by Lola Gabriel
“One moment, please,” Sonia replied.
Raina thought she heard tension in Sonia’s voice, but it could just be because she wanted to hear it. If the Dunbridges were somehow connected to this as a family, then that could still work in Raina’s favor. It would just mean that this mission was even more dangerous than she had anticipated. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard a series of clicking sounds.
“Brandon Dunbridge, how can I help you?” a male voice said.
Raina raised an eyebrow. She wasn’t expecting to get the CEO of the company. She had to play this just right if she was to get any information at all. Her senses were on high alert. She had to be on the right track.
“Oh, hi,” she said. “I think the receptionist must have misheard me. It was Chester Dunbridge I asked to speak to.”
“May I ask what it is regarding?”
“Sure. It’s regarding a meeting my brother had scheduled with him,” she answered.
“Ah, well,” Brandon said. “Then I think you might have the wrong Dunbridges. There isn’t a Chester working here, I’m afraid.”
“I definitely have the right company. I have the business card right here. Maybe I have the wrong name. My brother was looking for some investing advice and he had a meeting three days ago. He left for the meeting in New York and no one has seen or heard from him since. Obviously we’re pretty worried and we’re just trying to establish whether my brother made the meeting or not so we can get a clearer picture of what might have happened to him,” Raina explained.
She heard Brandon sigh. She could picture him trying to work out what the hell to say to her. It confirmed that the whole Dunbridge family wasn’t involved in the Matchmaking scheme. Chester had definitely gone rogue.
“Well, as I said, we don’t have a Chester working here, but I can take a look at our appointment list and see if your brother’s name is on it,” Brandon said.
“Thank you. It’s Zach Morgan.” Raina heard Brandon clicking on his keyboard.
“There’s no record of any meeting being set up with any of our investment staff. I really do think you have the wrong firm,” he said.
“Dammit,” Raina muttered. “I was so sure I could get to the bottom of this without having to involve the police. My alpha won’t be happy about that, but I have to know what happened to my brother. Thanks for your time.”
She knew the mention of the word ‘alpha’ would get Brandon’s attention. It was a bit of a risk, but she hoped he would be a little more open with her once he found out she was a shifter.
“Your alpha? Is that like your father or something?” Brandon said.
Raina gave a soft laugh. “No need to be shy, Mr. Dunbridge. I know you’re a dragon shifter. I’m a bear shifter.”
“So, I take it you know what Chester really is and you’re just fishing for information?”
Raina thought for a second. She could just say yes, but she had a feeling Brandon would hang up on her. She’d done enough to let him know she was an immortal and could be trusted with immortal business, but she still had to play it clever, even if it made her sound a little naïve.
“Well, sure, I know Chester is a dragon shifter, but my brother said Dunbridge is highly respected as an investment company. Is that not the case?” Raina asked.
“Yes, that’s the case. We are the best. But Chester doesn’t work for the firm, and he never has.”
“I don’t understand. Why would Zach lie to me? Do you think he was planning on leaving the pack and going rogue?”
“I have no idea,” Brandon said. He sighed again, a different sigh this time, and Raina felt her instincts prickling. Brandon was relenting. “Can I ask you a few questions about your brother?”
“If you think it could help me figure out where he is, then sure. I’m willing to try just about anything.”
“How old is your brother?”
“Almost six hundred. That’s why it seems so odd he would go rogue now. He’s always been so pack orientated. He’s set to become the beta one day,” Raina told him, giving Brandon just enough information to imply that her imaginary brother might one day be forced to take a mate any way he could.
“And does he have a mate?”
“No. Do you think he’s gone off looking for true love?” she asked. “I’m sure he would have told me that.”
“I suspect that your brother did have a meeting with Chester, but I need you to understand that Chester has nothing to do with Dunbridge Enterprises or any of our subsidiaries. Chester is a Matchmaker.”
“A Matchmaker? No. You don’t think… Zach wouldn’t go to a Matchmaker. No,” Raina said, trying her best to sound like a concerned sister that wouldn’t want to believe that of her brother.
“I’m not saying with certainty that’s what happened, but it sounds likely,” Brandon insisted.
“If that’s true, then how long do these things take? Could he be lying low until his mate is found?”
“He could be,” Brandon said.
“There’s something you’re not telling me,” Raina said.
“Chester isn’t a nice man. And if your brother crossed him in any way…” Brandon trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid.
“You think Chester might have hurt him?” Raina demanded, injecting just the right amount of panic into her voice. “Where can I find Chester?”
That was the only question she needed the answer to, and she was pleased with how she had managed to move the conversation around to being able to ask it without looking suspicious. It would make perfect sense that she would want to find him if she thought he had hurt her brother.
“I don’t know. And even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you,” Brandon said.
“So, you’re covering for him?” Raina questioned, genuinely shocked at the admission.
“God, no,” Brandon said quickly. “I honestly don’t know where to find him. When he decided to become a Matchmaker, the family, the whole pack, cut him off. I wouldn’t tell you where to find him because he’s damned dangerous. And if he has hurt your brother in some way and you go looking for him, he won’t hesitate to end you.”
