Page 4

Something felt off about the town the instant we got out of the car. It was just something in the air, a sort of tension that loomed over the entire area. Based on the dubious expressions on Will’s and Trent’s faces, I guessed they got the same sense.

“Maybe there’s something to the rumors after all,” Trent remarked. “You don’t typically get this kind of vibe in a happy, carefree pack.”

“No, you don’t,” I agreed. “But we don’t know anything at the moment. Let’s see what we can find. Might be we’re just imagining it.”

As we wandered the town, though, it became clear that we weren’t imagining it. Something about the place just felt wrong. People hurried from place to place, glancing at us with suspicious looks before darting down the street. Despite it being a perfectly clear day, the entire place felt gloomy and overcast.

“Think we’re getting weird stares?” Trent muttered as his eyes swept the area. I noted the tension in his shoulders. Everything about him screamed that he was alert and ready for danger.

“It probably doesn’t help that you look like you’re ready to pick a fight with the first person to bother you,” I hissed. “Relax. We’re here looking for a new pack to join, not hunting a potentially dangerous shifter.”

“Give him a break,” Will retorted. “He never was much good at the espionage part.”

“I resent that,” Trent said, shooting Will a look. His cheeks went red as he saw the playful smirk on Will’s face that said he had been baiting the other shifter. “Jerk,” he muttered.

“Will you two knock it off?” I snapped. “The whole point of our cover story is to make sure that no one knows what we’re really up to here. You guys aren’t really helping at the moment.”

“Sorry,” Trent said. “A bit out of practice with it all.”

The longer we walked, the more my thoughts kept wandering toward Audrey. She had never mentioned her pack or her family in much detail, only that they didn’t get along and she didn’t like the alpha, which was why she had run away. Now that I was here and saw the atmosphere for myself, I couldn’t blame her for wanting to leave.

And you ran her out of the safe pack she did find , a voice in the back of my head reminded me.

I pushed the thought from my head. I didn’t know that for certain. I didn’t know if that was the reason she had left. For all I knew, she had been planning on leaving afterward, anyway. She had always been a free spirit.

But the conversation after we’d had sex hadn’t exactly given off that impression. In fact, it had seemed rather the opposite.

The more I thought about her, the more the pang of guilt intensified. I wondered where she had ended up. Wherever it was, I hoped it was better than this place. Thinking back to the spirited, fiery woman I had known, it seemed almost impossible that she had grown up in this pack. It felt like the type of place that would snuff out that flame as quickly as possible.

At least she had gotten away from here.

“You all right?” Will asked, raising an eyebrow. “You look lost in your own thoughts.”

I blinked, dragging my attention back to reality as I turned to look at him. “Yeah, I’m all right,” I said.

“Good,” Trent mumbled as he nodded in front of him. “Because it looks like we’re about to get some company.”

I turned in the direction he had indicated. A tall, burly, middle-aged shifter with graying hair approached us, his hands stuffed in his pockets. He gave a smile as he regarded the three of us, but it didn’t reach his eyes. My skin prickled as alarm bells began to ring in my head.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

“Depends,” I replied, raising an eyebrow, trying to inject an air of brashness into my tone. “Are you gonna be as skittish as the rest of the people here? We’re looking for someone in charge.”

“You’ve found one,” he said as he studied us. “As for people being skittish, that’s just our custom. Don’t take this the wrong way, but we’re not typically used to strangers. You can understand why we would want to be cautious. You never know what their intentions are.”

“We know how some packs can be about strangers,” Trent said.

That was putting it mildly. It wasn’t uncommon for packs to be suspicious of outsiders. During our spec-ops days, we’d been run out of town on more than one occasion. Others, like the Falcon pack where we had settled, were more open to strangers. Based on everything we had seen on our short stint around town, the fact that this pack was one of the former didn’t surprise me in the least.

“Then you’ll understand if I want to ask you a few questions.”

“I’m all right with it as long as you tell me your name first,” I said.

The shifter let out a genuine chortle at that. “Fair enough. I’m Saul.”

“I’m Jackson,” I said. “This is Trent and Will.”

“Great. Now that we got that out of the way, why don’t you tell me what you’re doing here?”

“We’re just looking for a new pack,” I said, jerking my head behind me at Will and Trent. “Turns out the three of us had some disagreements with our old alpha about how things should be run.”

Saul raised an eyebrow. “That so?”

I shrugged. “The guy was an old-timer. Too soft. But he didn’t like us making waves, so we decided to leave. We’re looking for a place that agrees with us a bit more.”

