The Tracker's Mate: Sunderverse (Mate Tracker Book 1)

by Ingrid Seymour

  “Hey,” Stephen pulled me back into the moment. He wore a reassuring smile. “Chill, I know what you’re thinking, but he would never do anything like that.”

  I gave him a weak smile. I thought Ulfen was capable of many things, but I didn’t know him well enough to suppose he would hurt his son this way.

  Stephen huffed. “He cares too much about his fucking legacy to endanger his only heir.” He pronounced the last word with mockery.

  I nodded. That was true enough. “Then who did it?” I asked. “Any clues on who’s responsible?”

  He shook his head. “No. The van was reported stolen a month ago, and so far they’ve found no evidence of wrongdoing against Bernadetta and her people. She insists she had nothing to do with it.”

  Damn, this was so confusing. I had seen Bernadetta’s driver there, and here I was wondering if Ulfen had done it. And what about the Fae female and the Prince? God, I needed to tell someone what I knew. I’d been so busy worrying about my naked episode that I didn’t realize I might be the only one holding information that would lead to the culprits. I had to talk to Tom. He would know exactly what to do.

  “Everything all right?” Stephen asked, reaching for my hand with his good one.

  His warm touch took me by surprise as his large hand engulfed mine.

  “Yes, of course.” There was no use burdening Stephen with what I knew—not unless it led to his kidnappers.

  “Jake told me what you did. Thank you, Toni.”

  “You don’t have to thank me.” Heat climbed up my neck as I remembered how selfish I’d been in the beginning. “The one you should thank is Jake.”

  Stephen nodded thoughtfully. “I know that. He stayed with me until my family got here last night. He’s a great friend.”

  “He told me how you met in New Orleans.”

  “Imagine our surprise when we figured out you were a... mutual acquaintance.”

  “Acquaintance” was one way of putting it, but I was glad he didn’t say “girlfriend,” instead.

  “I must admit I was jealous,” Stephen said, his blue eyes burning into mine with the same intensity they always had.

  I licked my lips, feeling self-conscious. If I was reading this correctly, he still felt attracted to me, and honestly, so did I. He was handsome and thoughtful, what was there not to like?

  “I’m getting out tomorrow,” he said, his fingers squeezing mine. “I would like to thank you properly. Let me take you out to lunch. You pick the place.”

  Was he asking me out on a date? It felt like he was.

  “Um... your father...”

  “Never mind my father. He should have never gotten his nose between us, and I shouldn’t have let him. I always regretted it. I’ve changed a lot during this past year, Toni, and I’ve learned not to let him control me. Please, go out with me. I would love to catch up.”

  “But shouldn’t you rest?”

  He shook his head adamantly. “That’s the last thing I want. I thought I was gonna die. You don’t know how damn good it feels to be alive. I can’t wait to be outside. I was trapped inside that van for eleven days and fifteen hours. I need some fresh air.”

  I totally understood how he felt, but going out with him didn’t seem like a good idea. Yet, how could I say no after what he’d been through?

  “Sure, I’d love to catch up.” One lunch. That would be all.

  He smiled from ear to ear, his eyes twinkling up at me. Then, they shifted toward the door, and I turned to see what had gotten his attention. My heart dropped into my stomach. Jake stood there, his expression neutral, but his hands balled into tight fists.

  “Hey, Jake!” Stephen exclaimed, oblivious to the fact that Jake seemed about to blow a gasket. “We were just talking about you, saying what a great friend you are.”

  Jake’s left eye twitched at the word friend. The way he glared at me seemed to indicate he didn’t appreciate me using that word, except I hadn’t been the one to use it. It had been Stephen. For my part, Jake wasn’t even on my friend list. I kept his name all by itself in a separate catalog, one titled with the word “douchebag.” Not that he was the only douchebag I’d ever met, but certainly the only one worth keeping track of, mainly because of my weakness for him.

  Damn my dumb attraction to Jake Knight!

