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  “And unclaimed,” she felt the need to point out with a nod only to stop nodding when his silver eyes actually flashed brighter.

  “You’re a job and Jacob knows better than to cross that line,” Kale said only to growl when Jacob yelled, “No, I don’t!” from upstairs, making her lips twitch as she did her best not to laugh.

  Not that she was interested in Jacob because she wasn’t, but she already knew that he wasn’t interested in her. He treated her like a kid sister and went out of his way to annoy the shit out of her every chance he got. When she was painting the upstairs closet, he’d locked her inside and refused to let her out until she sang, “I’m a Little Teapot.”

  Twice.

  Then there were the times that he liked to sneak up on her and scare the crap out of her, when he stole her food, flushed the toilet when she was taking a shower because he enjoyed making her scream, and looked for new and interesting ways to torture her to help pass the time. That time that he woke her up by releasing a snake that he’d found while patrolling, in her room more than proved that he wasn’t interested in her. Especially since he’d spent the entire time laughing his ass off at her while she’d been cowering in the corner, threatening his balls.

  He really was a jerk, Ashley thought as she sat there, watching Kale as he continued glaring at her. The fingers on his right hand absently tapped against the armrest while she sat there, wondering why he cared. She considered telling him that she wasn’t interested in Jacob, but…

  It was none of his business.

  He wasn’t going to fucking ask.

  He wasn’t.

  He didn’t care if she wanted Jacob because she could fucking have him, Kale told himself as he forced his attention away from the woman that had apparently forgotten that he was there to…fucking sigh when he realized that she was watching a romantic comedy. Of course, she was, Kale thought, drumming his fingertips against the armrest as he glanced back at Ashley as she grabbed the coffee cup and headed back to the kitchen.

  It was time to go, Kale decided, getting up and heading to the door, deciding that he’d wasted enough time on this bullshit. He needed to get back to Manhattan and find the little bastard before he could-

  “Why does that jerk keep eating all my snacks?” Ashley mumbled sadly, drawing Kale’s attention back in time to watch her nibble on a sandwich as she dropped down on the couch with a heavy sigh and-

  Female Pytes could only eat food when they were pregnant.

  Kale shifted his attention from the small woman devouring her sandwich with happy little sighs to the large shifter now fully dressed, coming down the stairs as a low, menacing growl tore from Kale’s lips, drawing Jacob’s attention. Kale watched as the other shifter frowned in confusion as he glanced at Ashley and back again, only to sigh heavily.

  “She can eat food as long as she has blood,” Jacob explained as he reached over and swiped the sandwich out of her hand and finished it off in one bite.

  “I really hate you,” Ashley mumbled sadly as she got up with a pathetic groan and headed for the kitchen.

  “I texted you about it last month,” Jacob said, stealing Ashley’s abandoned Coke and finished it off before adding, “You didn’t respond.”

  “I’ve been busy,” Kale said as he found himself glancing over his shoulder and watched as Ashley grabbed everything that she needed to make another sandwich.

  “Speaking of busy,” Jacob drawled, bringing Kale’s attention to find the other shifter gesturing absently around them as he added, “I think I’m wasting your money by staying here. She’s not going anywhere.”

  “You’re staying,” Kale said as he watched Ashley walk back into the living room with another sandwich and-

  “God, you really are a jerk,” Ashley mumbled with a resigned sigh when Jacob reached over and stole her sandwich.

  “You knew this,” Jacob murmured happily as he devoured the stolen sandwich while Kale watched them, noting that Ashley looked like she wanted to throttle the bastard.

  He looked for any signs that there was more to that look, wondering if there was something going on between the two of them only to realize what he was doing as he dropped back down on the incredibly comfortable chair. He didn’t care what she did as long as she stayed out of trouble, Kale told himself as he sat there, glaring at the little bastard that better keep his fucking hands off his mate.

  “She’s not ready to be alone,” Kale bit out.

