Free One Second (Seven Series Book 7) by Dannika Dark

raised his head and scanned the parking lot. His long hair tangled in the cold wind, and he gave his head a shake to get it out of his eyes.
    “Something up?” Reno asked in a gravelly voice, coming up behind Lorenzo.
    “We need to swap out our plates,” Austin said. “We’re traveling in a group and—”
    “Yeah, that’s problematic,” Reno agreed, hands in his leather coat. “I’ve got a friend I can call. He’s not far.”
    Austin reclined his head, taking a minute to gather his thoughts. “I want two Colorado plates and one Louisiana. Think he can pull that off?”
    “No sweat.”
    I shivered and grabbed my coat from the backseat. “Austin, I’m going to run inside. Do you want anything?”
    “Bring me something hot—whatever they got sitting underneath one of those heat lamps.”
    I snorted. “It’s ten in the morning, so you might end up with either a sausage biscuit or a slice of pizza.”
    When Ivy and April saw me getting out, they quickly followed. We strolled across the wet parking lot, past the gas tanks, and into the convenience store. Once inside, I cupped my hands and blew a heated breath to warm my fingers.
    Ivy tapped a chunk of dirty ice from the end of her cane and headed toward the auto aisle while April and I sought out the snacks.
    “Reno wanted me to stay here,” she said, grabbing a package of powdered donuts, beef jerky, and corn nuts.
    I pulled two bottles of orange soda out of the cooler and grabbed a few snacks. “Alone?”
    “No, not in the cabin. He wanted me to stay with a pack who takes in troubled Shifters—the same place he took Naya’s friend all those years ago. With me being human, he’s worried something might happen. Jeez. Do you think they’ll come after us in Texas?”
    “I don’t know.” I set my basket on the floor and adjusted my knit hat so it wasn’t covering my eyebrows. “Did you hear about the wolf that showed up on our property?”
    “No,” she said as I picked up my basket, clearly surprised.
    “Just a local rogue. He was going to challenge Austin and blame his actions on the Northerners.”
    “ Holy smokes, ” she whispered. “Were you hurt?”
    I grabbed two sausage biscuits from under the warming lamp. “Just a few splinters on my ass, but nothing serious.”
    When she furrowed her brow, I laughed and said, “Never mind.”
    My mouth watered when I passed the summer sausages, so I bought a few. Something about the cold weather was making my wolf hungry for meat.
    A dark-haired man in a suede coat leaned in front of April to reach for a bagel.
    “Can I buy you breakfast?” he asked, his heavy cologne wafting my way.
    When the bell on the door jingled and Reno walked in, I knew this situation was about to get epic. He had on his mirrored shades, dirty ice sliding off his black boots. He scanned the store while removing his gloves and stuffing them into his coat pockets. Everything about Reno looked like a soldier, from his short hair and clean shave to the way he carried himself.
    He slid his glasses on top of his head and locked eyes with the guy hitting on April.
    “Oh, shit,” I murmured.
    He moved in our direction, his arms swinging and making the leather on his coat creak.
    I started to turn when the checkout guy said, “Ma’am, are you ready?”
    I quickly moved forward and set my basket on the counter, and naturally he wanted to converse about the weather.
    “April!” I hissed.
    She peered around and spotted Reno approaching.
    Reno didn’t like men invading his woman’s space. He was protective of her, as all Shifters were with their women. In fact, that sort of possessiveness went both ways. It was instinctual to guard our territory.
    “Let me buy that for you,” I heard the man offer.
    Reno clapped his hand on the man’s shoulder. “I ain’t gonna church it up for you—”
    April wrapped her arms around Reno’s neck and locked lips with him.
    Stunned, Reno had little choice but to kiss her back. When his