that part of his life, the better. “That’s all.”
Deirdre managed a lopsided smile. “Why don’t we look through my closet so you can wear something more comfortable to your place?”
Persephone took one last bite of the mostly-cold eggs and extricated herself from Dodge’s half-embrace. “Sure.”
She followed Deirdre up the stairs but looked back enough that Dodge knew she knew something else was up. He waited until Persephone was all the way upstairs and the door had closed behind her before he exhaled and ran his hands through his hair. “We have to kill them all.”
“Obviously.” Todd did something on his phone, checking a schedule or something, then nodded as he looked up. “But first we get your girl settled here and have the witch surround her with protections or charms or whatever the fuck she does in that back room.”
“Watch your mouth when you talk about my mate,” Evershaw said, an edge to his tone.
Dodge ignored the tension between the two brothers and used the remains of Persephone’s breakfast to create a map of her neighborhood and apartment building. “I’ll take her over there now. At least three others if we can spare them from the packhouse to set up here, here, and here.”
“We can spare them,” Evershaw said. He tilted his head at the back of the house. “And take a couple weapons out of the gun-safe. Just in case.”
Dodge grunted, staring at the eggs. He really wished Persephone would have agreed to stay in the house. He could get whatever she wanted from her apartment, and it wouldn’t matter if Bridger’s goons tried to ambush them. He got up and took the dishes back to the kitchen, and found Mercy wrestling with Cricket for the rest of the ham he’d left out.
He raised an eyebrow. “You should just let him have it. It’s not like any of us will eat it when it’s been clawed to bits and chomped on.”
“It’s the principle of the thing,” Mercy said through gritted teeth. She hollered as Cricket took a swipe at her hand, and she dropped the ham. Cricket bolted, leaving half-chewed bits of food behind him, and escaped out the back door.
Dodge shook his head, hiding his smile, as he went to the gun-safe behind the removable wall near the pantry. Mercy grumbled and griped about the cat, then wandered up behind him. “Going out to make some trouble?”
“Not yet,” he said. Mercy was like everyone’s kid sister. He wanted to protect her just as much as he wanted to protect Persephone, although Mercy had the super strength and additional healing powers of a shifter to keep her safe. He hated the thought of how fragile Persephone was, how easily she could be hurt. If she agreed to stay with him, if she eventually came around to belonging to the supernatural community, he might eventually ask if she’d agree to be turned. He was getting ahead of himself, though. He didn’t even know if Persephone wanted to stay with him at all, much less forever.
Mercy eyed him. “Thinking big thoughts over there, friend?”
He snorted and prepared a pistol and extra magazines. It wouldn’t stop a shifter or fae, but it would damn well drop a human in his tracks. Which Dodge was counting on. “Nah. Just planning how we’re going to get Persephone to her apartment and back in one piece.”
She made a thoughtful noise and sat on the counter, swinging her legs. “Need me to come with you?”
“I need you to keep up a patrol around this neighborhood,” he said. “They’re still watching her from the street. I need to know if they move after we leave. Can you text me if you see anything?”
“Sure thing,” she said. Mercy hopped to her feet and headed for the living room. “Be careful.”
Dodge waved her off, only half paying attention. He needed to get his head in the game. There was no telling what waited for them at Persephone’s apartment building. He was still running through scenarios when he returned to the living room and found Persephone already there with Deirdre, wearing new jeans and a sweater that fit her so closely he had to drag his eyes away before he drooled on the floor. He had no clue how he’d been able to resist her for more than a few hours. Maybe he’d been blind and hadn’t seen how amazing she was.
Deirdre’s mouth twisted in a wry smile. “You two be careful.”
Dodge tried to sound cheerful and relaxed, despite the way his guts twisted with nerves. “It’s fine. We’ll be back in just a few minutes.”
And then he focused all of his concentration and attention on Persephone, everything around her that might endanger her, and the car that would get them to her apartment and back. He sensed the other pack-mates moving around them – spotting for trouble on the street, heading to her apartment before them to search for threats, and spreading out to cover spots where they’d seen Bridger’s goons lying in wait just the day before. He missed Silas in a sudden spark, since he could have trusted Silas to keep Persephone safe.
He didn’t let her see it, though, and moved at a leisurely pace to get them into the car and on the move.
“I guess there’s more than just one alligator near the boat, hmm?” Persephone asked when he pulled out of traffic, navigating through small side streets so they didn’t get bogged down due to other cars.
Dodge reached over to squeeze her hand. “It’s the same alligator. It’s just a little wilier than we originally thought.”
She made a soft sound, a little distressed, and kept looking out the window like she expected trouble to land on the hood of the car. Dodge laced his fingers through hers. “Then maybe you can think of new ways to seduce me.”
That got him a smile, at least. Her lips pursed, like she wanted to hide, but the grin escaped just long enough for him to spot it. He parked the car and leaned over to brush a kiss over her mouth. “I expect creativity and dedication, Persephone.”
She shivered but her lips parted and she kissed him back. He would have given anything to have stayed there with her all afternoon.
Chapter 29
Percy
