Dodging the hostess, who was now calling for security, Hadley cut through the restaurant, ignoring the looks, the whispers, the pointing fingers, and slammed her palms down on his table hard enough to rattle the silverware. “We need to talk.”
“I’m on a date,” he stated the obvious.
“You haven’t touched your food except to play with it. Your water glass is mostly full, and I’m betting it’s your first of the night. I don’t know why you haven’t turned to booze since you’re so obviously bored out of your mind, but I get that you can’t risk getting drunk without waking up mated to goddess only knows who.”
“We’re on a date,” Rebecca reiterated. “You’re interrupting.”
“You’re not on a date. You’re on a recon mission. You’re trying him on to see if he fits.”
A soft breath punched out of Midas. “That’s enough, Hadley.”
Fierce hazel eyes captured his and dared him to ignore her. He was half tempted to try just to see what she would do. Add his blood to the mix already coating her was his guess.
A dangerous smile tickled the right corner of his mouth, but he mashed his lips flat again.
“Give me ten minutes, and then you can get back to your mommy-approved evening of staring through the window at the clock tower across the street while you count down an appropriate amount of time before making your excuse to leave.”
Head whipping toward the window, Rebecca gawked at the true reason he always asked for this table.
None of his dates had ever noticed the setup, let alone the reason behind it, but Hadley had him figured out in under a minute.
“I’ll be right back.” He tossed his napkin on his untouched plate and stood. “Where is…Snowball?”
“Outside with Ford.” Nose wrinkling at the fancy trappings his mother insisted on, she gave the hostess a withering glare that made the woman shrivel in her stilettos. “This place has no patio. They don’t allow dogs. Can you believe that?”
“I’ll be sure to leave them a bad Yelp review.”
Her eyes lit for an instant, like he had finally hit on a topic that interested her, but she wiped off the expression when they reached the open floor space near the restrooms.
“We have a problem.”
Angling his body closer, he ducked his head and lowered his voice. “Another murder?”
“I visited the Mendelsohn pack tonight. One of the Perkerson Park victims may very well be a seventeen-year-old by the name of Tammy, who ran away rather than let Deric touch her. I learned this from a girl named Jessica, who worried I might be bringing them bad news about her big sister. She wants out. We can help her now, or we can let her fall through the cracks. What will it be?”
A knot twisted in his gut that wouldn’t release until he fixed this, but curiosity won out, and he acted as unaffected as the alpha herself might. “What are you suggesting I do about it?”
The crackle of righteous fury in her eyes reminded him of the sky before lightning struck.
“Nothing.” She met his gaze, held it. “I’ll let you get back to tapping your foot, I mean, your date.”
Hadley turned to go, but he caught her by the arm, the feel of her skin electric.
“You just said this girl is a warg, and that she’s underage. I have no claim on her. I can’t walk up to Mendelsohn and demand he hand her over, and I can’t go around stealing kids in the middle of the night.”
“I can’t leave her there.” She didn’t pull away, she leaned in. “You didn’t see her. She’s sharing a tent with three or four other girls about her age. She’s protecting them since she couldn’t protect her sister.”
“Why didn’t you take this to Linus? Your office has the resources to handle witness protection and relocation. You’ve done the same for other abuse survivors. Why is this girl different?” He didn’t mean to, but he tightened his grip, his intrigue stronger than his usual aversion to intimacy in any form. “Why did you come to me?”
“You volunteer at women’s shelters. You teach them self-defense. You care.”
Uncertain how he felt about her referencing his atonement like a virtue, he asked, “Are you saying Linus doesn’t?”
“He cares, probably too much, but this isn’t going to be his city forever.” Determination burned in her gaze. “Atlanta will be mine one day, and I’m not going to stand for this. Your pack is our office’s closest ally. I don’t know how to stay on the right side of the law for this, but I also don’t think I care.”
The last part rattled her. She hadn’t meant to say it. But she had. To him. She…trusted him.
“I’ll make some calls to shelters with experience dealing with shifter kids.” He searched her face. “Mendelsohn can’t do a damn thing if those kids leave of their own free will. Runaway is not the same as kidnapped. Prove they’re at risk in their home environment, and I’ll make sure no one can touch them.”
A smile flirted with the corners of her mouth, and she exhaled with relief. “Thanks.”
Noticing he still held her arm, he forced his hand open. “Give me your phone.”
“I get that you’re the alpha-to-be, but you’ve got to work on your manners.”
In danger of returning her smile, he growled, “Please give me your phone.”
She handed it over then smirked while he added himself as a contact. “I feel so special.”
“Maybe next time you’ll call first.”
“Next time I’ll have your number so I can call first.”
Shaking his head, he returned her cell. “I have to get back to dinner.”
“Five bucks says you don’t remember your date’s name.”
“Rebecca,” he said dryly. “Where’s my five bucks?”
“Darn.” She snapped her fingers. “I don’t have any cash on me.”
“Don’t gamble with what you don’t have.”
“Ford wants to come over for a movie night.” Wariness pinched her delicate features before she smoothed them. “I could put that five toward a pizza if you’re interested in joining us.”
Ford was doing the job Midas had recruited him for last year, but all of a sudden it didn’t sit well.
Nothing Hadley had said or done since arriving in Atlanta warranted the vague warning Lethe had given him about the POA’s new protégé. He had been willing to let it slide at the time, but he couldn’t afford to keep handling Hadley blind. He had to think of the pack first. His sister had relished the role of beta, had embraced the role of alpha. Her word carried weight with him, and he trusted her instincts.
“Maybe next time.” He glanced toward the table and the impatient woman waiting on him. “Spend that five on Ford. He likes sausage and pepperoni with extra red onions.”
“Maybe.” She shrugged off his rebuff. “Next time you might not get an invite.”
She put a sway in her hips that hadn’t been there before and left him staring after her.
Feeling eyes on him, he glanced out the front window and noticed Ford watching him watch her.
Back at his table, Rebecca made it clear she had seen him too.