The Tracker's Mate: Sunderverse (Mate Tracker Book 1), Ingrid Seymour [red white royal blue TXT] 📗

a new crease sat between his thick eyebrows as if he’d spent a lot of time worrying about something. And his eyes—those eyes that still haunted my dreams—they shone silver with the light of an exposed light bulb above him, drawing me in, pulling me into the darkness of his bottomless pupils.

Something else that didn’t escape me was his intoxicating scent, a combination of his musk, pine, and rain. God, it was heavenly.

Shit! From the way my heart was pounding, it seemed his presence still had the same messed up effect it always had.

“Hello, Toni,” he said, at last, his voice the same deep baritone that could melt me into a puddle when he whispered in my ear.

A million possible responses went through my head. I had imagined a ton of them, played them out like rom-coms where he fell at my feet asking for forgiveness, or like heart-wrenching dramas where I gave him the finger and left him as messed-up as he left me.

The silence stretched. The going-mute scenario never played in all my imaginings. I always thought I would have something smart or biting to say to him, but all my words had died and gone to hell.

He set the hammer down on the worktable and took a step closer. “It’s great to see you again.” He captured his lower lip between his teeth as if he could bite the words back.

“What are you doing here?” Those were the words that finally made it out of my mouth. At least I managed cold and unwelcoming.

“I’m back in St. Louis. For good.”

For good.

The words unleashed a storm in my gut, and I was glad Rosalina hadn’t returned with the fried ravioli. Though maybe, vomiting on his work boots would have been a well-deserved welcome.

For good. I fought to ignore that bit.

“I don’t mean here in St. Louis,” I said. “I mean here in this particular building. Tell me you’re just the handyman.”

He smiled crookedly and hooked a finger in the work belt that hung around his waist. “That and also the new tenant.”

“NO!” I stomped my foot like a cross three-year-old.

Jake blinked in surprise. “Actually, I’m pretty sure it’s a yes.”

“You can’t. You can’t rent this place. You have to find another one. Preferably across town, across the world. Or maybe in hell.”

He furrowed his brow. “And why is that?”

I opened and closed my mouth, but no words came out.

“I like it here. It’s nice.”

“My agency is next-door, Jake. You cannot... do whatever it is you’re doing here.” I couldn’t fathom why he needed office space. Jake had never held a job in his life, that I knew of. His mother had left him a sizable inheritance when she passed away.

“It’s a free country, Toni. I can open my PI firm wherever I want to.”

“What?!”

PI firm? That distracted me for a moment. He was a private investigator? Since when? I shook my head and tried to ignore this curveball. The first pitch he’d thrown was the only thing I needed to focus on.

“My PI firm—” he began.

“Scratch that. I don’t care about it.” I held both my index fingers up and pointed them at him. “You can go privately investigate a troll’s behind for all I care, but you cannot open your office here.”

“Why?”

“Because.” Really? I knew him to be smart, so he was being dense on purpose.

He pursed his lips—those full, chiseled lips that drove me to distraction—and thought for a moment. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Give me a good reason, and I’ll find another place.” He raised his eyebrows and waited for my answer.

Again my mouth did that thing where it opened and closed but no words came out. What the hell?

Jake continued to wait, his crooked smile growing slowly as he watched me struggle with what to say. He knew perfectly well why I didn’t want him here, but I was damned if I’d give him the satisfaction.

“I’ll give you one good reason,” I said. “Because if you don’t leave, I’ll fucking kill you.”

I whirled and left with the firm intention of finding a silver bullet or wolfsbane. When I stomped back into our office, Rosalina was back at her desk.

“Where were you?” she asked, turning away from the computer. “I thought—” she stopped and inspected me up and down. “What happened? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“No, I saw a damn werewolf. That’s what.” I clenched my fists and growled.

Rosalina did a double-take. “Did you only see this werewolf? Or did he bite you too?”

I held both my index fingers and pointed them at her, something I seemed to be doing a lot of today. It seemed it was my way of saying I was on the verge of going on a murdering spree, and they needed to get out of my way unless they had a death wish.

“Werewolf bites don’t turn you. That’s a myth.” I knew Rosalina was only joking, but I was losing it.

Perfectly aware that I was in no shape to talk to anyone, I marched up the steps to the loft. There, I kicked off my heels and started pacing. A double bed, a nightstand, a chair, and an armoire comprised the bulk of my furniture.

“What the hell is going on?” I mumbled at the floor.

In the span of two hours both Stephen and Jake had reared their heads from my past. I hadn’t uttered their names in months, and now they were back... in one form or another.

“This isn’t good.”

Okay, if Jake didn’t want to move, Rosalina and I would find a new place and—

“Toni,” Rosalina poked her head from the steps and peered up at me.

I ignored her and kept pacing.

“Toni, there’s this really hot guy downstairs asking to see you.”

“Oh, no!” I whirled and headed toward the steps.

Rosalina pressed herself to the wall and let me pass. I stormed into the reception area to find Jake waiting there. He had put on a button-up shirt and tucked it into his jeans.

“Get the hell out, Jake. You have no right.”

“I didn’t