“Yup.So he got arrested, and as far as I knew, that was the end of it.Until this week.”Her head bowed, and she let out a long exhale.
Her shoulders shook, and I realized she was crying.
“Hey,” I said softly, taking a step closer to her.
I wanted to comfort her, take her in my arms and hold her.Inhale that intoxicating honey scent.Whatever I could do so she knew she was finally safe.No one would ever hurt her again.
But I couldn’t.She’d been taken advantage of and betrayed.I needed to protect her by the book.
“How much of this does Barrett know?”I said, hating how cold it sounded.
“He said Mark was part of a bigger network, and that’s what made me realize he was connected to the crypto scheme.”She looked up at me and wiped tears away from her cheeks.“But I could be totally wrong, and he could be affiliated with something else awful.”
“The chances are low.”I pulled the meat out of the sauté pan and transferred it to the slow cooker, which got Gigi’s attention.“Looks like I have a customer.Want to try a sample?”
“Love to.I’m starving.”
Gigi rounded the island, her tail happily thumping against my calf as I spooned the meat into the bowl for her.“I cook the onion, peppers and garlic separate because this one is a little spoiled, and those things aren’t good for her.I’ll mix them together for you and give you a little cheese?—”
Kayla laughed as Gigi put her paw on my thigh.
“That’s her favorite word.If you give this dog cheese, she will follow you to the end of the Earth.”
“Noted.”
I placed the first bowl on Gigi’s mat and watched with satisfaction as she eagerly dug in.When I turned around, I found Kayla spooning the ground beef into a bowl.
“I could’ve done that.”
“You’re dog dadding, and I’m perfectly capable of serving myself,” she said as she spooned the vegetables over the meat.“I can make you a bowl too.I assume I have dish duty.”
“I wasn’t gonna ask, but if you’re offering.”I accepted the bowl from her and went back to the stool.
Moments later, she joined me.I watched her out of the corner of my eye.There was a mix of emotions as I waited for her reactions.I wanted her to like it.
You want her to like you,my bear clarified.
She closed her eyes for a long blink, moaned, and then turned to me.“You’re making this for a competition?”
“Not exactly, but the fire department takes chili very seriously.I hadn’t earned the right to make it for them yet.”
“I don’t think that will be a problem.This is…have you had any formal training?”
“Nope.Taught myself because I had a single mom who worked all the time and I was a hungry bear.”I laughed, but it was short-lived.Kayla had just been vulnerable with me, and I owed it to her to do the same.“She left our clan when I was a baby.It was just me and her.”
“You have natural talent.”She laughed and took another bite.“I bet you make some amazing meals for her.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to say she’d find out soon enough.But this woman was in much more danger than she could possibly comprehend, and I wasn’t sure that Sawtooth Security could save her.
ChapterFive
Kayla
I hadn’t done anything wrong.It was something I had to keep telling myself through this whole journey.In good faith, I’d trusted the wrong people, gotten burned, and had no one to be mad at but myself.My wolf had serious reservations about that investment, and I dismissed her as being too safe, too conservative.Now, she was picking up the pieces.
Beau had been cordial after I’d spilled my guts.A little distant, as we’d watched a movie neither of us had seen.I was probably reading too much into it, but I was used to having my every move scrutinized by the press and paparazzi.It was one of the reasons why my wolf urged me to be careful.I liked to think I had thick skin, but they managed to get under it from time to time.
Beau’s here to help you, my wolf reminded me.
