I gave him a dark look. “I hate to break it to you, but I’ve been taking care of myself long before I met you, Eli. I’ve had plenty of dangerous clients before.” Or clients who’d gotten tangled with dangerous people. Crazy stalker exes. Police officers who didn’t want someone sniffing around. Conspiracy theorists who’d gotten a little too close to the truth about shifters.
Sure, I’d never dealt with a whole clan of hired guns before, but I was a resourceful sort of person. I could figure it out. “Besides, it wasn’t as if I’d have been alone. It is Remus’ territory, after all. I’m sure I could have called him or Luna if something went really wrong.”
Eli’s steely blue eyes flashed. “Is that who you were talking to? Remus?”
I scowled and rolled my eyes. “Seriously?” But one look at the alpha, and I knew he was dead serious. He was practically bristling where he stood. “No, I was talking to Luna because I just needed totalkto someone. Your family is a lot, Eli. I just needed to talk to someone who understood.”
Eli’s scowl deepened. “And I’m not that person?”
“What? You were downstairs with them! I wasn’t about to haul you up here for a bitch session.”
“What the hell has gotten into you?” he demanded.
I jerked my chin back. “Excuse me? You were the one who just flew in here with a rank attitude, Eli Archer,” I snapped back, pointing a finger. “I have played nice this entire time. I flew herefor you, I got the right clothingaccording to you, and I sat through the most awkward dinner of my life looking a damn fool while you ignored mebecause you asked me to. I’m having abad fucking time,Eli, and to top it all off, your bitch of a mother cornered me and started in on how I was unworthy to mate with her son!”
The mention of his mother seemed to be the final straw. His eyes flashed again. “You should have come and found me. I would have dealt with her,” he snarled. “Now everything thinks we’re planning on mating — or that I’m hiding something.”
I threw up my hands. “Who cares what they think!”
“I do!”
I shot him a dark glare. “Well, Idon’t,” I hissed. “And I’m going back to Texas to solve the damn case, Eli — you know, the one that could impactall shifters.” Even my wolf was angry now, and she’d never been anything but interested in Eli before. “You can tell your family whatever the hell you want, but you know what? I don’t belong here.”
And I don’t wantto belong to these people, either.
32
ELI
Archer Family Estate
London, England
“You can tell your family whatever the hell you want, but you know what? I don’t belong here.”
What the hell?
I stared at Iris blankly for a moment, fury and confusion warring in my chest. I had no idea what to say to that. Even my wolf was taken aback by the sudden intensity that had boiled over. He’d retreated back from the surface, unused to Iris coming at us with so much anger.
“Fine,” I finally growled back. I bent down to pick my shoes back up. Suddenly, I wanted to be anywhere but here. A few moments ago, I wanted to know what my mother had said to Iris, but now…
Now those drinks with Maya were sounding really good.
“I’m going out. You can have the room.”
“Fine,” Iris replied coolly, watching me as if I might burst into flames at any moment. She said nothing else as I put my shoes back on and left the room. Some part of me was pretty sure I should have been angrier with her, but mostly, I felt bewildered.
I didn’t ask her to come here for me.Hell, my father would have been perfectly capable of handling Uncle Gage all on his own. It just seemed like the right thing to do. I asked her to come here because the Raven Brothers would never think to look for her orBella overseas.
Why couldn’t she see that? It wasn’t as if I was trying to parade her around or something.
My wolf gave an unhappy whine, clearly unsettled by the entire argument. He pulled against me, trying to lead me back down the hall and towards the room where Iris was, but…I shook my head and descended the stairs instead, scanning the crowd for my cousin. My wolf’s instincts had gotten me into this mess. I didn’t need his good intentions digging me any deeper.
I spotted Maya after a few moments and slid up next to her. “Still up for getting out of here?” I asked quietly, glancing around.
She grinned up at me. “Yeah. I’ve had enough of all the ass-kissing,” she said, winking as I snorted. “Just let me grab my purse and we’ll bounce. There’s this fun new bar I’ve been wanting to visit.”
“Whatever you want, Maya.”