Page 31 of The Wolf's Surrogate

There was so much more to this than just mating.

I bowed my head and rubbed the bridge of my nose. “I’m sorry, J. Give me an update when you can about Phil Martin’s location. Alright?”

“Roger that.”

Click.

I shoved my phone into the pocket of my jeans, the ones with the grease stains that I usually wore to the greenhouse. Idly rubbing my hands against the fabric grounded me briefly. I almost longed for the sound of those sleeping daisies crying about being woken up for the umpteenth time.

That would be much easier than tracking a human who could probably charm his way out of the system. From the look of his file—and it was extensive—the charges were almost always dropped for one reason or another. Anita had a clear adverse reaction to him, to the point of being frozen up and flushed. She clearly understood the kind of violence he was capable of committing.

And he was a trained boxer. That meant he could pack a punch.

Just as I was about to start coming up with another plan, Fred growled at the open door. Probably the bravest being in the household at the moment, Memphis waltzed into my bedroom like he owned the place, without minding either one of us. I’d gotten used to his scent, but I didn’t like that he had taken to cleaning himself inmybed.

All his orange fur kept getting all over the sheets. He’d been here one night and was claiming places. That was much too familiar for my tastes.

Fred stared at Memphis while the territorial cat sauntered to the other side of the room. “You mustreallylike her.”

“I don’t like her, Fred.”

“You definitely like her if you keep saying that.”

I glowered at him while he kept a sharp eye on the cat. We were just a bunch of weird animals sitting in the same room trying to size each other up. If Anita happened upon this scene, she would probably get concerned.

Stress was the last thing I wanted her to experience. Especially if she was going to be here for longer than a few days. And given the information I got from Jermaine, I figured she would be safer staying here than in her apartment.

Fred might have been right about Phil Martin being mostly predictable, but the part that was unpredictable waswhenhe would try to run after Anita again. I didn’t want her to have to suffer another fight. Worse, I didn’t want her to get cornered without me around.

As long as this guy was in the same town, I would keep her by my side. It was up to me to protect her and protect the child she would soon carry. Anything less than full commitment was unacceptable, and I wanted her to both know and feel that from me. I wanted her to feel like she could trust me.

“We have to head out soon,” I told Fred. “I need a detail to follow me into town so we can grab more of her things.”

Fred nodded without saying anything snarky. That would probably come later, when we were safe again. For now, we had to stay put until Jermaine gave us an update. Once things were clear, I could take Anita into town.

And then I would ensure her safety. At all costs.

Chapter 10 - Anita

The afternoon came and went without Liam saying a word about going back into town. I kept checking the messages on my phone, hypervigilant about my voicemail and socials, expecting something about me to explode somewhere in the digital world.

But nothing happened.

Phil didn’t try to contact me again. He seemed to have turned into a phantom, like he had two years ago, back when I packed my things into my deteriorating Ford Explorer and headed to this town. Not long after arriving, my car completely tanked. Honestly, the hunk of junk had just been a reminder of Charleston. Without it, I felt liberated.

By the time Liam and his buddy came back downstairs, the sun was setting, and I had effectively become a couch potato with Memphis. Neither of the men said anything as they walked past the couch and out the front door. When Liam returned, his friend was gone.

I turned off the television that his pale friend had brought over. “What’s going on?”

“Fred is going to follow us into town just to make sure everything is alright.”

My brows felt heavy on my forehead, like they were about to furrow right into my eyes. That weighted remorse I carried about my ex was starting to feel fresh again. “You found his record, right?”

“You knew about all those things?”

“I knew about some of them. He was friends with some of the guys on the force.”

Liam clenched his fists at his sides. “That’s why he kept getting off with warnings.”

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