Page 40 of Stubborn as a Shadow

I wished he hadn’t even said that much. The fewer people who knew what was going on, the better. But it was too late now.

I glanced at the clock. If everything went according to this slapdash plan, Carter would be outside soon. It was time to get a move on. I hadn’t unpacked anything, so I simply grabbed my bag, and we were on our way.

When we arrived at Morgan’s floor, everything seemed normal until we opened his door. Morgan let out a startled yelp. I pushed him out of the way and charged into the room.

No one waited inside, but someone had been here since we’d left for dinner. His clothes were strewn haphazardly around the room.

“Well, this is unexpected,” he said, peering around the room. Then he bent to pick up his earbud charger from the floor. It was broken, likely crushed under someone’s shoe.

He didn’t sound upset, just surprised. He scratched his head. I wasn’t sure what was making him scratch. It could be anything from him puzzling over what’d happened, being itchy from his earlier lying, or the discomfort of wearing a wig.

Me, though? I was livid. How dared someone do this?

“Get your coat. We need to leave. Now.”

Pointing out the obvious helped me keep control. My emotions had never been a problem until now. But seeing Morgan’s room ransacked was messing with my head. I wished Adrian were here right now. As a wolf shifter, he’d be able to sniff out who had invaded Morgan’s space. I didn’t have that ability. It sucked. I felt like I was running around blindfolded. I’d obviously become too reliant on my old teammates.

“Where is your jacket?” I rummaged through his closet. When he didn’t answer, I turned to find him placing items into his makeup bag. One little item at a time. “Leave that.”

He looked up from his task. “What do you mean? What about my stuff?”

“Leave it.”

“But my disguise…”

“You won’t need it at Willow Lake.”

“You packed your bag,” he pointed out.

“Change of plans.” I shook my head. “I’m leaving it here now that I’ve seen this mess. The less attention we attract on our wayout, the better. If we leave without luggage, people will just think we’re going into town for the evening.”

“Fine,” he huffed out. He adjusted his cloak around his shoulders like a stage magician.

“That’s your jacket?”

“Yep.”

Damn it. He was going to freeze. I hoped I had something in my saddle bags for him.

Less than three minutes after we’d entered Morgan’s room, we were leaving it again. If Morgan hadn’t stopped and reminded me about the tracker, it would have been even faster. Right now, I didn’t even care about the hunters, but Morgan had a stubborn look on his face that made it clear we were doing this. I gave in, just to get him moving. When I’d ripped the tracker out of my jacket, his grin had made it all worthwhile.

“Do you think someone will stop us? Ask why we’re leaving?” Morgan asked as he reached for the door. “The market doesn’t officially open until tomorrow morning, and we haven’t even stayed one night yet. Seems like people might get suspicious.”

“Like I said before, most people will just think we’re going into town for the evening.” I rubbed the tracker between my thumb and forefinger. “Now remember, as soon as we leave this room, you are Rudy Tada again.”

“I know.” Morgan nodded and subtly adjusted his shoulders and posture, so he was standing straighter. “Violet and I practiced thata lot.”

“Right. So, you’re going to go to the entrance and wait for the limo. The driver is a bear shifter named Carter Jones. You should be able to sense his magic, right? If someone else is driving, don’t get in the limo.”

I didn’t think Carter’s role in this would be compromised, but it didn’t hurt to make sure Morgan could identify his allies.

“We don’t need a limo. I have my big bad black SUV.”

“We’ll leave that. Right now, we just need to get out of here. It’ll be better if we leave together.”

“Because you think my magic is sucky and I can’t defend myself.” He crossed his arms.

“No.” I shook my head. “Because three supes are better than one or two.”