But life—and my future—looked very different now.
Now my focus was staying alive so I could figure out what it could be.
Before I could blink, someone slid into the seat opposite me. I reached for my concealed carry before I registered who it was. When I did, I let my hand hover over my gun but didn’t draw it.
“Matteo,” I said, somehow not at all surprised that he’d managed to track me down. He waited for the waitress to deliver my food before snagging a fry off my plate.
“Piper.”
His nod was respectful, and I wanted to roll my eyes. Within seconds of meeting me, all the bears had known that Riggs was my mate, and because he was the alpha, I’d been getting deferential nods of respect ever since.
“You have someone on your tail.”
I scowled and pulled my plate farther away so his long arms couldn’t reach as easily to steal my fries.
“I’m handling it.”
The waitress came by, flirting with the handsome bear as she took his order. He was polite and respectful but didn’t flirt back, and my respect for him went up a notch. When she left, he turned back to me.
His hazel eyes studied me. “I was sent to find him and capture him, but instead I’ve tracked him to you. He’s hanging back in the town we just passed, but he’s sent someone ahead to deal with you.”
A wash of relief flooded through me, and my shoulders loosened.
I reached for a fry, more out of habit than hunger, but grimaced when it was too bland. I added salt and pepper, then tried another. Perfect. “I’m not surprised he’s once again not wanting to do his dirty work himself.” I cut my burger in half and took a bite. “But if what you say is true, it means my ploy worked.”
“To throw him off Alanna’s trail?”
I nodded.
His food arrived, and we sat in silence for a bit as we ate.
Matteo took a sip of his tea, to which he’d addedfourpackets of honey, and eyed me over the rim of his cup. “May I let the alpha know that you’re okay?”
I wanted to laugh.WasI okay? This was news to me. I felt frazzled and worn thin. But instead of saying that, I just nodded.I wasn’t dealing with the Riggs situation yet. All I could focus on right now was the next part of the plan—keeping my niece and me safe.
At my nod, Matteo pulled out his phone and tapped out a message. It dinged in response, and he nodded respectfully at whatever message was there, even though Riggs was nowhere near us, then slipped it back into his pocket.
“He’s asked me to protect you instead of keeping track of Barrett. I reported Barrett’s location. He’s going to send a few enforcers after him.” He wiped his hands on his napkin and sat back. “I’ll follow you.”
I frowned. “I don’t need a nanny.”
“I know you don’t.” His voice softened. “How about a friend? Someone who has your six?”
Finishing the last bite of my burger, I reluctantly nodded. I could use backup at the very least. “A friend of mine is meeting me at the Portland airport with a helo. It’ll fit three of us just as easily as it would two.” I hesitated, then couldn’t help asking, “Is Alanna doing okay?”
His expression softened. “They’re all adjusting, Alanna included. You know they’ll protect her with their lives.”
More tension bled from my muscles. She was okay. I felt like I could finally take a deep breath.
I nodded my thanks, then pushed to my feet, and we both moved to pay at the register rather than wait for our waitress to return. The diner was filling up, and she looked busy. Matteo tried to sneakily cover my tab too, but I managed to give the cashier my cash first. He playfully frowned at me, and I almost smiled.
As we left the diner, he started laughing when he saw the SUV I’dborrowedfrom the Clan parking lot earlier. It was Riggs’.
I shrugged sheepishly. “I figured he’d be the most forgiving.”
“You weren’t wrong,” he said, still chuckling. He waited with me as I unlocked the vehicle and slid into the seat. “I’ll be right behind you.” He shut my door, then dashed for his own as though he didn’t trust I would wait for him.
I refrained from rolling my eyes. I’d agreed to him coming with me. I wasn’t going to ditch him.
