Tutoring the Alpha

Chapter Twenty: The New Deal

          “What the hell are you talking about?” I snapped, jerking my arm out of Mickey’s grasp and once more trying to shoulder my way through the crowd, to distance myself from my insane boyfriend. But his hands closed around my forearms tightly, pulling me back as the police officers moved to the front of the coffee shop and began setting up tables ladened with needles and little white gauze pads and several other pieces of medical equipment that, as a Pre-med student, I knew was not strictly necessary for a quick blood sample. A shiver cascaded down my back as the little notch of fear that I carried in my neck ever since finding out about Mickey twitched and tingled with suspicion.

“We have to get out of here, Benny. Like now,” he growled, eyes scanning the room until he spotted the only other exit out of The Muddy Cup, which was unfortunately already blocked by two large men in uniform. 

“No. First, you tell me what the hell is going on here!”

“I already explained-”

“No, you told me that there are a bunch of freaking werewolf hunters posing as cops so they can kill you! You?” 

“It’s a long story, Benny. I’ll explain everything when we’re safe, but right now, we have to get out of here,” Mickey hissed, blue-gray eyes narrowed and lips pressed together tightly.

“No, I deserve an explanation now-” I began to demand, but Mickey suddenly whipped around, hands tightening around my wrists painfully as his eyes flashed golden for the splittest of seconds.

“And I said I’ll explain once we’re safe!” He barked, voice deep and loud enough that several people’s heads turned to stare at us in shock at the outburst. Tears welled up in my eyes without warning, and I bit down on my bottom lip firmly to stop myself from shedding any of them.

“You’re hurting me,” I whispered finally, after several moments of quiet passed between us. 

“Mickey, I said you’re hurting me.” 

He looked down at his hands quickly, almost as if in surprise, before releasing my forearms and turning to grab his cellphone out of his pocket and dial somebody. After a hurried conversation that was so quiet I almost missed it, Mickey spun back around to fix me with a hesitant look, tinged with desperation and urgency.

       “We have to run for it.”

“What? Are you crazy?” I hissed as he began tugging me in the direction of the back room, where the bathrooms were. Two officers stood guard there, too, but Mickey showed no hesitation as he marched us right up to them. 

“Excuse me, my girlfriend and I just shared a large hot chocolate and it’s really starting to come back around, if you get what I mean. Could we use the bathroom really quickly?” Batting his sparkling blue eyes and smirking like he wasn’t a werewolf delinquent trying to escape, even I had to admit that Mickey looked pretty damn convincing.

“Fine,” one of the guards murmured, “but be quick.”

         To my astonishment, they didn’t even bat an eyelash when we slipped into the same bathroom and locked the door. 

“Now what?” I whispered, wondering if Mickey really did have to go to the bathroom, but then I looked up at him and realized where his train of thought was headed.

“Nuh-uh. No way. Mickey, they could shoot us!” 

“It’s our only chance. Listen to me,” he said hoarsely, leaning in to pull me into his arms, despite the fact that I deliberately leaned away from him. At this point, I was so confused and worried and a little bit frightened that I wasn’t going to let something like my mental breakdown or him saying he loved me come between us at that moment.