Read Online Behind the Eight Ball by M.A. Church - Free Book Online

nose. “All I wanted was a damn slab of meat. Seriously. Is that too much to ask?”
    I bit my lip to keep from responding, but it was a near thing. Man, what I could do with an opening like that.
    “Funny, Heller said the same thing,” Dolf said.
    Heller hissed again.
    I shuddered. Damn, that sounded mean. Then what Dolf said hit me. Was Dolf trying to say the two had something in common? From what I could see, all they had in common was the fact they disliked each other.
    “Please calm down. They’re both fine. I promise.” Sam’s voice drifted to us.
    Dolf frowned in the direction the voices came from. Even I heard the worry in Sam’s voice, but the worry wasn’t for himself, and oddly enough he didn’t sound afraid of her. Did he know Janelle? He couldn’t. If he did, he’d know Marshell, and for that matter, me.
    Janelle swept onto the little patio. She had one hand twisted up in the middle of Sam’s shirt. Not letting go, she hurried to Marshell, dragging Sam with her. “Are you okay? Lawson called and said to get here, and when I get here I find this pretty kitty—”
    Sam huffed.
    Marshell raised an eyebrow. “I’m fine.”
    I couldn’t help it; I laughed aloud.
    “And you!” Janelle swung toward me.
    “Me?” I squeaked, laughter gone.
    Heller hissed again.
    “Are you fine too?” she demanded, ignoring the angry cat.
    “Absolutely.” I nodded like a bobblehead doll in an effort to show her how fine I really was.
    “Un-huh.” Janelle then narrowed her eyes at all of us. “So let me get this straight. I ran out of a nail appointment, hauled ass to get here, met my mate, and then got here only to find you both are perfectly fine ? Someone better do some explaining, fast.” Janelle waved her other hand in our faces, the nails stripped bare of any color. “See that? I’m half-done here and not happy, so—”
    No one wanted an unhappy Janelle. Grimacing, I spoke quickly in a hope to head off an explosion. “I’m sorry, Janelle. I couldn’t find Marshell, started asking about him, and then Sam showed up, and—”
    “Wait!” Marshell yelled, interrupting me. He stared at Janelle, who still had a death grip on Sam’s shirt. “Just wait! What did you say?”
    Janelle just smirked.
    I glanced around at the group. Dolf was smiling. Why? I went through Janelle’s little speech, and then my mouth fell open. “Holy crap! Did you say mate ? You met your mate? Holy crap, Janelle!”
    Dolf looked from Janelle to Sam. “Sam?”
    Sam ran a hand through his dark hair. “Yeah, she is. Her scent just about knocked me down.”
    “Holy crap, Janelle!” I said again and started to hug her, but a sudden hiss stopped me. Sam shot me a look, but the hiss had come from Heller who, somehow, I’d forgotten about.
    “Lawson, paranormals don’t like others touching their mates, especially if that mate is unclaimed.” Marshell shot a look up at Heller, who was still sitting on the retaining wall. “Isn’t that right?”
    Heller stood, stuck his tail up in the air, and took off into the darkness.
    Okay, that still stung as much as the last time he did that. Sighing, I looked at the assembled company and noticed the awkward looks coming back at me. This was unbelievable. The damn man had run off on me again . How could I speak to him if I couldn’t get him to stay in one spot for longer than a few minutes? Did I need some catnip?
    “There he goes again. What is his problem?”
    Sam shrugged. “With Heller? Who knows.” He turned to Janelle. “Will you please stay for a while? We need to talk, but I left a human in my office. He’s interviewing for a job, and I really need to get back to him.”
    “I’ll be here. Go do what you need to do, and then we’ll talk.” She glanced at the crowd around them. “Privately.”
    Sam left, but Janelle stayed outside with us.
    “So….” I looked at Dolf. If anyone had ideas about Heller, it would be him. “His problem?”
    “Outside of being a dick,