  He smoothly strolled into the room, his hands relaxing, a careless expression reshaping his features. He was trying to act oh-so-cool, but I’d noticed the jealousy. And lousy person that I was, I wished that turning green from envy was actually a thing.

  “I should go,” I said.

  Stephen held me in place. “No, stay.”

  Jake’s cool eyes lowered to our clasped hands. A muscle jumped in his jaw.

  I gently extricated my hand from Stephen’s. “I have someone else to visit, and later I have appointments with a few customers, but I’ll see you later.”

  “Okay.” He dug out a cell phone from under the sheets and handed it to me. “Leave me your number so I can call you.”

  I punched my number into his phone and gave it back with a huge smile. “I look forward to seeing you.”

  “Me, too.”

  “Later Jake.” I gave him a light wave and left the room. I paused outside and exhaled—unsure of how I felt about what’d just happened.

  “You don’t mind me asking her out, do you?” Stephen’s voice drifted from the room and straight into my ears. I perked up.

  No answer from Jake.

  “I mean, last time we talked, you said you were done with her.”

  “That was months ago,” Jake said, his voice low.

  “Oh, you mean you want to...”

  Jake laughed. “No, dude. Just giving you a hard time. Go ahead. I don’t care.”

  This time, my heart sank straight to my feet, and dammit, my eyes prickled with tears. I marched away, picking up Tom’s bouquet from the nurses’ station.

  “Thanks for keeping it for me,” I said, swallowing the lump in my throat.

  “Sure thing, babe,” the nurse said, without looking up from her computer screen.

  I tried, as I went, to push my anger away, but I couldn’t. I hated myself for letting Jake affect me this way. I shouldn’t care that he didn’t care. I should hate him, or better yet, I should feel nothing at all, as if he didn’t exist.

  I’d been doing just fine before he showed up, and now...

  Stopping outside of room 2221, I took a deep calming breath, determined to put Jake out of my mind. If he could so easily dismiss me despite our undeniable attraction, I could do the same. Yes, the chemistry between us had always been out of control, but that wasn’t the same thing as love. It seemed I’d mixed those two things together before, and I refused to do the same again.

  Squaring my shoulders and composing my expression into the upbeat and friendly Toni that Detective Tom Freeman deserved, I knocked on his door and slipped inside.

  Chapter 39

  “Toni!” Tom greeted me warmly with a matching smile. He’d been watching television and pressed the off button on his remote control. His salt-and-pepper goatee was missing, and he looked strange without it. “I was wondering when you were going to come see me.”

  I set his flowers on the night table and planted a kiss on his forehead. “It’s so good to see you.”

  “It’s good to see you too, kiddo.” He mock-punched my chin.

  “You look great!”

  “Don’t I?” He ran his hands over his hospital gown as if to demonstrate how great he looked.

  “I was here to see you several times, but they wouldn’t let me ‘cause I’m not family.”

  He huffed. “Fools! You’re more family than any of the damn people that claim to be. Maybe there’s something we can do about it. For future, you know.”

  “Um, sure, but I hope you don’t plan to be back anytime soon.” I waggled my finger at him.

  “No, siree. I sure don’t. A couple more days and I should be out of here. The healers are making sure my f
oot is gonna stay put. It was a wonder they were able to reattach it. The explosion blew it right off, but the paramedics picked it up, which was a good thing.”

  I winced, remembering how awful it had been. The chaos, the smoke, the screams. Whoever had planted that bomb needed to be put behind bars, and maybe I could help make that happen.

  “I can tell there’s something on your mind.” He pointed at a chair in the corner. “Why don’t you sit down?”

  I pulled the chair closer and settled into it. “I’m sure you heard we found Stephen.”

  “Indeed, I did.” He narrowed his dark eyes. “And I heard you played a big part in it. Thought you didn’t want to get involved in that sort of stuff again.”

  “I didn’t, but Jake was... persistent, and it was the right thing to do. I’m glad I could help.”

  “Then why you look so worried?”

