Grave Threat by Lori Drake

Author:Lori Drake [Drake, Lori]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Clockwork Cactus Press
Published: 2018-06-18T16:00:00+00:00

13

By the time Joey finished telling Mike the whole story, the Silver Springs Alpha had abandoned his casual lean against the desk and moved around to drop into the chair behind it. The chair’s ball bearings squeaked quietly as he swung it slowly left and right by degrees. He seemed to need a minute to process everything she’d told him. She let him think, eyes straying to the door as she wondered if her food was sitting on the bar getting cold yet.

“So, let me see if I’ve got this straight,” Mike said, drawing her attention back to him. “Your friend ran away from the cult with some of their money, and when they came after her, they killed your boyfriend. Your pack sent them home with tails between legs, your boyfriend came back from the dead, and now they’re back for revenge and in cahoots with a rogue alpha your boyfriend beat in an Alpha Challenge.”

He had a way of boiling it all down to essentials. “Right.”

Mike whistled through his teeth. “You sure have a knack for making enemies, girl.”

Joey bristled, more over the “girl” part than anything, but before she could retort, there was a knock at the door.

“Yeah?” Mike called.

Rita came into the room, holding a plate of food and a cup of coffee. “Thought you might want this. Dean said you’re probably pretty hungry.”

How she’d opened the door with her hands full, Joey couldn’t fathom. She also didn’t care. She shot to her feet and relieved the bartender-slash-waitress of her burden with a heartfelt “Thank you!”

“No problem,” Rita said. “You want ketchup or anything?”

Joey’s mouth was already full of food. She shook her head vigorously.

“Thanks, Rita. The boys settling down out there?” Mike asked, glancing at the security feed for the first time since Joey had started her tale. He’d probably forgotten all about it until then.

“Yeah. Her boyfriend’s been talking shop to distract them. The guy knows his bikes, I’ll give him that.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Joey said around a mouthful of food.

“Good to know.” Rita smiled and withdrew, closing the door behind her.

Mike leaned back in his chair and studied the ceiling while Joey consumed a few more bites of food. Her stomach felt like a bottomless pit, demanding more with each bite swallowed. She wasn’t sure exactly how long Mike mulled this over. The only measure of time she had was the food disappearing in front of her, and it was vanishing faster than she would’ve liked. Yet not fast enough.

Mike leveled his gaze on her once more. “Okay. So, what are you looking for from me?”

Joey hadn’t expected him to offer unconditional support, but it would’ve been nice. She toyed with a French fry. “At the minimum, a place to crash for the night and regroup. But it sure would be nice to have help from people who know the lay of the land around here. Have you dealt with this Madrigal guy before?”

He nodded, but said no more.

Joey studied him while she chewed.

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