Free Riley's Redemption (A Moon's Glow Novel) by Christina Smith Page B

scents?”
    His eyes faded back to
their natural color. “Some, but there weren’t any. I have a feeling she’s going
to drive as far as possible since she’s been spotted. She probably won’t stop
until they hit a big city where they can get lost in all the people.
    I rubbed my sleep-caked
eyes, digging the goop out of them. “What about bathroom breaks?”
    With his attention still
on the road ahead, he answered me. “If they stopped, they went deep into a town
where I couldn’t scent them. If they went to a rest stop or along the road I
would have known it.
    I shifted in my seat
and rubbed the cool window with the side of my hand, sending prickles into my
skin. “Is that the closest you’ve been to finding them?”
    He nodded. “And I was
sleeping. She was right there and I didn’t even know it.” The self-hatred
emanated out of him and again his eyes turned yellow.
    “Don’t worry, we’ll find
them.” My voice was soft and, I hoped, soothing. We couldn’t have him wolfing
out inside the car while he was driving.
    Thankfully his
expression softened as he turned to look at me, his eyes returned to their
normal dark brown. “Thank you for coming. It’s much easier doing this with
you.”
    I smacked his shoulder;
his muscles were not as hard as they were months ago. He definitely needed to
get back to the gym. “You should have called earlier,” I scolded, feeling
annoyed at him for so many reasons. First for refusing to ask for help and for
not realizing he needed me earlier. If I wasn’t with him, we wouldn’t have
almost caught them last night. And if he had taken more breaks or rented rooms
instead of sleeping in his car, he wouldn’t have been so exhausted and probably
would have heard them himself, even without my help. His refusal to let anyone
in was frustrating, yet understandable. For ten years he was basically held
captive with a group of selfish werewolves he couldn’t count on. I was his
first real friend in a decade. Of course he would be hesitant to trust me or
anyone else for that matter. But just because I understood his actions didn’t
mean I would let him off the hook.
    He grinned sheepishly.
“I was trying to handle it on my own.”
    I rolled my eyes. “You
are not alone anymore. We are your friends.”
    He sighed, slowing down
to take a corner. “I’m not used to having friends I can trust. I guess I don’t
know how to handle it.”
    “Did you have friends
before Charlotte found you?”
    His lips turned up into
a smile. “Yeah, I was in my first year at college. My best friend Marty was in
the same course as I was and we met a few guys there. I was pledging a
fraternity and lived on campus. I was home for the weekend when it happened.”
    “What were you taking
in school?” I wondered what he was like back then. Like Nate, he had so many
regrets, courtesy of Charlotte. How would his life, or Nate’s for that matter,
have changed if they hadn’t been turned into supernatural creatures? I would
have missed the chance at knowing them both and that fact made me sad. The
feeling turned to irritation when I realized that if it hadn’t been for that
witch Charlotte my life would not have changed for the better. Two of my most
favorite people were in my life because of someone I hated. I didn’t know how
to feel about that.
    Adrian’s answer pulled
me out of those disturbing thoughts. “Architecture. My parents partnered in the
business. My dad built the houses, my mom decorated them and I was going to
design them.” His voice was softer than it had been since I had met up with him
yesterday. The memories seemed to be stirring up emotions that he had
suppressed for a long time. I was sorry I had brought it up.
    “I didn’t mean to make
it hard for you.”
    “No, it’s fine. I
should remember the happy times more. I’ll need to replay them for Marisa when
I find her.” The cold look was no longer on his face. Now the expression he
held could only be described as