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

a way to make sure you won’t have to do that again. You and I will be a normal family. We’ll have a house where you won’t be ashamed to bring friends over. I promise. I’ll find a way to make it work.”

HARPER CAVED. I COULD tell she didn’t really believe me. But the dream was enough to tempt her to give in and leave with her bodyguards. The dream...which I had no idea how to turn into a reality.

“We’ll figure something out,” Tank assured me. As if he’d read my mind. Or, more likely, given the way I was still tucked beneath his arm, he’d read the tightening of my muscles.

“I hope so,” I answered. But there was no time to deal with it now, not with Rowan’s wolves following us so closely.

We shook them, though. Or, rather, Ryder shook them. Wound in and out of traffic until no one followed. At which point, Lupe ordered us in an unexpected direction—

“Back to camp.”

Tank’s eyebrows rose. “Don’t you think that’s the first place Marina will look for us?”

“That may be. But camp is where Butch intended to spend his vacation.”

And Butch hadn’t been at the McCallister compound. Marina had taken his place there. Which meant our team mate was in danger...or worse.

“There are swords in the trunk,” Lupe continued. “From this moment on, your weapon needs to be your most cherished possession. Eat with it. Sleep with it. If you see fae, it’s your only real defense.”

“Slide over,” Tank murmured. My cheeks reddened as I realized I was still pretty much on his lap.

“Sorry.” I scooted away, the loss of his heat almost physically painful.

But Tank drew me closer instead. “No, not that way. Half the seat flips down....”

Then I was completely on his lap, his muscles pressing into my skin like the most enticing sort of massage chair. The evidence of his own approval hardened against my butt and....

“Could we save that for later?” Ryder grumbled. “Some of us are trying to drive.”

Tank, to my surprise, merely chuckled. Whatever rivalry he and Ryder had engaged in was over. Between fighting against each other and fighting beside each other, what could have been a jibe turned into more of a brotherly tease.

I was the only one whose face burned.

“Can you reach the swords?” Lupe demanded, breaking the moment. Her voice was curt, reminding us that pack togetherness was a hazard.

“Just a sec....” I slid my arm into the darkness of the trunk and fumbled around until I drew out a bundle of scabbarded weapons. One for each of us...plus one.

For Butch.

The car fell silent after that, nothing but darkness outside and inside. Tank and I kept our eyes peeled for ambushes, but no one stopped us. And, at last, we turned up the familiar gravel drive near the lake.

Camp was empty. The air, when we rolled down our window, smelled like fallen leaves and dew.

No sign of wolves, past or present. Still, the rest of us raised our swords and eyed shadows while Lupe strode directly toward Butch’s cabin. The door opened. The light flicked on.

Around the silhouette of Lupe’s back, I caught sight of our final team mate. He was here. Seated, meditating on the bare floorboards.

No, not meditating. A sword had been thrust through his back.

Chapter 34

My heart twisted. That’s the only explanation I can give for the pain in my chest, the difficulty of forcing oxygen down my windpipe. I was frozen. We were all frozen.

No, that’s not true. Tank pushed past us, pressing his fingers against Butch’s jugular. For a long moment, we held our breath. Then Tank shook his head.

“Alright.” Lupe’s voice was firm. “Now we know. Time to get out of here.”

“We can’t leave him like that.” I’d thought the words, but they came out of Ryder’s mouth. As unlikely as it seemed, our most uncouth member and I were united in wanting to show Butch’s body respect.

Lupe shook her head. “No time. We need to regroup. Samhain is Wednesday.”

My brow furrowed. “But Marina’s already crossed over.”

“And if she has free rein, she’ll open the node so wide that half of her friends and neighbors can enter. This job is more important than ever.” Lupe’s eyes narrowed. “And she thinks you’re an asset to her. Why is that?”

Busted. The information I’d never shared solidified in the air between us. For half a second, I stood frozen. Then Tank’s hand settled against the small of my back.

That warmth, his silent support, gave me the strength to speak. “When we were staying here, I saw her at the boat dock,” I started, only to be interrupted by Ryder’s gruff negation.

“No. We saw Tank there.”

“You thought that was Tank?” No wonder Ryder had teased me. If I’d trusted my team mate enough to ask for more information at the time, I would have realized Marina possessed fae glamour. None of us would be in this mess.

My gaze slid to Butch, his torso somehow as erect in death as it had been in life. His loss was inconceivable. This werewolf who’d been the voice of reason among us during Ryder and Tank’s battle. The one who’d uncomplainingly ferried me around during a full day of errands. Who’d supported us all even though he didn’t trust us to accept him for who and what he was.

I swallowed. And this time I told Lupe the entire story. Stealing for Marina. The crazy huge check she’d given me in exchange. My weakness—wanting to make life better for my sister—hung out like butt cheeks in an ultra-mini skirt.

And...Lupe shook her head. “That’s not enough for her to have a hold over you. You’d have to give her something. A gift with no payback.”

A gift. Was that what the wolf bracer had turned into? “Can I see your phone?” I asked Tank.

He raised his eyebrows but passed it over. Logging onto my bank account’s website, I winced at the negative balance.

“Marina’s checks bounced.” I’d forgotten the financial