“Ms. Rayner?” His voice was deep, controlled, and careful. Exactly as she’d imagined during those late-night phone checks. It rumbled through her chest like distant thunder. “I’m Hunter Cruz with Steel Protection. I was hoping I could speak with you about the incident in the industrial district two weeks ago.”
Steel Protection. She knew the name. It was the security firm owned by Dominic Steel, Valeria Reynolds’ mate. Hunter was here on official business that had nothing to do with their match.
“Oh.” The word came out weaker than intended. She cleared her throat, hating how his presence made her feel small and off-balance in her own space. “Detective Reynolds said he was handling it.”
“Reynolds is handling it, but he passed on the information to my alpha, Dom.” He kept his voice low, professional. “I’m working a related matter and thought you might be able to help fill in some details. I know this must be a difficult subject.”
Behind Hunter, a regular customer approached the counter. Brie’s hands moved automatically as she filled his order. A blueberry muffin and a large house coffee to go. Her body performed the familiar dance while her mind spun. The man she’d spent two weeks thinking about was standing three feet away. And he was asking about the worst day of her life like she was just another name on a list.
“Hey, Brie.” The regular’s voice was warm with familiarity. “Busy morning?”
“The usual.” She managed a normal smile, though it felt brittle.
The regular paid for his order, nodded politely to Hunter, and headed out the door. Hunter waited until the customer was gone, then returned his attention to Brie. His eyes held an intensity that made her stomach flip. When he leaned forward slightly, she caught a glimpse of something at his collar. It was the edge of a tattoo, black ink against tanned skin. Military? Pack? She had a wild urge to pull his collar aside and look.
“I realize this isn’t the ideal place for this conversation. Is there somewhere private we could talk?”
The request was reasonable. Professional. Exactly what any investigator would ask. But Brie felt each word like a smallwound. He should have been asking to talk to her because she was his mate, because he’d finally read her message, because he wanted to know her. Because her profile photo had kept him up at night, the way his had haunted her dreams.
Instead, she was just a witness.
“I…” She stopped, swallowed past the tightness in her throat, tried again. “Yes, of course. Follow me.”
Her bear whined at the formal distance in her own voice, wanting to be closer to him, to press against all that solid strength. But her human heart felt bruised from all those nights wondering why he hadn’t responded.
“Sophie?” She called toward the kitchen, proud when her voice came out steady. “Could you watch the counter for a few minutes?”
Sophie appeared, dish towel slung over her shoulder, flour still dusting her forearms. “Sure thing, boss.”
She looked back at Hunter, whose eyes were watching her with an intensity that made heat crawl up her neck. Even standing still, he was an apex predator barely contained in civilian clothing. “My office is this way.”
As she led him through the kitchen, Maggie looked up from piping frosting roses with obvious curiosity. Her eyes went wide as she took in Hunter, all six-plus feet of dangerous male following their boss. Brie gave her a small head shake and continued to the back hallway.
The space felt too narrow with Hunter behind her. She was acutely aware of every step, every breath, every inch between them. She could feel the heat radiating from his body in theconfined space. Her bear wanted to turn around, to press against him, to claim what fate had marked as hers.
The hallway walls held photos from the bakery’s history. Her mother’s grand opening, Brie’s first solo wedding cake, last year’s Winter Festival. Her achievements, her life, things that meant everything to her.
Her office door had a small nameplate: “Brie Rayner, Owner.” She’d been so proud when she’d had it made after her parents left for their trip.
She opened the door and gestured him inside. “Please, come in.”
Brie closed the door with a soft click. Her heart hammered against her ribs as they sat across from each other. This close, in the confined space, his scent wrapped around her like a warm sweater, and her bear howled with need.
Fate, she decided, had a terrible sense of timing.
Chapter
Six
Hunter had beenin hostile territory before, but nothing had prepared him for the particular torture of being trapped in a small office with his mate while she looked at him with wounded honey-brown eyes.
The space was cramped, organized chaos. Recipe binders lined one wall, supplier catalogs stacked on every surface, the desk buried under invoices and order forms. It smelled like vanilla and cinnamon with an undertone of printer ink.
“You’re Hunter Wolf. From mate.com.” The way she said it made his chest tight. “We matched two weeks ago? I sent you a message right after... after everything happened.” His wolf went completely still. “I guess I was wondering... Why…”
She waited, those honey eyes patient despite the hurt in them.
Hunter ran a hand through his hair. “I never read your message.” Her brow furrowed. “I was on a bounty hunt for the last two weeks.” The words tasted bitter in his mouth. “Lost my target, and I blamed the app for my failure. I deleted it withoutlooking at the match. Without reading your message. Without even seeing who you were.”
