Page 37 of Beastly Armory
“No, you’re not!” She sprints up the rest of the stairs before I can argue with her, and I laugh, like full on belly laugh.
When I turn around, Derichs has his eyebrows raised.
“What?”
“Man, you’re in so much fucking trouble.”
Ten
LIVIA
Thursday arrives. Each day that led up to it, I awoke with panic, but today, I didn’t think my heart could race any faster. Despite a shower, my skin feels sticky with sweat again. As sneakily as my fingers could type an encoded message, I told Echoes about our meeting so she could help me out with the logistics. No one from my team would be coming with me, and it made me leery to know I’d be alone with a bear. But I refrained from letting Alpha know.
My fingers brush over the rough carbon fiber of the Glock in my waistband holster. Touching it lightly for the hundredth time since I got dressed quiets some of the panic building in my throat. Out of habit, I reach in my front pocket and stroke my lucky charm three times and breathe a count in a worshipful whisper.
Setting my overnight bag on the checkered marble floor in the grand foyer, I make my way to the kitchen for lunch. Our chef has prepared vegan egg saladsandwiches and placed them on a tray in the refrigerator. Grabbing one, I take a big bite, but before I can even taste it, there’s a commotion clamoring from the front of the house. And, once again, there goes my pulse rising as high as a skyscraper.
Giles dashes from the servant’s hall into the kitchen, then from the dining room through the foyer, and out the front door with me following like a Chihuahua at his heels. A black Plymouth Barracuda sits at the bottom of the steps, exhaust smoking out of the back pipes. Max is laying on the horn, peeping his smiling face beneath the frame of the passenger window. My jaw falls open in outrage. I slam the door closed, almost losing a piece of lettuce.Fucker.
Back inside, I snatch my overnight bag and scurry out to the car. Giles is politely tapping on the driver’s window and requesting “Mr. Freidenberg” to “refrain” from honking, but Max’s mouth is open in a wild guffaw as he ignores the old man. Near the trunk, I use a fist to bang on the metal. It unlatches for me, and I toss my bag in the wide space along with two other black bags. Who knew Max would pack so much?
Walking around to the front of the car, I notice the back seat stuffed with pillows and a blanket covering a puffy figure. When I open the door, Derichs is lying in the back bench seat, looking cozy but squished.
“Hey, foxy!” Max grins, letting off the horn. Derichs nods at me with a big smile. Despite there being a second bear inside, my nerves seem to squelch with the tank’s easy nature. Also, having a buffer between me andMax is probably a great idea for reasons I don’t even want to think about. But, if I had known he was coming, I would have brought someone from my side to keep things even.
Before I get in, I lean with my arm hanging on the open door. “Hey. I thought we said no one was coming with us.”
“Derichs is our backup. He won’t attend the meeting. Jump in.”
Sliding into the comfortable passenger seat, I slip on the seatbelt. As I turn to ask Derichs a question, his face pops between the seats, still holding that excited grin. “Are you sure you don’t want to sit up here? It looks cramped back there.”
“No, I’m good. Max insists on treating me like an invalid, so I’m lounging back here.”
“Road trip!” Max’s eyebrows wave up and down at me before he guns off down the cobbled lane. The thrust of the engine throws me back into the seat, and I grip the door handle and hang on. Spotting my reaction, Max’s smirk transforms into a wide smile.
Once on the road, I take another bite of my sandwich. Derichs leans forward between the seats and snakes his head around to stare at it with envy. “Did you bring us one?”
Not even bothering to chew, I answer, “No.”
“Oh.” He punches Max in the arm. “Told you we should have brought food.”
“We’ll stop halfway. Six hours total, right?” Max asks me.
“Yeah, about six hours,” I say after swallowing the last of my unfulfilling lunch.
Derichs settles back underneath his puffy blanket as Max’s large hands grip the steering wheel, staring out onto the interstate.
“My spies tell me this guy has a grudge with every family in Appleton City. Says he has the goods, but no heir to give it to. Doesn’t want his enemies to end up with any of it,” he says, gliding his chocolate brown eyes across the cabin to crawl up my body to my face. Even the hint of his gaze heats my insides. I hate it.
“Hmm, that would definitely work in our favor… I doubt a man with the titleThe Earwould just give us something for free, though. Even if he wants rid of it.” The fact we don’t know what he wants is eroding the lining of my stomach, along with the fake eggs in that sandwich. Money would be easy. But these men usually have enough of that.
“Yeah. I don’t have much to offer him, other than taking the guns off his hands.” Max passes a few cars by pushing the gas to the floor. The rumble of the engine makes my thighs tingle, causing me to shift in my seat. Max’s eyes dart to my lap for a moment. “Aren’t you glad I drove?”
A corner of my lips jumps into a smirk. “Well, I do have an SUV. Your tank would have been more comfortable. We could have made him a large bed in the back.”
Muffled, Derichs’s voice rings through the interior of the car. “Hey! Max, you didn’t tell me that! It’s overcrowded back here.”
Max narrows his eyes at him in the rearview. “Go back to sleep.”