Midnight Moonrising (Moonrising #2)(40)

Heath slapped him in the chest with the back of his hand, but smiled as he said, "Speak for yourself, *. I haven't made up my mind yet."

Brad grimaced as he rubbed his sternum.

"Why am I here?" Alex said. "I know it's not because you thought I might be hungry, not at nearly two o'clock in the morning. Did Mena send you three to get me to do some sort of initiation to see if I can be trusted to keep her secrets? Because, I gotta say, I'm beginning to re-think things, so all this isn't really necessary."

Roel's fork clattered to the plate, and all three guys stared at Alex with their eyes wide and their mouths agape. "Does Mena know this?" Roel finally asked.

Alex shook his head. "I'm no fool. I know she only kissed me to get me to help her—"

"No, really she didn't, Cop," Brad said. "She actually doesn't want you involved at all, and that's because what we're doing is dangerous and she doesn't want you to get hurt. And… because you would only get in our way. She thought if you refused to give the case to someone else, that you would be better off right in the middle of everything so we could protect you. If you're really thinking of backing out, you need to be clear about your answer and tell us now."

"Why?" Alex said. "Why can't I just tell her when we have lunch tomorr—" he looked at his timepiece, "—today?"

Roel's phone beeped, and he picked it up off the table to read the text message. "Phoenix said he'll be ready to meet in twenty minutes." He wiped his mouth with a napkin and tossed it on the empty plate.

Alex sat up a little straighter in his seat. "What? What are you planning to do in twenty minutes?"

They all stared at him for a long moment, then Heath finally said, "We're going to talk with an old friend about Katie's murderer. Wanna come? Or are you still on the fence about what that kiss really meant?"

He didn't even have to think about it. "I'm coming."





V''''V





Mena





I felt a bit better as I stepped out of Phoenix's huge Jacuzzi tub, relaxed and clean. Today hadn't been a good one, but I was willing to try and make at least one of the problems in my life right.

After quickly dressing in my pajamas and twisting my damp hair up in a clippie, I opened the door of the bathroom and walked into Phoenix's main chamber.

He wasn't waiting for me. Had he left already, without saying goodbye? Surely not.

Looking left, toward the closed closet door, I frowned when I didn't hear anything from within.

"Phoenix?" I said.

No response.

Maybe he was in the house somewhere, I thought, and made my way to the door.

The knob turned freely in my hand, but wouldn't budge when I tried to pull it open. My eyes bulged in surprise, and I jerked on the thing as my temper rose. He had locked me in his room!

"Phoenix!" I yelled, and then slapped the thick wood of the door with my palm. "Let me out of here!"

He had really left.

As I stood there, fuming and completely bewildered that he wouldn't trust me in his house alone, it occurred to me that he thought I might escape the compound altogether, and that pissed me off even more.

Doing something childish, like destroying his room, came to mind, but I doubted that would upset him; he would just have someone else clean up the mess and replace anything I broke.

Spotting my cell phone on the bed, I rushed and grabbed it up, intending to give him a piece of my mind—

"Put the phone down, Mena," my wolf said.

"Don't talk to me," I snapped. "You siding with him is what got me locked in this room in the first place." I could feel her attempt to take away my anxiety, but I gave a rough mental shove and put a stop to her intrusion. "And stop messing with my emotions!" I screamed. "I want to be mad at you!"

"Just calm down and listen to me."

I stomped my foot and growled in frustration. "I don't want to hear anything you have to say, bitch! I just want to be angry. Please, just let me have that much control right now." I could feel the tears welling up, and I knew I was about to cry. For the first time in, well, forever, I saw that as a good thing; she was giving me what I asked for, my emotions back. I wiped at my cheeks as I sighed. "Thank you."


There was a brief moment of silence as she let me calm down on my own. I was shocked at how much better throwing a temper tantrum made me feel. I took in a deep breath and smiled a little.

"Mena, Phoenix isn't afraid you'll leave the house—he knows I won't let you—but he did suspect you would get the wrong idea and get angry. That was his way of getting even for you hurting his feelings."

My eyes popped wide at hearing her theory. "I hurt his feelings?" I said on a laugh. "You can't be serious. He's centuries old."

"He doesn't seem like the type to wear his heart on his sleeve, but, with you, it doesn't appear as though he can help it. Phoenix is enamored with you and you keep pushing him away."

I plopped down in a chair by the fireplace. "Only because I don't want you to kill him."

I heard a heavy sigh and sensed that she was rolling her nonliteral eyes at me. "Fine. I won't kill him, not unless he really, really pisses me off. I'm sorry for stirring up trouble in Phoenixland. It just gets boring in here with only your thoughts to keep me company. I'm sure you understand."