Blackstone Ranger Charmer - Alicia Montgomery Page 0,22

sound of that low, sultry drawl. Motherfucker, not now. Clearing his throat, he turned his head toward the source of the voice and then cursed a blue streak in his head when he confirmed who it was. “Hello, Vicky.” What the hell was she doing here?

Vicky Woolworth stood inches behind him; her slick red lips turned up into a smile. “Gabe.” She leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. His lion bristled, not wanting to even breathe the same air as the lioness. “It’s been a while. Why haven’t you been answering my calls?” she asked with a fake pout.

Maybe because I blocked your number and your social media accounts, you psycho? However, he didn’t want to make a scene. “I’ve been busy.” He glanced over at the man beside her. “Hi.”

“Oh, excuse my rudeness.” She patted Gabriel on the shoulder. “This is my date, Tom Melnick. Tom, this is Gabriel Russel. We go way back.”

“Tom,” he nodded at the man as he took the offered hand. Melnick was tall, handsome, and by the look of his expensive suit and watch, very rich. So, in short, he was Vicky’s type.

“Nice to meet you, Gabe,” Melnick said as they shook hands.

“It’s Gabriel,” he corrected.

“Only I get to call him Gabe,” Vicky laughed. “Oh, who’s your … friend?”

Crap. Turning around, he saw Temperance shrink away from them, anxiety rolling off her in waves. This really wasn’t how he wanted this night to turn out. Of all the fucking places and times Vicky could have shown up, it had to be tonight?

“This is my date,” he said, emphasizing the last word as he placed an arm around her. “Temperance Pettigrew.”

Temperance flinched when his arm landed on her shoulder, but at least she didn’t shrug it off. “Hello,” she said in a soft voice. She didn’t look at Vicky or Tom, but instead, kept the right side of her face and body away from them.

Vicky’s perfectly shaped blonde brow rose high. “Pettigrew? Are you one of the Long Island Pettigrews?”

“I …” Temperance shook her head. “No, I’m from Chicago originally.”

“Really? Which part?” Vicky prodded.

“A suburb you probably wouldn’t know,” she said with a nervous laugh.

Vicky’s nose wrinkled at the mention of the suburbs. “I’m sure I don’t,” the lioness said with disinterest.

“Don’t you have a table?” Gabriel snapped at her. He was not going to play Vicky’s games. Not anymore.

“We do, actually,” Melnick said, clearing his throat. “Vicky?”

Flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder, Vicky pasted a big smile on her face. “I’ll see you around, Gabe.”

As the other couple walked away, Temperance ducked her head and shook his arm off. “I need to use the ladies’ room,” she said before quickly scampering away, not even looking up at him.

Gabriel cursed inwardly. Downing his beer, he signaled the bartender for another one. Why he ever got involved with that crazy lioness, he didn’t know. Maybe because he was young and stupid, and their families encouraged it.

The Woolworth’s lineage was just as blue as the Russel’s, and everyone had expected them to get married. But after a while, he realized that she was, indeed, a few cards short of a deck. Still, it took him a while to fully get rid of her. But every now and then, she popped up like a nasty rash. He usually shut her down quickly, blocking her and avoiding any places where she might show up.

He knew growing up what his purpose in life was as the only male in his family of notoriously matriarchal shifters. In the past few years, he’d managed to avoid it all, even rebelling with his choice of career. He could have his choice of cushy jobs in the Lyon Industries organizational chart, but he didn’t want to be involved in all that, and for the most part, his sisters had left him alone.

But a few months ago, Gen started getting on his case about “family duty” and all that shit. Oh, he knew why his eldest sister had been calling and leaving numerous voice mails lately. Vicky sliding into his DMs and now bumping into her seemed suspiciously coincidental.

Minutes ticked by, and he realized he had finished his second beer already. Where the heck was that hostess with that table? On second thought, maybe it would be a good idea to find another place to eat.

“You’re still here, Gabe?”

Fuck.

Whirling around, he fixed a neutral expression on face. “Don’t you have a date you have to go back to?”

The corner of her