Technical Threat (Westin Force #4) - Julie Trettel Page 0,70
I jumped out of bed and ran for the bathroom. While there I went ahead and jumped in the shower trying to wash away some of the fears I had as the reality of my situation was starting to sink in.
I’d mated a man I didn’t know. I’d sold my business and currently my only source of income. I’d uprooted my sisters and dragged them down this rabbit hole with me. I gulped. I lived with a very large pack of wolves. There had to be hundreds of them if not thousands.
My head felt like it had been in a haze since the moment Caleb Tarron walked into my life. That veil was slowly lifting.
I stared at myself in the mirror touching his mark on my neck. This was my life now.
I walked out of the bathroom and looked around. It was a nice sized studio and looked to have everything we could need as far as basics went, but it was so impersonal. There was no sign of my mate in the room. None.
On the drive here we’d had some time to talk. He had told me he didn’t keep much in the room, only the bare necessities. He had even confessed that his computer and desk were in the base at his office and not in his room. He carried his laptop with him everywhere so there wasn’t any sign of even that here.
I looked around for a picture or anything that showed he actually lived there. Aside from a few clothes and things in the drawers and closet there wasn’t much else. The fridge was almost empty and there was only a few cans of ravioli and some granola bars in the cabinets of the little kitchenette.
I sighed. Things were going to have to change around here if this was where I would be living.
I knew he wanted to buy a house in town or have one built but didn’t know when that would be. I hoped it would be sooner rather than later. I also hoped he didn’t mind some decorations because after just a few hours I was going crazy in the practically sterile environment. How could he live this way?
I was so on edge that when my phone rang, I nearly jumped out of my skin.
“Hello?” I asked. My voice sounded a little shaky even to my own ears and I hadn’t even bothered to check to see who it was first.
“Susan? Are you okay?” Sapphire asked.
“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. It was just so quiet here that the ringer startled me.”
“Okay,” she said dragging out the “ay” as if she didn’t quite believe me.
“How’s everything going there? Are you guys getting all settled in?”
“Yeah, it’s great. Nonna’s the best. She took us to this place called Silver Bells for breakfast. Two of her friends co-own the place. I couldn’t really see myself working there, but you might like it. They offered us jobs and Sage took them up on it. She’ll be working after school four days a week to start out. She starts training this afternoon.”
“Wow, that’s great.”
“Then on the way back, since Silver Bells wasn’t really my thing, she took me to this bar called The Crate. Susan, it was perfect. I met Jesse who owns the place and Misty who’s a long time waitress there and we instantly connected. Susan, it’s perfect.”
I laughed. “You said that already.”
“Sorry, I’m just so excited. Right next door is a tattoo studio, too.”
Sapphire was a phenomenal artist. She was always drawing when our mother wasn’t watching. The arts weren’t the right path for her according to Shay, but I had secretly encouraged her not to give it up. I wasn’t even sure she could stop, because it was so much a part of her, it was as if it just poured out from her soul, and onto the paper.
“Would that be something you’d be interested in?” I asked hesitantly. It was such a sore spot with her and our mother that it had become another one of those topics best left avoided altogether, like Sonnet.
“Yes,” she said without delay. “It would be a dream come true for me. You know I’ve always loved to draw.”
“I know. That would be great, Sapphire.”
“In the meantime, I took a job bartending.”
“What? Who are you?”
“I know, right? I’m so excited, Susan. I feel alive here for the first time in my life. I’m actually free to explore my interests.”