Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 129756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 649(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 649(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
At his urging, Charlene parked the car in the turnout near the shack and then rushed out of the vehicle, looking somewhat flustered. “Are you okay?”
“I’m good,” he replied, hiding the urge to grip her by the throat. Because if his suspicions were true, Charlene had a lot to fucking answer for.
“I heard about the shooting on TV.” Her nose wrinkling, she glanced around. “Where is Mila?”
“With her family.”
Charlene’s shoulders relaxed slightly. “Ah, you let it leak to reporters that she was here so that they wouldn’t look for her in the right place. Clever.” She edged closer to him, and her brows drew together. “You wear her scent. And her claiming mark.” Neither of which seemed to make her happy.
Dominic smoothly stepped back when she would have touched him. No, he couldn’t tolerate that right then. “Walk with me.”
Charlene blinked. “Sure.” As they walked through the fringe of tall, regal trees, she said, “You look so . . . on edge. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you without a smile in your eyes.”
“Not much to smile about when I just watched my mate get shot.”
“I guess not,” she muttered.
“You really don’t like Mila much, do you?”
“I don’t know her,” Charlene answered, evasive. “She seems nice enough, but . . .”
“But what?”
The fox opened and closed her mouth a few times. “I just don’t see it going the distance, that’s all. I mean, like I’ve said before, she’s not your type.”
“That night at the Velvet Lounge when you realized I’d marked her, you had a sour look on your face. Even seemed to rant about it to the guy at the VIP bar. Just who was he exactly?”
Tension stiffened her muscles. She lifted her shoulders, nonchalant. “Just some guy. One of our usual patrons.”
“You know him. I could tell.”
She averted her eyes. “I know him a little, sure.”
“Who was he?”
“I doubt it’s anyone you know.”
“Try me.”
She halted, turning to face him. “What’s wrong? Why all the questions?”
Dominic took a confrontational step toward her. “Who is he, Charlene?”
She swallowed. “Dominic—”
“Tell me who he is.”
“Just a friend of Lennie’s.”
“His name,” Dominic pushed, but she clamped her lips shut. He growled. “If our friendship ever meant anything to you, you’ll tell me what I want to know.”
She threw up her arms. “Dean Preston. See, you don’t know him, do you?”
“Here’s what I do know. You’ve been doing your best to make Mila keep her distance from me, and Dean Preston put a fucking hit out on her. You knew about the hit, didn’t you? You knew she was in danger, and you didn’t want me in the line of fire, so you tried to drive a wedge between us.”
Charlene’s eyes flickered. “It’s not what—”
“Why didn’t you say something?” he demanded, rage curdling through him. “Why? The fucker wants her dead!”
“No, he doesn’t. He didn’t put out a hit; he just wanted her hurt.”
“Is that what he told you? Because if so, he lied.”
“No, you’re wrong. He has no need to put a hit out on her. He doesn’t want her to die.”
“Then what does he want?”
“He wants his true mate.”
Dominic frowned. “What?”
“He found his mate a few months back. Recognized her as his. But she’s imprinted on another.”
“If she’s imprinted on another male, he couldn’t possibly know that she’s his.”
“Dean has visions. He’s not a Seer, but he has witch-blood in his family. Long ago, he had a vision of his true mate, and he saw her happy with someone else. He’s been determined to find her and prevent that future from happening, but he didn’t find her in time. He befriended her, though. He’s done his best to get close to her, and he’s managed to convince her that she’s his true mate. He wants her to leave the guy she imprinted on, but she won’t. I can understand that. I love Lennie. I couldn’t leave him for someone else.”
“What does any of this have to do with Mila?”
“Like I said, Dean befriended his true mate. She trusts him. Confides in him. Told him how hard it is to see her partner fuss over her cousin. Told him how she strongly suspects that the guy she imprinted on is the predestined mate of said cousin.”
And then the light bulb went on. Dominic swore. “Adele. Dean’s mate is Adele.”
“He hates the guy she’s with. I think he said the cat’s name is Joel. But Dean won’t hurt him because it would only hurt her.”
“And what, Dean put a bounty on Mila’s head at Adele’s request?”
Charlene gave a fast shake of her head. “No. Nothing like that. As I said, he truly doesn’t want Mila dead. He just wants his mate. His theory is that if Mila’s in enough danger, it will stir up Joel’s protective instincts; it will reach the part of him that acknowledges who she is to him. Dean was excited when he realized that things seemed serious between you and Mila. He hoped it would bring out Joel’s possessiveness too.”