Page 10 of My Unbearable Mate

There are things about a woman, especially that woman, that will never change.

“She’s not my mate. And?—”

“Dude, if you could’ve seen the way the two of you were looking at each other, you wouldn’t be able to say that with a straight face.” Beau grinned. “The energy was electric.”

“It’s my duty to find her. Clover’s a part of my clan,” I said between gritted teeth. “Or she was.”

“Boss doesn’t want to admit he’s got a thing for her.” Brad nudged him.

A growl rumbled from the very center of my being. I didn’t want to tell my team that Clover Crowley rejected me. I’d lived through that humiliation once, thank you very much, and that was enough for this lifetime.

I swore I’d never let anyone do that to me again. I’d be damned if the same woman got a second shot.

“I hate to say, the handsome boy is right.” Shirley grinned at Beau and patted his arm. The cocky bear ate it up. “You’re so good with computers, but your team would be better served by having you lead them in the field.”

“My team is highly trained and very skilled at their jobs.” I wouldn’t tell her they were trained to kill if needed, and I could snoop around in the most secure databases in the world without being detected. “And taking time to do research could save us hours. Days. It could be the difference between finding her and not.”

Or you don’t want to go out there and search. Because you might find her.

Shut up, bear.

“I suppose it’s more efficient than casting a spell.” Shirley sighed. “But I will if we need it.”

“You mean, if we can’t get the job done,” Beau clarified.

She grinned. My second-in-command had the old woman eating out of the palm of his hand, and that could come in handy if his prediction came true. “Let’s hope we don’t need it.”

I laughed. “Science first, magic later. My laptop is in my truck. Don’t even have to leave the parking lot. Clover’s stuff should come up quickly. It’s all public record.”

Shirley raised a brow. “Weren’t you here having fun? Don’t you ever take time off?”

“This isn’t a nine-to-five. Clover can’t wait.” Grabbing the device out of the console, I sat on the gate of the truck. The Wi-Fi here wasn’t as secure as the office, but I had enough scramblers on my system that no one would be able to track us tracking her.

Which was exactly how I liked it.

Shirley gave me Clover’s number, which hadn’t changed in twenty years, and the make and model of her expensive sports car.

Brad whistled low. “Sweet ride.”

“If you’re not interested in her, maybe she’d be willing to take me for a spin in that car.” Beau’s grin faded quickly when I glared at him. “Okay, got it. Off limits. Even though she’s definitely not your mate.”

“She hasn’t made a call since she left our office.” I frowned as I looked at the information. “Not picking up a signal. The battery must be dead.”

“Or she could be in a spot that has no signal,” Brad suggested. “Deep in the mountains.”

“We have to prepare for all scenarios.” I turned to Shirley. “Is there a possibility that Clover was headed anywhere other than clan land?”

After a moment, she shook her head. “She was pretty insistent that she could convince you to help us.”

“No plan B? In case she remembered what happened the last time we saw each other?” I ignored the loaded looks and nudges from the guys.

“She didn’t think she’d need one.”

I didn’t have time to pack for that guilt trip. “We’ll operate under the assumption she was headed home. Be on the lookout for a red Challenger. We need to cover a lot of ground, quickly.”

“Do we have anything with her scent on it?” Brad asked.

“I think she left a sweater in the back of my car. I can go grab it.” Shirley headed across the parking lot.

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