Page 37 of Midnight Hunt

“Griff,” Reid replied back, his tone clipped.

My mouth dried.

Crap. Coming here like this had been a bad idea. Areallybad idea.

I could practicallyeatthe tension, it was that thick.

“Um, Griff can take a different car,” I said, instinctively knowing that something had shifted between them. They were sizing each other up like opposing teams did before a football game, seeing each other not as friends but as competition.

It didn’t help that I was wedged between them like the frickin’ball.

“No, I can’t,” Griff said, planting himself directly behind me. “We travel together, Kolton’s orders.”

I opened my mouth to object, only to close it when I saw him set his jaw like stone. He hardly ever pulled the rank card on me, but I could sense him doing it now. He was above me in the pack hierarchy, and if I pushed him, he would push right back.

I tried to swallow and failed, stuck between feeling annoyed and turned on. Realizing what I’d just admitted, I quickly looked away, only to discover that Reid was carefully watching me.

Okay, this was far worse than I imagined. I hadn’t counted on them both acting so . . . somale. Any second now, I expected them to start fighting over me like I was a slab of meat.

Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen.

“Fine,” I said, throwing up my hands and stepping away from them both. “I’ve been around dominant males enough to know when they’re about to go dickhead on me, and I’m not sticking around for the show. Sorry, Reid. We’ll have to do this another time.”

I turned and headed back the way I’d arrived, so frustrated that tears blurred my vision.

“Vi, wait,” Griff called, his beseeching tone making me pause. He released a pent-up sigh, then quietly said, “I’ll behave.”

Surprised, I peered over my shoulder at him. “You’ll let me speak with Reid alone without interference?”

He nodded.

“And you’ll take a different car?”

His expression flattened. “You know I can’t do that, Vi. Kolton would kill me.”

“True,” I said, and he smiled a little.

“He can come with us,” Reid spoke up, surprising me further. I glanced at him next, then froze, not expecting him to look so sad. He smiled a little too, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

Swallowing with difficulty, I faced them again and uttered a soft, “Thank you.”

They nodded, and without a word, we all piled inside the town car. Griff sat in front beside the driver, leaving me and Reid in back. Knowing that the driver was human, I decided not to catch Reid up on the hybrid disappearances. Instead, we spent another trip in uncomfortable silence.

By the time we made it to Reid’s apartment building, I was dying to speak with him, if only to finally clear the air. We’d never experienced this level of tension in our relationship before, even when we’d discovered just how averse my wolf familiar was to us dating. She’d been surprisingly quiet during the trip, though, which only amplified my agitated state.

I was sick to death of everyone being sosilentlately.

The second we entered the lobby of Reid’s apartment complex, I shared a look with Griff. Ahardone. A pleading one. He studied my face for a long moment, then blew out a breath and said, “I’ll wait here. Call if you need me.”

Need.

The word felt weighted. Intentional.

Turning away before I could think about it too much, I joined Reid in the elevator. As we ascended, I expected him to relax now that Griff was no longer with us. Instead, he looked evenmoretense, a muscle in his jaw feathering as he stared daggers at the floor number panel.

“Reid,” I began, unable to bear the silence any longer. “It’s just us now. Speak to me.”

I reached between us to capture his hand. When my fingers touched his, he went stiff as a board. My heart sank, and I let go.

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