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“Bear it, you did.” Bjorn’s lip curled.
I groaned. “I was glad I had a chance to see you in action away fromThe Scoop. You’re good at your job.”
“You are, too,” he said. “I love how much you care about the couples. Honestly, I thought you were kinda vapid onThe Scoop. Cute, but shallow.”
“Vapid? Shallow?” Ugh.
“I said you were cute, too.” He grinned, but only for a moment once he realized he was making things worse. “Then I got to know you and realized I was wrong.”
We were outside the mercantile. In the winter months, Jenny kept the garage-style doors down, but we could still see inside. Saint Lovell was there, as were Jackson Hunter and Gabe Wylde. Only the most prominent shifters in Sunset Springs. Bibi was already inside, and she had her arms crossed, defensive. Not even she could diffuse the obvious tension.
I was so screwed.
“Tell them the truth.” Bjorn pressed a kiss against my forehead. There was no missing how his body rumbled with pure bear energy. “I’m not gonna let them fuck with you.”
“I never looked at my mom’s messages.” I wasn’t stalling. “I should probably know what she has to say before I go in there.”
I got a visit from some wolves today. Know anything about it?
Don’t ignore me, Bug.
Word’s out about the Hudaknocker. They think I know where it is. Why would they know that?
Did you tell anyone?
Think we got tailed.
They came back. This time they said I better tell them where it is. Or else.
My heart was pounding as I put my phone back in my bag. There was a lump in my throat. OnThe Scoop, we never had to worry about cleaning up our own messes. But onThe Mating Game, I would have to face the consequences.
Saint, Jackson, and Gabe turned to me when I walked in the door. Arms crossed. Eyes hard. Bjorn was brave as hell to stand beside me. He put his hand on my back, but still, I wanted to run. My mind was spinning, concocting a new identity, maybe somewhere in Maine. Or Australia.
But to go rogue and start a whole new life, I’d have to leave my bear behind, and that was the last thing I wanted.
“You know Saint, Jackson, and Gabe,” Bibi said. But she wasn’t her usual bubbly self. I hadn’t imagined things. “They came to talk to us about the Hudaknocker.”
How did they know? My heart dropped into my belly when I realized my mom had probably used our field trip the other night to stir up more chaos. But then she said she thought we got tailed…
Distraction. She was its mistress. But there was a chance that she was telling the truth for once in her life.
“As you know, it’s a very important artifact to the local packs,” Gabe said. “Both of you were with us for its discovery and a lot of the research.”
“We hear that it’s missing,” Saint added. “But since we’d agreed to house it atThe Mating GameHQ, we trusted that this crew would keep it safe. So we have some questions.”
“Ask away,” Bibi said. “We’re all open books.”
Jackson’s gaze rested directly on me. He was the one I hadn’t had a chance to work closely with, but I knew he’d caused some trouble in the past. Chaos recognized chaos.
Saint nodded. “Any unusual activity at HQ? I understand that’s a loaded question with crowds that have been more enthusiastic than ever.”
“Understatement,” Gabe said under his breath.
“No, nothing unusual inside HQ,” Hugo said.
Jackson took a step forward. If I remember correctly, these two were best friends in the past. Hugo had been his alpha’s right-hand man. “Are you sure? A few things have slipped on your watch.”
“Hugo is the hardest working guy on this show,” Bjorn growled. “I’ve been staying with him for the last week, and he’s working every moment of the day. He’s eating, sleeping, and breathing this show, and he’s got a ton of ground to cover. For someone who doesn’t have any formal background or training in security, I would challenge any of us to do a better job.”
