Turned out the mobile phone we'd found was a burner, just like we'd suspected. No stored contacts, and only one text message, a bunch of numbers which turned out to be longitude and latitude coordinates to Wolf Hill.

The four days we'd been on swing shift the day shift Enforcers had scoured Wolf Hill, turning up nothing. I sat at my desk, tapping my fingers. I needed to bring Nate Wilder in. This was somehow linked to him. I could have sworn the human hunts and the murders were linked, but now I was starting to doubt myself. Was it merely a coincidence after all and I'd been wasting precious time? Time that was running out for the next potential victim?

"Hey." Carter dropped down into his chair, his brown eyes meeting mine.

"Hey." We hadn't spoken since the kiss at his party. Oh, there had been plenty of missed calls and voice mails. All of which I'd deleted without listening to. Immature perhaps, but I'm big on avoidance when it comes to emotional stuff, and the glimpse I'd just caught of Carter's face showed he was full to the brim with emotion. Oh boy.

Raising my coffee to my lips, I took a hefty sip. There was a new Pixie working at the Witches Brew and she'd introduced a range of coffees filled with elemental spices. Today my coffee was laced with focus. Yesterday I'd had clarity.

"What happened to your hand?" he asked. I glanced at the bandage wrapped around the palm of my left hand.

I shrugged. "Cut myself on some glass. Needed stitches."

"Is that why you didn't answer my calls? Because you were at medical?"

Partly. Carter and I had always been truthful with each other, if not a little blunt, and I couldn't see a reason to change now.

"After your party, I went home and drank a bottle of vodka—"

"On your own?" he cut in.

"On my own. Naturally, that made me not only hungry but also extremely inebriated. While making myself a snack, my glass slipped. It broke in my hand."

"Were you trying to make cheese toasties one handed again? You know when you're drinking alone that no one is going to steal or spike your drink, right? You can actually put it down."

"And this is why I didn't bother calling you. The lectures."

"Continue." He waved his hand in a please proceed gesture.

"I got a cab to medical, where they stitched me up. Came home, went to bed, woke up with the most god-awful hangover. Spent all day on the sofa regretting the vodka, then thought I'd check out Crimson Mist, see if Wilder had turned up."

"You went to Crimson Mist? Alone? Without backup?"

I raised my eyebrows, nailing him with a cold hard stare. See? Lectures.

"I went as a patron. To have fun." And to case the joint. Not only for Nate but for anything, any clue that would give me a lead in finding the murderer.

"And did you? Have fun?"

"I did." Not entirely true. I'd been curious about the pheromones they pumped into the air, curious to see if there was a hot, sexy man who could take the edge off the tension, that, thanks to Carter, had not left me since our own encounter in the club. And although I'd stayed until dawn, no such thing occurred. Plenty of hot, sexy-looking guys, but none of them caught my interest.

"So after spending all night at the club, I had yet another hangover to sleep off. Yesterday I spent most of the day at the Witches Brew."

"Where was your phone in all of this?" The suspicious frown he leveled at me made me grin. He knew me well.

"I found my phone in the fridge," I admitted.

"So you weren't avoiding my calls then?"

"To be honest, I was. But when I lost my phone, well, let's just say I didn't search very hard."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why avoid my calls in the first place?"

"Because you want to talk about the friggin kiss you planted on me in front of your pack. You want to talk about us!"

"Damn straight I do." I felt his energy pulse over me and reacted. In panic. Pushing to my feet I eyeballed him over his monitor.

"This is going to ruin us, Carter. You're my best friend. I can't risk it. I can't."

"I want to have a relationship with you," he said bluntly, rising to his feet.

"I know you do. I don't." Couldn't. Because I knew what would happen. What always happened. We'd enjoy a couple of days rolling around in bed, then the expectations would start, the demands. Dates. Time. And I'd pull away like I always do, and he'd get all pissy and storm out, calling me an ice queen. There'd be some nasty texts, and then nothing. Game over. I couldn't risk that with Carter. He meant the world to me and I couldn't bear to lose him.

He sighed, running a hand over his face. "No, you don't, and I'm sorry. The whole pack thing got complicated after the other night; otherwise, I would have been camping on your doorstep until you let me in. They've kept me tied up with pack business ever since my party. And you can't blame it all on me. You hot-footed it out of there pretty fast."

"Because what you did—kissing me in front of your pack—was stupid. You put me in a position, you manipulated me. And I didn't, don't, appreciate it."

"I'm sorry."

"I need some air." I was pulling on my jacket and frowned when Carter did the same. "Alone." My anger surged, and I resented the power he had over my emotions. So much for my focused coffee!

"No can do. We need to get up to Wolf Hill and continue the search. There's a cave up there somewhere. We need to find it. We've got nothing else to go on, might as well chase down that lead."

He had a point, and that irritated me even more. Stalking to the elevator, I punched the button, leaving him to sign us out and grab the keys to the SUV. Our fellow Enforcers hadn't been able to locate the cave. What made Carter think we'd have any luck? What did he know that the others didn't?

I headed to the driver's side, frowning at Carter. "Keys?"

"No way, woman. I've seen you drive when you're angry. You're not getting behind the wheel."

"Are you serious?"

"Sit back and enjoy the ride, Spitfire."

"Fine." Sliding into the passenger seat, I snapped my seatbelt into place, ignoring him. He started the car and smoothly maneuvered out into the street. The close proximity in the car made me hyper aware of him, his energy, his aura scraped over my skin like sandpaper.

"For what it's worth—" he began.

"Don't!" I cut him off. "I don't want to talk. You're going to make it worse."

