Chapter 2
Gunnolf
T hick smoke fills the air, spiraling through the already grey sky as we approach the crime scene. The smell is appalling, burning fiberglass and foam insulation, charred metal, and melted plastic. Welcome to Memphis.
Callie and I exchange glances, each of our noses wrinkled. “Goddess, this is going to be a rough case,” I say trying to consciously dull the assaulting scents.
Outside the building chaos reigns. First responders and uniformed police officers push back the crowd with the whine of sirens cutting through the haze of debris.
“Damn it,” I mutter under my breath as I jump out of the van. My boots hit the asphalt with a thud, and I run a hand through my hair, letting out a low whistle.
My pulse pounds so hard I can feel it in my neck. Blood thrums in my ears like a drum line. For the first time since the early morning hours, my thoughts aren’t solely focused on her, the enticing human mistake with whom I’d spent last night. Thank Goddess.
I feel guilty as soon as the thought crosses my mind. How can I think that, when I’m currently standing at a crime scene?
Especially when we should’ve known this bombing was coming. Should have been faster. I exhale with frustration. But, there seems to be no rhyme or reason for these bombings, how could we have known?
“Gun?” Kato’s voice cuts through my pity party.
“What?” I snap, eyes scanning the building in front of me. It’s a high-rise, all glass and metal, with half of the windows on the lower floors blown out. Microscopic shards of glass glittering across the sidewalk.
“It seems we have a potential victim,” Kato says, eyes narrowing with a warning. Watch your tone. I take a deep breath. Goddess, I’m on edge.
“According to this young woman,” Kato indicates a pale trembling redhead, “the CEO made sure that everyone got out, but then disappeared back into the building and hasn’t been seen since.”
“We are going in,” Kato orders, I nod. Our shifter bodies can handle the debris and toxins better than any humans can, even with their fancy fire suits.
Our team moves together, fanning out on each floor, clearing the first two floors without running into a single soul. It isn’t until the third floor that we round the corner, and there she is, the woman from last night.
Standing at her desk amidst the chaos, hair streaked with dust, her fitted business suit smudged with debris, but otherwise unharmed, “I heard you coming,” and despite her coughing her voice is still sexy, stirring my wolf within.
Her jaw is set, her eyes sharp, like she’s already trying to piece together what happened, trying to fix everything because, of course, she thinks that she is the one responsible for fixing it.
Her voice sounds like velvet, and when she looks up from her desk, there’s a flicker of recognition in her gorgeous, deep blue eyes.
Goddess, she’s beautiful. Even now. Especially now.
Fucking hell, this is not good.
“Are you alright?” Kato asks as we move closer, “I’m Agent Blackwood with the SPIU. We were investigating the bombing in town last week when we got word of this one.”
“I’m fine,” she says, “Thank you, Agent Blackwood.”
Her body tenses as I approach her, and I extend my hand. “I’m Agent Wright, second in command.”
Her jaw tightens as she instinctively steps backward, taking us all in. “I’m Val Hayes, and this is my business.”
Callie, Hati, and Bruce, my team members, watch my extended hand momentarily before I realize what happened and drop it back to my side. I can see them exchanging amused glances out of the corner of my eye.
This is off to a great start.
I push the emotions back, hard, like packing dirt over a buried landmine. But my gut twists painfully. There’s no denying the tug of the mate bond pulsing under my skin.
Damn it all to hell, why her?
Why did it have to be her out of everyone on this planet?
I try to ignore the tug, but my wolf growls within. Furious that she could have been harmed, and he howls at her rejection of my hand. He’s pacing back and forth. Mine. Mine. My mate.
No. I won’t let that word fill my head. I won’t acknowledge it. Not now, maybe never.
“Val Hayes,” I hear myself say quietly. Her name on my lips brings back memories of her sumptuous taste.
Her eyes narrow, lips thinning into a line, and I feel a weird rush of satisfaction for a second. I’ve pissed her off with my lack of acknowledgement of her, and for some reason, that feels better than letting anything else surface.
“What are you still doing in the building?” Kato asks, and I focus back on the case. My eyes swoop down over Val’s curves; her muscular yet juicy thighs stir up something within me I can’t control.
“Were you trying to get yourself killed?” I ask, my words coming out clipped.
“Not exactly part of the business plan, no,” she shoots back, her voice calm, sharp. “But thanks for your concern, Agent Wright. Really warms my heart.”
Kato shoots me a look over his shoulder and I snap my jaw shut. Fury warring with the lust and desire that I can’t seem to contain. I should walk away. I should be professional.
But I can’t bring myself to turn my back on her.
