“I’m guessing she got in a cab okay?”

Anson had been waiting in King’s office none too patiently while his boss had escorted their new client back downstairs. The woman needed protection, protection that she should have had in two fiancés. Men who should have moved heaven and earth to keep her safe. They knew about her problems yet they abandoned her. It didn’t make sense. What kind of man would run away from the woman he loved? The thought rankled Anson more than he wanted to admit.

“Yes, on her way back to her office building. She said she usually gets off at six o’clock and since we will be waiting for her, she’ll make sure she keeps to that schedule.”

“There’s something off about all of this,” Anson mused, rubbing his hand over his jaw and realizing that he needed a shave.

“Who understands the mind of a stalker? They’re always going after what they can’t have. It’s standard operating procedure.”

“And what about the two fiancés? Who gets left at the altar twice?”

“Maybe she’s not as nice as she makes out to be? That doesn’t seem to be the issue we’ve been hired to take care of. It’s just unfortunate.”

Anson snorted. “I think she’s a successful, beautiful woman that someone thinks needs to be taken down a notch or two. That means she’s had two men in her life that said they loved her, and one that wants to hurt her.”

“Beautiful, huh? You don’t usually care how a client looks.”

“Come on, that short hair sticking out all over. Those big brown eyes. Did you notice her ass?”

“No, I did not notice her ass, and it’s not your job to notice her ass either. You need to stay focused. This is your gig, you decide who is going to do the running. Maybe remind them they don’t need to be noticing her ass either.”

Anson let out a growl that made his boss’s eyebrow rise just a little. “I’ll pick her up tonight and see if Luca can meet us at Donuts or Die so she can meet him. I’ll pull in Van when he’s back, and Hudson and Zion. I know they have their dailies, but can probably fill in.”

“Introduce her as you go along. I want her to feel comfortable with all of us. I still think there’s something else going on. What did AJ have to say?”

“I’m meeting with him this afternoon, his mate is expecting again and he said if he doesn’t help with the cubs in the mornings he gets hell,” Anson laughed.

“I bet he does. Damn, Van’s cubs are going to be running around here soon enough.”

“You might want to think about some monogrammed KSI onesies or baby blankets next.”

“Jackass, that’s not happening,” King grunted.

Anson laughed and stood up, walking out of the office without a retort.

He made his way to the front desk to check in with Nadia and maybe kill some time until AJ showed.

Nadia happened to be standing next to the desk opening a large cardboard box that was on the floor.

“Need some help with that?”

The petite woman looked up and glared at him before softening her look. Anson knew it was because he sounded a lot like Luca, and there was something about Luca that rubbed Nadia the wrong way. She didn’t get along with him as well as she did with the rest of them, and it was obvious.

“Does it look like I need help?” she sniped back.

“Yes, it always looks like you need a big strong man to help you out. I mean really, what size shoes do you wear? Are those pixie shoes?”

“Har-har, I wear fours and that is a perfectly respectable size.”

“I think my big toe is a size four.”

“That’s because you have abnormally large feet that can be used as paddles if you get caught up a creek without one.”

“Holy shit, Nadia made a joke. You should put that in a memo so we can all share in the joy of it.”

“I’ll get right on that.”

Nadia was a tough nut to crack. The only time she played along with their shenanigans was during the office pools when women would come into the office with obscure requests for Kindred security details. They were easy to spot, Kindred groupies looking for a mate who were just wasting everyone’s time, or a reporter looking for an inside story for the Kindred-focused tabloids. The groupies were something else entirely. The story was usually the same; these women hoped that if they showed up and looked needy that some kind of animal desire to protect them would kick in and they’d get a mate out of the deal.

As far as Anson knew, that had never actually worked out. Kindred only found their mates when they heard the mating call. What it was, and when it would happen, was a mystery. Even the Crones of their Clans only got clues as to who their mates could be. Then they seemed to be more shooting in the dark on things than having clear notifications. Gaia liked to keep them guessing, that was for sure.

Anson leaned on the counter and watched her struggle with the packing tape. She was cutting it with scissors and was failing the task. Nadia ran the office like a tiny dictator. Anson and the rest of the team knew that even though King was in charge, Nadia ran the show and they wouldn’t be able to do their work without her, but Anson had to admit that it was mildly satisfying to watch her struggle just a little.

Pulling his Clan knife from the sheath at his back, he spun it so the handle was facing her. “Try this?”

Nadia glared at the knife then took it grudgingly. She made quick work with the knife and offered it back to him.

Opening the lid, Anson leaned over to see what was in the large box.

“Those assholes,” Nadia hissed.

“Did you just say, ‘assholes’?”

“No.”

“Okay then,” he said with a straight face. Anson knew she swore at vendors but was always professional in the office. Maybe she was a little more relaxed with him, but he was special.

“I ordered new infrared tactical lights for all the rifles. Do these look like tactical lights to you?”

Inside the box was a myriad of different sized clips and what looked to be giant canisters of pepper spray that police often used during riots.

“We might be able to use the pepper spray,” Anson offered.

“And random clips? I mean come on, some of these aren’t even legal. It all has to go back. That means the lights won’t be in for weeks.”

“I’m sure you’ll sort it out, you always do.”

“What are you doing out here besides bothering me?”

“Well, I was going to see if you could possibly avoid playing the Bliss Hartley Christmas album until after Thanksgiving, but judging from the look in your eye I’m going to guess that’s not going to happen.”

Nadia just glared at him until he started to feel uncomfortable. “Fine, I’m waiting for AJ.”

“He called a little while ago and said he was on his way in, but had to be home in time for dinner. He’s so whipped.”

