Natasha looked out the window of the Uber that had picked her up from the tiny airport. Sweetwater was quaint and not nearly as small as she’d thought. Business was booming. At least one house on each street had been converted into a bed and breakfast.

She spotted what looked like a fast food joint in the final stages of construction. They’d passed several such construction sites along the way. Even the little airport had been closed in certain sections due to refurbishments.

A few minutes later they pulled into the parking lot of the Sweetwater Hotel. The driver waited a few minutes while she checked in and dumped her bags in her tiny suite. Home sweet home for the foreseeable future. She still couldn’t believe she was here. Natasha jumped back into the waiting cab … next stop: The Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office.

Her boss, Kimberly Stewart AKA ‘The Ballbreaker’ had been nothing but kind to her since giving her the assignment a few days ago. Kimberly was not a kind, sweet person. Something was up. According to her supervisor, she had convinced Titan to give Natasha a chance. Natasha wasn’t sure what to believe. She didn’t trust her boss. Not one tiny bit, yet she found it hard to believe that Titan would’ve changed his mind, on his own, about taking her onboard. So, which was it? Either Titan had changed his mind about her or Kimberly had pushed him to give Natasha a chance ‒ neither seemed feasible.

It ultimately didn’t matter. This was a chance to prove herself and she was taking it with both hands. Titan was her direct superior for the immediate future. They had to work closely together. She was going to play nice. Put the past behind them and turn a new page, as her daddy would say. She felt instantly homesick. Natasha had not only given up on a family of her own, she’d also left her folks, her brother and her whole life behind to join the FBI. So far, it had been a mistake. No! A lifelong dream was not a mistake. She’d started off on the wrong foot. That was all. Richard Evans was that wrong foot. Natasha had to succeed. There was no other option. Once she proved herself, she could transfer to another division ‒ one not run by Evans ‒ and build a career putting bad guys away.

A large sign read: Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office. It showed a picture of a Sheriff’s badge. They pulled into a parking spot next to a patrol vehicle. The building was bigger than she had expected. It was modern and looked to be new. Another sign pointed out the county jail. It was a separate building on the same block.

She thanked the driver and made her way inside. The smell of fresh paint hit her nostrils. The building had to be new. That or completely refurbed.

An older woman sat behind a tall reception desk, she smiled warmly as she caught sight of Natasha. “Good morning.” She looked at her watch, her smile widened. “Nope, make that … good afternoon. It’s just gone twelve.”

“Hello. I’m looking for Sheriff Carter or …” She looked past the lady. There were several people in the room. Some were seated at desks while others seemed to be milling about. “Titan,” she finally said when she didn’t spot the man in question. Her eyes locked back with the receptionist’s.

“Oh … yeah …” the older lady giggled. She blushed. Titan was here alright. Natasha could tell by the other woman’s reaction. The receptionist nodded. “Titan’s taken the corner office. So far, he seems to keep to himself. Sheriff Carter asked that I call him the moment you arrive. He wanted to welcome you personally to Sweetwater. I’m Milly, by the way.” Her hair was neatly cut and completely grey, it fell to just past her shoulders. Despite her hair color, Milly’s face was only lightly lined. She had big blue eyes and a warm smile. “Hold just a minute and I’ll get him for you.”

Milly knocked on the door with the Sheriff plaque. Despite the modern finishes, some things were still very old school. The sheriff blustered out of his office moments later. He was an older man. Natasha guessed that he was in his late fifties. He had a well-rounded midsection and a big smile. His cheeks were rosy. Natasha decided he would make an excellent Santa Claus, just add a beard and a red suit.

She couldn’t help but smile back as he made his way over to her. “You must be Special Agent Walters.” He walked around the reception desk and clasped her hand in a big shake.

Natasha nodded. “Yup. Please call me Natasha.”

“I’m Sheriff Carter, more commonly known as ‘Big Bear Bill’ by the locals.” He barked out a laugh, finally releasing her hand. “Welcome to Sweetwater.”

