Page 293 of Secret Shifters Next Door

I nodded. “Fine. I came straight here when I realized something was off.”

“Let’s go,” Mike said.

Mike and LJ followed me in their SUV. I pulled into the driveway a few minutes later, and the door was still ajar. Mike and LJ leaped from their car and pulled their guns before making their way up the steps, moving cautiously as they got closer.

I looked back across the street. Blayne’s house was dark and silent. He was either still out in the woods as his panther or he’d gone to sleep. I was betting on the first option. He’d seemed so relieved to be able to shift again, I was positive he’d be out sprinting through the trees for a few hours.

“Son of a bitch,” Mike hissed, fingering the splintered wood of my door. “Didn’t even try to hide it.”

He and LJ stepped inside and started moving through the house. I stayed outside, watching as lights flicked on in every room. After ten minutes, they came out. Mike was shaking his head, holding what looked like a wall outlet cover in his hand.

Holding it up for me to see, he gave me a sardonic grin. “These assholes do not know who they’re messing with.”

“What is that?”

“A bug. I’ve got plenty of experience finding these. Nothing has been stolen and no one was inside. After that, I started checking the vents, plugs, and lamps. They half-assed this one. Didn’t match the color to the rest of the ones in the house. This is beige, the rest are a different shade of off-white. Look.” He turned the outlet cover over to show what he meant.

A tiny, round piece of metal attached to a few small wires was glued to the plastic cover. A second set of wires hung limply.

Mike pointed at the wires. “They had it attached to the wiring of your house. Smart. No batteries to go dead. Fuckers.”

Fear trickled down to my stomach like ice chips. “Is it…uh…are the police watching me for something?”

Mike shook his head. “Nah. They wouldn’t have been sloppy enough to kick the door down. Whoever did this wanted it to look like an interrupted break-in.” He eyed me speculatively and nodded across the street. “You think this might have something to do with those security guys?”

The hunter? Had they really been at my house and bugged it? What were they hoping to learn?

I shook my head. “Not sure. Maybe.”

Mike nodded and looked at LJ. “You got a guy that can fix up Ava’s door tonight?”

“Now?” I asked. “It’s almost eight.”

LJ grinned. “Yeah, I know a guy. Bet he can be here in less than an hour. Want me to get a guy to watch the street?”

Mike nodded. “Have one of the boys out here. Just for tonight, I think. Once they realize we found the bug, they’ll try something different. After tonight, we’ll have some boys cruising around every few hours. If that’s cool with you?”

Blayne had told me that his team had guys watching the houses of their friends and families. He’d never had anyone around his place because he had no family or loved ones. It looked like the hunters had either figured out I was his fated mate, or had decided to bug my house since I was the closest neighbor who seemed to have some sort of relationship to him. I didn’t want Blayne to freak out by telling him about this and asking his guys to watch out for me.

Instead, I nodded to Uncle Mike. “Yeah. Every now and then would be good. For peace of mind.” I looked at LJ. “I appreciate you getting someone out tonight, but it can wait until tomorrow. I’ll crash at Dad’s house tonight.”

“Okay,” LJ said. “Let me wedge your door shut. You don’t want to get any racoons getting in there. I’ll text my guy and see if he can come over first thing in the morning.”

My cousin bounded up the steps and worked on getting the door closed. Mike pulled me to him and pressed his lips close to my ear. “Are we telling Gio about this?”

I shook my head. “No. He’s got enough going on. He’ll probably tell you all more about it tomorrow when he is rested, but something big is coming. I don’t want to stress him out too much. All he needs to know is that I didn’t want to go home after taking him home from his meeting, so I decided to stay the night. I never even came back here.”

“You got it. I’ll make sure LJ’s on the same page. Head on home while we finish up here.”

Nodding, I got into my car. The drive back should have been filled with fear and anger about my home being invaded, but I couldn’t think about the hunters. All I could think about were those moments in the forest with Blayne. The way he’d looked at me. The heat in his gaze, and how much I’d liked it.

“What the hell was that about?” I whispered to myself as I pulled into my Dad’s driveway.

FIFTEEN

BLAYNE

As soon as Ava was gone, I shifted and plowed into the forest, running deeper and deeper. The feeling of the ground flashing by under my paws felt amazing. I’d gone nearly four miles before I realized it. Not being able to shift had taken more of a toll on me than I’d thought it would. Being in my panther form was almost like a drug, and I’d been going through withdrawal. Missing an integral part of myself had taken a mental toll on me. I had to think it was similar to losing a limb.

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