Anson laughed because it was true, but also because a Kindred always wanted to be mated. It was a craving that they couldn’t deny. No matter how much AJ complained, he was in heaven.

Anson chatted with Nadia, or attempted to, for a few more minutes when the bell on the elevator finally dinged and AJ, their IT/computer guru, rolled out of the elevator. The front wheels on his wheelchair had spinning LED lights that drew your attention.

“You’re going to give someone a seizure with those things,” Anson said shaking his head.

“It’s not easy finding them anymore. Lucky for you I bought a gross of them last time I found them at a roller blade shop that was closing.”

“How does your mate feel about that?”

“She loves me. She’s a happily mated human with a house full of cubs and one on the way,” AJ said, giving Anson the fakest smile in the world. Clearly his mate was more harassed than thrilled being home all day.

“You know if you’d keep off her she might get a break. This new one is how many?”

AJ looked to the side, “Five…”

“If I didn’t know you were a wolf, I’d call you a dog.”

“Only you’d get away with saying that. So, what can I help you with today?”

“Let’s talk in the pit,” Anson said, pushing away from the desk.

He walked behind AJ and marveled at the man’s strength. AJ had been wounded in Afghanistan and wasn’t able to heal through shifting. It was rare that a Kindred couldn’t heal some of the worst injuries. But like humans, spinal injuries were always tricky.

Luckily for AJ, it hadn’t stopped him from finding his mate and starting his family. Although he might need to decide that his family was finally complete. King paid him well, but that was still a lot of mouths to feed.

It didn’t matter if he didn’t work, the Clan took care of its own. They would always either find work for a member or support them in any way that they needed.

The pair made their way to the end of the hallway across from King’s office. There were a few other ancillary offices that no one had claimed long-term. They weren’t the ‘sit down and do paperwork’ type of crew. They left that to Nadia, who would more than likely redo their work anyway if they even attempted to do it. Her desk and her files were meticulous and more secure than most banks.

Anson followed AJ into a room with a bank of computers. A room to the side ran their server banks. Extra air conditioning pumped into the room to keep the machines running smoothly and Anson was grateful for the slight chill.

AJ rolled himself up to a desk and Anson pulled up a chair next to him.

“We looked through her history but I want to see some information about her fiancés.”

AJ looked at him in surprise, “Plural?”

“I know how it sounds, but she doesn’t seem like the crazy type. Hard worker, beautiful, smart, but not crazy.”

“Like you don’t get enough crazies around here on any given day. Remember the one that made a poster board with King’s face on it? I don’t even know where she would have gotten his picture.”

“Thanks for reminding me. I haven’t given him shit about that for a few days,” Anson said with a laugh.

“So, two breakups doesn’t sound too unreasonable. Do you think that it’s something to do with her stalker?”

Anson shook his head. There was no reason two men would leave a woman as beautiful as her. There was something different about her, something that spoke to him. Maybe it was because he was lonely and she was the kind of woman that looked straight-laced in the office, but could really let loose when she wanted to. Or at least she should.

“She was left at the altar twice... Literally in a dress, waiting. I thought that shit only happened in movies. Who lets wedding plans get to that point then bails without warning? She said that the last one was a big production, family, friends, destination wedding. That must have cost a fortune.”

AJ turned back to his computer. “Let’s start with marriage licenses and work our way back from there.”

Anson sat with AJ for the next hour digging through the digital details of both of Piper’s exes. They were decent guys, no criminal records, good jobs, and from what they could find, stable family lives. So what made both of them bail?

Leaning back in his chair, Anson pondered the screens. A picture of Piper from a corporate event. She was wearing a black dress that looked formal but didn’t show off any of her body. She was holding a full glass of champagne that she probably never even took a sip out of.

Her shoulders were held tight, her face showing the tension of holding her teeth together. If he had to guess, she was holding her tongue for some reason. It couldn’t be easy for her to be in her position in a large bank. The rest of the picture was mostly men, all talking amongst themselves. It looked like Piper was trying to fight her way into the conversation.

That pissed him off for some reason. She was smart, capable, and had proven herself, she shouldn’t have to fight anymore.

“Can you keep looking through her social media? See who is following her on multiple platforms; see if we can make any connections that might stand out.”

“Will do.”

Anson stood and started for the door. “Hey, don’t stay so long your mate gets mad at you.”

“Charlie loves me. I just need to remember to bring her some ice cream and all is forgiven.”

Anson smiled and shook his head before walking into one of the empty offices. AJ was a very lucky man. Happily mated with a house full of beautiful pups running around. His kids were funny and happy. They loved their parents and were adored by their Clan like all children were. You were never alone when you were Kindred. At least in the physical sense. There were always friends to be had. It was really just one giant family.

Anson felt lonesome sometimes, but that had nothing to do with being alone. Usually when that feeling started to creep in, he’d take off on an adventure. He’d find a mountain to climb, or some powder to shred, he’d go paragliding or base jumping. Anything to make him feel alive. He knew deep down that the real way to feel alive was to be in love and happily mated. That was when life felt real.

He had to wonder if having a mate made you feel alive all the time. He liked to think that would be how it was. The one person to always make you feel at home. He needed to call his dads. They would be willing to listen and talk him back down to earth.

This job was distracting him. He’d found his mind drifting back to Piper Armstrong. Her brown eyes with the soft lashes that framed them. The way her cheeks were a little plump on her pixie-like face. He’d done a cursory glance of her frame and he liked what he saw. She was soft and curvy, any extra weight she carried went to all the right places. Anson wished that more women knew how good that looked.

It wasn’t something he should be thinking about. He had a job to do and drivers to organize. Piper Armstrong wasn’t his, but she was his responsibility.