Ben took his empty beer bottle and spun it. “I’ve talked to the guy. He could never deal with a woman who is smarter than he is. And you are definitely smarter than he is.”

She didn’t want to hear this. She’d already set Troy up in her mind as her “ideal”. She didn’t want to hear that he couldn’t handle her. She was, in fact, hoping to meet up with him again while in Seattle. Another reason she didn’t want Conall’s tight ass with her.

“You guys are just snobs. Someone has to be dangerously unstable for you to find them remotely interesting.”

“You mean, like you?” Miki gave Kenny the finger.

“So, your ‘new life’ as you call it. What does that mean for us?” Craig again did not look at her as he plugged away on his laptop.

Miki frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Are we still going to be compadres? Or are you going to dump our collective ass so you can hang around Troy’s elitist prick friends?”

Miki was kind of hurt. “I’d never do that to you guys.”

Amy motioned to the waitress for another ale. “Well, all this talk about changing your life—”

“I would never do that to you guys. Period. End of story. Understand?”

Her friends smiled, almost in relief. Miki had no idea they’d been worried.

“So, isn’t this big scary guy gonna be kind of pissed you drugged him?” Ben spun his bottle again. When it pointed at Amy he leered and wiggled his eyebrows. In response she chucked pretzels in his face.

“I have it all calculated out. I have like six more hours before he wakes up. And when he does, I’m already sitting there like he simply fell asleep.”

“Personally, I think he should wake up with you under him.”

Miki rolled her eyes. “God, Amy. You’re a horny dog.”

“And yet I feel no shame.”

Craig frowned at his computer. “Christ, this guy has a twenty-digit password to his freakin’ email.”

Amy raised an eyebrow. “It makes you wonder what he’s hiding.”

Miki glanced at her watch. It would be “last call” soon, but her friends wanted her to go with them to have an early-morning breakfast. Part of her wanted to go. She could use a good omelet. The other part wanted to get back to Conall. And that bugged the shit out of her. “Who is he anyway? Professor Leucrotta.”

“He’s new in the department. Been there about nine months or so. Surprised you never heard of him.”

Miki looked up from her empty glass. “Why?”

“He fought Conridge for you. He wanted to take over your thesis and she pulled rank on him.”

Miki felt fear lace up her spine. “What? Why?”

Kenny shrugged. “Noidea. But he’s been asking a lot of questions about you.”

A look of panic crossed Craig’s face. “Maybe he’s a cop.”

Miki could only hope.

* * *

Miki rubbed her tired eyes and leaned back into the driver’s seat of the SUV. She hated driving the fucking thing. She’d rather have a cute little sports car. Something that fit her height a hell of a lot better than The Boat, as she now called it. But Conall wasn’t going to fit into anything tiny. He would always need to drive that big body around in trucks or SUVs.

“Sara? Are you still there?”

“Yeah. I just don’t know what to say.”

“Tell me I shouldn’t be freakin’ out.”

“I can’t tell ya that.”

Sara would never lie to her, and finding out some professor Miki had never met before was asking a lot of questions about her wasn’t something that either of them would consider “not a big deal”. Not right now anyway.

“Watch your ass, Mik. I want you back here with Conall as soon as you’re done.”

“Yeah. Not a problem.”

“Well, whatever you do, keep Conall close to you. I’m serious, Mik.”

“Uh…okay.” Her mistake was the pause.

“What? What did you do?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re lying to me, Miki Kendrick.” When her friends used her full name, she knew she was in trouble. When they added in her middle name, she knew she’d gone too far.

“I just went out with Craig and the guys without him, is all.”

“How? He’d never leave you. I know him. So how did you get away from him?”

“Um…”

“Miki Marie Kendrick! You drugged him didn’t you?”

Miki winced. Boy, did Sara and Angelina know her well. “He’ll be fine.”

“You get your ass back to that hotel and you make sure he is! Right this fuckin’ minute!”

“Okay. Okay. Calm yourself. I’m already at the hotel.”

“And make sure he doesn’t say anything to Zach. He barely tolerates you as it is. I don’t want to have to fight my own mate every damn Thanksgiving.”

* * *

She used her keycard to get into her room, easing the door open and sliding in. She figured she still had a good hour before Conall snapped out of it, but no use stomping around and waking the man up before then. She quietly dropped her backpack to the floor and looked through the adjoining door. They’d pulled the heavy hotel curtains closed the night before so it was dark in Conall’s room. She crept in, trying to make out the bed. As she got closer and her eyes became accustomed to the gloom…