Page 16

Chapter Sixteen

I’d Keep Telling Myself That Until I Believed It

Clover

Bellamy’s smoldering gaze made my mouth water. I was almost ready to tell him anything he wanted to hear, but that would be as cruel as rejecting him. Whatever happened next would definitely be messy, but it had to be real.

“I want to find the truth.” My voice barely had volume.

“Me too.” He nodded and fastened the lid of the cupcake box. There was something final and declarative about it, and yet so damn sexy that this big beast of a man cared about my cupcakes. “Are you ready to head to Choppers by Lowe?”

“Yeah. Motorcycles and wolves might be just the thing to clear my head.” My heart was still pounding. “What if we run into Nana again?”

“You handled yourself like a badass. I’m having a hard time with this too, so I can’t imagine how you’re feeling. Just remember why you’re doing this.” Bellamy stood and carefully placed the cupcake boxes into their paper shopping bag. “I’m proud of you, Clover.”

“Thank you.” I swallowed hard to make sure no emotion came to the surface. That too would be messy, and I had to keep my head on straight. Nana shouldn’t feel like an enemy. She’d practically raised me. We’d worked together to call my magic.

What if she was working to suppress it? My bear asked a question that made a chill go down my spine.

Bellamy held the door open for me, and I followed him, shell-shocked as we headed down Main Street toward Choppers by Lowe. I’d expected him to reach for my hand, and I hated to admit I was disappointed he didn’t. Clover Crowley certainly didn’t need a man, but it would’ve been nice to have someone to hold on to.

As we walked past the cute shops and restaurants, I wondered what life would be like as Bellamy Laredo’s mate. If he’d always pay this much attention to me if he knew I belonged to him.

“How long have you lived here?” I asked.

“About five years,” he said. “It’s a great place to live. The local wolf packs are making big strides, and there’s a lot of fun things to do. Still, I considered leaving, because we only had a satellite office here. Wasn’t much need for security teams in Sawtooth Forest. The shifters handled their own shit. But with the Werewives in town, and now all these cases coming in, looks like I’ll be staying put.”

“Are the cases local, or would you have to travel?” I asked. I cursed the stupid pang I felt at the thought of him going away. We weren’t a couple, I reminded myself, and I liked it that way. I was a client. Nothing more, nothing less, no matter how hot those kisses or that sex on the kitchen island had been.

“It’s a bigger scope than we’ve taken on before, but there would probably be some travel. Barrett and I would like to have all the new guys trained so we could trust any one of them to lead a case.”

“Sounds like you have your work cut out for you.” I chuckled. “Beau seems like a loose cannon.”

“He’s young, has a healthy distaste for authority, and is pretty damn good at his job.” Bellamy grinned. “Or else we’d never put up with his shit.”

We were already in front of Choppers by Lowe, and a whole new round of butterflies began a routine in my belly. They were hopped up on sugar and I had no idea why I was nervous about this visit. There was no way a missing motorcycle could have anything to do with Nana’s locket.

Bellamy nodded toward their storefront, which had two sweet looking bikes in the window. “When was the last time you were on one of these babies?”

“It’s been way too long.”

“If you stick around, maybe we could go for a ride through the mountains,” he suggested.

“I’d like that.” Even though it sounded a lot like a date.

Sweet moon, had he been under my Nana’s spell when he was with the clan too? He narrowed his eyes as my mouth dropped from that realization.

“Although if I’m here for too long, I might want to get one to call my own,” I added, so he didn’t ask what had me shook.

“Not sure why you think that’s a problem.” He grinned as he opened the door.

Choppers by Lowe was a candy store for motorcycle enthusiasts. Shiny, gorgeous bikes sat on the floor next to computer screens full of specs and demos of similar models. There was a sales desk that divided the sales floor from the workroom. Heavy metal music blared on surround sound, and one of the wolves rose from his project.

