Hit him with your fist, then tell him no.
“Call the office the day before you’re planning to go. We’ll send someone out.”
He pursed his lips and looked between us again. “Fine.”
He turned and walked away. I expected him to go up the driveway, but he didn’t. He went through the yard beside Bethany’s. “Where’s he going?” I asked.
“Most of my properties are on this street. I took the biggest house, then rented out the rest.” She could’ve been a little grateful that I’d come to make sure the asshole didn’t try to threaten her with violence. She just sounded irritated, though.
“That seems dangerous, having your tenants so close.” I turned and looked up at the house. I hadn’t paid a lot of attention to it before. We stood outside a French door, which was shut. “Your office?” I gestured toward the doors.
She nodded without replying.
“And you live above it?” I looked up at the windows above the French doors. A second level.
She sighed. “Yes. Tiffany and I live in the house upstairs. The basement is my office. Any more questions?”
I ignored her attitude. “Does this happen often?” I gestured toward the neighbor’s yard. Andrew Hamilton was almost out of sight, two back yards away.
“No,” she said. “Right now, I only have a handful of tenants. I screen them very carefully, and so far, they’ve all been amazing. He was too, for about a year. Lately, his payments were later and later, then they stopped coming entirely.”
“Maybe you should think about hiring some security,” I mused. Looking around the house, my mind whirled with possible upgrades she could do to make the home more secure. “You could use some floodlights,” I said absently.
Bethany huffed, and when I looked back at her, she had her arms crossed. Damn it.
“No, wait,” I said. “That’s just a suggestion. It’s none of my business.” I backed away a few steps and held up my arms. “I’m not trying to overstep my bounds or tell you how to live your life.”
She clenched her jaw, bringing my attention to her hair and the curve of her neck. The sunlight bounced off the blonde highlights in her hair. The urge to smell it was strong, but that would’ve been the height of creepy. She might’ve hired security to keep me away. “Okay, then.” I clapped my hands together awkwardly. “I’ll just head out, then. If you need anything, you know how to get a hold of me.” Backing up a few more steps, I laughed nervously. “At the station.”
She arched one eyebrow. I turned on my heel and walked toward the corner of the house, the weight of her gaze burning into me. No way I was turning around. Not only did I feel awkward, but I was also a little miffed. She could’ve been appreciative.
As I walked up the driveway, her response to my appearing to help her and make sure the dick didn’t go nutso on her started to bother me more. I was only doing my job. If that was aggravating to her, I didn’t know what else to do.
I didn’t have anything against her, but she was obviously not a fan of mine. I’d gone about things stupidly, sure, but I tried to apologize, and even when working on the job, she could’ve been civil. Even just not rude would’ve been preferable.
At this point, it was clear that we were not compatible. I didn’t know what the instinct thing was to make her my fated mate, or whatever, but it clearly was messed up. Faulty. There was no possible way we were meant for one another.
I was a lot of things, but intentionally hurtful wasn’t one of them.
Not dealing with it seemed the best solution. I wasn’t even sure I’d be in Black Claw that long. I’d just do my best to avoid talking to her. Maybe California was a good idea, after all.
The neighbor sat on her porch and she stood as I walked back to the cruiser. “It’s all good,” I called. “Thank you for your help.” Interference, more like. Bethany hadn’t wanted my help.
She nodded and walked in her house, so I slid into the cruiser and sucked in a deep breath. Time to head back to the station and turn the phones back on.
I went back and forth about Bethany the whole drive, with input from Artemis. He thought we should lock ourselves in a room with Bethany until we worked out our differences.
He was nuts. That would’ve only ended in one of us angrier.
When I pulled into the station, Dad’s cruiser was already there. I walked in to find him at his desk, typing at his computer. “Hey, Dad,” I said. “What are you doing here?”
He looked up and opened his mouth, then took one look at me and sat back. “I had some paperwork to finish. What’s wrong?”
How did he always know? We hadn’t even known each other for more than a handful of years, but somehow, he always read my face and body language. It had to be some sort of father-son dragon bond thing.
I sighed and sat across from his desk. “Dad?” I whispered.
He raised his eyebrows. “Yeah?”
“Are dragons ever wrong about their mates?” I sounded sullen and disappointed, and I knew it. But, fuck, I was sullen and disappointed, so it fit.
Dad looked stunned. “Somehow that isn’t what I expected you to say.” He shook his head and cocked his head. “I don’t know, son. I don’t think they’re usually wrong. What does Artemis say?”
Artemis growled in response. I’m not wrong.
“He doesn’t think he’s wrong, but I do. I just can’t, in any scenario, imagine her and me working together.” I’d been over it a hundred times. The scenarios didn’t add up.
“I’ve never heard of a dragon being wrong before,” he said. “I know all of us have thought our mates incompatible at some point, but in the end, it always works out. I think
