Page 8 of Legally Mated
“He shouldn’t be out walking around where decent people are just trying to live their lives,” the woman spluttered, recovering faster than herspouse.
“And why is that? No, never mind. Yournames?”
“I don’t have to tell youanything!”
Laine raised his eyebrows at her and watched the interesting play of color as it rose and fell in her cheeks. “Then I’ll just wait for thepolice.”
The man scowled at him. “We didn’t have to call the police.Heleft.”
“So he did. I guess that means I’ll have to call them for you.” He had pulled his phone out and started to dial the non-emergency number when Garrick stuck his head back inthedoor.
“Laine.”
Just the one word, no emotion in it, but he knew Garrick’s patience was atanend.
Laine ended the call just before he tapped the last number. “You’re lucky. He has far more tolerance for humans than we have with his people. I think you need to be aware that the next time we come here, I’ll be recording all interactions, and I will proceed to file suit against anyone who denies him his civil rights.” He turned toward the door, nodded an apologetic grimace to the girl behind the counter, who looked uncomfortable but grateful to see the conflict ending, and slammed through the door to meet Garrick on thesidewalk.
“Idiot,” Garrick commented, but his tone was fondly exasperated, and while he didn’t wait for Laine before he started walking back to the car, he didn’t race off at top speed either. Like he was waiting for Laine to catch up. Like maybe this was just an ordinary relationship squabble, and not a constitutional issue that really needed to be addressed. Like he hadn’t been wounded to the heart by the wholething.
Damned stubbornshifter.
Chapter6
IthoughtI’d hidden it from Laine, but I should have known better. He was affable, interested, a sharp mind and a thrilling conversationalist. And also, someone I couldn’t seem to hideanythingfrom.
“I’m sorry,” he said as we strode down the sidewalk. He put an arm around my shoulders and I shrugged it off, worried enough that someone would see it that I didn’t concern myself with how he might take thegesture.
I caught the flash of hurt on his face before he hid it. “Stop. You know that if someone saw us, it wouldn’t be just me they’d give the hardtimeto.”
“Not everyone is like that,” Laine insisted. Lysoon, how did someone stay such an optimist working in criminal law? Especially after that scene in the icecreamshop.
I stopped dead on the sidewalk and turned toward him, my arms crossed over my chest. “I agree. Tell me, how do I identify the ones that are? Is there a sign? Maybe some sort of symbol on their clothes?” I flicked one of my tabs, then spun away from him and headed for his car. For a moment, mine were the only footsteps ringing through the night air, but then I heard the comforting rhythm of Laine following along, but slowly, as if he didn’t want tocatchup.
As if the evening couldn’t get any worse, my phone rang. I took a sharp breath and debated ignoring it. The only person who was likely to be calling me at this time of night would be Duke, or worst case, Quin. I’d hoped he’d just not think of me in the chaos of life at the pack house, but it wasn’t like Duke to forget a detail like that and really, I should have knownbetter.
The ringing stopped, then started again, and my hand pulled the phone out of my pocket before my brain could catch up andstopme.
Duke’s name glowered up at me from the screen and the smooth burring of the ringtone sounded. I was tempted to let him go to voicemail, but I couldn’t—he was an alpha and I…wasn’t ready to flush those partridges yet. “Hello?”
“You didn’t call foraride.”
I tipped the phone out so I could check the time and wince. Twenty to ten. “Sorry. We went out for food and I lost trackoftime.”
Duke sighed and, where I’d expected angry, what I heard was tired. “So he’s driving you home? Or are you going to staythere?”
Was I? I glance across at Laine, who had caught up again, walking with evenly matched strides next to me. He glanced at me but didn’t say anything, and I chewed the inside of my lower lip briefly in indecision before mouthing to him,Do you want Duke to comegetme?
His eyes widened and he gave sharp shake of his head, no. One hand twitched as if he would reach out for me, then the expression bled from his face again and heturnedaway.
I held back a sigh of frustration and sadness at that and said to Duke, “I don’t know if you could get here and back in time. I’llbefine.”
“Holland’s going tobemad.”
“Does Holland needtoknow?”
Duke’s voice was wry when he answered. “I’m not setting my foot in that mud for you. I’m also not stupid. If it was important to you to be here before curfew, you would have been watchingthetime.”
Damn. He was so quiet, and so completely under Bram’s paw—or seemed so. Maybe I’d been wrong about that too. I needed to pay more attention to packpolitics. “Duke—”
