I winced, glancing over at Krista, who had a grin on her face. She could hear every word he said, even though he wasn’t on speakerphone.
She motioned for me to hand over the phone, but I wasn’t so sure that was a good idea. She tore it from my hands anyway.
“Hey, Mike! I’m fine, but you should probably check on Lizzy. I told her I would be back after I ate something, and that was hours ago.”
His voice thundered through the phone. “You were attacked at the hospital?”
“I know you already know this. I just heard Rob tell you.”
“What the fuck is going on?”
“I honestly don’t know. And frankly, it’s really shitty that you’re yelling at me. I was attacked and I’m on the run. You should be asking if I’m okay.”
“I—”
“I don’t have my ID on me, and I don’t have a coat. Honestly, it’s really shitty of you to be angry with me when I’m the one who should be angry with you.”
“But I?—”
“You’re a big, badass military guy. You should have seen this coming. Why weren’t you there?”
“Krista—”
“Frankly, you should be applauding me for handling myself so well. But I know this is hard on you. It’s difficult when you can’t be in control. And because I know this, I forgive you for your tirade. We’ll check in when we can, and until then, take care of Lizzy for me, and try not to yell at anyone else. Love you. Bye!”
I watched as she totally manipulated her brother as if it was something she did every Tuesday. She was amazing. And she did it without a care in the world.
I wanted to be her when I grew up.
She hung up the phone and handed it over to me with a grin on her face. “There. That should take care of things for five minutes.”
“He’s just gonna call Cap,” Sinner sighed. “And then Cap’s gonna call us.”
“Well, I don’t know Cap,” she grinned. “Besides, it’s fun to mess with him. He’s too tense.”
“If you thought he was bad before, it’s going to be ten times worse after this,” I sighed.
She tucked her hand into mine and squeezed. “Relax. I’ll protect you and kick his ass.”
Storm growled from the back seat and Krista jerked forward, spinning around to find Storm’s large jaw widened in a yawn.
“What is that?”
“Krista, meet Storm. He’s a gray wolf.”
12
KRISTA
“He’s a gray wolf?”I said, stomping into the gas station to go pee. “Like that explains everything! Who says stuff like that?”
“Men,” Claire said, walking along beside me. “Though it’s not the worst thing in the world. I mean, yes, the wolf is large, but he’s a sweetheart.”
Stopping, I looked her in the eyes. “He’s a wolf. A wild animal that my—” I stopped myself just before I was about to admit that Rob was my husband. “That Rob has decided to adopt like a puppy! Who does that?”
She cocked her head at me, a smile playing on her lips. “What were you going to say?”
“What?” I headed to the back, ignoring her questions as I veered toward the bathroom sign.