CHAPTER 32: I DON’T TRUST HIM

The gym was warm with bodies and sound. Music thrummed low through the speakers—something synthetic and forgettable—but her mind filtered most of it out.

Sera was stacking towels behind the counter, fingers moving in an automatic rhythm, when a chill crept across the back of her neck. A subtle change in pressure. Not enough to notice unless you were looking for it.

Or unless you were something like her.

She didn’t look right away. Just shifted her weight and caught the reflection in the glass case to her left.

A man had walked in. Tall. Solid frame. Buzzed dark hair and a face that didn’t give away much. He scanned the room the way she did—like he was taking inventory. Not curious. Not cautious. Just... too still.

The creature inside her stirred.

Not with hunger. Not quite with anger, either. Just... interest. Wariness.

Going back to folding, Sera kept an eye on the newcomer. But when Lachlan wandered over a minute later, sipping from a bottle of lemon water like it was beer, she gave him a pointed look.

"Do you think he is here for a membership?" she asked, cocking her head in the direction of the man walking toward the front desk.

"He doesn’t need one to work out here," Lachlan smiled when the two men started playing that weird game of ’patty cake’ that spoke of years of knowing each other. "Sera, this is Noah, Noah, this is Sera. She is the one in charge of this place, so make sure that you are nice to her. But not too nice."

Noah tilted his head back as he laughed, his teeth gleaming under the overhead lights. Did you know that people’s teeth can be too white? Yeah, it was seriously disturbing.

"Sera," Noah purred, holding out his hand. A huge part of her knew that she was expected to hold out her hand and smile back at him, but the creature inside of her revolted at the idea.

Too bad... so sad.

"Noah," she replied, tilting her head just a bit. However, she refused to look away from the strange man who towered over her. "Nice to meet you."

"Really?" he purred, one eyebrow going up as his accent started to come out to play. Country A, if she wasn’t mistaken. Just like Lachlan. "Because that look on your face screams that you want nothing to do with me."

"Try not to take it personally, mate," chuckled Lachlan, coming around the front desk and clasping the other man on the shoulder. The creature inside of her lunged forward at the idea of Lachlan touching him. It wanted to rip the two men apart before actually ripping Noah apart.

Maybe it was time to go for another hunt. That bear didn’t seem to keep her happy for long, not if she was daydreaming of tearing a man’s head off because Lachlan simply touched him.

"Sera is a great judge of character," continued Lachlan, winking at her from over his shoulder. Sera thought he must have seen something in her eyes, because he almost stumbled, the smile leaving his face. "In fact, I think I need to have a little talk with her about being more friendly. Get warmed up and then we can hit the weights... yeah?"

"Don’t go too hard on her," smirked Noah, giving Sera the same wink that Lachlan had. However, while she almost melted when Lachlan did it, she wanted to plunge her pen in Noah’s eye just so he could never do it again.

Lachlan and Sera both waited for Noah to walk away before Lachlan turned to her, his eyes narrowed. "You okay? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you react like that before. Not to a person, at least."

"Oh?" she sneered, forcing herself to blink before she looked down at the towel in her hands. She quickly folded it and put it in the pile on the counter. "And you know me that well to know how I react to things?"

"I don’t know you nearly as well as I would like to," agreed Lachlan, leaning over the desk and putting his hand on hers, stopping her movements. "If you don’t feel comfortable with him here, he’s gone."

"That simple?" she sneered. She could feel his honesty and his concentration as he studied her bowed head.

"That simple," he agreed. "We’ll do this workout together, and then I’ll tell him never to come back again. Is that okay?"

She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. "You don’t have to go that far. Maybe just encourage him to come when it’s not my shift."

"Done," smiled Lachlan, squeezing her hand just a bit. "Now, how about we go for some lunch after your shift? I’ve never seen you eat anything besides that muffin in the morning, and I am determined to feed you."

The creature inside of her sat up his words, and I could feel it pushing forward, demanding that I accept his invitation.

"Okay," I agreed softly, surprising the both of us. "You know when my shift ends."

-------

The diner was tucked between a pawn shop and a barber’s that hadn’t been open in months. It had sticky red vinyl booths, flickering overhead lights, and a chalkboard menu with yesterday’s date still scrawled across the top.

It was perfect.

Lachlan held the door for Sera. She didn’t say thank you, but simply slipped through the small gap between him and the door.

The two of them sat in a corner booth, away from the windows. The waitress came by and poured burnt coffee into ceramic mugs before asking for their order.

He got a bacon cheeseburger and fries, while I studied the menu like it was some sort of test. "It’s okay," Lachlan chuckled. "It’s my treat. Just order what you want."

Sera nodded her head before pointing to her selection. "I’ll take the steak, rare, with a side of fries." It wasn’t like she was going to eat the fries, but at least it would look less suspicious than if she only ordered a steak so rare that it was still mooing.

"Still thinking about Noah?" he asked her once the server left.

"Not really," she shrugged, running her tongue over her teeth to make sure they were still normal. Even hearing his name was enough to set off the creature inside of her.

Lachlan smirked. "You’re a terrible liar," he chuckled, but she didn’t bother to argue. Wrapping her hands around the mug, Sera tried to put her feelings into words.

"He’s just not the kind of guy I trust," she said at last. "That’s all."

"It might be because of what he does," murmured Lachlan after a minute, not dismissing her feelings. "He’s... I can’t really say what he is with Country A military, but he isn’t the best at what he does because he makes people feel relaxed. Maybe that... feeling is what you are picking up on."

"Maybe," Sera hummed. "But I don’t trust him any further than I can throw him... and I don’t want to be alone with him." The second part, she said, almost as an afterthought, knowing that if she were ever alone with the man, she would have no choice but to try and kill him.

Unfortunately, Lachlan just looked at her softly. "I’ll never put you in that position. I promise."

Nodding her head, Sera smiled softly as the steak and fires were put in front of her. "Thank you for everything."

"You’ll never have to thank me," assured Lachlan, digging into his own burger. "Hiring you was the best decision I have ever made."

------

After lunch, they stepped outside. The sun was too bright, but the wind had a bite to it. The sidewalks were dry, and the sky heavy with clouds that didn’t know if they wanted to rain or snow.

Lachlan leaned against his blacked-out Hummer, squinting at the sky. "Feels weird for January, doesn’t it? Warmer than it should be."

Sera shrugged, looking up at the sky. "Maybe the world’s just tired of freezing."

He glanced sideways. "You heading home?" he asked.

She nodded. "You?"

"Got a few errands to run. Do you want me to drive you back to the university?"

"Nah," Sera smiled. "After all that food, I am in the mood for a bit of a run."

Lachlan raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. "Be safe and send me a message when you get back."

"Yes, Bossman," Sera purred before she took off running.

As she started to pick up some speed, the creature inside of her stretched once, then went still. Not asleep. Just... content.

It liked him.

And, for once, she didn’t disagree.