Page 22

Nate

A nger seethed within me—anger and surprise.

The fucking feral had attacked her in broad daylight?

Jesus, he was really fucked in the head.

His scent had given off rancid wafts of stale sweat and madness.

It had taken every ounce of restraint I possessed not to chase after him.

Too many witnesses. They’d get suspicious of our speed, and going after him would mean leaving Cameron here alone. I couldn’t do that.

“Hey, are you guys all right?” someone called from the street.

Snapping my head around, I discovered a group of curious onlookers had gathered. Fuck. One of them looked familiar. I was sure I’d seen her earlier in the newsroom.

Shit. This wasn’t good. Not good at all.

Some guy was still barking on Cameron’s phone. He sounded pissed and kept asking who I was. I hung up on him and tucked her phone into my jacket pocket.

“Are you all right?” I asked, tilting her chin up so she could meet my eyes.

Her face wasn’t hurt, but she looked dazed.

Her eyes were barely able to focus. Why the hell had he attacked her again?

It made no sense whatsoever. A mad feral would be searching for the easiest prey.

Stalking a woman who got away took too much time and energy.

What about Cameron made him want to follow her across the city?

“Cameron?” I said, trying to get her attention.

She blinked a few times, then glanced up at me. “Huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I’m all right. I hit my head,” she said and lifted a hand to rub at the back of her skull. “It almost knocked me out.”

I ran my fingers through her hair and probed at her scalp. She had a big lump, but the skin wasn’t broken.

“I think you’re gonna be fine. Doubt it was hard enough to give you a concussion.”

“We called the cops,” another voice said.

“Oh no,” Cameron muttered. She looked like she didn’t want to deal with the cops.

I’d have called Ollie, but he was on his way to meet the doctor his alpha had set up. Screw it—this was more important than that. He’d want to know about it. Holding Cameron close, I took my phone out and called Ollie.

“Nate?” Ollie answered a moment later. “What do you need?”

“Cameron was just attacked again,” I hissed. “Same guy.”

“Are you shitting me?” Ollie barked. “Where? What’s happening? Is she all right?”

“She’s okay, a little banged up, but the guy got away again. Ollie, someone called the cops. I’m getting her out of here, but you need to call them off or something.”

“ Fuck. Fine. I’ll tell them I’m handling it, that the victim will be giving me a statement directly. I’m gonna let JC know what’s happened. Now get the hell away from there, Nate.”

He hung up, and I tucked my phone away.

“Let’s get you out of here. That okay with you?” I asked Cameron, trying to keep the worry out of my voice.

She started to nod, then stopped herself. “No, I need to get some work done. I’ve got deadlines, and?—”

“Hey,” I said, tilting her chin up so I could meet her eyes. “I think getting assaulted on the street and damn near getting knocked out warrants an afternoon off. Do I need to go talk to your boss about it? Because I would love to have that argument.”

“No.” She gasped and grabbed my wrist, her fingers cool and soft on my skin. “Don’t. Fine, I’ll go.”

“Good girl. Come on.”

The woman had just been violently attacked in broad daylight, and she was still thinking of going back to work. God, she was tough. Most people, men or women, would have been mentally finished for the day, if not the week, had the same thing happened to them. It was impressive as hell.

I put a hand under her arm and helped her up. The crowd had grown larger, but thankfully no police had arrived yet. Really nice . Had I been double-parked, there probably would have been two or three officers here to write a ticket. But someone getting attacked by a psycho? Not one in sight.

Though, in this particular situation, it may have been better this way. At least I’d been here. I didn’t want to think about what would have happened if I’d left.

Some deep part of my mind, driven by instinct, had told me to wait and watch until Cameron was inside her building.

When I’d seen the arms reach out from the shadows and yank her into the alley, I sprang into action, tossing my helmet and rushing to Cameron’s aid.

Whatever was going on here needed some major inspection.

This feral was not acting normal, and I’d make sure I caught the fucker and get to the bottom of it.

“Hey, buddy,” one of the men in the crowd said as I walked Cameron out. “You probably shouldn’t be leaving. She should wait for the cops.”

I let out a small human snarl. “Fuck off, buddy .”

