Claire reaches for my chips packet. I thwart her hand away. "Eat yours."
"Mine's finished," she says with a frown.
I grab my backpack from the backseat, take out a bag of chips, and give it to her. There are five more packets in my bag. This is our stakeout snack.
"I don't understand why you wanted to follow them. We can't even see what they are up to from in here," I say.
Mike and Sid are up to something, alright. We just know that. Ever since the first rogue attack, there have been too many emergency meetings in our pack. Our brothers won't let us in on whatever's happening.
So Claire came up with the idea of following them to one of the meetings. Instead of the packhouse, our brothers have been holding these meetings in a building owned by our pack in the middle of the city.
Claire and I are now inside her car, parked in the alley across that building. No one can see us.
"That's why I said we should sneak into the building," Claire says.
"Just look at that building! How on earth can anyone possibly sneak in there?"
The building has tight security. There are more men guarding the entrance to that building than the number of people guarding our pack borders.
"Okay fine," Claire says. "But at least now we can confirm those two are keeping secrets from us. Why else hold a meeting without us this far from our house?"
Saying that our brothers are keeping secrets from us is a little like pots calling the kettles black.
"Do you think it is something serious and they don't want us to worry?" I ask, finishing my packet of chips.
"Could be," Claire says. I open my bag and look in to get a new packet when Claire shrieks.
I swiftly look at her before joining her in shrieking.
Ben is waving at us from outside Claire's door.
"The fuck are you doing?" Claire asks, rolling her window down.
"We just wanted to say hi," he replies.
We?
I look behind him and Luke is there.
"This is not the time or place to do that!" Claire says.
"Don't worry. No one will notice us. Isn't that why you're parked here?" Ben says.
"That's none of your business. What are you guys doing here? No. Wait. Don't answer that. Just leave."
"We're not leaving," he says. Right then a car crosses in front of the alley. Claire and I hold our breaths.
As soon as the car is out of sight Claire says, "Get the fuck in!"
Ben smirks. He opens the back door and gets in after asking Luke to get in, too.
Luke comes to my side of the car and sits behind me. I can't help but recall the last time we were in a same car. My face heats up. I hope no one notices I'm blushing.
"What's the matter, Rose? Your cheeks are red," Ben asks.
After Claire, Ben is next on the list of people I want to kill. He has beaten even Mike and Sid to the runner up position.
"It's not," I tell him.
"It is," he says. "It's very flushed." He brings his finger to my cheek to prove his point by poking it. Claire slaps at his hand. "Stop making fun of her and tell us what on earth you two are doing here?"
