Page 7 of The Alpha's Mystery

“Whatever you think you heard, you were mistaken.”

He blinks once at my denial, knowing full well it’s not true, but seemingly not used to someone brazenly lying to his face. There’s no point in arguing with me. I’ll never admit it. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m late for my date.”

Flouncing out of the bar as if I caught him talking about me, and not the other way around, I swear I hear him growl at my retreating back. Good. I’m glad he’s pissed. Hopefully that means he’ll leave me alone. It doesn’t mean anything that I add a little extra sway to my hips as I walk away, hoping he’s enjoying the view.

At home in my cabin, I change into leggings and a hoodie for my hot date with a tub of Ben & Jerry’s.

CHAPTER 6

CHASE

Deputy Lennox is definitely hiding something.

But as I watch those luscious hips wriggling as she storms away from me, I’m struggling to be angry about it. It’s put her in my orbit, and breaking her is going to be so much fun.

It makes no sense at all, but the thing I’m really annoyed about is that she’s on her way to meet some other man. I should be thrilled she’ll be bothering someone else for the rest of the evening, but very few men are going to fully appreciate a woman like Natalie.

I adore a strong woman with some fire inside her.

Her spark will be wasted on some boring, office worker who only sees a pretty face and a body made for sin.

The question is whether she’s using her talents for good or evil.

Initially, I thought her brother, Marcus, was the problem. Now I think maybe that was short-sighted, and quite frankly, a little sexist. The first real trouble in Grey Ridge was the fire, and, from what I can tell, Natalie arrived in town at the same time.

Drumming my fingers on the polished wooden countertop, the idea of Natalie’s involvement percolates in my brain.

I don’t think too hard about why the possibility of her being involved makes me so uncomfortable. Just because she’s beautiful, doesn’t mean she can’t be dangerous. In fact, it’s often a killer combination.

As she steps into the sunlight, holding the door open for another couple of rowdy labourers coming in for food, she ignores their flirting salutes and keeps those sexy eyes trained on mine. With a sassy wave, she lets her hand drop and the door swings shut, blocking my view as she turns down the street, much to my disappointment.

That attitude. I should hate it but, instead, my depraved, or maybe I should say deprived body, wants to see if she’d still have as much fire on her knees with my cock in her smart mouth.

Stunned at the turn my thoughts have taken, I narrow my eyes at the spot where she stood just seconds before. Oh, she knows what she’s doing. A woman like that wields her beauty like a weapon. The tightening of my pants tells me that I'm not immune.

But I am clever enough not to be beguiled by her. Trusting too easily gets a person hurt.

“Thanks for the drinks, Sean.”

The barman nods, raising a hand in farewell as I head outside. Taking a sharp turn, I enter the tiny lobby that leads to a small apartment behind the bar, which Sean and his wife Sam rent out. This will be my new home for the next month or so.

The second I’m through the door, I drag out my laptop, impatient to see if Van, another of my former team who’s now back on home turf, has come through with the intel I requested. I’d been killing time in the bar, waiting for him to do his thing, when Natalie appeared. When I felt her sultry gaze as I moved around the pool table, I enjoyed it way too much.

No more messing around.

As soon as I unlock my computer and settle onto the basic but clean sofa, my phone rings. Answering and putting Van on speakerphone, I open my inbox and look at the numerous emails with multiple attachments that have landed within the last twenty minutes. While I was locking horns with the local law.

“You owe me for this, Chase. This was not a “small favour”, and I have better things to do than risk serious jail time for meddling in your sisters’ love lives.”

Van sounds put out, but, really, he loves this stuff. And since we retired, he hasn’t had anywhere near enough opportunities to flex his hacking skills.

“You probably did this in five minutes, while you were making your dinner.”

The silence on the other end tells me I’m not too far off.

“That’s not the point. It’s the content that makes this so tricky. I don’t know what you’ve landed yourself in the middle of, but shout if you need help. We’ll be there in a heartbeat. I’m still working on the rest but I knew you’d want to see this immediately."

Frowning, I sit up a bit straighter. “What does that mean?’

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