Free Dueling Moons: A Pat Wyatt Novel (The Pat Wyatt Series Book 2) by Laura Del Page A

That is, if you still want me to write for the magazine.”
    “Of course I want you,” he said, and it sounded as if there was more than one meaning behind it. “You’re a great writer, and I would be an idiot to let you go.”
    I smiled. “Thank you.”
    “You’re welcome,” he said, trying to smile his cocky smile, but it never reached his eyes. The look on his face made me feel terrible, and all I wanted to do was go home.
    I got my wish not even five minutes later.
    I drove us back to my apartment, and as I pulled up to the curb, I saw Mike standing outside in his flannel pajama bottoms and white t - shirt . His arms were folded and the look on his face…well…he was not happy.
    “We’re in trouble, aren’t we?” Stag asked, as I parked the car in front of the building.
    “ Uh - huh ,” I replied, fear creeping over me. I had only seen Mike this angry once, and it was not a pretty picture. I’m talking yellow eyes, pointed teeth, and sharp claws not pretty.
    We got out of the car, and I placed what I hoped was a gentle smile on my face. “Hi. How did you sleep?”
    “Fine,” he said through his teeth. “But then I woke up and saw this,” he unclenched his fist, and I saw the Tiffany’s box. I knew I had put it in the envelope to send back to Samuel, but I guess Mike was curious and decided to see what was inside. “And imagine my surprise when I find a note sayin’ that you had left with Stag.” When he spoke, I noticed that his teeth were sharper than normal, and his irises were rimmed in yellow.
    “Easy there, Wolfman,” Stag said, touching his shoulder. Mike glared at him. “We just had some breakfast. There’s no need to go all wolf on us.”
    “Breakfast?” he asked me, and he seemed to calm down a bit. “Why did you have breakfast together?”
    “To celebrate.” I explained. “Samuel signed the divorce papers. Didn’t you see them?”
    “No,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck as Stag let go of his shoulder.
    “I left them on the coffee table so you could look them over and see if everything was in order.”
    “Right,” he said calmly. “Sure.”
    “And that’s my cue to leave,” Stag announced, pointing at himself. “I’ll see you both later.” With that, he walked to his car and within minutes, he was gone.
    Turning back toward Mike, I noticed that he had a huge smile on his face, and I had a feeling that I was missing something. “What’s with the goofy grin?”
    “I scared him pretty good, didn’t I?”
    My mouth dropped open. “Michael Ray Wolf, are you telling me that was just an act?” he nodded, and I hit his shoulder. “That wasn’t nice.”
    He laughed. “I know. But it was funny as hell. You should’ve seen your face.”
    I genuinely smiled. “I cannot believe you just did that.”
    “Well,” he managed to say through his laughter, “believe it.”
    I could feel my face turn to stone as we walked into the apartment building. “It wasn’t funny, Mike. It was scary.”
    He took a deep breath, getting himself under control. “Oh, bébé, I’m sorry. It was just a joke.”
    I frowned, turning away from him. “Sorry doesn’t cut it,” I said sadly, placing my hands over my eyes.
    “Oh, don’t cry,” he comforted, placing his hand on my shoulder. “I was only messin’ with ya.”
    I pulled my hands away, turned toward him, and smiled. “Gotcha!”
    “That was so not funny, Pat.”
    I laughed. “It was to me.” As soon as those words were out of my mouth, my cell phone rang. I fished it out of my pocket as fast as I could, reading the caller ID. It was Tina so I answered it without thinking.
    “Hey, Tina. What’s up?”
    “Hello,” a male voice came over the line. “Is this Ms. Patricia Wyatt?” he asked with a slightly German accent.
    My heart leapt into my throat. If something had happened to Tina, I couldn’t bear it. “This is she,” I answered, my voice having an edge of panic in it.
    “Don’t be alarmed, Ms. Wyatt.