Chapter Two
“Frederick, good to see you.”
Ronan greeted the alpha like an old friend, rather than a distant acquaintance, mindful of the eyes watching them.
“Ronan, thanks for stopping by. Come inside.”
He followed the alpha through the entryway and into the house. The door swung closed behind him and the noise from outside suddenly dampened down.
“Soundproofed, huh?” he asked the alpha.
“It’s that or have everyone knowing my business,” Frederick replied. “And, after a day like yesterday, that’s the last thing I want. Come through to the study.”
Ronan trailed after Frederick, taking in the plush carpet beneath his feet, the tasteful decor, and the sobbing girl in what looked like a living room, being comforted by an older woman.
“Is your daughter alright?” he asked Frederick quietly as they stepped into the study.
“Stupid girl,” Frederick said sharply, and Ronan nearly winced. “Sobbing about how she’s heartbroken when that bastard walked away with almost half a million dollars’ worth of diamonds.”
“Did you know this alpha well?”
“No. She met him at a party in another pack. They’d been exchanging texts or whatever it is you young people do these days. I was out of town for two days with my mate, and she brings him over for the night. Shows him around. Shows him everything, including the one safe her mother was stupid enough to give her the combination to. Next morning he’s gone, along with everything of value from that safe.”
“Which was diamonds?”
“Uncut diamonds. Diamonds we were due to auction next week. When I spoke to Griffin on the phone, he said that might still be possible.”
Ronan swallowed a grin. He liked a challenge. “Give me everything you have on this guy, and I’ll get those diamonds back to you with time to spare.”
Frederick leaned forward on his desk, holding Ronan’s gaze. “I don’t just want the diamonds. I want him too. No one fucks with my family. I have a reputation to uphold and a daughter to protect.”
“Done. Just tell me what I need to know, and I’ll do the rest.”
For the first time, Frederick looked skeptical. “You, alone?”
“Griffin sent me because tracking people is my specialty. There’s no one better.”
It was the truth, there wasn’t a better person for the job, but he could see Frederick still needed some convincing.
“I’ve never had a bounty I couldn’t track, Frederick,” he said. “This guy has what? An eight-hour head start? The sooner I get on the road, the sooner you have your property back in your hands and an alpha to mete out pack justice to.”
That seemed to chase away the last of Fredrick’s uncertainty.
“Here’s what I know.”
Having Preston around was sending Noah’s emotions on a roller-coaster. Preston’s scent, and everything he did, big or small, had Noah on a high. The alpha said all the right things, too.
And that was kind of where the problem was. Noah distrusted pretty words. All too often, they were lies said by people he trusted, some under the guise of trying to spare his feelings, some to twist and hurt him later. He should have been on cloud nine, what with a compatible alpha literally within arm’s reach, and he was, but there was a part of him that couldn’t shake the apprehension that Preston was too perfect, too amazing, too… just what he was looking for. He tried talking with himself, taking himself to task for letting his insecurities destroy the one good thing that had happened to him in, well, forever.
“Noah?”
He followed the sound of Preston’s voice, finding him at the front door.
“Need to go make a few calls. Gonna take a walk and find some cell phone signal.”
“East, towards the road, is best,” Noah said brightly, pointing. “I could come with you?”
“That’s alright. I could be a while,” Preston replied, giving him that smile again, the one that sent tingles right down to his toes.
“Okay. See you soon.”
Noah returned to the kitchen. Now that he actually had someone there, he felt like making an effort with his cooking. He wasn’t a great cook, but what he cooked he made well. Pulling a bowl from the cupboard, he started putting together the ingredients to bake some bread. Who didn’t like freshly baked bread?
An hour later, he was kneading the dough one last time before it went into the oven when there was the sound of an engine in the distance. Sometimes, people came off the highway here by accident. They usually turned around long before they got to the boarding house. He waited, but they kept coming. Wiping his flour-covered hands on a cloth, he went out to see what was what, belatedly remembering as he did that Preston had said something about hiding from trouble. Had it found him?
Like before, he went to the window. But the vehicle he’d heard was nowhere to be seen. Torn between going outside to look for Preston and hiding back in the kitchen, he was startled by a sudden rap on the front door.
His feet felt heavy as he forced himself to the door, pulling it open just a crack so he could see who was there.
“Hello?”
A pair of dark eyes stared back at him, and the scent that hit him was all alpha.
“Hello.”
“Um, can I help you?”
“This is a boarding house, right?”
“That’s… that’s right.”
“You got many staying?”
The alpha’s questions were clipped and to the point, his eyes looking past Noah and into the house. Noah realized his huddling behind the door was only going to make it seem like he was hiding something. And if he was going to protect Preston, he needed it to look like there was nothing to hide.
Pushing the door open wider, he tried to smile.
“No, just me right now. Would you like to come in? Could I get you some water?” It was a warm day, the sun beating down on the ground outside.
He took a step back, motioning the alpha inside, but the other man seemed in no hurry.
“I’m looking for someone. This guy.”
He showed Noah a picture on his phone. It was unmistakably Preston.
“Have you seen him?” he prompted when Noah stayed silent. The omega thought quickly. An outright no wouldn’t work. Preston’s scent was all over the place.
“That’s Preston. He was here. Arrived yesterday, stayed last night, and left first thing this morning.”
“Preston, huh? Did he say where he was going?”
Noah took a chance and lied through his teeth. Preston had come from the east so… “West towards Rivertown, I think. He didn’t really say all that much.”
The alpha nodded slowly. “Rivertown? Okay, thanks. Could I get that glass of water?”
“Sure,” Noah replied, “come through to the kitchen.” He prayed that if Preston returned, he’d come via the front of the house, see the alpha’s vehicle, and know to stay away.
The alpha stayed standing near the kitchen door. He looked outwardly relaxed but, on closer inspection, Noah suspected he was listening carefully for signs that someone else was in the house.
“Here,” he said, handing over the glass of water. The alpha took it from him, their fingers touching briefly, sending a thrill of heat through him. He stepped back abruptly, putting space between them. Preston said this alpha was a lowlife, which meant dangerous. The sooner he left, the better.
The alpha drained the glass in one go, setting it down on the table, then moved toward the counter, scooping up a notepad and pen from the table and taking a step toward Noah.
“Turn around.”
Noah did so unquestioningly, reacting to the alpha’s commanding tone. He felt the press of the pad against his upper back a moment later followed by the trace of a pen.
“My number,” the alpha said, his hands a warm pressure on Noah’s back. “In case you remember anything else about where Preston was headed to.”
There was a pause, an intake of breath, and then the alpha’s fingers ghosted for one brief moment across his scars. Noah shuddered and jerked out of reach, turning to face the alpha. When the alpha held out the piece of paper, he made no move to take it. The alpha looked him up and down slowly before setting the paper down on the table beside them and sliding it toward him.
“Nice to meet you, Noah. I’m gonna take a quick look around before I leave.”
“Suit yourself,” Noah said, putting as much disdain into his voice as he could muster.
It provoked a strange response from the alpha, a smile flitting across his face, gone almost as soon as Noah saw it, before he turned on his heels and left.
From the way he moved, purposeful and powerful, Noah guessed he was something strong. Lion, bear. Wolf even. Wolves were rare, but they were good at finding people. If Preston had a wolf on his tail, it could be they were both in trouble.