I cleared my throat, wrapping my fingers around the cold glass in front of me. “Rough day?”
“Not really.” She shook her head and searched my eyes. “How well do you know Deidra Harlow?”
I blinked, my hackles rising. “How do you know her?”
She tipped her head like I was jerking her chain. “She owns Serenity Farms.”
Fuck. The checks to my clinic were only signed by the ranch manager. I hadn’t known who actually owned the place, and I hadn’t cared. Until now. Chandler’s sister was working for the head of Evolution Defense, the same company that had tried to kidnap my Alpha’s toddler and had secretly used Wendy’s DNA for super soldier research.
This couldn’t be a coincidence. No way.
I finished off my beer and pushed the glass forward. “Can I get another Blue Moon, Ryker?”
“Sure thing,” he called over his shoulder.
I looked at Madison. “Deidra Harlow is a biochemist in Phoenix. I wasn’t aware she owned a ranch in Sedona.”
Madison rested her elbow on the bar. “So you weren’t the one who told her my brother lives in Arizona?”
I felt like I couldn’t catch up with her thought process. Did she think I had talked to her boss?
I shook my head. “I’ve never spoken to her. Why?”
Ryker delivered her drink, and she sucked that thing down like a pro. Damn.
She set the glass down and turned my way. “You’ve never spoken to her?”
The woman who was trying to get werewolf DNA from my Alpha’s toddlers? No fucking way had I ever talked to her. But I couldn’t tell Chandler’s sister that.
“Nope. I didn’t even know she owned the ranch until just now,” I said as Ryker brought me a fresh beer. “Are you sure you didn’t say something to her? You seemed pretty excited about the babies yesterday.”
“Babies? As in plural?” She chuckled and shook her head. “God, I hope it’s not twins. Poor Chandler won’t know what hit him.”
Dammit. Chandler hadn’t told me Madison didn’t know Wendy was having twins. Shifters were always born in sets of twin boys. The shifter gene was carried on the Y chromosome and was only passed down through males. Our mates had to be bitten before they could conceive.
But none of that was information I could share with the woman beside me.
“Either way, you were eager to be an aunt. Maybe you told her about it earlier?”
“It’s so weird.” She sobered. “I must have, but I’ve barely spoken with Deidra, and I don’t remember saying anything personal.” She met my eyes. “What she said about why I moved to Arizona was almost word for word what I told you yesterday.” She shrugged, staring at her empty glass. “It unsettled me enough that I went down to the barn to check for surveillance equipment.”
If Deidra owned that ranch, the barn probably was full of hidden cameras and microphones. I’d have to be mindful of everything I said over there from now on.
She looked my way. “Do they serve food here? I drank that pretty fast. I’m already starting to feel it.”
“Yeah.” I motioned to Ryker, and he came over to our end of the bar.
“Need another Orgasm?” he asked with a crooked smile that inspired a jealous spark to flare in my chest. Was he flirting with Madison?
Was it any of my business? Not really. Ryker didn’t know she was off-limits. Not yet anyway. But she had come to the Wolf Pack Bar to see me.
I swallowed the aggressive rush, chalking it up to a combination of my dominant wolf and my sad dating record of late.
“No, thanks.” Madison shook her head, not seeming to notice the bartender’s charms. “I actually need some food.”
“Sure.” Ryker pulled out a paper menu. “Here you go. The bacon cheeseburger is my favorite, but if you want something sweet, our churros are made fresh.”
She glanced my way. “Are you going to have anything?”
“I’m always hungry.” I looked up at Ryker. “I’ll take a bacon cheeseburger—actually, make it a double—and a side of onion rings.”
Madison handed him the menu. “Same for me, and add a churro, too.”
“You got it.”
He walked away, and Madison nudged my shoulder. “I’ll run it all off in the morning.”
The booze was definitely softening the edge she’d come in with earlier. I smirked and took a sip of my beer. “I wasn’t judging. Nothing wrong with eating when you’re hungry.”
She looked over at the woman singing karaoke in the corner, and my gut clenched. Shit. I had hoped she’d forgotten about the musical part of the night.
Her eager gaze cut back over to me. “Sing a duet with me.”
I grinned and lifted my beer. “You know we’re new friends, right?”
“Friends… I like the sound of that.” She laughed and something twisted inside me, aching for more than friendship.
She had a great laugh. I reminded myself again that she was off-limits.
Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at me. “Come on. It’ll be fun.”
“I don’t know any of the songs.”
“Bullshit.” She grinned and slid off the stool. “I’ll be right back.”
Her hips swayed hypnotically as she walked over to the deejay booth.
Ryker came over and leaned on the bar, keeping his voice low as he said, “She’s hot.”
My gaze cut over to him, my eyes narrowing. “She’s also Chandler’s sister. Hands off.”
He put up his hands with a chuckle. “Easy there. I didn’t know.”
“She doesn’t know about shifters, and Chandler wants to keep it that way.” I glanced over at her across the bar. “We’re just friends.”
Ryker smirked. “I saw the way she was looking at you. She likes you.”
“She’s buzzed.” But I enjoyed the thought that she might be interested in me. I shouldn’t. But I did.
“Maybe, but she’s still into you.” He straightened up and grabbed his towel to wipe down the bar. “Be careful, man.”
I was trying.
Madison came back with the song list and started flipping through the pages. She stood close enough that the scent of her hair teased my senses. She smelled fresh and clean with a hint of a sea breeze even though we were miles from any ocean, like a flower in the desert. I fought the urge to reach out and touch her, reminding myself of Chandler’s warning. The less she knew the safer she would be.
But she was working for Deidra Harlow, and somehow Deidra knew about Chandler. Madison was already in danger and she didn’t even know Chandler shifted into a hulking black jaguar during the new moon.
Her lips vaguely moved as she read the song titles. Her fingernails were manicured but not painted, her fingers were slender but not bony, and her arms were toned without being thin. I forced myself to look someplace else before I started staring at her breasts.
It was like her being forbidden made everything about her even sexier.
I shifted on my stool to relieve some pressure. Obviously, I was way overdue for some female company.
She pointed and tapped her finger on a song title. Grinning, she looked up at me. “Here it is.”