Page 12 of Mine to Protect

“The hell?”John’s voice lowered as he shifted a concerned glance to where I sat in shock at Agent Peters’s words. “You’re leaving out a lot of information. We need all the details you have connecting these cases before we agree to work with you.”

Agent Peters broke his focus on me to acknowledge John, who was looking paler by the second.

“Nine women—”

The door hurled open, letting in a welcomed rush of heat from the hall. For a split second, I relished the warmth, untilhewalked in. My mouth fell open at the surly man from the parking lot, his scarred hand gripping the door handle. He stood eerily still, almost like he was just as surprised to see me, his near-black eyes burning into mine. The two others in the office faded into the background as a rampage of questions and unfamiliar feelings flooded through me.

“You,” I said on a pushed breath, finally remembering oxygen intake was necessary for staying alive. Chest rising and falling in rapid succession, the cold from the office turned comforting against my too-hot skin.What the heck is wrong with me?This man was dangerous and a stranger—both of which I’d avoided at all costs the past several years. But here I was having a stupid hot flash like I was in high school all over again just from his soul-searching eyes.

The seat rocked to the side with a clatter as I shoved out of it to take a cautious step back. His eyes narrowed, but a small, knowing smirk pulled at the corner of his stone-cold features, as if my fear amused him. But it wasn’t the type of anxiety I managed on a second-by-second basis. No,thisfear was hot, sizzling in my veins, making beads of sweat build beneath my armpits and along my palms.

Our intense staring contest broke when a hard shoulder brushed against mine, making me tense all over at the contact.

The stranger’s eyes narrowed on my shoulder, only to direct an angry glare at John, who now stood at my side.Way too closeto my side.

“Can we help you?” John took an obvious step to angle himself between the man and me.

Thankful for the brief reprieve from the man's scrutiny, I glanced to Agent Peters, only to be more confused. He sat in the same position, leaning back in his chair, but now he smiled at the whole scene like it entertained him.

“He’s with me,” Agent Peters finally said with a deep sigh, cracking the growing tension. “He’s the one I spoke about earlier. You always knew how to make an entrance, didn’t you, Mathews?”

John didn’t move.

Neither did the Mathews character.

Long, tense seconds ticked by on the old-school clock on the wall as the two continued their standoff.

“As I was saying,” Agent Peters said, drawing out the last word in an obvious attempt to gain everyone's attention, “nine women plus the female special agent in charge of the case went missing in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in nine months.”

Not ready to be in close proximity to Mathews again, I leaned against the far wall and kept my attention focused on Agent Peters. Only after Mathews had stepped farther into the office in order to close the door behind him did John relax and turn back to the chair behind his desk.

“Ten women. How did that not make national news?” I questioned.

Mathews gaze burned into each inch of my body as he stared. Every instinct insisted I look, but instead of giving in, I willed my focus to stay on Agent Peters.

“It made the news in East Tennessee, but nothing on the larger networks. Mostly because we had nothing to go on. We had zero evidence from the crime scenes.”

I chewed on the edge of my thumb. “And now you think he’s here.”

Against my will, my eyes darted to where Mathews leaned against the door, confirming what I already knew.

Not a single facial muscle flinched, indicating he couldn’t care less that I’d caught him staring.

Fine.

Two could play that game.

Taking the opportunity, I observed every detail of his harsh, handsome face. High cheekbones for a man accentuated a strong jawline that was dusted with faint facial stubble. A thin nose had two distinct knots along the bone, indicating he’d broken it more than once. Dark brows and messy, light brown hair completed the ruggedly handsome look that he no doubt knew looked good on him. Because it did.

Then there were his eyes. They were captivating, holding me in place with some warlock power. Whatever it was, it called to me. Locked in his gaze, I felt safe, protected and, for the first time in a long time, alive. Instead of running from this stranger, I wanted to runtohim. Wanted to feel his large hands running along my bare skin, my stomach, and inner thighs.

I startled at John’s loud attention-getting cough.

“Sorry, I guess I forgot to make introductions,” Agent Peters said. “This is Sergeant Cas Mathews of the USPP. Mathews, this is Ranger Police Officer Alta Johnson and Division Manager John Cartwright. There, can we move on now?”

Right. Back to the case, the reason these two men were here. I cleared my throat and tried to swallow, even though my mouth had turned bone-dry. “What do you think he does to them? The women?”

“Birdie.” John’s tone was laced with concern.

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