Ryenne spent the rest of the day learning as much about the attacks and Steven’s habits and life as possible, in order to figure out who might want to hurt him in this way and have opportunity.

Inside, she stewed about the low trick he’d played on her and Gavin. And on Lucien. Sure, she was mildly flattered Steven considered her among the top shifter hunters in the world. But, not flattered enough to forgive him.

The trip to his mother’s house and the coffee plantation renewed some of her excitement about being in Kenya. Coffee was the elixir of life to her but she’d never imagined it grew in such a beautiful place. And Steven’s mother had been a gracious hostess, full of stories about Steven as a child and about the Nakuru area. His younger sister had served them tea with a shy smile and twinkling eyes and his younger brothers had joined them during a break from working among the plants.

She’d almost hated to leave the plantation and return to the sterile, dusty compound in the village.

Before dinner, Steven excused himself to take care of some business and she retreated to her own room to video chat with Gavin. When his handsome face, as familiar to her as her own, appeared on the screen, a sense of calm filled her. Gavin had always had that effect on her. He was her rock, her best friend, her family. Her mother adored him, too, and they spent every holiday together.

“Ryenne, you made it. Are you okay?”

“Of course, I am. What’s up?”

“Did Muteti already tell you about the competition?”

She snorted. “Yeah. The nerve, huh?”

“Hey, I’m sorry, Ry. His first payment cleared easily and there was no reason to suspect foul play.”

She waved her hand in front of the screen. “It’s not your fault he’s a jerkwad, Gav.” She downed some water from the bottle she’d brought with her from the dining room. “Should I just come home? We can’t let a client get away with this, right?” The thought didn’t sit well with her, though. She’d never walked away from a job. Or a fight.

A flash of Lucien’s warm brown eyes came to her and her stomach tingled again. If she left now, she wouldn’t get to do either of the things she’d thought of doing to him. One side of her mouth curled up.

“What’s the competition like?” Gavin asked.

“Are you reading my mind now?” she asked with a wry smile.

“Oh? Thinking about him? He must be hot. Is he my type?”

She laughed. “Not if your type is pale and skinny. If you’re asking if he’s gay, I have no idea. How’s Marco?”

“I think he may be the one, Ry. I’m glad you got to meet him the other day because your approval means everything.”

“Please. You think any guy who will spend time with you is the one and you never take my advice. You’re a catch! The real deal. You can afford to have higher expectations.”

He gave her a modest smile. “Why would I take advice from someone who never dates?”

He had a point. “If he’s still around when I get home, then I’ll consider giving you my blessing. But only if he’s worthy because you deserve the best.”

He blew her a kiss through the laptop screen. “So you’ll stay in Kenya and see the case through?”

“I don’t know. Probably. I’ll sleep on it and see how I feel in the morning.”

He nodded. “Fair enough. Okay, gotta go, I’m meeting Marco for lunch and you know I like to put in plenty of time at the gym before a date. Stay safe, babe. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

She clicked him off and rolled over on the bed. Despite the circumstances, she couldn’t walk away from the job. If there was a vicious rogue targeting this town because of Steven, she wanted to take him down. Or her.

There were female rogues, but not as many as there were men. The odds were that she was hunting a male.

Her thoughts turned to Tess, the rogue shifter from the club the other night. She and Ryenne had crossed paths several times during Ryenne’s professional career. Tess thought she should be above the law because she had supernatural gifts and could do things humans couldn’t. Those gifts made her think she could treat humans however she wanted. As playthings, as food. Whatever.

And she wasn’t alone. It was what rogues had in common. It was why Ryenne had a job at all because someone had to stand up for the humans who couldn’t protect themselves as easily as shifters.

This village was filled with people who hadn’t asked for Steven to bring his problems down on them. People who weren’t trained to protect themselves and weren’t likely to find the rogue on their own and bring him—or her—to justice.

But Ryenne was trained. She could handle this rogue.