  “Which is why I fully plan on checking in on her and dropping by at every opportunity, but she doesn’t need a babysitter,” Jacob said, shrugging it off.

  “Please tell me that you’re not talking about me like I’m not here,” Ashley said with a sad shake of her head as she went to take a sip of her Coke and-

  “Thanks,” Jacob said, plucking the Coke out of her hand and finished it off.

  “He doesn’t need to watch me. I’m not going anywhere,” she said, shrugging it off as she got back up and headed for the kitchen.

  “And why is that?” Kale asked as he watched Ashley walk back into the living room and sat down as far away from Jacob as the couch would let her, somewhat appeasing him.

  “You mean besides the obvious?” Ashley asked before releasing a soft sigh. “Where would I go?” she asked with a pointed look at the bracelet on her wrist instead of answering him. Not that she needed to when they both knew that she had nowhere else to go.

  “You’d be alone,” Kale pointed out, making sure that she didn’t expect him to drop everything to stay with her because that was never going to happen.

  “That doesn’t bother me,” she said, shrugging it off, but he knew that she was lying.

  “I was hoping to take the job that the Council offered me. Seems they’re curious about a couple of unusual blood orders and they’re hoping that I can track down where they’re really going,” Jacob drawled with a pointed look at Ashley, letting Kale know that he didn’t have a choice.

  Not if he wanted to keep his mate safe.

  “Do it,” Kale said, watching as Ashley pulled a throw blanket around herself and settled in for a long night.

  “I’ll head out in the morning,” Jacob said, swiping Ashley’s Coke and headed for the stairs, leaving Kale with the woman determined to ignore him.

  “Are you going to answer my questions?” he asked after a few minutes.

  “Are you going to answer mine?” she countered, making his lips twitch as he watched her.

  What was it about her that intrigued him? Kale wondered as he watched Ashley as she struggled to keep her eyes open. When she eventually fell asleep, snuggled up against the corner of the couch, Kale stood up and moved to leave only to find himself standing over her, running the back of his knuckles along her jaw, unable to believe just how beautiful she was and hating himself for noticing.

  Chapter 20

  Sunday

  “It’s about time,” came the warm greeting that had Ashley opening her eyes to find Jacob sitting on the end of the couch, devouring another bowl of M&M’s.

  “Hungry?” Ashley asked around a yawn as she sat up.

  “Always,” Jacob said as Ashley glanced to her right and-

  Found the chair empty.

  For a moment, she considered asking him where Kale went, but…

  It didn’t matter.

  She was just a job and Kale was the grumpy shifter that was stuck with her, Ashley reminded herself as she shoved her blanket aside and headed to her bedroom.

  A few minutes later, she was standing in the bathroom, looking down at herself and couldn’t help but wonder if she was ever going to hit puberty. Not that she was complaining because she wasn’t, not when it meant that she didn’t have to worry about having a period or shaving, but she was starting to feel a little self-conscious about the fact that she was still bald…down there.

  Then again, this could explain a few things, Ashley thought as she stepped into the shower and-

  Sighed when everything turned red.
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br />   She was going to have to figure out how to control that, Ashley thought as she turned the hot water on and focused on getting through her shower without thinking about what it was going to be like now that Jacob was leaving. As much as he annoyed her, it had been nice having someone else around. Now that he was leaving…she’d be fine, Ashley told herself as she focused on getting through her shower without feeling sorry for herself.

  More than fine.

  She had plenty of things to keep her busy, new books to read, new recipes to try, her afternoon walks, and not to mention that flower garden that she’d been thinking about starting. Yup, she had plenty of things to do to keep her mind off the fact that she was going to miss the big jerk, Ashley thought as she finished her shower with a heartfelt sigh and focused on getting dressed.

