boyfriend, ditched Greek life.”
“At least you made one smart decision.”
“I’ve been known to on occasion. Other times I do really boneheaded stuff like running off with half-cocked mechanics on their crazy rescue missions.”
“I am all-cocked, thank you.”
He didn’t bat an eyelash and kept on looking at Deerling’s house as if he hadn’t just said the most ridiculous thing ever.
What a guy.
“I have a hard time picturing you in head-to-toe pink, drinking daiquiris and hazing freshmen,” he said.
“So did I. Turns out they only wanted me to pledge because they considered me a minority. They thought having a werewolf in the house would be good for diversity. I said fuck that. But hey, was that…almost a compliment? Coming from you, anyway?”
“Hey now, Princess. Let’s not get carried away.”
My response died short when movement at the front of Deerling’s house caught my attention. I slipped my half-finished coffee into a cup holder, and my fingers hovered over the keys, ready to start the engine at a moment’s notice.
“Hold on.” Wilder put his hand over mine, and we both watched the house, though my pulse was going crazy. “We don’t know if it’s even him. Don’t rush, we might spook him.”
I let my hand fall to my lap, but Wilder’s stayed on top of it, a warm reminder of his presence. It took me a second to realize he was comforting me, keeping me calm. I darted a quick glance at him, but he was totally focused on the house. How could Ben believe Wilder was capable of murder? How had I believed it? It made me feel sick to my stomach that I’d let my brother’s prejudice taint my opinion of Wilder so easily.
Focus.
My attention veered back to the house where Timothy had gotten into his own car, a ridiculously fancy tan Mercedes Benz. That car probably cost more than most of the homes in Franklinton. It was a strange sensation for me to begrudge someone with wealth since I was too rich for my own good. Yet Callum never lauded our wealth over anyone. We provided for the pack. He made handsome donations to the local church and other charities. Hell, he’d helped rebuild the old five-and-dime he’d loved as a kid, converted it into a convenience store and arcade that was doing solid business in St. Francisville. We used our money for good.
Timothy Deerling bought himself a Mercedes with the Church’s online earnings and let his town die around him.
Considering I already hated the man, I was looking for any reason to let my rage fester. But I really hated the guy. He was convincing his parishioners we were monsters and was spreading a cultish gospel of fear. There was nothing redeeming about him as far as I could—
A woman stepped out onto the front porch, her belly round with pregnancy and her loose summer dress billowing in the light breeze. She pushed her long dark hair off her face and smiled at his car, waving as he drove away.
Must be Shannon, the wife Josie had mentioned.
Shannon’s soft voice carried through our open windows as she laughed and said something to him, though the words were unclear.
She sounded happy.
I pulled away from Wilder and placed both hands on the steering wheel, clutching it fiercely while I decided what to do next.
“Hey.” He nudged me with his elbow. “If we’re following, we should go now.”
I watched the front of the house. The woman rubbed her belly and smiled broadly, chatting to her unborn child. She smiled up at the beautiful day, shielding her eyes from the bright gleam of sunshine, then appearing satisfied everything in her life was perfect, she went back inside.
Dammit.
“Dammit.”
Wilder started the car before I could stay his hand. “This doesn’t change anything. It can’t change anything. He’s got a wife, so what?”
“And a baby on the way.”
“Yeah?”
“Wilder…”
“We’re not going to kill him, that’s not what we’re here for.”
“But Cain—”
“What happens between Cain and Deerling isn’t our problem. You saw what he did to my brother. You saw what he allowed to happen to that woman. Just because he has a pregnant wife doesn’t make him any less of a monster. All it means is that he has a functional dick and is appealing to women. You can’t afford to be romantic about this. We can’t afford to forget what he is.”
“What if that makes us the same as him?” I stared at him, pleading without words for him to give me the push I needed. I hated