He swallowed, and his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. “A dozen.”
“Fucking hell.” I raked my fingers through my hair, thinking about all the people this guy helped Holt & Crane to successfully screw over. “I want names, dates, and addresses.”
Whatever he saw in my eyes broke whatever of his resistance remained.
After he gave me what I needed, I took a photo of his ID. “Now get off my site. And tell whoever sent you that this ends today.”
He didn’t argue. Just turned and ran off. I watched him disappear into the trees, my cougar pacing now, furious but leashed.
They’d made a mistake. And I would make damn sure it was the last one.
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I called my dad. He picked up on the second ring.
“What happened?”
“I caught one of Holt & Crane’s guys on-site,” I replied. “Red-handed. He admitted they bring him in when they want to sabotage projects or pressure landowners after losing bids.”
“And?” my dad prompted.
“He knew about Elodie, my fated mate.”
The silence that followed was heavy enough to feel across the distance between us. When my father finally spoke again, his voice was ice-cold. “Say that again.”
“I found her the day before shit started to go down here, which means they were already circling,” I explained, furious that I was sharing the best thing that had ever happened to me in the middle of Holt & Crane’s fucked-up mess. “She’s human and had a hard life before I found her, so I only recently shared with her what I am and who she is to me.”
“And what did the bastard say about her?”
“He implied she’d been here before. Which means they’ve been watching the site long enough to notice her and to know she matters to me.”
A low curse sounded through the speaker. “Did you handle it?”
“I got names. Dates. Addresses.” I scrubbed a hand over the back of my neck. “I warned him off. Took his ID. He won’t be back.”
“Holt & Crane doesn’t scare easily.”
“They should,” I growled. “Because if they come anywhere near her again, I won’t stop at warnings.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to.”
I wasn’t surprised by his response. My dad was fiercely protective of my mom.
“This isn’t just a business issue, it’s a family one now. I’ll have legal clampdowns in place by the end of the day. I’ll also hire extra security, shifters who won’t hesitate to neutralize a threat. And if Holt & Crane keeps pushing…”
“They’ll find out what happens when you threaten what’s ours,” I finished.
“Exactly.”
With the threat handled for now, there was only one place I needed to be…back with my mate.
11
ELODIE
Iwoke to an empty bed. For a moment, I lay still and listened for the sound of Garner moving through the cabin. Footsteps. A drawer sliding shut. Anything that would tell me I hadn’t imagined the weight of his arm around me earlier.
But there was nothing.
I pushed myself upright and wrapped the blanket around my shoulders, sliding off the mattress and padding toward the living room. His boots were gone. So was his jacket.
