Page 18 of Flare (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters #17)

“ GPS tracker,” he said, his voice tight with fury as he showed Emily what he ’ d found.

Emily stared at the small black object in his palm. “ So, he ’ s known where I am all along? He ’ s just been playing some kind of waiting game?”

“ Maybe,” Dane said grimly, trading a long look with Elle. “ Either way, he won ’ t get near you again.”

The sound of yet another vehicle had her glancing nervously down the narrow gravel road. To her relief, it was a police SUV. It rolled to a stop behind Ward ’ s truck.

Emily recognized Malia Jacobsen as she emerged, her honey-colored hair neatly pulled into a bun under her official cowboy hat. She wondered if the young officer was a bear shifter, too.

Her eyes widened slightly as she took in the GPS tracker in Ward ’ s hand. “ Is that what I think it is?”

Ward nodded. “ Found it under Emily ’ s car. We think that ’ s how her ex tracked her here.”

Malia frowned as she pulled on a latex glove before turning the device over in her hand. “ I ’ ll need to take your statement, Emily. And I should document the damage inside for your insurance, Aunt Elle.”

Aunt Elle? That means Malia is probably a shifter, too.

Elle confirmed it a moment later. “ You can tell Officer Malia everything , Emily. She ’ s my nephew Tyler ’ s daughter.” She turned to Malia. “ Emily ’ s mate is a bear shifter.”

Malia ’ s brows shot up. “ She left her mate?” She looked at Emily.

“ He ’ s a jerk who mated her without telling her anything about shifters or what mating means.” Maggie sounded indignant.

“ Hm. Well, that explains—but certainly doesn ’ t excuse —some of Mr. Brunborn ’ s behavior,” Malia said. “ Let ’ s look around inside.”

Emily led Malia through the cabin, recounting how her relationship with Andrew had ended, and the barrage of pleas and threats he ’ d sent her since. Malia took copious notes and snapped photos of the damage on her phone.

When they reached the bedroom and Emily told her about her missing laptop and USB drive, Malia ’ s professional demeanor gave way to intense interest.

“ Wait—you had actual evidence of the Brunborn family running illegal poaching operations?” she asked, lowering her phone.

Emily nodded. “ I was Andrew ’ s executive assistant, and I found the files accidentally while looking for something else on his computer.

There were financial records, emails, shipment logs…

it looks like his family has been selling game meat to restaurants for years, and laundering the money through Andrew ’ s real estate development company.

That ’ s why I left in such a hurry. He found out I ’ d downloaded those files, and I thought he was going to kill me. ”

“ You ’ re his mate and he threatened you?” Malia asked in disbelief.

“ Told you he was a jerk,” Maggie called from outside the cabin, where she and the others were waiting.

Malia ’ s expression sharpened. “ Idaho Fish and Game has been trying to build a case against the Brunborns for years now. Dammit! That was the evidence they needed to get an indictment.”

“ I backed up everything to the cloud,” Emily said. “ But since he has my laptop, he might have my cloud password, too.”

“ Which means he ’ s probably deleting those files as we speak,” Malia said grimly. “ Any chance you could download copies to your phone if they ’ re still there?”

“ Absolutely.” Emily immediately pulled out her phone. She tapped the cloud storage icon and felt a swoop of relief when a long list of filenames appeared. “ Oh, good. Everything ’ s still there.”

She immediately started the download.

“ That ’ s great news!” Malia grinned. “ My husband ’ s been working on this case for years now. He ’ s netted a bunch of the low-level poachers, but this might be our chance to take down the higher-ups in the organization.”

Emily felt a spurt of renewed fear. “ Would—would I have to testify against them? In person?”

Malia gave her a sympathetic look. “ Maybe. But we can protect you, don ’ t worry. Everyone in the Bearpaw Ridge Sheriff ’ s Department is a shifter of some kind. I ’ m a wolf shifter myself.”

How many kinds of shifters are there? Emily badly wanted to ask, but now was not the time.

Once Malia finished inspecting the cabin, she and Emily went back outside. “ We should check all your devices for tracking software. If your mate placed a physical tracker on your car, he might have done the same digitally.”

Emily felt her stomach drop. “ So you think he ’ s been watching everything? Reading my texts, seeing my photos?”

“ Possibly,” Malia said. “ But we can fix that.”

“ Uncle Ash can help with that,” Maggie offered. “ He ’ s a software engineering genius.”

Emily sank onto the porch swing, suddenly overwhelmed. The small cabin that had felt like a sanctuary now seemed isolated and vulnerable.

Elle sat beside her, placing a gentle hand on her back. “ We ’ ll keep you safe, don ’ t worry. I ’ ll put the word out about Andrew and ask our neighbors to keep an eye out for him.”

“ And if you send me Andrew ’ s photo and a description of his car, I ’ ll notify all the cops in the county,” Malia said. She tapped her nose. “ I ’ ve got his scent now.”

She pulled two business cards and wrote something on the back of each. She handed one to Elle and the other to Emily. “ This is the incident report number. And, Emily, I ’ d really appreciate it if you could send me those files you found on Andrew ’ s PC, once you finish downloading them.”

Emily nodded. “ Sure.”

After Malia left, Emily darted a nervous glance at the cabin. “ Elle, I—I don ’ t think I can stay here anymore. I ’ m sorry.”

“ You can stay with me,” Ward said, his voice leaving no room for argument.

He looked at his grandmother and uncle. “ I ’ ve got a guest room, and I ’ ll put up security cameras first thing tomorrow.

I ’ ll walk Emily to and from work, and Maggie and Violet can protect her while she ’ s at Cinnamon + Sugar. ”

Emily saw his fierce expression. Something warm unfurled in her chest despite the fear still gripping her.

“ I don ’ t want to put anyone else in danger,” she protested.

“ None of this is your fault,” Maggie reassured her. “ Andrew Brunborn is the one creating the problem, not you. And we promised to keep you safe.” She exchanged a meaningful look with her grandmother and Dane. “ I think Ward is right. Emily will be safer in town than out here.”

“ And I ’ ll die before I let that bastard lay a finger on her,” Ward added.

Elle nodded decisively. “ All right, then.” She frowned. “ Emily, I ’ m so sorry this happened after we promised to protect you.”

“ It wasn ’ t your fault.” Emily looked around at them. After Mom ’ s death, and months of growing isolation where Andrew had systematically cut her off from her friends, the Swansons’ support was overwhelming. “Thank you for helping me,” she croaked.

Ward came over to stand in front of her. He took her hand and gently urged her to her feet. “ C ’ mon, let ’ s get you out of here,” he said. “ We ’ ll pick up dinner on the way to my place.”

Emily looked down at his huge, sinewy hand engulfing hers, and squeezed his fingers. For the first time since returning to the cabin an hour ago, she felt safe. “ Let me go pack my things.”