Page 44 of Flare
A moment later, a pickup roared into the clearing and screeched to a halt. Emily recognized Ward’s truck. Weirdly, she instantly felt calmer.
“Oh, good,” Maggie said, waving at him.“I texted him right after I called Sheriff Jacobsen. She told me Malia’s on her way over.”
Ward burst through the door and looked around, his expression turning thunderous as he saw what Andrew had done. But when his eyes found Emily, they softened.
“Hey, are you okay?” he asked, crossing to her in three long strides and enclosing her in a hug.
“Yeah.” Emily clung to him, resting her forehead against his shoulder. She suddenly felt a hundred times better, the sick feeling in her stomach fading now that he was here.“He broke in while I was at work.”
His jaw worked, and an animal growl vibrated against Emily’s cheek.“I’m going to kill that son of a bitch.”
“Eddie,” Elle warned, though her tone lacked real rebuke. She added,“That’s your uncle Dane’s job. He’s the clan enforcer, not you.”
“Though if you’re itching to take over the job, it’s yours.” Dane sounded serious, but Emily noticed a teasing gleam in his eye.
Enforcer?Emily couldn’t help staring at him. That sounded… violent. She remembered Maggie’s dad as unfailingly gentle and kind during her younger years.
“How did he find you?” Ward demanded, ignoring his grandmother and uncle.
“I don’t know,” Emily replied, a fresh spurt of fear cramping her stomach.“I’ve been really careful about not posting anything on social media. And I’ve ignored all his messages.”
Ward’s expression darkened further.“Let me check your car.”
Emily and the others trailed him out the door. She watched as he dropped to his knees on the gravel and began examining the undercarriage of her vehicle. After a moment, he reached for something and grabbed it.
“GPS tracker,” he said, his voice tight with fury as he showed Emily what he’d found.
Emily stared at the small black object in his palm.“So, he’s known where I am all along? He’s just been playing some kind of waiting game?”
“Maybe,” Dane said grimly, trading a long look with Elle.“Either way, he won’t get near you again.”
The sound of yet another vehicle had her glancing nervously down the narrow gravel road. To her relief, it was a police SUV. It rolled to a stop behind Ward’s truck.
Emily recognized Malia Jacobsen as she emerged, her honey-colored hair neatly pulled into a bun under her official cowboy hat. She wondered if the young officer was a bear shifter, too.
Her eyes widened slightly as she took in the GPS tracker in Ward’s hand.“Is that what I think it is?”
Ward nodded.“Found it under Emily’s car. We think that’s how her ex tracked her here.”
Malia frowned as she pulled on a latex glove before turning the device over in her hand.“I’ll need to take your statement, Emily. And I should document the damage inside for your insurance, Aunt Elle.”
Aunt Elle? That means Malia is probably a shifter, too.
Elle confirmed it a moment later.“You can tell Officer Maliaeverything, Emily. She’s my nephew Tyler’s daughter.” She turned to Malia.“Emily’s mate is a bear shifter.”
Malia’s brows shot up.“She left her mate?” She looked at Emily.
“He’s a jerk who mated her without telling her anything about shifters or what mating means.” Maggie sounded indignant.
“Hm. Well, that explains—but certainly doesn’texcuse—some of Mr. Brunborn’s behavior,” Malia said.“Let’s look around inside.”
Emily led Malia through the cabin, recounting how her relationship with Andrew had ended, and the barrage of pleas and threats he’d sent her since. Malia took copious notes and snapped photos of the damage on her phone.
When they reached the bedroom and Emily told her about her missing laptop and USB drive, Malia’s professional demeanor gave way to intense interest.
“Wait—you had actual evidence of the Brunborn family running illegal poaching operations?” she asked, lowering her phone.
Emily nodded.“I was Andrew’s executive assistant, and I found the files accidentally while looking for something else on his computer. There were financial records, emails, shipment logs… it looks like his family has been selling game meat to restaurants for years, and laundering the money through Andrew’s realestate development company. That’s why I left in such a hurry. He found out I’d downloaded those files, and I thought he was going to kill me.”