“I just… I just need some answers,” Raina said. Brandon sounded genuine when he said he didn’t condone for a second what Chester was doing, and she believed he truly didn’t know where he was. But she couldn’t just hang up. She had to continue to play the role of frantic sister; otherwise, Brandon would know she had played him.
“I understand that, ma’am, but I really can’t help you. All I can say is that you should stay well away from this. I know it’s hard, and I’m sorry your brother got messed up with Chester, but I urge you to avoid doing the same thing.”
“I don’t think I can do that,” Raina said. “I appreciate your warning, but if it was you in my position, would you just walk away without even trying to find your brother?”
“Probably not,” Brandon admitted. “Look, I know Chester operates out of New York. I don’t know where he is or how to contact him. But your brother obviously found a way. Start by talking to his closest friends. Matchmaking is very much a word of mouth business, and your brother had to know someone who knew someone, if you catch my drift.”
“I’ll do that. Thank you. You’ve been very helpful.”
“I only wish I could make you believe me when I say Chester is bad news and you should stay the hell away from this,” Brandon sighed.
“Thank you,” Raina repeated. “Goodbye.”
“Goodbye. And at least promise me you’ll be careful.”
“I will,” Raina promised, and that was one promise she fully intended to keep.
She ended the call. In a way, she had made a huge leap forward. She knew exactly who Chester was now, and knowing his full name would make asking questions about him a lot easier.
The next step of her plan was starting to come together in her mind. She would go around some of the immortal hangouts in the city, ask around about Chester. She wouldn’t keep using the brother story
, though. She didn’t want Chester to get wind of someone asking those kinds of questions. Instead, she would say that her son needed a mate, and she had heard Chester was the best Matchmaker in the country. That should do it.
The thought of pretending she was looking to use Chester’s services turned her stomach slightly, but she knew it was the safest way to ask around. If Chester got word that she wanted to use his services, he might still hunt her down, but it wouldn’t be to kill her. And it wasn’t like she knew any of the people she was going to be talking to or cared what they thought. It was just a means to an end, and if the final result was what she pictured, then it would be more than worth it.
She would have to wait for evening to start to fall if she wanted to talk to locals. Most of them would be at work now and would only come out to the various bars once night fell. The tourists probably wouldn’t know any more than she did about Chester. In fact, they would probably know less. She was debating what she could do to fill her day productively with more research when her room phone rang.
“Hello,” she said.
“Raina, how are you?” Logan. Dammit. Raina felt her bear stirring at the sound of his voice, but she ignored her instincts, ignored the pull of Logan, even though she could feel it in every pore of her body.
“Fine, thank you,” she responded. “You?”
“Good,” he replied. “I was a little surprised to wake up this morning and find you gone, though.”
“I couldn’t sleep, and I didn’t want to wake you,” Raina lied. She knew she had to cut ties with Logan, but she didn’t have to be mean about it.
“You should have woken me. I wouldn’t have minded at all. Anyway, I was wondering if you were free today. I could show you some more of the sights, and we could go somewhere nice for lunch. And then tonight, maybe we could go and see a show or something,” Logan said.
Raina paused. Her whole body ached for him, and she wanted so badly to say yes to him, but she knew she couldn’t. Every minute she spent with him was just making it harder for her to cut him off, and she could no longer justify hanging around him as a fact-finding mission. She had learned everything Logan knew about Chester already.
“I’m sorry, I can’t. I’m too busy,” Raina said.
“Okay, how about tomorrow?” Logan asked.
Raina could hear the hurt in his voice where she had cut him off so abruptly. She felt horrible about it, even though she was doing the right thing.
“Busy then as well,” she said. “Look, Logan, I enjoyed last night, but it was a one-off, okay? Let’s just go our separate ways now.”
“I… I don’t understand,” Logan stammered. “We clicked, Raina, and I know you felt it every bit as much as I did. Is something wrong?”
“No, I’m fine,” Raina snapped. “It was just a bit of fun, Logan.”
“Is it because of Brianna?”
“Yes.” It wasn’t even a lie. His deal with Chester to take Brianna as a mate was very much the reason she couldn’t see him again.
“I told you, Raina, I’ll cancel my deal with Chester. I meant it. I’ll do it right now.”
“It doesn’t matter whether you cancel the deal or not. The fact is that you made it in the first place. I’m sorry, but I can’t be with someone who thinks finding a mate that way is acceptable, no matter how desperate they are,” Raina said.
She hung up the phone before Logan could reply. Her hands were shaking, and she could feel tears threatening to fall again, but she swallowed them down. She wasn’t going to sit here crying over Logan. She had work to do.
10
Logan sat with his cell phone in his hand, staring stupidly at it. Raina had hung up on him after making it clear she didn’t want to see him again. He should just let it go, let her go, but he couldn’t do it. Raina was his mate. He knew it with everything he had, and he knew she had felt it, too.
She had said her denial to meet again was because he was willing to find a mate through a Matchmaker. Did she think it made him less of a man? He didn’t know anymore. His head was spinning with it all. The only thing he knew for sure was that his heart was breaking at the thought of Raina wanting nothing to do with him.