"I missed you." His words were gruff. Heartfelt. I turned my face away, staring blindly out the window, seeing nothing.

"We usually hang out a time or two between shifts. To not see you for four days was torture."

"Pft."

He blew out a sigh. "I stuffed up, okay? I shouldn't have kissed you—" I swiveled to look at him. If he was going to say he regretted kissing me I was going to punch him in the face. My fingers clenched in readiness. "—in front of the pack. That was just stupid." He shook his head, thumping the steering wheel in apparent frustration. My fingers relaxed.

"Why did you?" My voice came out softer than I expected.

"I couldn't not kiss you. Your scent was all around me. All I could think about was you, the taste of you, your lips on mine, the rush of my blood when your tongue strokes mine, the little noises of pleasure that you make. That's all I could think of. I wasn't trying to manipulate you or trick you. I just had to kiss you."

My cheeks heated. This was dangerous. My anger had dissolved at his words, to be replaced by a tingling in my lady parts—what he described was what I wanted too. Badly. But the aftermath was too high a price to pay. I tamped down the lust, shoved it into a little box deep inside, and turned the key, determined to keep it buried and locked away, forever.

The rest of the drive was in silence. I sensed each time he glanced my way, the warmth of his gaze almost a physical caress. I didn't know what he expected me to say. That it was okay? That his kisses unraveled me?

"Why don't you just say it?"

"What?" I gasped, swiveling my head so fast I almost gave myself whiplash. Had he read my mind?

"Whatever is playing through that pretty little head of yours, just say it." His fingers tightened on the steering wheel for the briefest of moments before relaxing.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

I shrugged. Because it was akin to opening Pandora's Box? Or a can of worms? Because I didn't want things to change, yet they were changing anyway and I was being dragged, kicking and screaming, onto a new path. A path I was convinced would be our undoing?

"Your friendship means more to me than anything else in the entire world," I began, then stopped, unsure of how to proceed.

"You think you'll lose it." His head nodded. "That we won't be able to be friends anymore."

"Because you want too much of me, Carter. You want it all, and you, of all people, should know that I don't have it to give. You'll be disappointed. And then it'll be too late, we won't be able to go back from lovers to friends. It never works that way."

"You have everything I need," he muttered, pulling into the parking lot and killing the engine. Neither of us moved.

"Let's just be real for a second, okay? What if, and this is a massive what if, what if we did hook up? Had a relationship. Fell in love. What then? Your pack would not accept me. Not as your mate. Never. I'm not a wolf. I bet they were busting your balls over that kiss. Am I, or am I not, correct?"

His hesitation, the subtle hint of color on his cheeks told me I was right.

"Yeah. That's what I thought." Sliding out of the car, I restrained myself from slamming the door closed. Fuck, it was cold up here. Shivering, I hurried to the rear of the SUV and grabbed my coat from where I'd thrown it earlier. Pulling on gloves and hat, I avoided eye contact with Carter, and stood out of the way while he got our supplies organized. I could see the cogs turning behind his eyes, knew he wasn't done with our conversation. I waited. Eventually, it came.

"You know I love you, right?"

"Like a sister," I added.

"No. Nothing like a sister. I'd be arrested if I had thoughts about my sister like I'm having about you." He chuckled.

"Fine. Not like a sister. You love me, but you're not in love with me." Please don't let him go there, I prayed. My hopes plummeted when he shook his head.

"Nope. I'm in love with you."

"Why are you telling me this?" I cried. "It's not going to change anything!"

"Because for me it did change everything! And you need to know because no matter how often you push me away, shut me down, say no, I am not giving up. I may not have all the answers yet, but I do know I love you, and you...mean the world to me. I'll do anything to keep you in my life."

I backed up a step when he moved closer. Undeterred, he grabbed my wrist.

"I get it. You're terrified. I'm betting you've never loved anyone or anything in your life before. But you love me, Raven. You just don't know it yet." I tugged at my wrist and he let me go. "I'm offering a truce: no more kissing, but I'm not giving up. You need time and space, you got it. I'll be waiting. Deal?"

Jesus Christ, how did he know me so well? It was almost creepy how he seemed to know me better than I knew myself, that he voiced his feelings and emotions, wasn't scared to put himself out there, make himself vulnerable. It was the most endearing thing he could have ever done.

"Truce," I agreed, my voice rough.

I stuck out my hand to shake. He grabbed it and jerked me off balance, into his arms. His mouth came down on mine and I melted. With no hesitation I opened my mouth, allowing him entry. His tongue danced with mine, the taste of him intoxicating. Raising my hands I cradled his face, slowly ending the mind-drugging kiss. We stood, his forehead resting against mine, catching our breath.

"I thought we just declared a truce?" I breathed, my breath mingling with his.

"I think I may have lied," he admitted with a sheepish grin. "I meant it at the time." As if that was any consolation. Truth be told, I didn't want him to not kiss me. It confused the shit out of me.

Resting his hands on my shoulders, he straightened, then stepped back, releasing me. He sucked in a deep breath and blew it out, then smiled.

"Let's go find that cave."

"What makes you think we can find it? The guys have had days to search and they still haven't turned up anything."

"I know Wolf Hill pretty well, and the coordinates on that phone do not lead to an area where a cave is likely. Just woods. So I got to thinking, they still needed coordinates to direct buyers to the auction, but they have to be careful just in case the coordinates got into the wrong hands. My theory is, we add a little extra to the coordinates. Say five degrees. Because five degrees west, there are hills and quite possibly caves."

"Aren't you the smart wolf?" I smiled.