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“Wasn’t asking about the incident report.” He flipped it open to find multiple pages of notes. He’d been talking to people for hours. “Gerri was there. Cookies already in hand. Not even slightly surprised by the fire.”

“Gerri’s never surprised.”

“This is a more impressive entry than I usually include in my documentation.” He glanced up, smiling—not the typical professional or amused smile, but a sincere one that showed he genuinely enjoyed it. “You stared at her for ten consecutive minutes.”

“I was managing the situation.”

“Three independent witnesses used the word haunting. None of them were prompted. One of them, while describing the banner, then volunteered it completely unprompted.” He looked at Drayce. “The banner, Drayce.”

“The witness accounts of the incident are in the report.”

“These are different witness accounts.” He tapped the notebook, still smiling. Warm. Fully invested. This was the thing about Pike — he found things funny and didn’t pretend otherwise. Underneath the amusement, he was always genuinely rooting for the people he cared about. “What did you say to her?”

“I told her we should step back from the stalls.”

Pike stared at him. He picked up the notebook and wrote.

“That’s in the report.”

“I know. It’s going in here too.” Pike capped the pen. “She said something back?”

“She said she’d been in town for less than three hours and was already setting fire to a building.”

Pike set the notebook down. He looked at Drayce for a long, awkward stretch as he processed it—a silence that meant he was deciding whether what he’d just heard was as good as he’d thought.

“I like her. She’s staying.”

“She has a lease.”

“Good. She should get a longer one.” He settled back as if he had nowhere better to be. “Does she know about the ward connection?”

“Gerri covered the basics tonight. Not the full infrastructure link.”

“That’s a significant conversation.”

“I know.”

“Someone needs to have it with her before she surges again and the numbers get worse.”

“Pike.”

“Right. Aware. Both of us.”

He picked up the notebook again, back to business, but the warmth didn’t leave his face. It stayed, turning more serious when Drayce laid out the founding-line situation — the ward entanglement, the direct link between her emotional state and the town’s containment, and the fact that managing it from a distance wasn’t an option.

Pike was quiet while he thought it through. Outside, the rain picked up. The clock marked the half hour.

“So you have to be in her orbit.” Pike leaned back.

“Yes.”

“Your wolf must love this setup.”

“She needs to know the full extent of the ward connection.” He flipped back a page. “Before she figures it out the hard way.”

“I know.”

“That’s the voice where you’ve already decided it’s going to be you telling her.”