Based on everything I had read about Reacher and the way he allegedly handled his pack, I was hoping that he and his inner circle might respond well to a rougher, more violent-oriented type of person, the type of shifter who equated cruelty with strength. Based on the look Saul was currently giving us, one that mixed interest with curiosity, I guessed I was right.

“Huh.” Saul looked us up and down, one eyebrow raised as he assessed the three of us. His eyes lingered on my face, scrutinizing it for longer than I cared for. “There’s something familiar about you,” he commented.

I blinked, not bothering to hide my surprise. Had I run across him before? During one of our missions? If so, this operation was dead in the water. “Can’t imagine why,” I said, trying to bluff my way out of the situation. “Guess I just have one of those faces.”

“It happens all the time,” Will drawled, sounding bored.

“Yeah, there was that one time a guy punched him in the face because he thought it was the same guy who stepped out with his girl,” Trent added.

“I sorted them out,” I said, playing along. “So as long as you don’t plan on hitting me, I don’t care who you think I look like.”

“Maybe,” Saul muttered, continuing to squint at me. After a moment, he gave a short shrug. “Probably my imagination. Old age will do that to ya.”

“Regardless, mind showing us around a bit?” I asked. “See if we’d be a good fit?”

He studied us, his head tilted in interest. I waited, wondering if he would tell us to get the hell out of here or if he would take the bait. After a minute of contemplation, he broke into a charming grin.

“I think I can help you fine gentlemen out with that,” he said.

As he led us around the town, something about him also struck me as familiar. Just small things, like the way he gestured at a building or rubbed his nose, and something about the shape of his eyes. I had been certain I hadn’t seen him before, but now… I wasn’t sure.

I pushed the thought from my mind. I was here on a mission, not to wonder why a guy struck me as familiar. And if I had met him before, that was even worse. The less any of us dwelled on it, the better.

“All in all, the people here are pretty good,” Saul said as he showed us down another street. “Strong community, once people know you. I always like to say we’re all one big happy family.”

Whenever someone said that about a pack, especially someone who helped run things, I’d often found that the “one big happy family” was typically about as far from the truth as possible. The only “family” there was the kind that was enforced by cruelty.

“That’s what I like to hear,” I said. “Kind of place we’re looking for.”

“What about your alpha?” Will asked. “What’s he like? He’s not one of those who likes to roll over for anyone who comes by, is he? Our last alpha was such a pushover that he let everyone walk all over him. It was an embarrassment. He—”

“Hey,” I snapped on cue. “Watch it.”

Will shut up. The instant Saul turned his attention away from Will and back onto me, Will winked. It seemed he hadn’t lost that acting touch that had made him so good at infiltrating.

Chuckling, that laugh oddly familiar, Saul asked, “I’m guessing you three didn’t get along well with the last alpha?” he asked.

“He was a good guy,” I said, pretending to shoot Will an irritated glance. “We just had some disagreements with him about how to handle certain things.”

“Don’t mince words,” Will drawled, folding his arms. “He was a wimp. Let anyone do whatever they wanted and didn’t do anything to assert his dominance. Honestly, it was embarrassing.”

“Let’s just say that we’re looking for a pack whose alpha knows what they’re doing,” I said.

Saul nodded. “I completely understand. A lot of alphas nowadays are too soft, if you ask me. They don’t know what it takes to keep things under control.”

“Exactly,” Trent said, nodding. “We’re the type of people who respect strength in our alpha. Feels like too few people care about that anymore.”

“Don’t worry, you’ve definitely come to the right place,” Saul promised. “I have a funny feeling you guys are going to like Reacher. He’s the kind of guy that everyone respects. And he’s certainly got strength in spades.” He suddenly glanced over to the side and instantly straightened. “Ah, and here’s just the man to tell you all about it. Reacher!”

A large shifter with graying hair and messy stubble turned his head at the name. He gave a brief nod of acknowledgment and strolled toward us.

“Glad you’re here,” Saul said when Reacher came to a halt next to him. “Looks like we might have some new recruits for the pack.”

Reacher raised his eyebrow. A long pause followed the statement as the alpha looked at each of us. His eyes lingered on me before he finally said, “That so? Where are you guys from?”

“Redstone pack, a few hours from here,” I lied.

“Long way to go for a new pack,” he mused.

I shrugged, trying to keep my expression indifferent. “Nothing tying us down there. Why not try a new area?”

He nodded, looking us up and down. For a moment, I worried we’d been made, that our cover was blown and we were about to get kicked out of town. It would mean the mission was over. On one hand, going home would be nice, but I wasn’t the kind of person who would back out of a mission before it was complete.

