Page 42 of Alpha Rising (Secrets of the Northland Shifters)

“Judging by the trashed state of my office, there’s a strong possibility they were here for me and not you. Regardless, we got very lucky when we—”

Sarah tensed, and she released my hand. Her eyebrows drew together in concentration.

“Sarah?”

“Say that again.”

“What part? That we got lucky?”

“Lucky…” She adjusted herself so she was sitting taller, and she stared straight ahead at the wall, her expression vacant.

“Is everything all right?” The sudden change in her demeanor was concerning.

“Lady Luck,” she whispered.

“What?”

She turned her head to look at me, and the creases in her forehead relaxed. “My dream.” Then she smiled broadly. “I remember my dream.”

“Oh. Okay.” Was that all it was?

“I was dreaming about a water bottle that was on the floor of the car. When I was lying there, unable to move, it kept rolling back and forth from underneath the front seat.”

“Unable to move?” Apparently I was still missing some key information about what happened the night before.

“Stun gun, I think.”

“Jesus.” The lion snarled.

“But, Reese, listen.”

“I’m listening.” The words came out on a growl because the images taking shape in my head—images of an incapacitated Sarah—were causing my lion to show its teeth. It wanted to rip the throats out of those men who’d attacked and terrified its… Not its mate, its…woman. Its…Sarah.

“The water bottle had a logo.” Sarah’s face was becoming even more animated. “It had a picture of an old-fashioned lady, a pair of dice, and the wordsLady Luck.”

“Okaaay.” I drew the word out, not really comprehending her excitement.

She shook her head like I was being incredibly dense. “Lady Luck. It ends inC-K,Reese. The same as the patch you found by your father’s body. And the similarities didn’t stop there. Those two words…they were set inside ashield.”

14

REESE

“Get up!” Sarah whipped the blankets off our laps.

We were in her bed, just waking up from what had been a terrifying night for both of us. I wasn’t in any hurry to face the world again, even if she’d just stumbled upon a tantalizing clue in the mystery that surrounded my father’s death.

“Now?” I grabbed the edge of the heavy blanket and tried to get Sarah to lie down again, but she was already moving to get out of bed—likely wanting to find the list of businesses she’d researched with shield-shaped logos.

“Yes,now,” she said impatiently. “We need to review my notes.”

I chuckled and grabbed her wrist, tugging her back toward me. The scent of her body, still warm with sleep was damn-near irresistible. “Your notes aren’t going anywhere. Come back to bed. You had a rough night. You deserve to sleep in.”

She rolled her eyes. “Stay here if you want. I can get them myself.” She got out of bed.

At her suggestion that she’d leave this room unattended, my mountain lion went on full alert. I swung my legs over the edge of the mattress, bending to snag my pants off the floor. “Absolutely not.”

“So now you’re up?” She looked startled, if not confused, by my change of heart.

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