“Well, Luke’s job before joining up with Isa was private security. All of a sudden, he leaves that to film Isa’s stunts? What if he’s still working for the company? Hired by Isa’s dad to guard her or whatever the fuck it is he wants from his daughter.”
“Whoa,” Bree whistled. “If that’s true, that’s seriously not good. Can you imagine how it would feel to find out that your dad has been spying on you all of these years? And Luke is Isa’s sorta friend, right? That would sting like hell.”
“It would, yeah,” Valens agreed. “My mate has gotten a lot of betrayal in one short day.”
“What are you gonna do about it?” Egon asked. He was asking like he knew the answer, but he was fully expecting Valens not to know.
“I’m gonna go over there right now and apologize. Make sure that if I’m right about Luke, he’s gone and not coming back.”
“Easy, there,” Bree warned. “You can’t go in like that. She had two pieces of bad news in one night. Let the girl breathe.”
“Not a chance,” he snapped.
“Listen to her,” Egon cautioned. “We’re shifters. And men too. Bree is a human mated to a tiger. If anyone knows what Isa needs right now, it’s Bree. Since we can’t know for sure, we have to go with our best guess. That’ll come from Bree.” He took his mate’s hand, bringing it to his lips to give it a sweet kiss. “You should go back home. Get some sleep. Your shift roaming the mountain will come soon enough, and you need to be rested for that.”
“If you think I can sleep without Isa by my side…”
“It’ll be hard,” Egon agreed. “I know. Do your best. Know that we’ll take care of the lion problem. Meanwhile, we’re still tracking this stalker person. Once all of that is settled, you’ll be under less stress, and you’ll have time to think of what you wanna say to Isa.”
“Not to mention, she’ll have had the time and space she needs to accept what you’ve done and whatever happened with Luke tonight," Bree added. "You shifters make the mistake of thinking your emotions are stronger than humans. You’re wrong. We feel as much as you.”
“Isn’t she wonderful to have around?” Egon said, looking at Bree with eyes full of love.
“And that’s my cue to leave, then,” he grumbled.
He left, trying like hell to make his way straight home and not go directly to Isa’s cabin.
Thankfully, he got a message from Aunt Macie in the nick of time. He had just been about to head right for his mate’s place.
Instead, he could destroy a cake.
Or a pie…
Bree was right.
Sleep had made him feel better about a few things. The few hours of rest and a shift monitoring the mountain had been great to let his mind settle. He had the perfect pie to take to Isa, and he knew what he would say to her.
He would start with an apology and then hand over the information he had on the stalker.
Valens knew he couldn’t stop looking into who was after his mate, and he hoped she could understand that. But from this point on, he wouldn’t do it behind her back.
They would do it together.
Besides, now that Isa was going to stay in the area and be responsible for the safety of children, he knew she would want the stalker threat put to a close. It was the only logical thing to do.
Armed with a massive pie, he drove to Isa’s cabin. The morning sky was already beaming hard. It would be a balmy summer day, and no doubt, the tourists would flock to the beach to keep cool.
He parked his car at the cabin before grabbing the pie and making his way up the front steps. He didn’t even have to knock. The door swung open, and Elija stood there with a wide grin.
“Here to kiss and make up?”
“Sure am,” Valens answered, lifting up the pie that easily weighed five pounds. Aunt Macie really had outdone herself with it.
“You know where her bedroom is. Should Tarrah and I make ourselves scarce?”
He shook his head. “No. Better we all stay together while the lions still think they can best us.”
“Cool. We’re having brunch on the back deck. Holler if you need anything.”
He nodded to the other tiger. Elija was a good guy. Though he was a Sheriff’s Deputy and reported to Egon in more ways than one, he always treated the rest of the family with the same level of respect. Valens appreciated the hell out of it, and he hoped the man was being paid what he was owed for his level of dedication, not only in the streak but in general.
Valens made his way down the hall and knocked on Isa’s bedroom door. “Daredevil, it’s me. I’d like to talk. I come bearing a peace offering I think you’ll enjoy.”
There was no answer. He didn’t want to panic just yet, but something didn’t sit right with him. Isa’s scent wasn’t as strong as it should be if she was in her bedroom, lounging in bed, thinking of ways to punish him.
“Isa, love, let me in, please.” He knocked again, but there was no answer. “I’m gonna come in, okay? Don’t bite my head off. I have pie for you. It was meant to be a surprise, but…” He didn’t bother finishing his sentence once he opened the bedroom door.
It was empty.
Isa was not on her bed, not in the ensuite bathroom. The window was wide open. Valens looked out and down, spotting footprints on the grass. The woman had leaped from her window like a grounded teen.
Valens was pissed. “Elija!” he roared.
It didn’t take very long for the other tiger to join him in the empty bedroom. “Shit. She’s gone?”
“She’s gone,” Valens confirmed.
“She was here at least fifteen minutes ago. We asked her to join us for brunch, but she said she needed to do some thinking.”
“Well, obviously, that thinking couldn’t be done here,” Valens snapped.
“Isa doesn’t think when she’s lying around. She needs to move," Tarrah said. "I bet you anything she’s out for a run. Probably on her way into town to swim at the beach. She’ll run back when she’s exhausted herself.”
This wasn’t good news. Lions were around, threatening to cause trouble. The very last thing she should’ve done was jump out of her window to go fuck knows where.
“We need to find her,” Valens said. “Take your mate to my parents’ house. She can keep Bree company. We need to find her. Isa is the only thing standing between the lions and the mountain they want.”
If they kill her, they can buy the mountain for themselves.
Valens didn’t need to say that out loud. Elija understood, just as he should, the implication of a missing Isa.
21
ISA
A loud knock at her bedroom door made Isa jump. She was slipping on her sneakers, already dressed in a pair of yoga pants, sports bra, and tank top.
“Yeah?” she asked.
Tarrah shouted through the door, “Elija and I have a wonderful brunch spread all ready. We’re about to take it out onto the back deck. Would you like to join us?”
Shit.
If the pair of them were sitting on the back patio having brunch while gazing lovingly at each other, Isa wouldn’t be able to sneak out. If Elija so much as saw her heading for a door, he would let Valens know, and then the man would descend on her with his well-meaning concern.