Page 58 of Jesse
“I make it a point to watch them,” I said. “Keep tabs on who’s where, when. Nothing sketchy, nothing that even pings my instincts.”
What I didn’t tell him was that I couldn’t monitor them all the time.
Beck and I were slammed at the truck, handling a never-ending line of orders, the griddle always sizzling, customers asking for more. I barely had time to breathe, let alone play shadow.
But that wasn’t something I could say aloud. Not to Cooper. Not when his face was stone and his tone sharper than usual.
“And the footage?” he asked.
“Tony’s still working on it,” I said, keeping my tone even. “He says it’s a mess. Corrupted, fragmented, but he’s trying to salvage what he can.”
Cooper shook his head, a frown tugging at his mouth. “We can’t wait around for that. If Tony hasn’t fixed it by now, chances are he won’t.”
I stiffened, defensive. “He’s trying.”
“We need results,” Cooper snapped. “Not excuses. That footage was our strongest lead and now it’s dust. That means you need to be out there. Asking questions. Pushing. Watching.”
“I am?—”
He cut me off with a raised hand. “Not enough.”
The words hit me like a slap. I felt my wolf stir, hackles rising.
“Cooper—”
“You need to take this more seriously,” he interrupted again, voice calm but hard. “Beck isn’t just Jackson’s brother. He’s the son of the lead alpha of the Silvercrest Pack. If something happens to him while he’s in our territory, there will be consequences, Jesse. Disastrous ones.”
My jaw clenched. I hated hearing Beck reduced to his bloodline. I knew he mattered to the pack, to his brother, to his father. But to me, Beck wasn’t some political powder keg waiting to blow.
He was mine. My mate. The center of my damn universe. Still, I bit back the retort burning on my tongue.
I could see it now. Cooper’s pressure wasn’t just from being alpha. He probably had Beck’s dad breathing down his neck. And if I was a worried father, I’d be pissed and worried as well.
Beck was vulnerable, and I wasn’t giving them much reason to believe I had it handled. Cooper exhaled and leaned back in his chair.
“I’m assigning another enforcer to shadow Beck,” Cooper said.
“No.” The word snapped out of me before I could stop it. Loud, firm. Final.
Cooper raised a brow. “That wasn’t a suggestion.”
“I’m not agreeing to it,” I said, steel in my voice.
“You can’t do everything alone, Jesse. You’ve got the truck. You’ve got responsibilities. You’re stretched thin and it shows,” Cooper pointed out.
“I can keep my mate safe!” The words came out sharp and possessive, my wolf baring its teeth under my skin.
The very idea of someone else watching Beck, hovering close and walking beside him, had me seeing red.
Cooper narrowed his eyes. “You’ve never mentioned that before.”
I stood my ground. “I’m saying it now.”
He stared at me, his expression unreadable. Then he asked, “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
I held his gaze. “Because I wasn’t sure how it would be received. But I’m not hiding it anymore. Beck is my mate. And that means he’s mine to protect. Mine to fight for.”
Something shifted in Cooper’s eyes. The tension between us pulsed like a second heartbeat in the room.
