I turn to grab Luca’s hand. “Let’s go.”
“So where are you—”
I silence Jill with a well-placed elbow to the ribs when I pass her. My grip on Luca’s hand tightens as I drag him after me. Jill and Steve watch silently from the stairs, each with their own very different thoughts.
The instant we cross the threshold into my bedroom, I shut the door. I stand there as if to block anyone else from entering. It takes me a moment to realize my fingers are still entwined with Luca’s. I stare at our conjoined hands for a few awkward seconds before I slip free.
His eyes follow me across the room while I put some much-needed distance between us.
As promised, the window has been fixed, and the glass has been swept off the floor. To avoid the questions that I know are coming, I busy myself with tidying up everything else that needs some attention.
All of my clothes are put away, my books are lined up perfectly on the bookshelf, and there is not one wrinkle in my bedsheets by the time I dare peek in Luca’s direction.
As I suspected, he’s still watching me. Still waiting.
I toss my hands up with a sigh. “What?”
His voice is deep and smooth when he asks, “You want to tell me what that was about?”
I snatch my copy of Little Women from the nightstand and place it on the bookshelf. “Nothing.”
“That was definitely something.” His tone turns cold.
I straighten a few pictures on the wall, ignoring him and the shiver that races up my spine in response to the change in his voice. Neither of us speaks for a long, uncomfortable moment. I nearly jump out of my shoes when a growl-like noise comes from his throat.
“I’m not going to be a pawn that you use to make another guy jealous,” he says.
“I’m not—” I spin around defensively, then sigh when I realize that is probably how it looked to him. “That had nothing to do with Steve. That was . . . Jill.”
He doesn’t look convinced. “What about her?”
“Didn’t you see the look in her eyes?”
“I only saw the look in his eyes,” Luca sneers. “He’s lucky to still be breathing.”
I gape at Luca, unsure how much of his statement should be taken seriously. From the severe look on his face, I assume he means for it to be taken literally.
Not good. Time to defuse the situation.
“Steve is . . . harmless,” I explain quickly. “You don’t have to kill him on my account.”
“That’s your opinion,” he grunts.
“He’s not important,” I reason. “He doesn’t matter. He has nothing to do with . . .” I trail off when something Luca said earlier comes back to me. Someone close to me is a threat. Surely, that someone isn’t my ex-boyfriend. Right?
“Luca?” I step closer to him. “Steve is just a human, right? He’s not . . .”
“No. He’s not a shifter,” Luca grits. “I still don’t like him.”
“But we have bigger things to worry about than him,” I remind Luca.
“Like your step-sister?” He smirks.
I turn away from him with a groan.
“Why did you tell them that?” he asks.
“What?” I fake innocence.
He doesn’t buy it. “You know what.”
“I don’t know why I said that,” I admit glumly. “If she thinks . . .”
“I’m your boyfriend,” he supplies when I can’t utter the words.
“She’s only going to try harder now,” I say. “That’s her thing. She always has to do better, be better, than me. It’s like a competition with her—one that I have no interest competing in.”
“So why did you say it?”
I stare at him, unwilling and unable to tell him the truth. That jealousy forced the words out of my mouth. That I didn’t like the way Jill looked at him, and I didn’t like the way it made me feel. That even if he isn’t interested in me in that way, I fear the way my body involuntarily reacts to him means that I am more interested in him than I want to admit.
“I don’t know,” I lie. “It doesn’t matter. I screwed up. She’ll be coming for you now.”
“She can try,” he says. His voice is much softer now. I like it better like this—except for the fact that it makes my stomach all twisty and achy.
“Whatever.” I shrug to downplay the confusing emotions rolling through me. I can’t even begin to figure them all out. There’s too many. Jealousy. Intrigue. Disappointment.
Always disappointment.
I turn away to conceal the evidence written all over my face. Surely, there is another picture on my wall that needs straightened.
“Sav?” His voice is closer.
I can’t bring myself to look at him. “What?”
He crosses the room to stand directly behind me. “Those shifters are after you for a reason.”
I mull over his words silently and reach the only conclusion I reasonably can. “Yeah, because I was your girlfriend three years ago. That’s a pretty crappy reason if you ask me.”
He’s quiet while I adjust a picture that doesn’t need adjusted. Seconds tick by, and I wonder if he has more to say.
Or I hope he has more to say?
The optimistic romantic in me wants him to tell me it’s more than that, and that our history isn’t the only reason he is here. That something more than guilt and duty drive him. That he does like me, and what happened last night was one big misunderstanding.
The rational part of me insists there can be no other explanation.
Ration obviously wins, because he says nothing. After a few agonizing seconds, he walks away and opens the door. I start to ask him where he is going. Then Ryse and Ryder waltz into my room.
“Perimeter is clear,” Ryse announces. “Aside from a bickering couple in the driveway, no one is within half a mile of here.”
I whip around. “Jill and Steve? Did they see you come into the house?”
Ryse spares me a glance but doesn’t answer.
“Why does it matter?” Luca asks.
“Because there are three guys in my bedroom right now,” I state the obvious. It must not be obvious enough, because I get three blank stares in response. “Do you have any idea what kind of rumors they can conjure up to explain why the three of you are in here? Ever heard of a smartphone? They have built-in cameras. Pictures often find their way onto social media. Do you have social media in your realm?”
“We’re too busy fighting off rogue shifters to worry about social media drama,” Ryse snaps.
He has a point, but that doesn’t make this any easier to swallow. They don’t know how vile Jill can be, while I have firsthand knowledge. Only time will tell what kind of damage my reputation will take once Jill drags it through the mud. I can only hope Dad doesn’t believe the lies.
My defeated gaze briefly meets Luca’s before he turns to Ryse with a nod. “Go on. Make sure they see you leave.”
Ryse hooks one intimidating brow. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am.” Luca crosses his arms. “She has to live with them when this is all over.”
Ryder peers at me with a bewildered expression while Ryse narrows his eyes on Luca.