“Oh, thank god you answered, Ember,” her boss Ciro said, sounding panicked. “There has been a fire at the bakery. Can you come quick? The police need your statement.”
“Shit. I’m so sorry, Ciro. I’m on my way.”
With a quick explanation to her possible future in-laws and promises of another round of hide and seek to her rambunctious future nephew, Ember cabbed to Ciro’s bakery.
She had to win the competition now that her place of work had gone up in flames.
Ember was barely out of the cab, confused and frowning at the still very intact bakery.
The storefront's glass was clean and sparkling. A few customers leaving made the bell over the door ring out.
“Wha—”
The word died on her lips as something hard collided with the back of her head.
The very last thing Ember saw was Ciro’s scowling face, then everything turned black as she fell to the ground.
Chapter Seventeen
Kai
Kai was pissed.
Angrier than he had ever been. None of his leads had panned out. He was no closer to figuring out who was after Ember than before. His stop at the Police Station hadn’t yielded any new results. They were just as stumped as he was.
No one had a motive.
Everyone had an alibi.
The cameras at the studio had nothing on them. The cops were going through the footage again because it made no sense. Whoever had poisoned the almond flour had to be on the lot at some point.
The bastard had evaded all cameras.
It didn’t sit well with Kai. It led him to believe that whoever they were dealing with was a shifter. Only a shifter would have the ability and agility to sneak around security cameras.
It would also explain why the scent of the last letter had been tampered with. Whoever had sent it had known Kai would recognize another shifter’s scent. The issue with that theory is that Ember hadn’t known of shifters’ existence before he told her. What shifter had it out for a woman who didn’t even know of their breed’s existence?
It was a frustrating mystery, but he wouldn’t stop trying to solve it until he got to the bottom of it all and saved his mate. At least filming of the competition had been put on hold while the police investigated the poisoning. As unfortunate as that had been, it had set a fire under the network’s ass. They couldn’t just turn a blind eye as they had done with Greg.
The man had been questioned by the police twice already, and short of pissing his pants, he had nothing of interest to say. He really was only after good ratings for his show. He was an opportunistic prick like the rest of the F&D Network.
Bottom line: someone was after his mate, but he didn’t know who.
Kai hated feeling powerless. He was the leader of his pride, he ran a security business, and he couldn’t even catch whoever was after his mate? It was a ridiculous notion. One he hated.
He slammed his car door and raced up his parents’ front porch. He would feel better just as soon as he had Ember in his arms again. He opened the front door, taking care to lock it behind him. Silvester immediately latched himself onto his leg, begging to be dragged across the floor. Sophie plopped down on his other foot in a fit of giggles. Kai picked up both kids, one in each arm.
“What am I gonna do when there are three of you? Uncle Kai only has so many arms.”
“Auntie Ember said she would help me hide the baby forever,” Silvester whispered with a mischievous grin.
“Oh, you kids. Come on, you have mustard all over your hands, and now you’ve gone and dirtied your uncle’s clothes.” Mom took Sophie and scrubbed at the little girl’s face with a washcloth. “Sorry, Kai. They were halfway through their sandwiches. They’re faster than me.”
“It’s fine, Ma.” He brought Silvester back to the dining room and put him into his seat, pointing to the ham and cheese sandwich. The little terror picked up a chip instead. Kai looked around, searching for his lady. “Where is everyone?”
“Well, Carmen went into labor, so your brother took her to the hospital. Your father is putting a load of laundry on the line, and Ember left.”
Everything stilled. “Excuse me?” he growled.
“Don’t take that lion tone with me, Kai Mason. She got a call from her boss. There was a fire at her bakery—”
“Fuck,” he raged, heading for the door.
“What’s happened?” Mom shouted after chiding him for swearing.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Silvester and Sophie chanted as Kai slammed the door behind him.
There was no fire at the bakery.
Ciro was after Ember.
Chapter Eighteen
Ember
Ember slowly came back to consciousness. Her head was ringing from the hit, but she knew exactly where she was.
The basement of the bakery.
She had spent too much time in the bakery’s stock room not to recognized the stained floor and stocked up shelving. Her hands were tied behind her back, rope digging into her skin. Ciro was pacing in front of her, running his hands through his greasy hair over and over again.
The man looked unhinged. Nothing like the high-strung professional she knew him to be.
“Ciro, what the hell is going on?” she snapped. “Let me go.”
“No! Shut up. Let me think.”
Ember shook her head, completely surprised. Had she expected this from her boss? Absolutely not. He was not even supposed to be in the country. The last time she had spoken to him was to tell him that she had been selected for Bakers Gotta Bake. He had been congratulatory, but he had also warned her that she couldn’t win.
How that translated into tying her up in the bakery’s basement, she would have loved to know.
“Help!” she shouted with all of her might. “Help!” She yelled it out again and again.
Ciro backhanded her. The hit was a shock to the system.
Who the fuck was this guy? She’d worked for him for years. Never had he given any inclination that he could be violent.
“I said, shut up.” His eyes, which had always been cold and judgmental, were downright murderous. “I closed the bakery. There’s no one up there to save you.”
“What is your plan here, jerkwad?” Shut up, brain. He’ll straight up kill me if I don’t stop goading him. “You called me. Your phone number will be in my call log when the cops come looking for me. You’ll be in big trouble.” Plus, my mate is a lion who will eat you like a human cannoli. No! This is wrong. Be quiet for once in your life, Ember!
“It would have all been fine if you had just stopped trying to compete. Why couldn’t you just take the warning of my letters? Huh? You’re a stubborn bitch. Of course, I knew that. I knew that every time you brought up a new recipe. Always pushing to change things. But of course, that is what sells, so I have to keep you on staff. God, I hate you. I hate that I need you to run a successful business.”
“Okay, dumbass.” Jesus, Ember. That mouth will get you killed. I won’t even be able to kiss Kai ever again now if I don’t stop talking. I should’ve told him I love him. It’s quick, but he did say mates are a love at first sight thing. Maybe if I piss Ciro off enough, he’ll make a mistake and leave. I could find a way to get loose and upstairs. Right? I need a plan, damn it. “I’ll just keep on baking in the basement for you.” Sarcasm dripped from her words, and Ciro’s already red face turned purple. He was way too young to have such high blood pressure. Maybe she could anger him to death. Was that even possible?