“Don’t push it,” I growled back, slamming my hand against his shoulder, thankful when he finally released me. While I wasn’t Slade’s level of touch-averse, intense physical contact still bothered me.
We fell silent and resumed watching Emme, who was now measuring flour and sugar. When she started to grate lemons, Kellan actually moaned. “Did you try her lemon tarts three days ago? Please tell me you tried them. They were actually one of the best things I’ve ever eaten, though as I mentioned already, second only to Emme’s puss?—”
This time I punched him, and it was all jealousy. He’d already mentioned how good our mate tasted, and I was a desperateshifter who was far from ever deserving to touch, let alone taste her.
“You ate all the lemon tarts,” I reminded him dryly as he rubbed his arm. “Remember… you threatened to cut our dicks off in our sleep if any of us touchedthe tarts…”
Kellan rumbled out a deep laugh. “I think I remember that. I might have blacked out after eating the first one. But honestly, I will fight anyone who touches them this time as well.”
This crazy bastard needed help.
Footsteps cracked against the floor as Slade appeared in the entry hall, dressed head to toe in black enforcer gear, his expression somber as blood streaked his cheeks and arms.
He’d beeninterrogatinghis evil twin again.
“He spill anything?” I asked when he halted in the doorway between Kellan and me, not touching either of us. This doorway had been built big enough to handle a damn truck backing into the kitchen.
The rasp that slipped from between Slade’s pressed lips was so menacing my bear even poked his head up. “He’s been well trained. I can’t hurt him too much, in case it slides through the bond to Emme, but even so, nothing I’ve tried has gotten him to talk.”
The dragon-dupe was currently stashed in our containment room—a noise-proof, magically reinforced cell behind the garage. Emme didn’t know where he was, but she knew he was close—to keep their bond from flipping out. So far, she hadn’t asked to see him, and none of us wanted her anywhere near the psychopath.
“He’s said absolutely nothing?” Kellan pushed.
Slade sucked in a deep, heavy breath. “He spoke once to tell me that he’ll only communicate with Emme from here on out. Since then, he’s sat there staring at me, his dragon hovering just below the surface.”
“She’s in no state to deal with him,” I murmured, my bear rumbling as we watched Emme’s heartbreaking routine once more. Back and forth. Measure and pour. Bake and repeat. Over and over.
Slade nodded roughly. “I’ll figure out how to break him.”
More footsteps echoed as Hunter joined us, his phone pressed to his ear. “I don’t fucking care what it takes,” he barked. “Find one of them. Fletcher Davenport, Blaine Rogers, Sorenson Thenguard. There’s a fucking shifter out here who knows where one of them are, and I want them dead or delivered to my doorstep today.”
He paused at the three of us perched in the kitchen doorway, and as if he knew exactly what we were doing, his frantic gaze darted through to Emme. His shoulders relaxed when he saw she was safe and relatively functional. “I’ll expect an answer by tonight,” he snarled as he hung up the phone.
We were using every contact and resource we had to track Fletcher and anyone associated with him. Normally, Slade would be our source for tracking, but he was entirely focused on Talon—it was a bit of an obsession for him. He’d all but lived down in the containment cell this week.
“They’ve gone to ground,” Hunter bit out, running a hand through his disheveled hair. “All of them. Not a fucking sign of anyone, including Sorenson and Chelsea.”
He’d made no secrets that he was going to end his best friend’s pack the second he got his hands on them, which Sorenson no doubt knew. He wouldn’t be coming back for a reunion any time soon.
“The bunker he had Emme in was state of the art,” I reminded him. “You’d never even know it was there unless you had a tangible path to track. I barely knew it was there when I was standing over the top of it. If Fletcher is holed up in a similar place, we won’t find him until he’s ready for us to find him.”
Hunter rubbed a hand over his face, processing my words, before he sucked in a ragged breath. “Has she said anything to anyone?” he asked, focusing on Emme, a hint of desperation bleeding into his tone. “I don’t know how to help her. We’ve destroyed everyone involved, and half the council is terrified of us now, but it’s made no difference. We haven’t found the ones we really need.”
The phone in his hand cracked as he squeezed it tightly, which would make his fourth replacement in a week.
“She’s just… cooking,” Kellan said, squeezing his eyes shut. “Cooking, sleeping, and having nightmares. We’re fucking failing her as mates.”
I wanted to reassure him as he’d done for me earlier, but what could I say to make this better? We were her mates… her pack, and we’d let this happen to her.
And those responsible were still out there.
“We have another council meeting in an hour,” Slade said flatly. “Are you going to tell them about our little prisoner?”
Hunter shook his head. “No. They’ve already proven their uselessness, though they’ve at least doubled patrols on the entrances and perimeter of the city. Along with adding enforcers to our family compound. Which gives us some breathing room to focus on tracking and keepingthat piece of shit dragonfrom escaping.”
When Emme added another tray of muffins to the piles of baked goods across the counters, Kellan couldn’t take it any longer. With a low rumble, he headed into the kitchen and swept her into his arms. We were trying to respect her wishes, and if that meant giving her space, we did it… But for Kellan, there was only so much space he had in him.
Emme tensed briefly,so brieflythat I doubted Kellan even noticed, but I saw it. When she tilted her head back and met hissteady gaze, her whole body relaxed into his arms, as if she also really needed a hug.
