Page 48 of Alpha Rising (Secrets of the Northland Shifters)

The corners of his mouth tightened, and his biceps flexed. “I can see the path that leads to the beach from my office window. I’ll know if anyone heads your way.”

“You’re sure you don’t want to do a sweep of the entire lakeshore?”

He frowned. “Don’t tempt me. Believe it or not, I’m trying to be reasonable where you’re concerned.”

I nodded, hoping this meant he’d ultimately be able to detach himself from me, because if John Riordan followed through on his pledge, I could be gone sooner than I thought.

My chest squeezed painfully at the prospect, but if I got moved someplace new... Well, at least Reese could go back to focusing on his family, even if my life would be forever shaded in gray.

“I’m basically faking it ’til I make it with this whole...zen thing.” Reese’s jaw muscles flexed, and his broad chest inflated as if the animal inside was pushing to get out. “So keep your phone close. Call me if you need anything.”

I gave him an appreciative smile. It was clear how much his restraint was costing him.

Fifteen minutes later, I met Lauren at the edge of the parking lot where the beach path began. She’d grabbed two folding chairs from the equipment barn and handed one to me. “Let’s hit it.”

We headed into the pines and down the steep hill to the beach, which wasn’t huge—only a twenty-by-thirty stretch of sand bordered by the lake in front of us, the boat launch to the right, and the trees behind us and to the left.

Lauren set up her chair and draped her towel over her lap for extra warmth. I did the same.

It was chilly with the breeze coming off the lake, but the early morning sun held promise, and the scene it created on the water was serene. Magical, even. And I knew better than anyone how much unexpected magic there was in the world. So much so, my eyes teared over at the thought of leaving it all behind.

“You all right?” Lauren asked.

“Just the wind.” I pushed off my tennis shoes and let the cool sand sift between my toes, searching for peace.

Lauren opened her book, and I flipped openPeople, turning to the magazine’s cover story. A Hollywood A-lister had just gotten married.

I’d never heard of her before, so it didn’t hold my interest, and soon I was dozing. In fact, I’d nearly fallen asleep, the hint of another nightmare tiptoeing around the edges of my mind, when my phone pinged.

It was an email message from Gwynnifer Maddox. I didn’t expect to hear from her again, now that her anniversary party was in the books. And I certainly didn’t expect the message she sent:

Subject: INTERESTING DEVELOPMENT

From: [email protected]

To: Sarah McAvoy

Hi Sarah,

Thought you might find this interesting. I ran into the Taylor Holt band the other night completely by surprise at this club in New York. I gave them shit about bailing on our party. (Not that your backup plan wasn’t excellent!!!)

He didn’t know me, or recognize me, or whatever, just thought I was one of the party guests and—probably because he was pretty drunk—he admitted that someone had PAID them to back out. Any idea what that’s all about???

Anyway people can be so shitty. Glad we didn’t end up doing business with them, flakey bastards. : )

Burke and I are off for Iceland in the morning. Hope you’re doing well. And thanks again for all your hard work. People are still talking about the party!

G.

I sat up and read the email again. Someone hadpaidthe band to bail? Was that what happened with the massage people too? Who kept trying to sabotage the resort’s success?

I turned to see Robbie emerging from the pine trees. He was followed by Josh—who still looked quite green—along with a guy who worked in the stables with Angel, and another guy from the kitchen staff. They all carried to-go coffee cups and wore hooded sweatshirts and jeans.

“Morning, Lauren,” Robbie said as he traipsed across the sand toward us. He greeted me by saying, “and good morning to you too, party pooper.”

“Sorry,” I said. “I heard last night was my fault. Didn’t mean to ruin your fun.”

He shrugged, letting me know it was all good.

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