Wolf's Hunger (Mafia Monsters #5) - Atlas Rose Page 0,43

he would again. There was a subtle shake of Phantom’s head before he jerked that piercing gaze toward me.

“He came for me before,” I declared. It was all I had.

“No,” he denied. “That’s not happening on any fucking level.”

If the Wolf wasn’t Finis, then he was somehow connected to him. It was a simple play. Bait. Wolf. I gave my Alpha a nod. “It makes sense.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Ruth disagreed with an eye roll. “If he even thinks Phantom or any of your Wolves are around, he’ll be gone faster than you can blink. And anyway, what makes you think it’s you he’s after?”

I clenched my jaw until the muscles bulged and whipped my gaze toward her, lifting my hand. “One, he came for me at the farmhouse when I was on my own. Two, there’s this problem of the four-inch gash in my arm from his damn fangs.”

She had the gall to curl her nose at the sight of the throbbing wound. He had come for me. I knew it.

“There has to be a better way,” Arran insisted, and drained his glass. “We call in the rest of the pack and track him down. If we can get ahead of him, and behind, we might have a chance.”

“He could be anywhere.” I pointed out the obvious. “Hell, he could be out there watching us right now. There was no way we’d know it.”

“In the meantime,” Elithien gave the bodyguard a nod. “You have the use of the guest quarters, there’s fresh linen and access to the pool. Anything else you might need, don’t hesitate to ask.” He lowered his gaze to the bag in Phantom’s hand. “I see you’ve brought some clothes.”

“Just nothing for Carina,” Vitold cut in.

“I’d give her some of mine, but she’s a little bigger in the hips.” Ruth’s gaze was a dagger. “And a little too flat in the chest.”

We just stared at each across the room. her insults weren’t anything I hadn’t heard a hundred times over. “You didn’t ask why I was there,” I growled.

“What?”

“The farmhouse when we were first attacked. You didn’t ask why I was there.”

She said nothing. I made the Wolves nervous when I took a step toward her. “I was given a black and white image, taken from inside one of the Costello warehouses. You want to know what it showed?”

“I’m just breathless with anticipation,” she answered dryly.

“My father bound to a chair, his face bloody after being beaten, and his partner lying in front of him with a gunshot to his head. The one piece of crucial information to clear him.”

She flinched.

Gotcha.

It was her turn to close the distance, and she promptly did with that seductive stride, until we faced each other. “And where is that information now, special agent?”

Hate raged inside me, venomous and hungry.

“Ruth,” Elithien cautioned. “Carina is our guest.”

“You better stay away from me,” I warned as that burn in my chest pulsed to life.

“Oh, you don’t scare me, Carina,” she returned with a sneer. “I’ve been holding my own with you for years.”

I felt the heat of that anger burning a hole through my damn soul. My damn eye twitched. “Don’t think any of this is going to stop me from coming after you.”

She turned her head and hit me with a chilling stare. “Not in my wildest dreams. You, Carina Chase, are the stubbornest, most singleminded, most vindictive and delusional woman I’ve ever met. I’d say you need a good fuck, but by the looks those Wolves are giving you, I’d say you had that already. So I’m going to go with plain ’ol jealousy. You, Carina, are just green with fucking envy, aren’t you?”

The bitch had the gall to lower her gaze to that seething burn in my chest. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. “Jealous? You think I’m fucking jealous of you?”

She took a small step closer, until we almost touched. “You’re quite literally glowing with the shit.”

The room was silent, until there was a muffled cough from the bodyguard in an attempt to break the tension. I wanted to break it alright, all over her smug fucking face.

“Now, let’s see if I can find you something of mine to wear,” she sighed, and broke the stare and gave me her back.

The slaps of her bare feet on the polished floor resounded like the countdown to a fucking bomb.

I hated her…no, I fucking loathed her.

“I knew this was a bad idea,” Vitold muttered.

“No shit, Russian,” I answered, watching her as she left.