I waited to see what Reacher’s next move would be, already calculating next steps in case things went sideways. It turned out to be unnecessary, though, because a moment later, that suspicious look turned into a smile.

“In that case, why don’t you three come into my office?” Reacher suggested. “I’m sure we can have a nice long chat about whether you three would be comfortable here. Saul, why don’t you come as well?”

The five of us walked back the way Reacher had come. As we did, I couldn’t help but notice people shuffling out of the way, everyone clearing the path for Reacher as he strutted forward. I studied their faces. There seemed to be a mix of admiration and fright, the sort of look I’d expect for a guy who demanded respect through brute strength and fear as opposed to earning it through hard work and helping the community.

With every passing minute, I grew more and more certain that all the rumors about Reacher were true. This guy was bad news. The only question now was what we could do about it.

He led us into a large, gray stone building and up the stairs, humming to himself, hands in his pockets as he sauntered through the halls. He gave friendly waves to passersby, who all returned them.

“This is my office here,” he said, opening a door and ushering us in.

The instant the door was closed, his entire demeanor shifted. His genial smile turned to a frown as he made his way from the door to his chair.

“So,” I began. “What can you tell us about the town—”

“You can save the pleasantries,” Reacher said tersely. He leaned forward and propped his elbows on the desk, studying the three of us. “I know who you are.”

A shock rippled through me. Not just at his declaration that he knew who we were but at how rapidly his personality had changed. It was as if he had flicked a switch.

Guess my instincts weren’t that far off the mark after all, I thought. My eyes darted around as my mind scrambled to figure out a plausible cover story.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Will said, keeping his voice even. But I could see his alarm in the way he repositioned himself, in the subtle way his muscles tensed as he glanced around.

“I think you do,” Reacher said. “I would be a pretty piss-poor alpha if I didn’t know what the Gold Wolves looked like.”

Off to the side, I noticed Saul shifting, clearly preparing for a fight.

Reacher caught the motion as well. “It’s all good, Saul,” he said. “They did a good job. No reason for you to get ashamed they pulled the wool over your eyes.”

An uncomfortable tension crackled in the air as everyone noted the shift. Reacher grinned, fully aware that he had put us off balance. He held most of the cards, and there was nothing we had that compared. Our only play at the moment was to feign indifference and keep moving. The less we showed that he had taken us by surprise, the more power we could regain.

“I’m impressed that you put in the effort to research a retired group,” I said, sounding bored.

“You never can be too careful,” Reacher said, his eyes glinting with triumph. “And it seems as though I was right to do so. Now, what is it you boys really want?”

I scrambled, trying to come up with a convincing excuse that would mean our mission hadn’t been an entire waste. I wasn’t going to give up that easily. He might have figured out who we were, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t turn this around.

“I think you’re mistaken,” I said, shrugging. “Yes, we’re part of the Gold Wolves. Or we were . The three of us decided that we’d had enough of our alpha and the goody-two-shoes life, so we left. We’re looking to start over, away from the Gold Wolves.”

I’d hoped that maybe by pretending we no longer had any allegiance to the Gold Wolves, he might accept the story and let us stay, or at least let us look around a bit more. We just needed to convince him we weren’t investigating him, that we didn’t care how he acted.

Unfortunately, he didn’t seem entirely convinced.

“Now, why would the infamous Gold Wolves do that?” he asked.

“Bored,” Will grunted, catching on to what I was trying to do. “And our alpha was too much of a softy. He never did have the stomach to do the hard stuff that was necessary.”

“Is that so?” Reacher asked thoughtfully. He glanced over at Saul, then back to me. “Now, see, based on the stories, I have a hard time believing any of that.”

“You shouldn’t believe everything you hear,” I countered.

He chuckled. “In that case, why on earth should I believe you?”

I couldn’t come up with a good answer for that. “If you don’t want us here, then just kick us out. You could have done that from the start.”

“I could have,” he conceded. “But that wouldn’t have done me much good in the long run. You three would have just kept snooping around.”

“Who says we’re snooping?” Will asked.

“Spare me,” Reacher snapped. “Please don’t insult my intelligence. I know what you’re doing, and you denying it is just going to make us keep talking in circles. I don’t have the time or the patience for that, so let’s skip over that bit, shall we?”

“Fine. If you have nothing to hide, then why do you think we’re here investigating you?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Why else would you be here? I can also guess what you’re looking into. I rule with an iron fist. Some people don’t like that. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone complained to the council.”

