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“In the cabinet behind my desk.”
He shook his head. “Not anymore.”
I gasped. “What do you mean? That’s impossible. It’s in a locked safe.”
I raced into the office with Tina close behind, where the Hudaknocker, indeed, was no longer. The box that had housed it had been left open.
“Who did this?” My words were pure growl. “If no one’s been in here—”
“No one who doesn’t work here has been in here,” Tina corrected.
“We need to review all the tapes. Talk to everyone. The Hudaknocker must be found immediately.” Pure rage flowed through my veins. I chose my team very carefully, and someone had stolen from me. They’d stolen from every pack in Sunset Springs. And I didn’t even want to think about what would happen if the relic wasn’t returned immediately. The packs were building a museum and research center around it. “If any wolf gets wind this thing is missing, Suzanne Marlowe will be the least of our worries. All hell will break loose.”
“Are you sure Suzanne isn’t in the mix?” Bjorn asked.
“No. I’m sure she’s very much in the mix. Let me check to make sure nothing else is missing.” I wasn’t exactly Gal Friday, but I kept a pretty tidy office. “Everything else is here. They were only after the Hudaknocker.”
Hugo put his hand on my shoulder. “We’ll get to the bottom of this. I promise.”
“What else do they know?” I let out a disgusted sigh. I felt so violated. “And what did they want with the relic?”
We headed back to the van. I waved to the queens before climbing in. I had a feeling they’d come in clutch for me. I just wasn’t sure how yet.
“This reeks of Suzanne,” Bjorn said. “Whatever’s going on with the crowd outside is a distraction. She’s got everyone focused on the Hudaknocker, which means she’s planning a plot twist. I’ve been up close and personal with her work. Her signature move is getting in and out without a trace. But if she was in a hurry, she might have forgotten about the cameras.”
“But we looked at the visitor logs. No one was checked in. Only employees had been at HQ in the last two days.”
Bjorn sighed and rubbed his hand over his face.
“What is it?” I asked. Clearly, the bear was struggling with something. He paused for a moment and then looked at me. “Marissa’s an employee.”
“No.” I shook my head. “She’s staying with me. How would she get to the offices?”
My heart sank. Everything seemed fine after the date last night, but she’d slept awfully late.
“You have cameras at your house,” Hugo said. “We’ll check those too.”
“I hate this.” I didn’t want to accuse Marissa before we had proof she’d been involved. If she was, what would that mean for her future withThe Mating Game?
“Don’t blame yourself, Beebs,” Bjorn said from the backseat. “But you can’t underestimate how far Suzanne will go to get the scoop. I wouldn’t put it past her to enlist her daughter in her schemes.”
ChapterEleven
Marissa
“What do you have planned for your date tonight?” Hannah had made herself at home on Bibi’s pink velvet couch. I admired her enthusiasm for my episode, even though it had knocked her off the stage once again. And when Bibi decided to table the cute segments that she’d offered Hannah because my mom was out of control, she took it in stride.
I hoped she found the hottest shifter on earth when it was finally her turn. She deserved it.
“Yes, let’s talk about this date.” Bibi’s voice had been making me jump all day. It was impossible to avoid her in this little cabin, and it was only a matter of time before she figured out what I’d done.
I chuckled to myself and took a sip of my coffee. I wished she’d asked me her signature question, how I was feeling, instead. Because besides the overwhelming guilt over lying to Bibi and sneaking out of the house, I felt great. Energized. Excited to absolutely crush this date.
No longer obsessed with Bjorn now that I’d taken care of the Hudaknocker.
Crap. Now I had a whole new problem to deal with. I wasn’t as familiar with this feeling, but that warm, gooey sensation, like my insides were made out of molten chocolate, could only mean one thing.
I was genuinely falling for the bear.
