Page 15 of Loup Garou
She crossed her arms and tapped her foot. “So, how is Detective Gonzales doing?”
“I guess Jay’s good. He’s supposed to be getting back today from Chicago. I’ll let you know. I’m sure he’ll give me a call. We may not be dating anymore, but Jay still can’t go too long without checking in. In fact, he calls three times a day normally. You know how overprotective he is.”
Something passed over her face and her nostrils flared. “He already did call about twenty minutes ago. Your class had started so Myra took a message.”
I tossed my hands up. “Well, there ya go. See, he’s fine. Why the hell are you asking me about him then?”
“Yeah, he wanted to check on you. He was worried sick because he stepped out long enough to grab breakfast for the two of you this morning, came back to your place and you were gone.”
That got me.
“Breakfast? What the hell are you talking about? I think I’d have noticed if Jay was sleeping over. He snores so loud that I’ve thought about barricading the extra room’s door with pillows in hopes they’ll soak it in before it reaches me. I’m going to sight that as reason number one hundred on the list of why we didn’t work out.”
“Lindsay.”
“Yeah?” I asked, wryly.
“Jay was terrified because you hadn’t stirred from your sleep since he found you in the center’s parking lot late last night, unconscious and barely breathing. He said you had a birthday present wrapped in children’s wrap, addressed to Rickie, lying next to you, just out of reach. Makes sense since you told me you were heading to Rickie’s party and then home. Jay also said that he found two dead were-panthers near you and that a trail of fresh blood led away from you.”
I cringed.
Gina glared at me. “Jay also mentioned that you’d lost so much blood he ended up giving you some of his own—something he swore he’d never do. Apparently, you made him promise not to ever mix blood with you—something about making him a target too. Anyway, he went against your wishes to save your life. Then he spent the entire night watching over you, convinced you might die. You’re fucking immortal. We all are. Dying shouldn’t be something mentioned when it comes to us, Lindsay. Yet it’s all that comes up anymore when talking about you.”
This wasn’t what I wanted to talk about. Not in front of Exavier anyway. Gina didn’t care. “I can’t blame Jay for being terrified that whoever the hell wanted you dead this time came back while he was grabbing you something to eat and finished the job, Lindsay. My guess is that you don’t even know how you got home last night. Only that you woke up there, battered, bruised and with the knowledge that you almostdied. I bet you’re sore as hell too. Bet it just about killed you, knowing you missed that little boy’s party, because you love him like you do all the kids.”
I looked away, strong, safe arms holding me tight.
“Look at me, Lindsay. Tell me the truth. Jay said it was horrible. He said that one of them bit your upper thigh open, striking an artery, and your shoulder was not only out of socket but your arm was damn near ripped off. I gotta say that I’ve seen you fucked up. I’ve seen your body almost ripped in half. I’m not like Myra. I can’t sense others’ emotions, their pain, but I don’t need to be like her to know that you’ve gone past the point of pain and entered whole new territories.”
Instinctively, my hand went to the shoulder that had been hurting all day. I met Gina’s gaze and her nostrils flared as she pointed at me. “Lindsay Marie Willows, your body has a limit. These things are damn close to pushing you past it! Do you know that Myra only just hung up with Jay? He was that upset. Hell, he damned near called your father to help him with you last night. He said it was that bad.”
I tried to take a step back only to find Exavier’s large frame blocking me.
Gina glared at me, not giving an inch. “Were you going to tell Myra and me, or were you going to sweep this one under the rug like the two attacks before that? Don’t think we don’t know about the vampire ones, Lindsay.”
My eyes widened. “No, there weren’t any—”
She cut me off. “Bullshit! When you dozed off in your office the other day you started screaming out in your sleep, terrified that they’d found you again. Myra rushed in and I followed right behind her. She flat out asked you if you’d been attacked again recently. You saidyes. You even told us that they’d come twice. One was waiting in your car and the other tried and failed to get into your house.” She tossed her hands in the air. “We have to interrogate you when you’re in a sleep-like state to get the truth out of you. We were created to help keep you safe. We can’t do our job if you lie to us.”
I tried to come up with an explanation. I got nothing. “Gina, don’t do this. We’ll talk about it later.”
“No. We will talk about it now!” She put her hand on her hip. “They come after you and are shocked when you put up a fight. I get the sense that they assume you’re defenseless. I honestly think they’re only expecting a pretty showpiece. A prince’s play thing—his toy. Yes, you give them more than that to deal with but you were not born with a violent streak. You may be a bitch when it comes to the men in your life, but you are the most nurturing woman I know when it comes to these kids—these people.”
“Gina, please.” I’d do anything to get her to stop discussing this in front of Exavier. Hell, to stop talking about it at all.
She shook her head. “No. This prince of darkness guy is supposedly some big bad ass. If what they say is true, that you’re his other half, then it makes sense that you wouldn’t be aggressive. You’d just buck heads the entire time. The bad guys operate under this assumption. My gut tells me it’s true—that you aren’t supposed to have to fight for your own life, that he’s supposed to be the one doing it. I also think that’s why we were all drawn to you, Lindsay. Each of us is a warrior by some right. Each of us has a burning need to see you safe.”
“Gina.”
“No. I think the Fates brought us all together to keep you alive. I think they realized that Prince Fuck-Up was going to be a no-show and tried to cover their asses. I think they underestimated you big time too. They didn’t just get a pretty showpiece, a sexy toy, they got a woman who could and would give all she had to keep herself and those she loves safe. And the bad guys underestimate you too but they’re coming in numbers we can’t control.”
I cringed. None of this was new information. She’d been very vocal all along about her feelings towards my said mate. Having her express her opinion and get her feelings off her chest was never an issue. It was getting Gina to stop expressing them that was tricky.
She pointed at me. “You need to start meeting me for lessons on how to protect yourself again. I know how much you hate having to hurtsomeone and that makes it even worse, but someone has to show you how to take care of yourself in the event one of us isn’t there to protect you.”
I sighed. She continued, “Jay doesn’t just freak out for no reason. He doesn’t call around in tears, frantically looking for anyone, Lindsay. Jay doesn’t cry! He’s an alpha lycan. They don’t show emotions like that. When the man does it, it’s fucking serious! I can only imagine what kind of shape he found you in that made him not call us. He knows that Myra won’t survive finding you like we did before. He knows that she’d snap. She damn near didn’t mentally come back from the first time. It would turn her into a killing machine you couldn’t possibly imagine. She loves you like a sister. I love you like a sister.”
“I didn’t…err…there wasn’t…umm…”