He was in his human form, with long dark hair and a beard. He had on a plaid shirt with a thermal underneath it, ripped jeans, and combat boots. He offered me his hand, then Bellamy. The two of them did one of those complicated man handshakes that told me they’d met many times before.

“Hey, Bellamy. Good to see you. It’s been way too long.” Then he turned to me. “I’m Major Lowe. My brothers and I own this shop. Haven’t seen you around town before. Are you one of the new employees?”

“She’s a client,” Bellamy said just before I had a chance to say it’s complicated .

Was I disappointed that Major thought we were coworkers? I’d file that under complicated as well. It was better this way. I’d keep telling myself that until I believed it.

“Cool,” he said, but he looked me up and down like he didn’t believe it for a second. The wolf was pretty intuitive.

Was I feeling his energy? That was new. He didn’t feel like a threat.

“Can you tell us about the missing bike?”

“Yeah, I’d be happy to.” Major ran his hand through his long hair, and I could feel him trying to tamp down…frustration? No, it was embarrassment. “We came into work two days ago and it was like the damn thing had disappeared without a trace. We have a pretty elaborate surveillance system since we build high-end bikes here. The security cameras didn’t pick anything up. No signs of forced entry.”

“Is anything else missing?” Bellamy asked.

Major shook his head. “Nope. Not a bolt out of place. If you didn’t know the bike had been here, you’d never know it was gone.”

“Does anyone besides you and your brothers have access to the security codes?”

“No. It’s just us. There’s no interruption in the surveillance. The cameras weren’t tampered with,” Major said with a shrug. “It’s like a ghost took the damn thing.”

Bellamy and I looked at each other. The tiny hairs on the back of my neck rose.

“Who were you building the bike for?” I asked.

He walked over to the desk and picked up a folder. “I figured you’d want the information. It was an online order, so I’ve never met the guy. This is everything—invoice, payment record, work order, and parts we’ve used on it so far.”

“Have you been in contact with him since the bike has gone missing?” Bellamy asked.

“I was hoping we’d have it back before I had to tell him.” Major sighed as he handed the folder to Bellamy. “We’ve got insurance. We can start over. It’s a powerful bike, and in the wrong hands it could do some damage.”

Bellamy’s brows rose as he read the file. He motioned for me to come closer.

My blood ran cold when I saw the name on the invoice.

Anders Lynwood.

No fucking way , my bear exclaimed. He’s real.

“You’ve had no contact with Mr. Lynwood at all?”

“Just the emails where we talked about the order.” Major furrowed his brow. “Do you know this guy? He lives up north.”

“He might be connected to another case we’re working on.” Bellamy was smooth. “Would you mind if we took a copy of this invoice with us?”

“Yeah, if it helps you find the bike, and whatever else you’re looking for, go for it.”

“Has anything unusual happened in the shop in the last few days?” I was probably overstepping my bounds asking questions when Bellamy was the private investigator, but he could deal with the muscle and the motorcycles. I would deal with the magic.

Major shook his head. “Business as usual, as much as it can be in a wolf pack.”

“If you remember anything, let us know. No matter how small it seems,” I said. “It might be helpful.”

“Will do.”

Bellamy and Major made loose plans involving some bar in town, and we headed out. The silence was thick between us as we walked away from the shop.

I looked around to make sure we were alone and grabbed Bellamy’s muscular arm. “Holy shit. The name on that invoice is the same as the bear that captured me who’s been dead for decades.” My skin blossomed with goosebumps as I said it.

“Yeah. Did not see that coming at all.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to say I could read Major’s energy, but after the run in with Nana—ugh! I hated thinking of it like that. It was better I didn’t say anything until I was sure. “What do we do now?”

A growl vibrated through Bellamy’s body. I really hoped his answer would be to fuck me senseless in the back of his truck. This bear was maddingly far too sensible for that, but a girl could have a wild fantasy or two in the midst of a crisis.

“We go find him.”