  “Well, I haven’t told anyone, but I was there when Jake found him, and I got a good look at two of the people there, including one of Bernadetta Fiore’s men.”

  Tom cocked his head to one side, and without saying a word, listened to my story. It wasn’t the entire thing. I had to leave out my blackout and the fact that I woke up naked on my agency’s rooftop. I didn’t want him to worry about me, or start asking questions I couldn’t answer, so I thought it best to leave all the inexplicable bits out. Basically, my story amounted to how Bertram cornered me in the alley and how Prince Kalyll showed up to remove the female Fae from the premises. Of course, I didn’t mention how I’d manhandled her as if she were a child—especially since I still hadn’t decided whether or not I’d gone temporarily insane and had imagined the whole thing.

  When I finished, Tom considered quietly for a long moment. I wondered if he’d spotted my lies, but I really couldn’t tell.

  Finally, he said, “I’ll make a few phone calls. You need to go in and make a statement, then we can bring Bernadetta’s driver up for questioning. Also, we’ll get a sketch artist to make a likeness of this Gonira character in case she shows up here again.”

  “Sounds good. I hope something comes out of it.”

  “Me too. Me too.” He nodded thoughtfully. “We need a break. They found the body of the woman who planted the bomb, so that led nowhere. Whoever sent her took care to silence her.”

  I couldn’t help but feel that she deserved it.

  A knock came at the door, and to my surprise, Father Vincent walked in dressed in casual clothing, jeans, oxfords, and a dress shirt rolled up to the elbows. He looked different without his clerical collar and dark clothes. Relaxed and more handsome.

  “I was starting to worry you wouldn’t show,” Tom said.

  Father Vincent checked his wristwatch. “Um, I’m two minutes late.”

  “Exactly.”

  The priest chuckled, shook his head, and turned his attention to me. “Toni, it’s good to see you.” His cheeks colored as if he were embarrassed for some reason.

  “Me, too.” I gave him a warm smile, sensing, by their banter, that the two had become friends.

  “You... look different.” I gestured toward his clothes.

  “Yeah, about that...” He held a finger up, opened the door, and stuck his head out. “Hey, come on in.”

  I frowned and exchanged a glance with Tom, giving him a “what is going on?” expression. He shrugged. A moment later, I almost fell out of my chair when Celina Morelli walked into the room. My mouth opened and closed as a squeak of shock got stuck in my throat.

  “Celina, look who’s here.” Father Vincent inclined his head in my direction.

  “Oh, hello, Toni.” She gave me a wide smile. Her brown eyes sparkled as if stars had gotten stuck inside them. In fact, an angelic glow seemed to surround her entire face.

  “How... did you two...?”

  “Your partner,” Celina said.

  “What?!” I couldn’t believe it. Rosalina had gone against my decision? She had betrayed me?

  Celina took a step closer. “Oh, please, don’t be mad at her. It’s not her fault. After our telephone conversation, I was angry, so I went by your office to reclaim my deposit and get the truth about your supposed failure. As you can see, I got it out of her.”

  “Got it out of her? How?” And why in the hell hadn’t Rosalina told me anything about this?

  “I might have... threatened to sue your agency.”

  “You what?!”

  “I wouldn’t have, of course.”

  Somehow, I didn’t believe her. My eyes drifted to Father Vincent. Should I even call him that anymore? He stood with his hand stuffed in his pockets, rocking on his heels. Tom, for his part, sat quietly on the bed, observing the situation with rabid interest, as if he were watching a soap opera.

  Celina locked arms with... Vincent. “After your partner told me, I went and found him and explained everything. It’s just as you promised. We’re perfect for each other.”

  “But... what about his job?” I felt mortified. This was all my fault. He had abandoned his calling, and all those people he could have helped now had one less angel on their side. “Oh, God, I feel horrible.”

  “Please, don’t,” Vincent said, glancing shyly at Celina. “I must confess... nothing has ever felt this right in my entire life. Besides, there is more than one way to be happy and serve the Lord.”

  The what?! He must be really having a religious experience, a truly ecstatic one, to change his tune so drastically.

