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“I don’t know his name.”

“Where do you know him from?” I ask.

“He was in Tiger’s house.”

We look up at each other at the same time.

“Where is he?” I ask.

“Bakery,” she gets out.

“We’re on our way,” Forge says, snatching the phone from my desk and rushing out the door. I take my keys and I hurry after him. He’s already at the elevator. “I’m going to lose you when I get inside. I will call back if it disconnects.”

“Okay,” she says, her voice trembling.

The elevator doors open and we step on. Forge jabs the button multiple times, as if that’s going to make it move any faster.

“Come on, come on,” he mutters, waiting for the door to close.

The way he’s acting is making me speechless. All I can do is watch.

It’s not a bad thing. I’m not jealous. I don’t need this side of him, but Rae does. If anything, seeing him like this only makes me care for him more. It’s good to know he has it in him when it’s needed. Especially because just the other day he was so sure she was still our suspect. Now? I think maybe he’s changed his mind.

The bakery is closed when we reach it, so we go around the side to ring the bell for the apartment. Forge wastes no time banging on the door, as if they won’t hear the bell.

“Let us in,” he says into the phone. He hasn’t hung up because he told her that he would stay on the phone with her until we were in the apartment with her. Even when we got onto the elevator and the bars dropped, he made sure she was there. He stared at the phone like it was a bomb about to explode, waiting to see if the call would disconnect.

When the elevator stopped, he rushed out, squeezing through the doors before they were fully open so he could run through the lobby and get to service.

It’s not that I’m not worried about her safety. I am. I’m feeling exactly the way he is, it’s just that with him taking control, I know I can step back. There is no one in this world I trust more than Forge Thane, and when he sets his mind to something, he will do it. Nothing, and I mean nothing, will stop him.

When we met, our relationship was natural and easy. It sort of just happened. We fell into a routine and decided to be a pack because we had already been acting like one. This, with Rae, is different. It’s like a whirlwind, happening much faster than what we’re used to, and I have a feeling it won’t be slowing down any time soon.

I wasn’t sure this was going to go anywhere, after the way things ended and the situation we’re dealing with, but now? I can really see how Forge feels and I don’t think he’s going to let this go so easily.

The moment Trinity opens the door, we rush in and up the stairs to get into the apartment and to Raewyn, who is sitting on the couch, hugging herself with the phone in her lap. I see Forge end the call, his eyes on Raewyn as he goes to her and sits beside her.

“What happened?” he asks

She looks up at him, and then tears spill from her eyes.

The scent of burnt oranges starts to fill the room.

Something in my chest tightens, and I rush over too.

This isn’t the detective part of me, though that part is ready to get to the bottom of this. But what I’m feeling right now? This is something else. Something deeper. Something more.

I kneel in front of her just as she starts to sob. Her knees brush my chest and I watch as she sobs, wanting to reach out and hug her but knowing that I can’t because I don’t even know her. The last thing I want to do is make her uncomfortable by allowing my alpha to take charge, the way it wants to.

Forge seems like he’s in the same boat. I feel his emotions rolling off him. Anxiety but the fierce need to protect. We stay where we are, letting her cry until she pulls herself together—and apologizes.

“Don’t apologize,” I say. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I’m just—I just—” She shakes her head, unable to get the words out.

“It’s okay,” Forge says. “We’re here and we won’t let anything happen to you.”

“We won’t,” I add.