Page 11 of Sight of Fate

He opens his mouth, then to my surprise, he shrugs. I narrow my eyes, but he turns to Charli and carefully reaches out to dry the tears on her cheeks. She flinches, pulling her face away from his hand. A slight frown tugs at his lips, but he doesn’t voice his concern. His eyes meet mine, a hint of anger in their depths at the thought of what her flinching could mean, but he quickly banks it down deep.

“I thought you were going to call me when you got to town,” he gently reminds her.

She shrugs. “I wanted to check this place out first. Make sure I made the right decision. Plus, I needed to pick up some clothes and things.”

“Like a sleeping bag?” I ask, folding my arms across my chest. I hate the thought of her sleeping in that tiny car in the freezing cold last night. Judging by the expression on Teague’s face, he does too.

She lifts her chin. “Mine isn’t made for this kind of weather.”

Teague rakes a hand through his hair, his frustration apparent. “You won’t need the sleeping bag. If you had called, I would’ve told you the job includes an apartment.”

I lift an eyebrow. He only has access to one apartment. The one next door to us that we keep available for visiting Vale representatives. Guess I’ll have to find another place for them.

She lifts her chin. “For how much? I don’t want to spend a lot of money on a place when I’m only going to be here six months.”

There’s a hint of fear in her voice that makes Teague stiffen. I raise an eyebrow. What is she afraid of? Running out of money? Staying in one place? And why did he only tell her it was for six months? Too many damn questions. I glare at him. We’re going to have a little chat after we get her settled.

“Since the trial period is only six months, the company is picking up the tab,” he assures her with a wave of his hand. “And who knows, maybe you’ll want to stay longer.” He flashes that broad smile of his that the ladies love, but it fades when he sees it doesn’t have the same effect on her. “Why don’t we go check it out? Then I can give you the keys.”

She presses her lips together but reluctantly nods.

“I’ll ride with you, and Macklin can follow us,” Teague suggests, but she immediately shakes her head. Perplexed, he looks at me, silently asking me what’s going on.

“Charli can follow us. That way, she’ll know how to get there on her own.”

Relief flits across her face, and she turns and smiles. “That sounds great.” Pivoting on her heel, she gets back into her car.

Teague stares after her with a confused expression on his face.

After we get in, I start the car and pull out of the parking lot. “My guess is she’s been living out of her car for a while.” A low growl slips out of his mouth, and I glance over to see a faint glow in his eyes. “How much do you know about her? What did the background check say?”

He stares straight ahead, tapping his fingers on his thigh. “Nothing. I haven’t had time to run one.”

“It’s not like you to overlook things,” I state with a frown. “Is it the sale of the telematics company?” Running three companies requires a lot of juggling, but Teague’s always had things under control. Or maybe he hasn’t, and I didn’t realize it. Feeling guilty, I pull into the parking lot behind the apartment building. “You know Andros can handle the sale. And I can jump in and help with the other two businesses. You don’t have to take on everything yourself.”

Teague opens his mouth, but all he says is, “Let’s get Charli settled.”

He slides out of the car and walks over to where she’s standing. She says something, and he bends down to listen. For a second, she leans in close, but when he slides a hand to her back to guide her into the building, she twists away, leaving his hand in the air. His hand flexes as if not touching her is torture, but he lowers it to his side.

Something is off. I watch the two of them for a minute. She’s fine as long as he doesn’t try to touch her, but the second his hand reaches out, she tenses or moves away. Why, though? Usually, mates crave each other’s touch unless…she doesn’t know she’s his mate.

We’ve seen it before, but usually in a human-supernatural pairing. But Charli wouldn’t have been able to find her way to Greystone if she wasn’t a supe. I sigh. Maybe she hasn’t had much contact with our world. Or worse, maybe she isn’t aware of supernaturals. With a frown, I follow them into the elevator.

Teague opens the door to the apartment and gestures for her to go first. I grab his arm. “Charli, I need to chat with Teague for a minute. Go ahead and look around.” I pull him farther down the hall. “Something’s not adding up. Every time you touch her, she stiffens.”

“You think she’s afraid of me?” he asks in a low, devastated tone.

“I’m not sure. Maybe she’s afraid of anyone touching her, or maybe it’s only men. I also don’t think she knows what the connection means.” When he gives me an incredulous look, I shrug. “We’ve seen it before, especially from those who are human or raised human. According to Victoria, Charli doesn’t believe witches are real. I’m guessing she hasn’t had any exposure to supernaturals. Regardless, she isn’t going anywhere. Back off.”

He takes a deep breath. “The last thing I want to do is fuck this up.”

“Then give her room. Let her dictate the pace,” I suggest with a sympathetic smile. The mate bond is a force of nature, and Teague has little patience for anything.

He takes a deep breath and plasters an easygoing smile on his face, then strolls into the apartment. “So, what do you think?”

I follow him in and see her standing in the middle of the room, turning in a slow circle, her eyes flicking from one area to the next. The apartment is large and full of light. Given that it’s used by other Vale representatives, the furnishings are luxurious. Professionally decorated in tones of camel and white with the occasional pop of green, it’s easy to tell this isn’t a standard apartment. Add in the gourmet kitchen with the island, and it’s like a suite at a boutique hotel.

She bites her lip, then turns to us. “Once the snow hits, the pass will close, right? Nobody will be able to get in or out?” She nervously reaches out to smooth one of the green silk pillows on the plush camel colored sofa.