Chapter 515 Chapter 515
Amari focused on trying to settle her breathing down, she needed to keep them on the road and if she didn’t relax a little that was going to be hard to do. Her phone ringing startled her, she looked down at it and then remembered the gun in her hand.
Tripp leaned down and picked it up and tapped it. Then reached over and carefully took the gun from her hand.
“Is it true?”
She recognized Devin Addison’s voice on the phone.
“He said he was Aiden Tomas’ half-brother?”
Amari nodded. “He did.”
“Rayne is losing it.” He didn’t sound like a prince right now, he sounded like a pissed-off, concerned mate.
“Does she know him?” Amari had heard that at one point Rayne was engaged to Aiden Tomas, she’d never gotten more details than that, but had always wondered how the hell that had happened. How did a shifter, one that was the fated princess of all clans end up with the very man that was making their lives a living hell?
“She just looked at the photos of his ID Tripp sent and yeah, she’s seen him before.”
Amari blinked and then glanced at Tripp, he looked like he had the same epiphany she just had. “He has to know everything.” She said it even though it was an obvious statement.
“That’s what we hope.” Devin didn’t sound any calmer.
“Are they taking him back to headquarters?” Tripp leaned forward and pointed at the GPS screen, she glanced at it to see he wanted her to turn right shortly. She nodded.
“No. Undisclosed location. Only Raymond and his three guys will know.” Someone said something in the background, “none of them have any family, so they’re in the clear.”
Amari nodded, “good.”
“We’re heading back to my SUV and then we’ll dump the Jeep,” Tripp said.
She slowed down and turned, then pointed to the gas gauge and looked at Tripp, he nodded.
“Check in when you’re there.” The voices in the background got louder. “We’re going earlier tonight, so Illias will be busy, contact Zain instead.”
Amari nodded, “Okay. Be safe.”
“Safe has nothing to do with it now,” Devin growled and then the line went quiet.
“Shit.” Tripp set her phone down and turned in his seat to look behind them.
She held her breath until he turned back around and settled in his seat. “Yeah.”
“Things are going to get crazier from here.” He said in a distracted way.
Amari nodded and glanced at the GPS screen, “we need to get back to the teams and help.” She turned her head to see him nodding.
“I was just thinking the same thing.” He turned and looked behind them again. His phone rang and he answered it without looking at it, “Carson.”
She held her breath hoping something hadn’t gone wrong.
“Mom?”
Amari looked over to see he was surprised by the call. His whole stance changed. She didn’t know that others were giving out the new numbers since the breach of their information. She had only made Zain give hers to the rest of the co-ord team.
“Really? How was she?” He was smiling now.
A twinge of jealousy hit her; she wished a call from her mother made her smile like that. Not that her mother ever called her. How long had it been since she’d spoken to her? A year? Could be longer, she wasn’t sure.
“I can’t wait to run with her.” He nodded.
Snapping her head back, she watched the road. Now was not the time to think about her family, she needed to stay on task and get them to—she glanced at the gas gauge again, a gas station first and foremost.
“Uh, I can’t say right now, things are a bit hectic with work—but as soon as I get some downtime, you’ll see me.”
Hectic? That was an understatement. She smirked, if Aiden Tomas’ brother gave up details, things were going to explode as far as the teams went and shut down the insanity that they all lived with. Her end goal was to see families reunited, children being able to go to school, and gatherings, without the constant fear that they were going to be taken or worse. She wasn’t sure where that would leave her when life returned to normal, but she’d find a purpose, that she was sure of.
“I will. I love you too.” Tripp hung up and sat there looking at his phone. She wanted to ask him about the call, but didn’t want to start talking about family, what did she have to add to a conversation like that? “My sister’s first shift.” He said in a light tone.
She glanced at him, “really? That’s great.” She jerked her eyes back to the road, “did it go well?” He had a little sister? Her chest tightened, she had no idea if her younger sister had shifted yet or not. How old was she now, twenty-one, two? If it hadn’t already happened, it would be soon.
“Yeah, mom wasn’t sure she was going to come back.” He chuckled.
“I get it.” She smiled despite the heavy feeling in her chest, “my first time I would have run for days if my body had let me.”
“Yeah.” He sucked in a slow breath, “seems like forever ago now.”
Amari nodded, “yeah it does.” The silence was filled with memories and a lot of things she just wished she could forget. She’d decided long ago that hoping to go back in time and erase them was never going to be a reality. She cleared her throat, so the emotions wouldn’t be audible, without those past events, she wouldn’t be who she was today. She liked who she was, even if most others didn’t. “Gas needs to happen soon.”
Tripp leaned over and looked at the dash. Her cat picked up on his scent when Amari breathed it in and was practically rolling around inside her like a kitten would in catnip. She gripped the steering wheel tighter, now was not the time for that you skanky creature. She bit her lip so she wouldn’t grin. He was leaning over-focused on the GPS screen.
Knowing he had a little sister and that his mother made him smile, changed the way she saw him. He was still wild and crazy, which were good traits in her book, but the tone he’d used while speaking to his mother—it got to her. He wasn’t a jerk like most other men, the ones that once they were grown didn’t need a mother or show respect.
This mate stuff was making her emotions a liability. She knew she couldn’t ignore it; his cat had claimed hers, and she got that, but right now her goals in life did not include a mate. She didn’t know how it was going to work after they got back to the teams. Obviously, some things had changed, and she’d have to see him sometime, but her plan was to go their separate ways and ride this out and see what happened. Her cat made her feelings on that, painfully clear, making Amari tense at the almost tangible smack.
“You good?”
She blinked and glanced at him, “yeah. Anxious cat issues.”
He snorted, “they have no problems expressing their feelings and opinions.”
She grinned, “even when their feelings are irrelevant.” He looked at her, searching her face until she turned back to the road.
“Five minutes and we can duck down into this little town.”
She nodded and looked at the bleak gas gauge, “hope it’s downhill, we might be coasting in.”