He raised his hands in surrender and backed away, fear in his eyes. Even a human could feel some of the aura an alpha shifter could give off, and he was noticing it now. He’d have no clue what it was or why he felt terrified of me, but it managed to get him to back up and shut his mouth.

The crowd parted, letting us through, and Cameron kept her head down, her curly hair swinging forward to hide her face.

“Hop on,” I said, helping her onto the bike.

Bending over, I snatched my helmet off the pavement and eased it onto her head, being mindful of the injury.

She stayed quiet, even as I clicked the chin strap into place and got on the bike.

She leaned forward, pressing her body into mine and wrapping her arms around my waist. A tiny voice in my head piped up, This feels nice.

We pulled away from the sidewalk just as a police cruiser rounded the corner, lights on and sirens blaring. Without giving it a second glance, I hit the gas and raced down the street in the direction of Cameron’s apartment.

At every stop light, I scanned the area, my mind on high alert, determined to scout out any and all possible danger.

The feral was acting weird. I couldn’t put it past the fucker not to follow us.

Also, if he knew where Cameron worked, then that meant he probably knew where she lived. Not fucking good.

Cameron stayed quiet for the entire ride.

Every now and then, she’d readjust herself.

Even with the wind billowing around us as we drove, I could still smell the fear coming off her in waves.

The initial attack had shocked her, but this second would be much harder to explain away.

You could always brush something off as an act of fate, but this had been premeditated, targeted. I knew it, and she knew it.

When we pulled up outside her apartment, I took her hand and led her inside, scoping out every shadow, corner, and door as we went. At this point, anything could be a threat, and I’d be damned if I let something get past me this time. Not on my watch.

“How are you doing?” I asked as we headed up the stairs.

“I’m good,” she said. “Better.”

She did sound a bit more like herself. That was a good sign. It also meant she was tough as hell. Most people would have had a mental meltdown if something like that had happened to them even one time, much less twice.

“Stop right here,” I said, putting a hand on her shoulder as I leaned around the corner of the second-floor landing.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

Scanning the hallway, I looked for any movement, a sign of danger. Someone who looked out of place, or a cracked door that should have been closed.

“Double-checking for threats,” I answered. “What does it look like?”

“What kind of private investigator are you?” She stared at me, her brow furrowed in confusion.

The landing was clear, and I took her hand again, leading her to her apartment. “I have what you could call a diverse history.”

“Diverse? Like what? Special forces? Bodyguard?”

“Bodyguard, yeah,” I admitted.

A lone wolf was always a good option for security for an alpha or an alpha’s family.

There were times when they might be physically threatened by a rival alpha and couldn’t trust their own pack.

A guy down in the States had hired me once to protect his wife.

He’d been sure the rival alpha was going to try killing her to force him to relinquish control of his pack to him.

Turned out the mate had been in on it and wanted her husband killed.

That had been an uncomfortable conversation to have when I found out.

“Seriously?” Cameron asked as we approached her door. “ You ?”

Unable to help myself, I turned and looked at her, raising an eyebrow. “What the hell does that mean?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. You just didn’t strike me as the type. You look like the kind of guy who doesn’t want to be tied down. To me, that would include watching over someone for days or weeks like a babysitter.”

Huh. Was I that easy to read, or was she just really good at it?

“I’m the type who likes money and does what I’m paid for. How about that?” I said.

“Well, thanks for getting me home. I’m gonna go in and lie down.”

“I don’t think so,” I said. “Is anyone home yet?”

Cameron frowned. “No. My brother is still at school, and my mom is at work. She’ll be home in a few hours. My brother goes to an after-school program. His bus gets here in an hour or so.”

Shaking my head, I eased her hand off the doorknob. “I’m going in first. I need to check the place out. Make sure our little friend isn’t in there waiting to jump you again.”

“Wait… do you think he might be in here? Like, waiting for me?” The fear in Cameron’s eyes when she said that made me angry. I wanted to beat that guy’s brains in for attacking her like that. She’d be skittish for a while at best.

“Better safe than sorry,” I said, snatching the key from her hand.

Cameron blinked, obviously confused and shocked at how fast my hand moved.

I grinned at her. “You can follow me in, but stay by the door until I sweep the place.”

“ Sweep the place ? What, are you on a SWAT team?”