Page 10 of Blades of Ice

For now, he had a small one-bedroom shoebox close to the office that he bought for next to nothing. It had been in dire need of repair, but his father had taught him how to swing a hammer, put on a new roof, fix a leaky faucet, and do all types of electrical work. The house had originally been two bedrooms, but as soon as he moved in and reshingled the roof, he tore down the wall between the living area and one of the bedrooms to enlarge the living room. He didn’t need more space to sleep in, but he refused to watch television with only a few feet between the sofa and the TV. He wondered what Lydia would think of his small home. He hadn’t been able to shake the memory of holding the female in his arms nor how good she smelled. His Bear had been irate ever since meeting the stunning woman. It wanted him to forget everything else and go find her. Beck couldn’t though. He had to find his mother and figure out what Boyd was doing in Seward.

Beck turned into the driveway and parked, then got out and unlocked the gate. Amara didn’t have an automatic opener. She made sure to keep her wealth under wraps, thus the less than grand house and basic padlock. When she had been Queen of the BC pack, Amara had been well off. Having to start over in Alaska wasn’t easy, but the four of them made it work, and within five years of arriving in Seward, his mother’s bank account had seen an uptick. Enough to buy the property and build the modest house.

Not bothering to close the gate behind him, Beck eased down the long driveway and parked in front of the garage. Stepping out of the truck, Beck used his shifter senses to search for any signs of his mother or someone who shouldn’t be there as he walked to the side door. After climbing the steps, he input thesecurity code that unlocked the door and paused right inside the mud room. Nothing looked out of place, but he hadn’t been there in a few months.

“Mom?” Beck continued past the laundry room to the kitchen. There were no dishes in the sink, so he opened the dishwasher. There were two plates, a frying pan, and silverware in the bottom rack, and two coffee cups in the top rack. Beck removed both cups. Only one had lipstick around the rim. Amara had always dressed and put on makeup before making breakfast. He sniffed the second, and the faint scent of something masculine met his nose. It could have been after shave or cologne. He put the mugs back and closed the door. Beck surveyed the rest of the house, saving her bedroom for last. He hated breaching her sanctuary, but if she were truly missing, it was necessary. The bed was made, but the scent of sex overpowered any other smell. After a thorough scan of the en suite, he found nothing amiss. A condom in the waste basket didn’t tell him anything about the male his mother had invited into her home.

Stopping at the closed door to her office, Beck debated whether to break in. She would be pissed, but if she would call one of his sisters, they wouldn’t be worried. Beck pulled out his phone and opened his favorites list, tapping Amara’s name. He didn’t expect her to answer, so when it went to voicemail, he said, “We have a problem. Call me back.” Beck retraced his steps through the house, only this time, he opened the door that led to the attic. Climbing the stairs two at a time, Beck listened before opening the door at the top. The walls were lined with boxes and furniture Amara had brought from BC. Some of the boxes contained the girls’ clothes from when they were babies. Others held his sisters’ mementos from high school. None, however, included his things. Anything he held precious was in a storage locker only he and his father had a key to.

Making his way back downstairs, Beck returned to his mother’s office. He doubted there would be clues within to her whereabouts, and it was possible she was off with the man she’d slept with, so he left the house without breaching the room. If she didn’t show up in the next day or so, he would reconsider breaking in.

Beck didn’t bother calling Delaney. Since Chloe had already been by the house earlier, she would have noticed the same things Beck did, namely the presence of a man. Instead, he called Dooley.

“Nothing new, my man,” Dooley said when he picked up.

“That’s not why I’m calling. When I got back to Seward, Boyd was leaving the office building and ran when I yelled his name.”

“Please tell me you caught the bastard.” Dooley was aware of Boyd’s part in overthrowing Amara.

“No. He knocked a female down, and I stopped to make sure she was okay. By the time I got her settled, he was long gone. Since he was coming from our building, I asked Delaney about it, but she swears she didn’t talk to him.”

“And you believe her?” Dooley had never been a fan of either of Beck’s sisters for some reason.

“Maybe? If it had been Chloe, then no. But Laney has no reason to lie.”

“Those females don’t need a reason,” Dooley muttered. “Let me hit the cameras and see what I can find. Still no word from the Empress?”

“No. I’m at her house now, and nothing looks out of the ordinary.” Beck didn’t share about the male visitor. He wouldn’t unless it was necessary.

“I’ll widen my search parameters. If Boyd is in town, it’s for no good reason.”

“Thanks, Dooley.”

“No problem, my friend. Talk later.”

Since he had time before his next flight, Beck walked down to the water, keeping his eyes peeled. His bear urged him to shift and go for a swim. It had been months since he let his other half out to play, and the thought appealed to him, but they were too far south to do so without calling attention unless he went out into the mountains. It was one argument he’d had with Amara when they moved. Beck wanted to settle in the northern part of the state where they could shift freely, but she had been more concerned with setting up their business where it would be successful. Beck traversed the incline to the bay’s edge and knelt, dipping his fingers into the frigid water. He was due a vacation, but he wouldn’t take one until his mother was safely home and Boyd was nowhere near any of them.

