Jack halted in his steps. His gaze tightened on Barrett. “Are you insinuating my werewolves have been hunting other Guardians?” His tone deepened. The older Pack Master might have some years on Barrett, but the old fucker was still a wall of muscle.
“Like I said. Forgive me.” Barrett looked away and ran his hands through his hair, his muscles twitching, needing to release this built-up hostility that was slowly poisoning his body. “But I’ve got Guardians missing and packages arriving with their fucking extremities in them.” His gut tightened in disgust.
Jack nodded and relaxed. “Your anger is understandable. If it were my men, I’d want someone’s dick on a stick too.” He shook his head. “I’ve asked around as much as I can without giving away too much. No one in Mississippi has heard anything. Hell, I’ve even put more Guardians around the state border to increase security.”
“Fuck.” Barrett curled his fingers in a fist and slammed it into the oak tree. The tree groaned and splintered, leaving the interior exposed.
“I know this is hard, but you’ve got to keep your head straight. Your dad wouldn’t want you acting like this.”
“My father is dead. It doesn’t matter what he thinks of me anymore.”
Jack laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Barrett…”
He shrugged him off. He didn’t want to talk about his father. He had too many important issues to deal with to go down memory lane. “Look, is there anyone else, anyone in your state, who might have a lead on what’s going on with this?”
Jack frowned and looked away.
“You know someone.”
“Some people shouldn’t be relied upon for any kind of help, Barrett. Once you go asking, they’re always going to want a favor. You don’t want your soul indebted to the devil.” He planted his feet in a wide stance and glared at him. The intensity was not lost on Barrett. What Jack didn’t realize was that Barrett was willing to risk it all.
“If it means stopping whoever is hurting my Guardians, I’ll gladly sell body and soul to the devil.”
Jack glanced at the ground and then back up. “You might be singing a different tune after you meet that bitch.”
***
“Wow, this place hasn’t looked this good in… who am I kidding, this place has never looked this good.” Catty stuck the cleaning product back in the cabinet and glanced around her apartment, seeing whether she’d forgotten to clean something.
Nervous energy still pulsed in her veins despite cleaning her apartment from end to end. Her muscles ached from scrubbing the floor, but her mind was as restless as a cat in a paper sack. She might pick up from time to time but clean? She never cleaned.
But today she’d needed something to take her mind off Lucien and the way he had looked at her before walking out the door.
She sat down in front of the window, heart heavy and regret tugging at her gut. She looked down at the busy street. Night was falling across the city, lulling its victims into debauchery for a dime.
When Lucien had mentioned Zane, shame had washed over her like a waterfall. Was her brother okay? And what trouble was he in? What trouble were the Guardians in? Now she’d never know since Lucien had stormed out.
“What were you thinking, Catty?” She laid her head against the window and screwed her eyes tight.
No wonder her life was so messed up. She always acted without thinking and then she had to face the consequences.
Even as a stripper she wasn’t facing her consequences. She was hiding.
She was tired of hiding. She wanted something more. She wanted some direction in her life, some purpose.
Sighing, she stood and headed over to her laptop. She powered up her computer and sat down at her small desk.
Making decisions on the spur of the moment wasn’t working in her favor. She needed a plan with clear direction.
It was one reason she’d left home. She didn’t have a purpose or a plan there. She couldn’t live up to her family’s perfect image.
She wasn’t smart like Zane or cultured like her mom. She wasn’t determined like her father. She’d felt like a wild child, a gypsy. People always asked her what she wanted to do when she grew up, and she honestly couldn’t answer them. The only time she did answer was when Skylar asked her.
Skylar had wanted to build things, to help people. It seemed so noble and so unlike anything Catty had ever wanted. But when Skylar kept asking her, Catty blurted out she didn’t care what she did as long as she was seen.
Catty had held her breath, waiting for Skylar to judge and make fun of her. But Skylar never did.
Catty stared at the search bar and typed in How to find your perfect job. She hit the enter key.