Page 129 of The Innocent

It didn’t sound believable. Probably because it wasn’t.

“Can you just ask him to stop? For me.”

If it was the only thing Imogene could do for Eden, then she’d do it.

“I will.”

****

Jekyll wasn’t expecting Imogene until tomorrow. Her shift at the library ended at four, which would put her in traffic if she tried heading to Killcreek afterwards. He’d specifically told her to come the following day for that reason.

Therefore, no one was more surprised when she came rushing through the front door of the clubhouse a little after nine. Most Mondays were quiet, and it was rare that anybody other than club members were hanging out.

Jekyll rounded the bar, meeting her halfway through the room.

“What are you doing here?”

She sucked in a breath, looking around the room.

“I’m sorry. I know you told me not to come.”

“Told you not to come ’cause I didn’t want your ass sitting in traffic for hours.”

She smiled, though it seemed forced. “Well, I can leave. I just need to talk to Cue first.”

Cue? He furrowed his brows, shifting his gaze to his brother at the table with Oak, Ghost, and Cross. Cue seemed just as surprised at the admission and pointed to his chest.

“Me?”

She vigorously nodded and headed toward Cue. What the fuck was going on? She stopped at the end of the table, grasping the back of the chair in two tight fists.

“I don’t know how to say this because I don’t really know the whole story.”

Cue jerked his gaze to Jekyll. He was at a complete loss too.

“What’s going on, Imogene?” Jekyll asked, and she glanced over. The lines between her brows deepened, and she bit her bottom lip then veered her gaze to Cue.

“Whatever you’re doing with Eden? You have to stop.”

What the hell was she talking about? He looked over at Cue, who was clearly as confused as the rest of them. Though Jekyll caught the underlying tension. Almost territorial.

“What exactly am I doing with Eden?” Cue scowled.

He had a similar reaction when anyone brought up her name.

Imogene shrugged. “That’s the thing. I don’t know. She was really vague when we spoke.”

Cue straightened in his chair. “Hold up, you talked to her? When?”

“After my shift at the library. She called a few days ago asking me to come down to the shelter because I forgot to sign an adoption paper for Hank. But when I got there today, she admitted that was just a ruse to get me down there.”

None of this made sense.

Jekyll moved closer to Imogene, resting his hand on her back. “From the beginning. What did she say?”

She swallowed and turned to him. “She asked me if I could tell Cue to stop what he was doing, and that while she appreciated him trying to help, it was only making it worse.”

“Ah, fuck,” Cross muttered, dragging his hand over his mouth and sharing a look with Cue.