  Damn, Toni, get your mind out of the gutter.

  “Am I correct to assume that you’ve quit the church?” Tom asked, folding his arms over his chest.

  “I have,” Vincent confirmed.

  “All for some skirt?”

  I winced. Tom wasn’t always tactful with his choice of words.

  “Mm-hmm.” Vincent looked like he was holding back a smile, like he and Tom were sharing an inside joke. “Yes.”

  “Well, hot damn, congratulations!” Tom exclaimed.

  I did a double-take. Tom was supposed to be a devout Catholic, and he approved of this? What was going on here? And why did I suddenly feel like the oldest person in the room when I was the youngest?

  Tom and Vincent shook hands, the latter smiling like an idiot.

  “Sunder’s Mate Tracker Agency,” Tom said in a jovial tone, “bringing happiness to lost souls everywhere. Maybe I’ll have to take you up on your offer to find me someone.” He shook a finger at me, smiling, happy to be alive—like Stephen.

  “Well,” I stood, “it seems my work is done here.”

  Unexpectedly, Celina wrapped me tightly in her arms. “Thank you. You’re amazing.” She pulled away and held me at arms’ length. “I was skeptical, to say the least, but you have made a believer out of me. I paid your partner, and a few of my friends are eager to talk to you.”

  “Really?” I blinked repeatedly, the dreams of keeping the agency and securing my new place quickly retaking shape before my eyes.

  I left the hospital with a big smile on my face. My life wasn’t crumbling to pieces, after all.

  MY SMILE FADED WHEN I approached my car in the parking lot and found Jake leaning on it. He wore reflective glasses and had his arms crossed over his chest. When he noticed me, he pulled away from the Camaro, took off the glasses, and hung them from the collar of his gray Henley.

  “Hey.” His silver eyes scanned me from head to toe.

  I marked the changes I’d barely noticed when I first saw him inside. He looked freshly showered, and he’d trimmed his beard closely and shaved it to make pristine lines at the edges. There were no circles under his eyes, and his wild scent of pine and rain intermingled with a dash of sandalwood soap. Even though I felt like melting into a puddle, I hardened my expression and barely offered him a nod.

  “Um, Stephen looks good, doesn’t he?” he said.

  “Yes.”

  “I was finally able to get some good sleep, knowing that he was all right.”

  “Good for you.”

  He heaved a sigh
. “Okay, I guess I’d better get to the point. I’m here because I want to thank you for—”

  “No need to do that again.” I walked around him and opened the driver’s side door.

  “Toni, wait.”

  I glanced back with raised eyebrows.

  He swallowed. “I owe you an explanation, one I should’ve given you before I left to go to New Orleans.”

  I turned away from the car and gave him my undivided attention, my heart suddenly racing. Was this it? Was he finally going to tell me why he left me?

  “I realize that a thank you isn’t enough for what you did to help me find Stephen,” he continued, “and even though I think that sharing my reasons for leaving you will only make things worse, maybe it’s a better way to express my gratitude since it’s what you want.”

  I wasn’t sure this would serve as thanks, but I needed to know, needed to understand, so I could finally be done with him just as he was done with me.

  He moved a step closer, his gaze locked with mine. “I wish I hadn’t been such a coward and had told you face-to-face why I had to leave. But I was afraid that if I talked to you, I... I wouldn’t be able to end things.”

  I slow blinked. What was he saying?

  “Toni, I didn’t leave because I didn’t care for you. I left because... I cared too much.”

  Confusion washed over me. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “We should’ve never moved in together. I should’ve never let it get that far knowing that a long-term relationship between you and me was impossible.”

  I shook my head. “Impossible? Why?”

  “Because I have a duty to fulfill. You see, after my brother went missing and my dad finally gave up the search, he asked me to keep our bloodline alive. With Neil gone, I’m the last one in what once was a powerful werewolf dynasty.”

  I took a step backward, my thoughts and emotions whirling out of control, slowly wrapping around his meaning.