Page 51 of Stolen

“My good-luck charm. Take it, to keep you safe.”

He could hear her unspoken words. And to bring you back.

He put his bag down and kissed her one more time, holding her close. “I’ll come back to you,” he whispered. “I swear. I love you.”

And he’d walked away.

Gunn heard footsteps behind him, and scented the air. Rex and Dobe.

“Hey, boss,” Dobe said. “You okay?”

“No, I’m not fucking okay.”

They clearly didn’t know what to say to that. Because they all always pretended they were okay, didn’t they?

Without turning around, he said, “I was going to leave, did you know that? After this job. Cut ties with Thanatos, stop running missions.”

Rex said, “And now you’re alpha.”

“Ironic, huh?” Now he did turn around, saw them standing there awkwardly, not really knowing what to do with their hands. “Where’s Switch?” he asked.

“He said to tell you he’s taking off.” Rex said. “He told us—and I quote—'the two of you might want to stay here with this bunch of crazy fuckers, bonding and braiding each other’s hair, but I’m a lone wolf.’”

Gunn’s mouth dropped open. “Are you two seriously thinking about staying?”

Dobe shrugged. “Well, you’re not leaving, are you?”

“How can I?” Gunn said, the frustration rising up in him again. “This pack—they’ve had so much taken away from them. Without an alpha…”

He didn’t have to finish the sentence. They were wolves. They knew.

Instead he said, “I’d really—it would be great if you two could stay. Hell knows I could use some friends.”

That produced another awkward silence. Feelings were not really their strong suit, any of them.

Rex and Dobe exchanged a look. Dobe nudged Rex, and Rex glared at him. Dobe glared back. Finally Rex said, “What about Mikey?”

Gunn did not want to talk about Mikey. Ever. “What about her?”

Dobe nudged Rex again, and he said, “You two seemed kind of serious. Isn’t she why you were thinking of leaving?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Gunn said. “The decision’s been taken out of my hands. And she’s an Enforcer. There’s no way she can know anything about this place.”

Even if Mikey wanted to, she couldn’t come here and be with Gunn. She’d have to disappear from her old life, and her family would never rest until they’d tracked her down. Half the Outlaw Ridge pack was wanted for something; the Enforcers would have a field day.

It would destroy the pack as surely as if he left them.

Rex said, “So that’s it?”

Gunn’s wolf was howling inside him, and the tattoo on his arm burned like fire. He felt like everything inside him had been shattered.

“Yeah, that’s it,” he said. “What else is there?”

Michelangela waited a day to hear from Gunn.

Two days.

A week.