Page 98 of The Alpha’s Unclaimed Mate

“Well, that’s charming.” Marcus recovers and gestures at me with his fork. “Your mother used my shampoo.”

Mia’s head comes up so fast she nearly takes out her juice. “Mom doesn’t use anybody’s shampoo. Mom won’t even use hotel shampoo.” Her eyes go round. “Mom. You used another shampoo?”

“Sit down and eat your food.” My face is on fire. “Marcus, stop it.”

“She liked it, though.” He shakes his head and sighs. “She liked that shampoo so much.”

“Marcus. I mean it.”

He grins at his plate. Bella looks between the two of us and rolls her eyes. “You’re both so weird.”

His phone goes off against the table. He reads the screen twice, brows drawing together, then he’s up and out through the patio doors with it at his ear. The door doesn’t catch behind him. His voice comes through the gap, low, half the words lost to the wind.

“—no, I want to see it myself. What about Daniel? Did they get anything off the—”

Bella’s head lifts off her plate.

I’m out of my chair. “Mia. Take Bella upstairs.”

“No.” Bella’s chin comes up. “I want to stay.”

“Go upstairs, sweetheart.”

She doesn’t move, so my daughter slides off her chair and takes her hand, towing her out of the room while she murmurs something about her horse book. Bella lets herself be towed.

I step onto the porch and pull the doors shut behind me. Marcus turns. He looks past me at the empty chairs, then at the door I just closed, and his jaw sets.

“All right, I’ll be there in a while.” He listens. “Are you sure about this? Okay. Make sure he doesn’t talk to anybody. I’m coming.”

He lowers the phone.

“What’s happened?” I ask.

“Why did you send the girls away?”

“Because you said Bella’s father’s name out loud, and she was hanging halfway out of her chair to hear you.”

He rubs a hand down his face and swears into it.

“Marcus.” I lean back against the glass. “What’s going on?”

He takes a while to answer me. “It seems Daniel’s and Hannah’s murders were never properly investigated. I’ve had the case reopened.”

I study him, shocked. “I thought it was a home invasion.”

His eyes stay on the tree line. “It wasn’t that simple.”

I can hear the caution in his voice.

“You keep telling me you want us to be together.” I cross my arms over my chest. “Honesty is the foundation of every relationship there is. And seeing how you keep going on about wanting us to be together, you sure have a lot of secrets.”

At the word relationship, he steps toward me. I hold up a hand and step back.

“There are things that are none of my business. I know that.” My voice stays level, which surprises me. “But I feel like you’re lying to me every time you open your mouth. Or holding something back, which is the same thing.”

He says nothing for a long stretch, his hands on his hips, his eyes moving over my face. “There are things I’m not telling you,” he admits at last. “Things I can’t tell you yet without putting you in more danger than you’re in already.” He shakes his head at whatever I’m opening my mouth to say. “They aren’t things I’ll never tell you. I need time to sort it out, and then I’ll tell you everything.”

I hold his eyes for five seconds. “Fine. But you’re on a very short leash.”