“Thank you! I have to say, it’s a whole lot bigger than I expected.” She looked around the reception area.

“Oh yeah, up until recently we had a population of under six thousand. It was just a handful of us who kept this department going. There was no crime except for the odd minor theft or domestic ...” He shifted his eyes to the side. “If you know what I mean. Things changed when the vampires decided to launch their breeding program. All hell pretty much broke loose.” He grinned broadly. “People started flocking to Sweetwater either to live here or to visit. Our tourism numbers are through the roof.”

“I’ll bet,” Natasha chimed in. No wonder there were so many bed and breakfasts all over town.

“Women love them non-humans,” he spoke softly and behind his hand. “We have extra patrols out on Shifter Night.”

Natasha raised her brows. “Shifter Night?”

Big Bear Bill nodded, he hooked his thumbs in his pant loops. “Most Saturday nights, the shifters gather to … well to …”

“Cause trouble?” she asked.

“Not exactly. Let’s just say that they are here to mingle … with the ladies … if you get my drift?” He winked at her.

“Hmmhmmm. I’m pretty sure I do.” Natasha smiled.

“It’s not the non-humans who cause the trouble though. It’s these hate groups and … I don’t know …” He shook his head. “I guess testosterone levels run high. We’re not a big town and we live close to so many non-humans. Like I said earlier, women love ’em.”

Milly giggled and blushed some more. “I think I might prefer the vampires to the shifters.” She looked pointedly at one of the closed doors that lined the far wall. The corner office.

Titan.

He was in that office. Natasha swallowed hard. The guy wasn’t that good-looking. She’d exaggerated him in her mind. Tall, built, knives strapped to his person. Okay, those things were sexy. However, overgrown hair on a man was wrong on so many levels. On him it was super masculine though, super ‒ on another level ‒ sexy. A beard on a man had never been her thing either. Yet on him … She pulled her thoughts from the gutter. She was going to be disappointed when she saw him again, she just knew it.

“So, our mission is to provide the highest quality public service and safety in order to preserve, protect, and defend the rights of the citizens and visitors of Sweetwater. We’re no longer the tiny office we once were. Milly here runs reception and general admin. We have our own corrections division.”

“I saw that when I arrived.”

Sheriff Carter nodded. “Oh yeah. Our field division is twenty-three strong and then there’s the records department. Sweetwater even has a small lab now. We no longer have to send all of our evidence away to be processed.”

“That’s great! How long have you been in this building?”

“Only three weeks.” He beamed with pride. “We were bursting at the seams in the old building. Wasn’t even a real office block. We were in a converted house. For a while there, I even had to use one of those agencies to help me find staff.”

“So Sweetwater is the place to be then.” Natasha smiled.

“Seems that way. I was just on my way out, but before I go I’ll introduce you to a couple of my deputies.”

“That’s Emmet,” Milly spoke under her breath. She pointed to the janitor. He was busy emptying wastepaper baskets on the other side of the room. “Don’t mind him, he’s a bit dim and …”

“Don’t say it like that.” Big Bear Bill frowned. “He’s intellectually challenged.”

Milly shooed at the sheriff. “Pidge podge … he’s like a child in many ways. He works a mix of day shifts and night shifts. He’s a sweet enough kid, just don’t get too complicated when …”

“That’s enough, Milly.” Big Bill didn’t look too happy. “I’m going to introduce you to—” He glanced over his shoulder at the deputies going about their business.

“Special Agent Walters.” Deep, raw and intimidating. His voice was enough to send shivers racing up and down her spine. She hadn’t exaggerated that incredible voice in her mind. So deep, so primal. It was naturally husky. “I need you.” Not as menacing as she remembered but just as smoky and rich.

He needed her.

Needed.

Her.

