Page 38 of Stripe Theory (The Matchmaker’s Book Club #8)
THIRTY-SEVEN
T he secure server room hummed with electronic life, screens casting a blue glow across gathered faces. Maya sat at the main terminal, her fingers gliding over keys while Hunter loomed protectively behind her chair.
“They’re taking the bait,” Maya announced, eyes fixed on scrolling data. “Accessing the modified treatment protocols... downloading Sierra’s false lab results...”
Rehan felt Alora vibrate with contained energy beside him. Her brilliant mind had crafted this trap, using the virus’s own patterns against their enemies. His tiger preened at their mate’s cleverness.
“Got you,” Maya muttered. “They’re trying to route through our backup servers, but...” She grinned triumphantly. “Trace program locked. Location confirmed.”
The building schematic lit up, a red dot pulsing on the fifteenth floor. In the private executive offices.
“That’s impossible.” Hunter straightened. “Those offices are biometrically sealed. Only council members...”
“Pull up the access logs,” Rehan ordered, though he already knew what they’d find.
Councilman Barlow’s ID signature filled the screen. The same council member who’d questioned Alora’s involvement from the start.
“He’s moving.” Hunter indicated the security feed. “Heading for the emergency stairs.”
Rehan’s tiger surged forward, claws itching for release. “Lock down the building.”
“Already done.” Maya’s smile turned predatory. “All exits sealed. Elevators disabled. He’s not going anywhere.”
“Take two teams,” he told Hunter. “Cover all escape routes. Barlow’s desperate – he’ll be dangerous.”
“And us?” Alora asked, though her expression said she already knew.
“We’re going hunting.”
They moved through darkened corridors, Rehan’s enhanced senses tracking their prey. Alora kept pace easily, her steps sure despite the emergency lighting. The mate bond hummed between them, stronger now that they’d acknowledged it.
A crash echoed from ahead – Barlow, breaking into the biochem lab. Perfect.
“Ready?” Rehan murmured.
Alora’s answering smile held a wicked edge. “Remember how you said my chemical reactions were concerning?”
“Should I be worried?”
“Let’s just say I may have prepared a special surprise after the last attack. For security purposes, of course.”
His tiger rumbled approval. Definitely their mate.
They burst into the lab together. Barlow spun from where he’d been frantically downloading files, his expression twisting when he saw them.
“It’s over, Barlow,” Rehan growled.
“Over?” Barlow’s laugh held a manic edge. “You fool. You’ve destroyed everything our ancestors built, letting humans infiltrate our world. Letting one of them seduce you...”
“Pretty sure I seduced him with science,” Alora interjected cheerfully. “And explosions. Speaking of which...”
She hit a button on her tablet. Vents in the ceiling hissed.
Barlow’s eyes widened as purple smoke began filling the room. “What...”
“Fun fact about shifter biology,” Alora announced. “Your enhanced senses make you particularly susceptible to certain chemical compounds. This one? Totally harmless to humans. But for shifters...” She glanced at Rehan. “You might want to hold your breath.”
Barlow staggered, his partial shift faltering as the specialized sedative took effect. “You... you’re destroying everything...”
“No.” Rehan moved back, his tiger’s strength controlled but ready. “We’re evolving. Adapting. Something you never understood.”
Security teams breached the lab’s other entrances, Hunter leading the charge. Barlow’s knees buckled as the sedative took full effect.
“Target secured,” Hunter reported, efficiently restraining the unconscious councilman. “Maya’s got a full data trail of his communications with Genesis Corp. He’s been feeding them information for months.”
“The virus data?” Alora asked.
“Corrupted. Your trap worked – the false protocols scrambled their research parameters.”
Relief washed through Rehan. They’d won this round, bought themselves time to perfect Sierra’s treatment without interference. His tiger finally settled, immediate threats neutralized.
“I have to say,” Maya commented as cleanup crews arrived, “watching you two work together is kind of terrifying. In a good way.”
“Speaking of terrifying.” Alora turned to Rehan with an innocent expression that immediately made him suspicious. “Remember how you said we should talk about mate bonds?”
“Yes...”
“Well, I may have some theories about the neurological components of shifter bonding. And since we’re already in a lab...”
“No.” His brow lifted.
“Just a few tests.”
“The lab is technically a crime scene now,” Hunter pointed out.
“Minor detail.” She waved this off. “Besides, Maya will help me. Right?”
“Always.” Maya grinned. “Though maybe we should relocate to a lab with less knockout gas?”
Rehan gave up fighting his smile. “You’re all impossible.”
“You love it,” Alora declared, then froze as she realized what she’d said.
He pulled her close, not caring who saw. “Yes,” he murmured against her hair. “I do.”
He sensed her joy bubble up to match his own. His tiger purred contentment, finally at peace with both sides of their nature.
Dawn painted the sky in soft colors as cleanup crews cleared the lab. Alerts about other facilities under attack would need attention soon. The virus still threatened shifter communities. Leeta remained out there, plotting.
But for now, watching Alora enthusiastically explain her bonding theories to an amused Jewel while Maya and Hunter pretended not to flirt over security protocols, Rehan allowed himself to simply be happy.