“Do I have your confidence?” She asks Kato, not bothering to so much as glance back in my direction. Jealousy surges within me and I clench my hands into fists at my side.
“You do,” Kato nods.
“Yesterday, I discovered a security breach in our systems. I haven’t been able to pinpoint exactly what happened, but now with this bombing? It’s no coincidence.”
Yesterday... my cock twitches in my pants. Not now. “I’m sure your clients will be thrilled to know they’ve put their trust in a company that can’t even protect itself.”
Her eyes flash over to me dangerously. For a moment, I think she’s going to haul forward and slap me. And for a moment I want her to. Anything to break this unbearable tension gnawing at my insides.
“You don’t know the first thing about what happened here,” she snaps, heat rolling off her in waves. Goddess, I want to kiss those soft lips of hers. “So maybe save your clever little remarks until after you’ve done your job.”
“Fine. Enlighten me, then.” I cross my arms, staring her down with narrowed eyes. Even though every inch of me wants to grab her and shake the dust off to make sure she’s actually okay. “What’s your brilliant take on this?”
I can hear the team shuffling nervously beside me. Kato’s stiff as a board and fuming. I can practically feel the rage rolling off him in waves. I know he’s wondering why the hell I’m being such a prick, I know I should stop, but I can’t help myself.
He turns to face me. Oh, he wants to kill me right now. His mouth opens, but before he can reprimand me, Val steps forward.
She doesn’t back down. She squares her shoulders and tilts her chin, defiantly looking at me like I’m nothing, “Whoever did this is sending a message, and it’s likely they are trying to cover their tracks. The good news is they didn’t realize how reinforced our systems are.”
Before I can say anything else, Kato steps in, his eyes darting between us. Bruce steps forward, his massive figure eclipsing me. They act like they are stepping between two kids in a playground scuffle.
“Alright, enough. We’re here to figure this out, not exchange insults.” His tone is calm but authoritative. Enough warning for me to shut my mouth and keep it shut this time. “It’s not safe for you to be in here right now. Would you mind if we took this discussion elsewhere?”
“I figured you’d say something like that, which is why I had to get everything I could before you and your people kicked me out of my own office,” she says, holding up a small thumb drive.
I bite my tongue, resisting the urge to make another comment. This is what women like her do. She takes control, even in the middle of a bombing and it pisses me off how much I admire that.
It’s not every day you come across someone so cool under pressure. Most of the time, when we show up at a crime scene, everyone is either screaming their head off, crying, or shell-shocked. Especially when it comes to something of this magnitude.
Kato turns to me, tongue clicking, “You stay here with Bruce and forensics for a little while. Get your head straight before you meet us back at the office.”
“Yes sir,” I submit, but the fire burns beneath my surface. My eyes are glued to Val’s ass as she walks down the hallway, all the way until she disappears out of sight around the corner.
Bruce cocks an eyebrow at me once they are out of human earshot, “What the hell was that about?”
“I don’t like her,” I say simply like that makes up for my bad behavior.
“Is this that weird thing where you hate all women executives?”
My eyes narrow on Bruce, and I don’t say a word. After a moment of silence, he claps his massive hands together and says, “Alright, well, let’s get to work.”
Sifting through debris in the lower levels of the building, I force myself to stay focused on the job before I get myself kicked off the case. Every time my mind wanders off toward thoughts of Val Hayes and the breathy sounds she makes right before she cums, I wrangle them back to the dust and mounds of debris.
Bruce is on the opposite side of the server room, talking to one of the forensic techs bagging evidence and taking photos, he’s nodding grimly.
It’s hot as hell here. Sweat drips down my brow as I scan the room of half-mangled servers. Only this is the initial server room which was installed as more of a decoy server room, according to the building’s security team.
I walk over, needing to hear something that doesn’t involve Val, even though with this being her business everything seems to concern her. “Find anything?” I ask, my voice still gruff.
Bruce glances at me, his expression serious, albeit a bit amused. He’s still trying to determine why this woman has caused such a reaction in me.
“Yeah,” he says, “Whoever built this thing knew what they were doing. Advanced tech, mixed with... something else.” He holds up a small shard of metal etched with strange symbols. “Paranormal materials. We’ve seen something like this before, but this is next-level.”
“Great,” I mutter, clenching my fists at my sides. “So we’re dealing with someone who’s an expert in human and paranormal engineering.”
Bruce nods. “Looks that way.”
“Couldn’t just be a simple case, could it?”
“Not by a long shot.”
A knot forms in my chest. This isn’t over, and for some reason, I have a sinking feeling that Val will make sure she’s in the middle of this.
Because fate is a cruel bitch, and no matter how much I deny it, she’s my mate. And I don’t know how I’m supposed to deal with that.