His hand clasped the edge of the door. She could make out his silhouette. “Now, please.” Another shiver. Natasha was sure she had goosebumps. Thank god she’d decided to wear a suit, complete with jacket. He wouldn’t be able to see the flesh on her arms. Pull yourself together, Walters.

“Excuse me.” She looked at the sheriff and then Milly in turn.

“Of course, duty calls.” Big Bear Bill winked at her.

Natasha gave a nod and headed for Titan’s office. Her hands shook.

Natasha had to remind herself that Titan didn’t want to be partnering with her. He had most likely been talked into this. Besides, he might be hot but he was off-limits and probably an asshole to boot.

Natasha held her breath as she walked into the office. Titan was leaning over a desk and keying something into a laptop. Damn! He still wore those tight leather pants and a leather cut-off vest of sorts. His arms were bare. No freaking fair! His biceps were wicked built. The guys back at the Bureau would shit themselves to have muscles like that.

His hair was tied back with a leather tie. It was barbaric. He glanced her way, a deep frown on his forehead.

“Morning … I mean … afternoon,” she blustered.

Titan gave a nod. He touched a stack of files on his desk. “You need to read through these.”

Straight to business. Good! Great! “Okay.” She licked her lips.

“They’re detailed reports of each and every attack, each act of vandalism in the last eighteen months.”

Natasha glanced at the stack of files and then looked back at Titan. She frowned. “I already read through all of the reports. I’ve done my research on this case.”

He shook his head. “You read the human accounts. These are far more detailed. We need to find the fuckers responsible and bring them to justice.”

“Understood. I’ll get started on them then. I wanted to thank you for taking me onboard.” There was an empty desk facing the one with the laptop on it. “Is that mine?” She pointed to the desk.

Titan’s jaw tightened for a split second. “Yeah.” He didn’t like the idea of them sharing. He didn’t look very happy to see her either. Well, tough shit!

She nodded. “Perfect.”

Titan pulled his phone from his pocket and handed it to her. “I need your number.”

“No problem!” Why didn’t he just get it off her file? Probably still hadn’t read it.

“I’ll send you the Wi-Fi code. I see you have a laptop.” He looked pointedly at the bag on her shoulder. He put the stack of files on her desk.

“Yup. I’m all set.”

“I’ll have the male from IT set you up so that you can use the printer.”

Natasha nodded. She programmed her details into his phone and handed it back. “Thank you. Listen,” she paused. “I know you didn’t want to work with me on this. That it took some convincing to get you to agree …” His eyes narrowed. “But, I just wanted you to know that I’m one hundred percent onboard. I’m—”

“Good!” he cut her off. “I have a couple of things I need to get done. Those should take you the rest of the afternoon. I plan on using you as the backend of this operation.”

“Backend?” She couldn’t help but frown.

“Yeah, for research and—”

“I know what would be expected.” More desk duty. Shit! This sucked.

Titan held her gaze for a few moments. “This needs to be handled methodically. We know some of the males’ identities. I’ll start there with interviews of family members, close friends and colleagues.”

It seemed like a wild goose chase. Natasha knew that these avenues had been explored already with no new information coming to fruition. It was standard to retrace all paths anyway so she didn’t say anything, however, if Titan wanted to find this group and its members he’d need to have a better plan.

Shit! She may as well ask. They were working together on this. “What’s the plan?”

Titan was already on his way to the door. He turned back. “I just told you.” With that he was gone, the door clicking behind him. Natasha squeezed her eyes shut and let out a breath which belied how deeply frustrated she felt. How was she going to prove herself if she wasn’t given a chance? Titan wasn’t experienced in running an investigation such as this and it was clear that he didn’t plan to use her knowledge.

Aside from frustrated, she also felt disappointed. It seemed that her supervisor had really talked Titan into taking her on. He would’ve set the record straight otherwise. It wasn’t something that should bug her, but it did.

In the end, one thing was clear ‒ he didn’t want her there. Another thing was even more clear ‒ she’d have to prove him wrong.