Page 11 of Therefore
Itwasn’tsurprisingtosee the empty space next to me when I woke up. What did surprise me was finding my wrists cuffed to the headboard.
Oh, he’ll pay for that later.
With a pinch and twist of my fingers, I had my wrists free. I still couldn’t believe Trystan hadn’t figured out there was an emergency release. Although in fairness, the cuffs were a special order, and he’d been pretty distracted by an unexpected heat.
Rolling out of bed, I left the sheets as they were. I wanted Trystan’s smoky vetiver scent to linger a little longer before I cleaned up. Maybe I’d keep a pillowcase until he was back in my bed. A smile stretched across my face. I wasn’t even mad Trystan was gone. I knew the risk as soon as I uncuffed him. But I had his name and something he wanted. We’d meet again very soon.
As I headed for the kitchen, I scrolled through my phone’s notifications. Plenty of emails, as usual. But two texts from my assistant, Pearl, stood out:
Transferred evidence back to the office. Usual place.
Don’t ask me to come over like that again. I can never unhear those sounds.
I made a mental note to send her flowers and a spa day voucher soon. This wasn’t in her job description, but there was no one I trusted more to deal with the transfer. At least, not without Norah ripping into me at every opportunity.
Speaking of the devil, Norah’s name flashed across my screen.
“Good…” I checked the time on the screen. Two-thirty. Crap. “Afternoon. How can I help?”
“Pearl said you were taking a sick day, but I don’t buy it,” Norah snapped, clearly not in the mood for fun pleasantries. “You’re the healthiest person I know. So tell me what’s going on.”
I grabbed a fresh bottle of water from the fridge and headed back to my bedroom. “I’m allowed to take a sick day, Norah.”
“If you were genuinely sick, I’d agree with you. Don’t make me ask again.”
The joys of dealing with another alpha.
Sighing, I sat on the edge of my bed. “Someone broke in yesterday. I had to deal with it.”
Norah’s voice immediately softened. “Are you okay? Did they get away with anything?”
“I’m fine. They got away, but I know what they were after—Fisher’s diary. What I don’t know is who told them I had it.”
“Think we have a leak?”
“Us, or the police,” I admitted. “I checked the evidence out formally, so there’s an easy paper trail if someone knows where to look.”
Norah went quiet for a moment, but I could hear her typing on her laptop. “Okay. Is the diary still with you?”
“No. Pearl collected it last night and returned it to the office. It’s safe. You can check with her.”
“Perfect. Do the police have any leads on our thieves?”
My chest tightened as I pictured Trystan’s face beneath me, deep in ecstasy. He was our thief, but not the source of the crime. If I could find out who he worked for, who requested the job, I could bypass an arrest for him altogether. At the very least, negotiate on his behalf.
“I didn’t report it.”
“You, what?!”
“The police could be the leak, Norah. You said it yourself.”
“So you got your damn PA to move it instead?” Norah growled, her alpha rage palpable even over the phone.
I took a breath. My inner alpha never responded well to other alphas asserting dominance, but I respected Norah as my boss and friend. If only my alpha would remember that.
“I had other things to take care of.” I spoke slowly, calmly. “And Pearl is as loyal as they come. You know that.”
“Iknow.” Norah huffed. “This situation just doesn’t sit well with me. We’re supposed to be wrapping up this case. Targeting the diary now doesn’t make sense, especially not with everything else we have. The evidence against Fisher is irrefutable, and the police already checked over the diary. Anything new we find would just be a bonus.”