  Once she was done, Ashley debated curling up in bed and staring at the wall for old times’ sake only to decide against it since Jacob would probably take that as an invitation to find another snake to throw at her. Decision made, she headed to the kitchen, pulled up that recipe that she found last week for extra thick buttermilk pancakes and spent the next hour dicing, whisking, sautéing, baking, and frying her heart out.

  When she was little, she used to love watching her mother work in the kitchen. Her mother had been an amazing cook, an incredibly kind woman, and always had a warm smile on her face for Ashley even when she was struggling to keep it together. After she died, Ashley had been shuffled between foster homes and group homes, some of them decent, some of them she didn’t like to think about, but none of them had ever felt like home.

  She’d always thought that would change once she moved out on her own, but if anything, the small apartments that she’d rented over the years had only left her feeling…lost. She didn’t know how else to describe that overwhelming feeling that she wasn’t where she was supposed to be, but whenever Kale was around, she-

  Was clearly seeing things that weren’t there, Ashley told herself as she watched the man in question walk into the kitchen. When Kale saw her, his gaze softened as everything turned red again, Ashley realized, biting back a sigh as she watched Kale’s expression harden. She really needed to figure out how to control that, Ashley thought as she returned her attention to what she was doing while she did her best to ignore the cold glare that followed her every move. She considered asking him why he hated her so much but decided against it since she probably didn’t want to know the answer.

  Hoping to get him to stop glaring, Ashley grabbed a plate and piled it high with pancakes, home fries, bacon, sausage, toast, and-

  “Thanks,” Jacob said, shoving a piece of bacon in his mouth as he helped himself to the plate that she was making up for Kale and sat down with a heartfelt sigh.

  “You’re welcome,” Ashley said, unable to help but smile as she watched him dig in.

  She was going to miss having someone to cook for, Ashley thought as she grabbed another plate and piled it high with food before she turned around and-

  Watched as Kale leveled a cold glare on the plate of food before grabbing a protein bar out of the pantry and headed for the door, leaving her standing there, watching him go until Jacob plucked the plate out of her hands with a murmured, “He’ll be back in a week,” and dug in.

  Sighing, Ashley headed back to her room to grab her Kindle so that she could find that horrible book that she hadn’t had a chance to finish since this whole thing started, only to frown when she spotted the yellow envelope on her bed. Curious, she picked up the envelope and found herself smiling when she took in the Christmas cards that she’d received over the years from foster parents and social service workers, her old school pictures, the documents that probably weren’t going to do her any good now that she’d changed, and the silver necklace that she received one year from a Secret Santa before she glanced back down at the bed, looking for her old journal. When she didn’t find it, Ashley bit back a disappointed sigh, knowing that she was lucky to get this stuff back. It made her wonder why Kale would do something this nice for her when it was more than obvious that he hated her.

  Monday

  JFK Airport

  What the hell was he doing? Kale wondered as he stared down at the small diary in his hands. He should be doing everything within his power to make sure that he was five steps ahead of the little bastard so that he didn’t get another chance to escape, especially now that the reward was twenty million dollars instead of sitting here wondering about a mate that he didn’t want.

  It was a waste of time wondering about her, Kale thought as he turned the small journal over in his hands. He had better things to do, he reminded himself with a sigh as he turned the small book in his hands over one last time before he slid it back in his backpack and pulled out his iPad. For the next hour, he sat there, double-checking that Vane was still where he was supposed to be, finding out who the competition was, where they were, their resources, and-

  He couldn’t stop looking down at his backpack.

  Fuck it.

  Deciding to just get it over with, Kale shoved his iPad back in his bag and grabbed the journal, hoping that the typical bitching and self-pitying bullshit that was most likely written inside would finally be enough to help him forget about her. Sighing heavily, Kale sat back against the hard plastic chair as he opened the journal and-

  God, she was fucking killing him.

  Tuesday

  Homestead, Washington

  He really couldn’t be this fucking stupid, Kale thought as he read the text that Izzy sent him and…

  “Fuck!” Kale snapped, tossing his phone aside. He rubbed his hands roughly down his face as he paced the small rundown motel room that he’d rented for the night.

