Running with the Pack: Cannon Pack, Book 3 Read Free Page A

things she’d do to save a shifter! “I just need a little TLC from my big, handsome man. Please, John, take me back to my place. I’m sure with some ice or heat or whatever you’re supposed to do with sprains, I’ll be fine soon enough. Especially if you’re taking care of me.” She had to trust that the shifter had plenty of time to get away. Unless its wound had slowed it down—or worse.
    “Oh, all right. If that’s what you want. But stop the bitchin’, okay?” Again, John’s attention drifted toward the dark alley where the werewolf had gone.
    What did she have to do to get this guy’s full attention? Perform magic? Give him a BJ? She placed a hand on his cheek and pulled his focus back to her.
    “Ooh, John, it’s really hurting. Take me home. Now. Puh-lease?” Batting her eyes, she flirted, promising him more than she ever planned on giving him. God help her if he tried to take her up on her promise. For extra benefit, she lowered a pitiable look on Luke.
    “Go ahead, John. The creature’s gone anyway.”
    “Luke’s right. We’ll have to continue the hunt some other night.” Charlie grumbled under his breath.
    She kept silent, watching John’s decision play out on his features.
    At last, he let out a frustrated groan. “Fine. Let’s call it a night, men.”
    Score one for the shifter and zero for the hunters . Lauren nodded, acting disappointed and guilty at the same time, and let John wrap his arm around her waist to steady her on the way back to their vehicles. With their goodbyes said, she scooted into John’s Jeep.
    “Hey, is your leg doing better?”
    “Huh?” She glanced down. Not thinking, she’d tucked it under her other leg in the half-cross-legged position she always used. “Yeah, it is. Maybe I just wrenched it a little.” She made a show of stretching out the leg and flexing her foot. “It still hurts but not nearly as much as when I stand on it. I’m sure I’ll be fine once I get home and off my feet for a bit.” John’s brow furrowed in thought and she had to smother a smirk. Maybe she was a better actress than she thought. Either that, or he was dumber than she realized.
    “Yeah.” He slid into the driver’s seat. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”
    Lauren inwardly winced at the softness in John’s eyes. Here was the man she’d once liked. The man she’d, at one time, wanted more than anyone else. But she couldn’t stay his girlfriend much longer. Too much had changed between them. Too much had changed in her.
    Hell, now she felt like a real jerk. John still cared for her. Could he help it if he hadn’t figured out that shifters weren’t the evil beasts everyone thought they were? She hadn’t known either. At least not until she’d gotten close to the werewolf she’d killed. Maybe if he’d seen the terror in the werewolf’s eyes, actually spoken with her, he’d understand like she did. Maybe then he’d help her keep them safe. Or at least stop hunting them. She reconsidered telling John about her change of heart but, like the thousands of times before, decided she couldn’t take the risk. If he didn’t understand, he’d kick her out of the group, destroying her chances to help the werewolves.
    Each hunt was getting harder to sabotage and she was running out of ideas. So far, she’d managed to thwart their hunts by planning ahead, but now she was resorting to stunts like pretending to hurt her leg. She smiled, remembering the stunned expressions on the hunters’ faces when she’d anonymously alerted the cops to their dangerous hunts. If one of the cops hadn’t been a friend of John’s, the hunters might have ended up in jail. That one trick had kept the group off the streets for three months until the heat finally died down. Maybe she should try calling the police again.
    “Lauren, are you okay? You drifted away for a minute.”
    She placed her palm on his cheek again. But this time she meant the endearing gesture. “Yeah, I’m good. I