“You’re not helping your case here, you know,” I said, raising an eyebrow.

Reacher held up his hand and gave a warm politician’s smile. “I want to assure you three that you have nothing to worry about here. I run a tight ship, certainly. But that doesn’t mean we’re doing anything unlawful.”

I didn’t believe a word spewing from this guy’s mouth, and the longer I stood here talking to him, the harder it was for me not to take a swipe at him.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Reacher,” I said, stuffing my hands in my pocket, “but your assurances don’t exactly mean much. We’re here to look into things, not take your word for it.”

He chortled. “Naturally, and fine operatives such as yourselves would naturally want to do some in-depth searching to make sure everything is aboveboard. But we also know that doing that is a bunch of wasted effort. So, let me propose a solution that will make both of us happy.”

He pushed himself to his feet, walking around to stand in front of me. “As a show of… let’s say goodwill… I want to give you something. Anything you want. That way, you can see I have nothing to hide, and we can all go back to what we really want to be doing. Me running this town, and you three enjoying your retirement. So, what do you say? That sound of any interest to you fine fellas?”

It sounded like a load of bullshit. My wolf thrashed, irritated with the alpha, his instincts screaming at me that there was more going on in this town than met the eye. There was a reason Reacher wanted us gone. If he had nothing to hide, then he wouldn’t be trying this hard to get us out of here as quickly as possible. And he actually thought he could get us to leave on a bribe? I couldn’t think of a single thing he could offer that would stop me from investigating this guy, especially when he was trying this hard to get rid of us.

I opened my mouth to say just that, to tell him there was no way in hell I was going to take a bribe. But before I could say a word, there was a knock on the door, and it swung open. A scent of jasmine and honey wafted up my nose. It was vaguely familiar, like I had smelled it a long time ago.

Reacher’s eyes flashed as he looked behind me, his face contorting in anger. “Just because you knock first doesn’t mean you can enter without permission,” he barked.

I barely heard him, too preoccupied with the new (was it new? Why did it seem so familiar, then?) scent. My wolf stirred, intrigued by the scent, pulled to it in a way I hadn’t experienced before.

No, that wasn’t true. I had experienced this pull once before. Years ago. With…

“I’m sorry,” a voice said, one I hadn’t heard for years but one I would recognize in a heartbeat.

My head whipped around in disbelief.

A small woman stood just inside the room, her hand still on the doorknob, clutching it so hard, her knuckles had turned white. Her blue eyes were wide with something akin to fright as she stared at Reacher in stricken panic.

“In case you’re too dim-witted to notice, we’re in the middle of a meeting,” Reacher snarled. I imagined him gesturing with a hand at the room at large, his face contorted in a dismissive sneer, but I didn’t turn to look. All my attention was focused on Audrey.

Reacher’s words pierced through my consciousness. Dim-witted? Audrey? He had to be stupid to even consider calling her that to her face. I expected her eyes to blaze with anger and for her to fire back a retort the way she always did. Instead, to my surprise, she lowered her head, breaking eye contact with Reacher.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered to the floor.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you,” he barked.

She raised her head, but her gaze darted all over the place.

I stared at her, unable to tear my gaze away. It was Audrey. Same pointed chin, same auburn hair and blue eyes, same petite frame. She looked as gorgeous as she had all those years ago.

Except, there was something off. She was still beautiful; I doubted anything could ever change that. But there was something haunted about her. She looked more gaunt, as if she didn’t eat enough, and her shoulders hunched slightly, as if she was perpetually nervous. And there was a hollowness in her face and eyes that hadn’t been there before.

She didn’t act like Audrey, either. There was a wild, caught-prey look in her eyes, something I never would have expected to see on the spirited woman I used to know. And the Audrey I knew wouldn’t be taking any of Reacher’s bullshit lying down.

“Now, what the hell was so important that you couldn’t wait?” Reacher sneered.

“I—” Her eyes found mine, and she stopped speaking abruptly, as if the words had lodged in her throat. She gasped as she stared at me, her mouth working silently.

An overwhelming need to protect her, to have her near me again, washed over me. I wanted her again the instant I saw her. But seeing her like this, meek and frightened of her own shadow, made that need to save her even stronger. I couldn’t let her stay here, not with how beaten-down she looked.

I knew what I was about to do. I knew I was risking the mission for selfish reasons. But I had lost her once before, and I wasn’t going to let her get away again.

I turned back to Reacher. “I changed my mind,” I said, jerking my head back toward Audrey. “I want her.”