  They’d moved the little bastard.

  He’d paid a small fortune for information on the little bastard’s whereabouts and had taken the first plane out of New York to get here and it was all for nothing. By the time that his plane touched down, they already had Andrew Vane on a plane heading back east and Kale had no fucking idea where they were taking him.

  Now, he had to sit here and fucking wait.

  Slowly exhaling, Kale took in the dingy hotel room, debating his next move only to find himself looking at the small journal on the bed. He’d finished reading it an hour before his plane landed and although he didn’t get any of the answers that he’d been hoping for, he’d learned that Ashley was intelligent, incredibly lonely, and resigned to watching life pass her by and now…

  He didn’t know what to think.

  He’d tried to get his mind off of her, tried to focus on the job, which should have been easy to do now that the reward was twenty million dollars for the little bastard, but he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

  “What the hell is she doing to me?” Kale wondered, rubbing the back of his neck only to drop his hand away with a sigh.

  He never should have kept that journal, never should have read it, and now that he had, he couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d read. While most women would have bitched about growing up in foster care and all the bullshit that came from living paycheck-to-paycheck, Ashley had focused on all the things that she wanted to do, the places that she wanted to see, the restaurants that she wanted to try, and the books that she wanted to read one day. It had been a collection of wishes and it had started with how much she’d missed her mother.

  She’d been a little girl when she wrote that passage, terrified, alone, and in so much pain from losing her mother and it had nearly destroyed him sitting there, unable to do anything about it. It fucking killed him knowing that his mate, even an unwanted one, had been in so much pain.

  He just…

  Fuck it, he needed to stop thinking about her, Kale decided as a small chime alerted him to a text. Slowly exhaling, he picked up his phone and-

  “Fucking hell.”

  -realized just how badly he’d fucked up.

  Wednesday

  Crispwater, Maine

  So fucking close…
>
  Kale reached around and covered the shifter’s mouth as he slid the silver-tipped knife into the back of his neck, severing the spine only to follow that up with a quick twist of his knife and dropped the large shifter to the ground before pulling his knife out and slitting the shifter’s throat as he kept an ear out for the demons, vampires, and shifters hired to stop him.

  Knowing that it wouldn’t take long for Vane’s guards to scent the blood, Kale doubled back through the woods, retracing the guard’s steps to hide his scent as he kept an eye on the large cabin where he’d caught Andrew Vane’s scent an hour ago. Vane would have been better off keeping his son in the city, Kale thought, watching as the front door of the cabin flew open and several armed men came running out.

  Fucking pathetic, Kale thought, biting back a sigh as he quickly moved through the woods and headed for the cabin, using the poorly lit areas as cover while he avoided the bright lights of the spotlights aimed towards the front and back of the cabin. When he scented another Alpha, he went still and stepped back into the shadows, watching as the shifter quickly discarded his clothes on the porch before he shifted into a large, brown werewolf and-

  Spotted Kale.

  Kale waited, watching as the large beast’s silver eyes locked on him as he scented the air, searching for the backup that Kale knew better than to bring with him. When the shifter didn’t scent anyone else, he moved towards Kale as the demon that didn’t think that Kale knew about him, moved up behind him as he pulled his sidearm free.

  Before the demon was able to raise his weapon, Kale reached back and grabbed the demon by the wrist and with a quick squeeze, broke the demon’s wrist as he pulled him forward and shoved him towards the large werewolf moving in to tear his throat out.

  The demon barely had time to grunt in pain before that large claw swiped through the air and tore him in two as the werewolf swatted him out of the way to get to Kale. Keeping his focus on that cabin and the shifter that the remaining guards were trying to rush towards the door, Kale reached up and grabbed hold of the werewolf’s large muzzle and rammed the silver-tipped dagger into his eye. As soon as the large beast stumbled back with a pained howl, Kale was moving his ass.