Page 56 of Sight of Fate

Disoriented, I stare at the smooth ceiling above the couch, confused to see it isn’t blue tile. I glance around. Alone. But yet, not alone.

My cheeks flush when I realize Teague must have pulled me into our connection while he was in the shower. I suck on my bottom lip as I think about what he was fantasizing about as he took care of himself. Damn, that was hot.

With a groan, I get up and use the restroom, then peel off my soaked pajamas. Grabbing a long T-shirt and a pair of boxers, I crawl back under the covers and ignore the ache between my legs.

Chapter Twenty-Four

CHARLI

Hard to believe it’s been three days since Andros lost it, but when I walk out of the elevator Monday morning at seven a.m., the construction crew is on site, rebuilding and repairing damaged walls. I call out a greeting and hurry to my desk.

Teague’s desk is empty as I knew it would be, but I immediately miss his sterling blue-grey eyes meeting mine as we start our day. I open my email and find one from him with a list of instructions for the next few days. Clicking on the icon, I print it out.

Besides my usual duties, he wants me to check with Sam to see if she’s had time to review his revisions to the schematics. I open our calendars and see she’s free at eight-thirty, so I send her an invite.

Returning to my email, I reply to those that need an answer, file a few, then open the last one. A collage of images appears. A guy screwing a girl, knife at her throat. A woman, cheek pressed against a brick wall, blood on her lip. Brutal images, but their message is clear.

Hands shaking, I pick up the phone and dial Susan. Her voicemail picks up. Taking a deep breath, I ask her to give me a call when she has a moment. I print the email, slide it into the manila folder with the other one, then file the digital copy in the FU folder.

Hands shaking, I take a deep breath, but then the phone rings, and I let out a little yelp. “Hello.” I press a hand against my racing heart.

“Charli, this is Susan. I got your call. What’s up?”

I glance at the time. 8:10. “Do you have a few minutes? I have a meeting in twenty, but this shouldn’t take long.”

“I’ll be at my desk for the next hour,” she replies.

“On my way,” I say and hang up. I gather the things I’ll need for the meeting with Sam and the folder with the emails, then head down the hall to Susan’s office. When I walk in and close the door, she raises an eyebrow.

“What’s up?” Her chocolate-brown eyes study me closely.

I hold out the folder and clear my throat. “I’ve received two emails full of disturbing images. One on my first day of work. The second this morning. I printed them out for you.”

She flips open the file and slowly picks up each of them. Her jaw locks as she studies them. When she looks up at me, her brown eyes are full of anger. “Clearly this is a threat. You should have come to me when you received the first one. Why didn’t you?”

My eyes fill, and I shake my head. “Honestly, I didn’t want to cause any problems.”

She huffs out a breath. “Do you have any idea who it might be?”

I nod and tell her what Martin said in the meeting and his subsequent firing. Then I explain what happened on Saturday. “It has to be him.”

“Where the hell was Teague?” she snaps in outrage. “I can’t believe he didn’t kill him for touching his mate.”

“You know?” I ask, taken aback.

She snorts. “I’ve known Teague for almost seven hundred years. He can’t keep a secret from me. Not to mention all the cubs I’ve raised. Seems like every time I turn around, one of them is falling in love.”

Seven hundred years. She says it so casually it takes me a minute to catch up.

“Um, Teague went to help a friend.” I don’t know how much I should share. “He should be back in a couple of days.”

She eyes me closely, and I try not to fidget. “Macklin?”

I shake my head and tell her they’re both gone.

She straightens. “I see. Must be something important. Normally, I’d reach out to Andros, but given the circumstances, that’s not an option.”

I glance at my phone. “I’ve got a meeting with Sam. Is there anything else I need to do? File a complaint?”