Page 7 of Shifter Mates for the Single Mom

“Sure, later,” I said with a tight little smile. Bela snorted. Jamie beamed.

Nathan said, “Jamie,” his smile now a lot fainter.

“Oh, right, sorry.” Jamie let go of my hand and went back to his seat near the door.

“Anyway. Here’s our plan of action. We’ll put together everything we can dig up about this stalker of yours and his accomplices. That means we’ll need to talk to people involved, as well as getting everything you know.” He met my gaze firmly, and I tried to ignore my toes curling in my sandals.

“I understand,” I murmured, trying to ignore my body’s restlessness. Damn it, now I’m going to be dealing full-time with three other hot guys on top of Nathan. I love the distraction from all this… horror, but I really should be trying to focus.

It was going to be tough, though. I could already tell. But I couldn’t let myself be an idiot and distract Nathan and his men with flirtation while they were focusing on keeping me and my son alive.

“I’ll get us some fresh drinks.” Of course, the men wanted longnecks, just like Ben used to. I made some lemonade for myself and Aidan as I tried to piece together what to say about Matthias.

Once we were settled, with Aidan puttering with his Legos at my feet, I sat in my favorite chair and faced my guests.

“I first met Matthias eight months ago.” The words stuck in my throat, and I paused to take a sip of lemonade and a deep breath. “I hadn’t dated since Ben died. No real interest in it.” I couldn’t meet Nathan’s eyes suddenly. It felt like my involvement with Matthias was something to be ashamed of.

“He had been hovering around the artist’s colony in town for about a month. All I knew about him was that he was rich, he’d just bought a mansion outside LA, and he was looking for art to fill the place up. He bought some of my metal sculptures and one of my swords. We talked. He was charming. He asked me out. I hesitated at first because I don’t trust rich guys too much, especially ones who come from a civilian background.”

“They’re soft,” Bela sniffed before taking a swallow of his beer. “And they have no honor. They think they’re better than everyone else without actually earning it.”

Ulf grunted in agreement. I wondered if the big guy ever talked at length. I could see a lot of shrewd intelligence in his fierce eyes.

"He was very charming at first. He very convincingly pretended to be interested in me, my kid, and my work. We started dating, and it was glamorous and fun but lacked any real depth. Still, he always seemed to know how to keep me interested and attracted. I didn't realize that was because he was setting me and the others up, because I've never dealt with anyone like him before."

This time, Ulf spoke up. "Sounds like he was telling you what he thought you wanted to hear. And was good at it."

"Yeah. I can't say he's not observant or that he's not smart. I wish I could." I smiled apologetically. "If he had been an idiot, we would have caught onto him a whole lot faster."

"He pulled out all the stops once he decided he was serious about me. I hadn't been courted in a long time. It was nice, at first. Now, though, I realize he was just softening me up for his long-term plans."

"Which were?" Nathan looked at me somberly. I wondered if he was jealous that Matthias had gotten to me first when he and I had been carrying a torch for each other for years.

No, that's ridiculous. Nathan is a grown-up.

"He planned to rob me blind. Me, the artist's colony, and as many locals as he could." It came out in a flat tone, but my stomach was jumping around again.

FOUR

MADELYNE

"So, you were in a relationship with this guy for what, six months?" Jamie shifted in his seat. I wondered if my discomfort was rubbing off on him.

"A little over that. It was a pretty normal relationship for a good while. But the whole time, he was gathering information on me and my assets, persuading me to loan money to him and otherwise slowly working his way into my life, my home, my wallet, and those of various friends and acquaintances."

"What happened then?" Nathan was taking notes, swiping away on his tablet. He was fighting a scowl. He is jealous.

That flattered me, annoyed me, made me ashamed, and made me even more horny than I had been before all at once. He was the one who fell out of touch after Ben’s funeral. It’s not like he tried to date me. If he had, I would have been with him, and none of this shit with Matthias would ever have happened.

I squirmed slightly in my seat. At my feet, Aidan played on obliviously.

"Everything seemed to be going well until we hit our first rough patch about seven months in. He asked if we could get a joint bank account. We weren't living together or talking about marriage, so it seemed strange to me. Soon after that, his mother started meddling in how I was raising my son, claiming I wasn't encouraging him to be ‘manly’ enough. Then I caught Matthias going through my phone while we were out on a date. It was a red flag, so I told him never to do that again. He argued, so I took his phone and started going through it. Even then, he didn’t seem to get it. It told me that he’s shorter on empathy and respect than I wanted in a boyfriend."

I licked my lips, looking down. My cheeks were burning. Being with Matthias at all, even though he had deceived me, felt like not only a terrible mistake but also some kind of betrayal. But of whom? Ben? Nathan? Myself?

"My instincts started telling me that something was up, so I looked into his background. Most of the things I found were consistent with his stories. He was rich. He did have a big house in LA, and he was taking care of his mother. But nothing else seemed to fit. He was supposedly a big art collector, but aside from the handful of things he had bought from me and some of the other local artists, he didn't seem to own anything. His fancy lifestyle was real, and he really was heir to his father's fortune, but…"

“You kept seeing hints that set off a lot of mental alarms?” Nathan guessed, and I nodded.

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