Moon Glamour by Aimee Easterling (books to read to be successful TXT) 📕

And then they were gone. My hodgepodge of family walking away in a disjointed cluster, nothing like the perfect Parisian vacationers. Clara winced as she hopped over the melting ice cream my stepfather had dropped moments earlier. Nick veered sideways to shake the hand of a Congressman who I was pretty sure he hadn’t been previously introduced to. And Harper bowed her head and scuffed her feet, uncomfortable as the linchpin that held their trio together.

I wanted to help, but Ms. Rothchild—Marina—drew my attention back to the immediate problem. “As requested, I found another job for you,” she purred. “We’ll discuss it at the museum. Tonight. 7:30 sharp.”

So shaming Harper about her grades had been an excuse to speak with me. I tamped down a burst of protective rage and focused. “I’m not so sure...”

“About returning to a crime scene?” Marina took a step closer. “No one will recognize you.”

That wasn’t what I’d been about to say. Instead, I’d had time to realize I didn’t need more money, that Harper would be safer if I severed this connection. The things I truly craved—independence from Rowan, for example—were beyond Marina’s ability to provide.

But parents and students swirled around us. This wasn’t the time or the place to say no to someone who, I suspected, wouldn’t be pleased by rejection.

“I’ll come to you then,” Marina continued, taking a step closer. Today, she smelled like wedding cake, frothy with undertones of sugar and vanilla. In stark contrast, her words were as predatory as a hunting hawk. “Where exactly are you staying now that you’ve moved out of your apartment?”

She knew I’d moved out of my apartment? This was a mistake. Such a mistake.

“I don’t think....” I started, my lips numb as if I’d just left the dentist. Why was it so hard to speak?

“Don’t fear me, child. I’m here to help you.” Marina’s scent enfolded me, gentle and supportive. “I hear you’re having a problem with your alpha. Is that what’s put you so on edge?”

I had a nearly overwhelming urge to spill my guts. To tell her everything.

Instead, I pressed all my weight onto my injured ankle, using the pain to keep me focused. My words, I was glad to hear, came out clearly: “You promised not to bother my sister.”

“Did I?” Marina cocked her head. “I don’t recall making such a promise. But I could. When we meet tonight to discuss your job.”

Harper was already on her way back from the ice-cream truck. I refused to discuss this in front of her, especially now that I knew Marina was her teacher.

I’d been boxed in and we both knew it. So I nodded. “The museum. 7:30. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

Chapter 16

The ice-cream visit must have gone better than expected because Harper was cheerful during the ride to our new, albeit temporary, residence. Cheerful...and curious.

“You’re sure Butch isn’t your boyfriend?” Her fingers clung to the back of my seat as she pulled herself far enough forward to be heard over the rush of wind against our faces. I glanced at Harper’s waist to make sure she was wearing a seat belt before answering the nosy question.

“Positive.”

“You should reconsider,” Harper told me. “This car is pretty awesome.”

For the first time since I’d met him, I thought Butch might have sported a faint hint of a smile. But when I turned to look at him directly, all expression was gone.

“So Tank’s the one who has you all hot and bothered?” my sister continued, blithely ignoring the way her words heated my cheeks.

“I’m not hot and bothered,” I lied, smelling Butch’s amusement this time.

“Maybe she’s looking for a girlfriend, not a boyfriend,” Clara suggested as if the “she” in question wasn’t right in front of them. “Is Athena straight?”

“Not sure,” my sister answered. “I feel like I should know that....”

“I’m not looking for anyone,” I rebutted as the convertible pulled through a gate and stopped in front of what appeared to be a private campground. Meanwhile, my eyes proved me a liar when they flew directly to Tank.

He was manning a grill, shirt off to reveal muscles that were more mouthwatering than the meat he was tending. The latter, though, demanded all of his attention. Perhaps that’s why he didn’t bother to shield his face as Butch and I wrestled the girls’ extra-large suitcases out of the car.

Harper and Clara weren’t as intent upon their tasks as the rest of us. No wonder their eyes widened as they took in the shirtless male. No wonder they flinched as their gazes rose up to take in his face.

I tensed, remembering the shallowness of the museum teenagers. Harper opened her mouth and I closed my eyes...

...Only to reopen them as an unfamiliar female voice intruded on the scene. “Tank’s the best griller ever.”

The girl who’d spoken was a teenager—Kira? Yes, I decided. This had to be Tank’s pack mate. And, even though she wasn’t his daughter as I’d initially suspected, she was standing up for him against two other girls nearly her own age.

Not only standing up for him, literally standing between the other girls and Tank. Kira’s arms were so full of tupperware containers I could only see her from the nose up, but her eyes flashed with the intensity of a shifter protecting her pack.

So this was why Tank thought joining the Samhain Shifters was so important. This was the positive side of pack bonds. I took a step forward. “Do you need a hand with those containers?”

Kira shook her head, gaze not touching mine. Instead, she continued to stare down Harper and Clara until my sister gulped and muttered, “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah,” Clara echoed.

“Nothing to be sorry about,” Tank answered before either girl could elaborate. His hand touched Kira’s shoulder, one quick tap. In response, her face scrunched up in annoyance. But then she nodded and pasted a welcoming smile on her face.

“Either of you vegetarian?”

“I am,” Clara said tentatively. She was