Page 26 of The Bookseller and the Alpha
“No. I’ll drive.” I needed to focus on the car. I needed something to do. To push back against my body’s demands to be with my mate.
I’d fucked up once already today and I couldn’t do anything more about that until I saw Caly again. As much as I wanted to fix my mistake,neededto fix it, my apology had to wait. There were other things that were more urgent. First, Caly needed protection.
She was safe with us in our den, Beast mumbled.
It’s not that simple,I told him.
“Before you brief me, arrange for Akira and Leylani to pick up Caly and make sure she goes home to rest. Whoever attacked her last night is still on the loose. I’ll relieve them later. Let them know that her building’s security is being upgraded today and tradesmen will be there later to fix the damage.”
Billy gave me the address then made the calls as I drove through the city. Certainty settled into me as I steered the car through the traffic. I would find whoever had hurt my mate and make them pay. Beast retreated, not sleeping, but watchful and waiting. Now that we were on the hunt he was less agitated. There was still some tension in our bond, his simmering discontent that Caly was out of our reach, that we hadn’t completed our bond, but I’d acknowledged that he was right and he was feeling a little smug at the same time. Right now he wouldlet me do my job. If we couldn’t play with our mate, a hunt for whoever had hurt her would appease both of us.
As I drove, Billy filled me in on the newest developments in our case. There had been another burglary. This time it was in a courier’s warehouse but the MO was the same. The building was warded but the thieves had bypassed the wards and used a portal to get into the warehouse directly.
“Any idea what was taken?”
Billy shook his head. “The manager says it’s going to take them a while to sort out what’s still missing.”
“How long?”
“Days. They had thousands of parcels in there, and the place is a shambles.”
***
Fuck. Billy was right. My heart sank as I looked at the chaos that filled the warehouse. Shelves had been overturned, and parcels of all shapes and sizes thrown around the large space. The mess they’d made in Caly’s shop was nothing by comparison.
“They were disguising their tracks.” They’d known what they were looking for. The warehouse manager, a middle-aged white man, had met us on arrival, and explained that the company kept excellent records, the database showing precisely where any of their thousands of parcels had been stored. It had been accessed overnight although there was no way to tell which parcel the thieves had been after. The database logged changes to a file, such as the date of arrival or departure of the parcel, but it didn’t log if a file was viewed only.
The theft would have been a quick snatch and grab once they’d found their parcel and the mess was solely to make it hard for anyone to know what they’d taken.
“It’s a needle in a haystack, boss,” Billy said.
“We’ll get there,” the manager said. The man was short and rotund but his expression was fierce. He reminded me of an English bulldog. “We will sort out the parcels. I’ve called in all our available staff to work on it.”
“Thank you,” Billy said, when I stayed quiet. “Please call as soon as you know anything.” He handed the manager a card and the man bobbed his head in agreement.
I had already turned to walk away when I noticed a camera near the ceiling. I spun around. “Security footage,” I barked. Normally I was polite and polished when talking to informants, but Beast’s agitation was wearing off on me. My manners had deserted me.
“Y...yes sir,” the manager stammered. “There’s not much to see though.”
“Send it to me,” I said, before striding away.
“Don’t take it out on the poor defenceless humans,” Billy said when he caught up to me. “That guy was just about quaking in his boots.”
“I wasn’t bullying him,” I said as I unlocked the car and climbed in.
Billy gave me a long look as if he wanted to argue the point. “Never mind,” he said eventually, his lips quirking as if he was trying to hide a smile.
Chapter 32
Calypso
Unlocking my front door, I pushed it open it slowly, unsure what I’d see. Everything last night had been such a jumble. The adrenaline punching through me after Elie’s call. The fight. Knocking my head. The paramedics. I thought I’d prepared myself for whatever I would find, but I’d been wrong. At the sight of the damage, I let out a small sound of dismay before I locked my lips on it. I would not cry. I was strong. I could fix this.
I took a step into the room, surveying the disaster site that was my living room. Glass shards glittered on my carpet. Crime scene tape spread across the frame of the shattered balcony door, fluttering in the morning breeze. I didn’t even know how it had been broken. The apartment was frigid in the winter air. I’d need to get the glass fixed as soon as possible. The couch had been overturned in Sam’s scuffle with the intruder and my bright, handmade cushions were spread across the floor.
My chest hurt. Someone had come into my home. They’d tried to take me. They’d hurt Sam. Lovely, funny Sam. I took a deep breath, letting the hurt and shock settle inside me. It had happened. I couldn’t change the past but I could control how I dealt with it. I could fall in a heap later. I had things to do first.
I found my phone in my bag. The screen was black. Dead. It figured. But when I plugged it into the charger it powered up instantly, the battery fully charged. Had Luc turned it off and charged it for me overnight? I didn’t want to acknowledge the warm flutter in my middle at the thought. But it dissipated immediately when I saw that Elle had left me over a dozen voicemail messages and a whole series of texts. Fuck. I’d forgotten to call her. I was a terrible sister.
