Shadow of Doubt - Hailey Edwards Page 0,87

said to Midas curtly. “Just do it over there.”

Healers occupied a peculiar niche in the pack hierarchy that set them on equal footing with alphas in a way. Their high non-rank was the only reason they could treat wounded dominants without serious injury to their patients or to themselves. Even though Midas was a beta, the healer had no trouble staring him down or bossing him around when he felt it was needed.

Ford horned in on them, his brow pinched with worry. “Will she be okay?”

“Shoo” was his answer, which did nothing to unknot the tension coiling in Midas’s gut.

“I’ve seen her take worse.” Smiling all the while, Ford launched an elaborate story about Hadley culling a rabid chupacabra from the herd. “She shook that off, she’ll walk away from this too.”

Midas vaguely remembered the incident from months earlier, and he scowled at his friend for glorifying her near-death experience, but Ford just belly-laughed until he lost his breath.

“You have no idea how bad you’ve got it.” Ford whistled through his teeth. “This is going to be fun.”

That was the point when Midas realized the growl he had dismissed as Ford’s had been coming from him, was still coming from him, and only got worse when he comprehended the scope of his meaning.

Whether Midas participated or not, Ford had decided they were competing for Hadley.

Nineteen

Popcorn pinged against the glass lid on my pot while I melted butter in a saucepan on my tiny stove. I had sweet tea, beer, lemonade, and chocolate milk in the fridge. I had a pizza on the way with a side of tongue-torching buffalo wings, and I had an old favorite cued up for when my guest arrived.

I was as ready as I would ever be.

When the knock came, five minutes after my last outfit change, I didn’t have to look hard to find a smile. Ford was running early, but that was okay by me. I opened the door and…got a shock.

“Linus.” I didn’t know what to do with my hands, my feet, my face. “Hi.”

“I won’t keep you long.” His gaze slid past my shoulder. “Can I come in?”

“Oh, sure. Yeah. Come on in. Definitely.” I tripped getting out of his way. “What’s up?”

“I came to oversee the movers.” He chuckled at my shock. “You knew this day was coming.”

“I just closed my first case.” I smelled the burnt stench of popcorn and rushed to rescue what I could, giving me a second to compose myself. “I have eleven months and change left.”

Hands preternaturally cool, he took the pot from me. A snap of his fingers brought Ambrose running, and the POA dumped the blackened kernels into his dark maw before handwashing the pot, turning on the vent over the stove, and starting a fresh batch.

Cooking was one of his many hobbies, and he was better at it than anyone else I knew, so I wasn’t going to turn my nose up at his offer of help. My nerves had been jangled before his arrival. They were audibly jingling at this point.

“You don’t need me looking over your shoulder.” After the first kernel popped, he adjusted the heat and began shaking the pot to agitate the rest. “As you said, you closed this case on your own.”

“I didn’t picture you as the momma-bird type who shoves her baby out of the nest the second it grows a feather.”

“You have the team to rely on, and I’ll be three hours away.” He dumped the perfect popcorn into a ridiculously gigantic bowl I bought for less worthy snacks, and he managed to evenly coat it with butter and salt without leaving it a soggy mess. “This is the test.” He set the bowl aside then loaded the pot into the dishwasher. “You have to prove you can stand alone, and that will be made clear if I’m not in the city.”

“What about the coup Iliana was planning? She mentioned a coven. That means there are more of them.” Unable to resist, I savored a single buttery kernel. “Did you miss the part in my report where I mentioned they can look and smell like anyone?” Not even buttery perfection could calm me. “Did I mention her kind can hurt Ambrose?” In corgi form, she had done serious damage to Ambrose. “How can I combat their magic without exposing myself?”

“Hadley.” He rested a hip against the counter and tucked his hands into his pockets. “There will always be a faction who wants more than what they