A small part of him was hoping that she wouldn’t, and that she would keep coming back to see him. He wanted to watch her try, and play right into his hands. She thought she had the advantage, but she’d soon find out that he always came out on top. From out of nowhere, an image popped into his head of him on top. Of her. Naked and thrusting into—
“Just do it,” he barked at Astrid forcefully. He heard a growl coming from Zac. Understandable, seeing as she was his mate and carried their pup. But she was also going to be his Beta and better be prepared to obey his orders. Still, he’d never seen Zac look at him with a murderous look in his eyes before. “Please,” he added in a gentler tone, which seemed to mollify his friend.
“Will do. Zac, let’s go get lunch, yeah?” She ran a hand down his arm, trying to soothe him. “I’ll see you later, Lucas.”
As he watched them leave together, he felt a pang of envy. Astrid and Zac were True Mates, an unusual pairing that meant they were fated to be together, and now they were about to have their first child. Lycan children were rare, and only two of their kind could produce a pup. If a Lycan were to mate with a human, they would have human children, if at all. The one exception was True Mates.
He brushed that envy aside, as well as other emotions clouding his judgement and focused on the detective. What were her motives? Did she suspect anything about the existence of Lycans? That only meant that they would need to keep a closer eye on her.
This was a dangerous game he was playing with Sofia Selinofoto, and this would take all his attention. Because there was no way he was going to lose.
Chapter Five
Sofia didn’t know how long those men had been following her or who sent them, but she had two guesses on the latter. Bianchi or Lucas Anderson. She didn’t know which one she wanted it to be.
After she left Fenrir Corp. yesterday, she went back to the station. Despite how the meeting with Lucas Anderson ended, she was still able to gather good information. But to process it all, she needed to step back. Plus, there were other cases on her plate, not to mention with her testimony in the Bianchi case coming up in a few weeks, she needed to brush up. The rest of the afternoon was spent trying to follow up on leads, tying up loose ends, and going back to old case files. She was exhausted by the time she went home, though she did remember to check in with the desk sergeant as she promised Bushnell.
That morning, as she was entering the station, she felt like someone was watching her. But before she could turn around, her cellphone rang. It was an important call, from a lead on a robbery case so she ran to her desk to take down notes.
By mid-afternoon, she needed a dose of caffeine. There was a local coffee shop she frequented that was just a few blocks from the station. It was when she was heading there that she caught the dark sedan from the corner of her eye. This was not the first time she had seen it, she realized. Last night when she was going home, it was waiting a block from her apartment building. This morning, when she stopped at a light, it was two cars behind her. When she went out to grab lunch, she passed by the sedan as she crossed the street.
And now, there it was again, crawling along the street beside her. She saw an opportunity when she spied a delivery van stopped up ahead. Picking up her pace, she walked past the van, leaving the sedan behind. She circled around the front of the van, then reappeared on the other side, heading straight for the driver’s side.
“Hey!” She rapped her knuckles on the glass. Though it was tinted, this close she could make out two figures inside. The driver started, his head jerking toward her, then looked at the man next to him. She shoved her badge against the window and lifted her jacket to show them she was packing. “Open up! NYPD.”
It seemed like they were contemplating what to do, but with the van in front of them, there was no escape. The window rolled down.
“Are you following me?” she asked. “Who are you working for?”
The driver and his passenger remained silent, but the guilty looks on their faces was a definite yes to her first question while the expensive matching suits they were wearing answered the second. Bianchi’s men were usually lowlifes and thugs, not guys who looked like they stepped out of a GQ magazine cover. Just to be certain, she snatched the driver’s phone from his hands.
“Hey!” he protested. “You can’t do that!”
She held a hand up. “I can have you arrested for harassing an officer of the law.” The phone was locked, but she dialed the emergency contact number, then waited for an answer.
“Fenrir Corporation, Security Department. How may I direct your call?”
That was all she needed. “Tell your boss to stay away from me.” She tossed the phone back at him and marched away before she did something stupid.
Adrenaline pumped in her veins, making her forget about the need for a caffeine boost. She walked back to the station, hoping the exercise would make her anger dissipate. However, as she seethed, it only made the fury worse.
That arrogant bastard! It had barely been twenty-four hours, and he already had his goons following her. If she had any doubt that he was hiding something, they were all gone now. Her visit shook him up, and now he was having his people tail her, and God knows what else. Probably look into her background. Not that
