He was too preoccupied at first to hear the light footfalls until they were very close. The smell and soft patter told him who it as before she caught up to him.
“Mr Gévaudan.” Joey’s friend Maggie stopped short as she reached out a small hand to catch his attention, falling silent in confusion as he pivoted to face her. Her hazel eyes searched his, whatever she saw there must have reassured her. The perpetual animated cheerfulness Luke had noticed on several occasions sparked in those eyes, but her expression remained almost grave “Mr Gévaudan—”
“Luke,” he interrupted with his most reassuring smile.
“Luke.” She almost frowned, then caught herself. “I won’t waste your time in small talk, Luke, since you seem to be in a bit of a hurry.” Her sharp, observant gaze fastened for a moment on the bulging backpack. “I just wanted to know,” she continued, “if you’d heard from Joey”
Luke held himself very still, studying her face. Did she know, or suspect? Had Collier broken the influence, or shown his confusion sufficiently to arouse Maggie’s suspicions? Maggie was the type of woman whose loyalty was fierce, as stubborn as a wolf bitch guarding her den. Luke thought it through quickly and shook his head almost as soon as she’d finished speaking.
“Collier didn’t tell you? She was injured and had to be flown directly to the hospital.” He had no real trouble keeping his voice smooth and even with false sincerity. He’d had a lot of practice.
There was a subtle shift in Maggie’s features. Her short jaw set and a hand came up to brush red curls from her forehead.
“Yes, he told me,” she admitted with narrowed eyes. “But—and you’ll forgive me for being frank, Luke—I can’t help but feel there is a lot more to it than that.”
“Maybe there was,” Luke said softly. “But it’s over now. I haven’t heard from her.” There was a sudden and unexpected twinge over the lie that made Luke’s muscles tighten in defensive anger. “If you’ll excuse me…”
“Then why hasn’t she been in touch? It’s been over four weeks. She promised to give me a full report.”
Her hand darted out to catch his arm, and the audacity of the gesture brought Luke to a halt. He pushed back the desire to shake her off.
“I can’t answer your questions. She hasn’t written me, either,” he said with utter truthfulness.
Maggie dropped her hand away, and her full mouth twisted. “Doesn’t injure your pride at all that she didn’t tumble into bed with you like the others, eh? Or maybe you’ve had enough time to recover.”
She had stepped back neatly, and Luke caught himself to consider with cold rationality why she’d wish to provoke him. She wanted him to break down in anger, admit something that would confirm what she seemed to have guessed. Suddenly Luke found himself smiling at her nerve and the kind of loyalty she must feel to risk goading him.
Apparently she hadn’t expected quite that reaction. Her hands settled on her hips. “If you know anything—anything at all—about Joey, I want to hear it. I’m her friend. She wouldn’t just disappear and never even let me know she was alive and well.”
Resisting the impulse to disarm her, Luke maintained his smile. “She’s alive and well. That’s all I can tell you.” He turned away once more, starting for the edge of town.
“Is it really, Gévaudan?” she called after him. “Why is it that I don’t quite believe you?”
The last words were so faint that Luke knew he had not been meant to hear them. Maggie didn’t know about his hearing. And she didn’t know how far he was prepared to go to keep Joey by his side. Luke’s lip curled. He found himself liking Maggie; best for her if she never found out.
Joey was reading by the fire when he returned to the cabin at twilight. She was up and in his arms before he had quite gotten through the door, a greeting that startled and warmed him with its intensity, something he had hardly begun to get used to and doubted he ever would. It was a proper kind of greeting among his people, who like true wolves were as effusive in their affections as they were swift in conflict and resolution. Luke had known for many years that he was one of the few who seemed capable of holding a lifelong grudge, perhaps that was why every welcoming embrace, each kiss, came as a shock of joyful belonging, the kind he had never felt within his own pack. Each time they made love, it strengthened their bond and his need for her.