Page 30 of Heroes & Hitmen
She gives me the world’s most dramatic eye roll, not buying my act for a second. “You tellme, sis,” she replies, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. “Been keeping secrets?”
“Hardly,” I mutter. Pushing to my feet, I pace over to the coffee table and swipe up the permanent marker, uncapping it as I return to the box I just packed and start labeling it neatly.
Jordan isn’t content to let the topic drop. “So, who is he?” she presses, eager for details.
I take my time labeling the box with large, swooping strokes of the marker. “Just a one-night stand,” I murmur absently.
“Wait,” she barks, sitting up straighter. “That’sthe guy from the bar?”
I pause, then nod once.
“The one with the sparky hands and the huge–”
“Shh!” I hiss, flinging the marker in my sister’s direction to shut her up.
She giggles as she catches it, shaking her head. “Damn, nice work, Miles. He’s hot as hell.”
“He’s also annoying as hell,” I say, but the words lack their usual bite.
She smirks. “Well, misterannoying as hellseemed real interested in which forest preserve you’re running at tonight.”
My stomach flips. “You didn’t tell him, did you?” I ask, trying and failing to keep the edge of panic out of my tone.
Jordan just shrugs. “Well sure, but he’s not gonna be there anyways. Said he’s assigned to Des Plaines for the run.”
“You shouldn’t have done that,” I mutter, lips drawing into a frown.
She shrugs again. “Probably shouldn’t have given him your number, either.”
I narrow my eyes on her, pulse kicking up. “You didn’t…”
Right on cue, my phone pings from the coffee table, both of us whipping our heads around to stare at it.
Jordan holds up her hands, eyes wide. “I swear I didn’t!”
I’m quick to snatch up my phone, swiping open the screen. I frown as I read the message that just came in.
“It’s not him,” I murmur, passing the phone over to Jordan.
She takes it from my hand, brows pinching together as she reads the text message. “Request denied?” she asks, looking up at me in confusion. “What were you trying to do?”
“Meet with Elias ahead of the ceremony tonight,” I admit, disappointment sinking in my gut. “Thought we could have coffee or something, get to know each other before we commit to forever. Take some of the pressure off.”
“And he said no,” Jordan grumbles.
I heave a sigh, wrapping my arms around myself. “Guess he’s too busy.”
“Or Alpha didn’t even tell him,” she scoffs bitterly, tossing her dark hair over a shoulder and flopping back against the couch cushions. “God forbid anything goes wrong before the ceremony tonight to screw up whatever deal he made.”
She’s right. Of course she’s right. But it still stings, the idea that Elias couldn’t be bothered– or wasn’t permitted– to take a half an hour to have an actual conversation with the girl he’s about to claim for life.
My phone vibrates again in Jordan’s hand and she glances down at the screen. “They want you to leave your bag in the hall,” she reads aloud, passing it back over to me.
I skim the message, instructing me to pack a small overnight bag that’ll be delivered to the guest apartment Elias is staying in. I’ll be spending the night with him here in the Tower, then heading back to Detroit with him in the morning.Fantastic.
I re-read the message, eyes glazing over, then toss my phone back onto the coffee table where it lands with a thud.
“Maybe it won’t be so bad once your wolves are bonded,”Jordan suggests, toying with the frayed edge of her t-shirt sleeve. “And he could have a big dick.”