Beck stopped by his house to eat a late lunch. He’d taught himself to cook over the years because having leftovers was cheaper than eating out every day. His schedule was available via a shared calendar, and Beck doublechecked it while eating to ensure the flight hadn’t been canceled or delayed due to the snow moving in. Since he was taking six men to Katmai National Park, he was flying the larger Cessna. The flight was five hours one-way. Most often, Beck spent the night whenever he had the chance, but with things as they were, he would return to Seward after refueling. He had a few more of Kennedy’s cookies for dessert before he returned to the harbor.

The passengers were strapped in, and Beck was doing his pre-flight checks when his phone vibrated. It was a text from Dooley with the initials BS and an address in Sterling. Beck sent back a thumbs-up emoji. By the time he made it to Katmai, unloaded his passengers, grabbed dinner, then made it back to Seward, it was going on midnight. Beck loved the harbor when most of the businesses were closed, and the only people out were those who had chosen to drink at the tavern. When he got inhis truck, Beck entered the address Dooley sent into his GPS. He wouldn’t get to Sterling until two, but creeping around was better done in the dark than in daylight. He flipped to a hard rock channel and headed out.

As close as Sterling was, Beck never ventured to the small town. He’d never had reason to before now. The address was easy enough to find, but the house sat back off the road. Beck pulled over and opened the satellite app that showed the area from above. After studying the map of the surrounding properties, Beck drove his truck a few miles to where he could park and not be seen from the road. He turned off the motor and got out, easing the door closed. He checked the map once more, then set out through the woods. After about twenty yards, he paused. Something was thrashing through the trees, followed by a low growl that sounded familiar.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid.” A female’s voice muttered as it neared Beck. “Ow, shit,” she cursed. Beck hid behind a tree, not wanting to be spotted. When she came into view, she was pushing tree limbs out of the way. The hood of her thick coat covered most of her face. It snagged on a branch she released and dragged both the hood and her backward. The female landed on her ass. “Sonofabitch.”Lydia.Adorable, pouting, Lydia. What in the goddess’ name was she doing tromping through the woods? Especially these woods. He’d wanted to see her again, but not here. Lydia huffed, then picked herself up, wiping her hands on her jeans. She hadn’t gone five feet when she stumped her booted foot on a large rock, and she pitched forward. Beck rushed to grab her before she could fall again. The next thing he knew, claws grabbed at his jacket, and a knife was at his throat. He sure as fuck hadn’t seen that coming.

Chapter 5

After following Boydto the house in the woods, Lydia and Cailín scoped out the area and found a secluded spot to park when they came back later to spy on the house. They were on their way to the lodge when Jasper called to tell Cailín that Trevor and Haylee had been in a car wreck, and both were in the hospital. Lydia offered to go back to Atlanta with her, but Cailín assured her that even though her dad wanted her home, neither were in critical condition. Cailín convinced Lydia to stay in Alaska and continue their mission, promising to come back as soon as possible. Flights from Sterling to Anchorage hadn’t been available until much later, so Lydia drove Cailín to the larger city. By the time she got back to Sterling, Lydia was a mess. All that time spent driving alone meant she had nothing to do but think. The radio became background noise as she remembered Tinsley. As she thought about Beck. As she wondered why she was in Alaska instead of Tabitha. As she considered calling Carleigh and having her find Beck’s address. As she contemplated why that particular male intrigued her so.

When she entered her cottage, Lydia tossed her purse down on the table and went to the fridge for a beer. After downing it quickly, she reached for another, but put it back. Needing to do something constructive instead of drinking, she opened her laptop to work. When twenty minutes passed without accomplishing anything, she got to her feet. Instead of sitting around waiting on Carleigh to call with more information, Lydiaheaded out to spy on Boyd. She wasn’t prepared for what she found.

Now here she was, stomping through the woods to get back to the rental so she could call her cousin. Letting go of a branch, it snagged on her hood and sent her to her ass. “Sonofabitch.” Lydia shook it off and climbed to her feet, wiping her hands on her jeans. Paying better attention to the branches, she didn’t notice the large rock before it was too late. Lydia pitched forward, but strong arms caught her before she could faceplant. Thinking Boyd had caught up with her, Lydia grabbed at the male with her clawed hand and shoved her dagger against his throat. Only it wasn’t Boyd.

“Beck?” Oh, shit. She retracted her claws, praying he hadn’t noticed them, but how else would she explain the slashes in his jacket? Lydia took a step back but kept the dagger between them.

“What are you doing out here?” he demanded, his blue eyes icy in the dark.

“Me? What areyoudoing out here? Are you following me?” The first rule of engagement was evade the question and deny everything. At least it sounded like it should be rule number one.

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