Logan thought for a moment longer, and then he scrolled through his contacts and called Rory. He had to get this off his chest, and Rory always had the best advice. Rory answered his call quickly, like always, and Logan smiled. At least here, he knew exactly where he stood.
“Hey, Logan. Are you on your way back?” Rory said.
“Not yet,” Logan sighed. “God, Rory, it’s all such a mess.”
“What do you mean?” Rory asked. “Has something happened?”
“A lot has happened,” Logan said. “I met someone. A bear. You know how people say when you find your mate, you know it with every fiber of your being? I always thought that was bullshit, just people romanticizing their relationship. But it’s not. When I’m with this woman, I feel it. She’s meant to be my mate. I know it.”
“You make it sound like that’s a bad thing,” Rory commented.
Logan gave a bitter laugh. “I was with her last night. I didn’t think it was possible for two people to connect like that. It was the real deal. Body, mind, soul, bear, the lot. But then this morning, I woke up, and she was gone. I called her, and she made some excuse about not being able to sleep, but her tone was different. Cold. Like she was shutting me out. I told myself I was being paranoid, and I asked her out again. She said no. I asked her if it was because of Brianna, and I reassured her, telling her I would call the deal off right now, but she said that wasn’t what she wanted. She said she could never be with someone who was willing to find a mate through a Matchmaker.”
“You told her?” Rory asked.
Logan could picture his raised eyebrow. He nodded. even though Rory couldn’t see him.
“Yes. I wanted to be honest with her, but I’m starting to think that was a mistake. I don’t know what she meant. Maybe she thinks I have a load of skeletons in my closet, and that’s why I couldn’t find a mate myself, but she must know how damned hard it is to find an unmated female bear at all, let alone one you click with. Anyway, my point is that I fucked up in style, but I can’t just walk away from her. Not when I feel this strongly about her. Rory, do you think that if I call off the deal with Chester and show her I’m serious about her, there’s any chance she might come around?”
“I don’t know, Logan. I don’t know her,” Rory said.
Logan frowned. He could hear something off in Rory’s tone, like he was holding back. “You don’t, do you?”
Rory didn’t reply, and for a moment, Logan thought the call had dropped, but then he realized he could hear Rory breathing. He was being purposely evasive.
“Rory, please, just answer me honestly. Forget about rank and all of that shit and tell me bluntly, as my friend.”
Rory didn’t answer immediately. Logan had begun to think he wasn’t going to speak at all when he finally did.
“Honestly, Logan? No, I don’t think she’ll come around.” Logan felt his heart break further. He had hoped Rory would say that of course Raina would come around, he just had to keep trying. “I mean, Matchmaking is a barbaric practice, and not many immortals approve of it,” Rory added.
Logan frowned, confused. What the hell was Rory talking about?
“I… Look, I asked you to be honest, and I appreciate it, but I don’t understand. How is Matchmaking barbaric? I get that it’s not for everyone, but ‘barbaric’ is a bit of a stretch, isn’t it? It’s just a blind date with a promise of more after it.”
“You… Wait, you really don’t know, do you?” Rory said.
“Know what?” Logan demanded, getting more confused by the second.
“Logan, how do you think the Matchmakers find human women with the Sanmere protein in their blood?” Rory asked.
The question threw Logan for a second; it definitely wasn’t what he had been expecting, but at least it was a question he knew the answer to.
“They don’t. The women find them, the same way as I did. They want immortality, power, everything that comes with being a shifter. They go to Matchmakers to make that happen for them. I just don’t get why Raina, and apparently you, too, think it’s so bad.”
“Logan, that’s not how Matchmaking works,” Rory said. “Women don’t go to Matchmakers and ask for them to set them up. Granted, there are some women who find out about shifters one way or the other and seek them out in order to become immortal. That’s one thing. And while personally, I wouldn’t want a mate who’s only with me for those reasons, I do get why people do it. But Matchmaking is a whole different ball game. Matchmakers hunt women with the Sanmere protein and abduct them. They then sell them to the highest bidder against their will.”
“W-what?” Logan could feel the horror gripping him like a vice. His heart pounded. His head hurt. His whole body felt like it had been deflated. It explained so much: why the Matchmakers were so secretive; why so many people were against the practice; why Raina was so damned disgusted with him. “I had no idea,” Logan said. “Rory, why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“I assumed you knew! And it’s my place to serve alongside you, not to question your judgement.”
“You really thought I was capable of going to such lengths just to find a mate?” Logan asked.
“If someone had asked me that question before you sought out Chester, then I would have said hell no. But then you were doing it, and I didn’t know what to think anymore. I’m sorry, Logan, I seriously thought you knew.”
“No! God, I feel dirty just thinking about it. I’m going to call Chester now and tell him the deal is off. Either Raina will forgive me, or she won’t, but either way, I want nothing to do with Chester and his disgusting deals.”
“Maybe Raina will come around, after all. If she finds out you had no idea what Matchmaking really was, then she can’t stay mad at you for essentially wanting to go on what you thought was a blind date.”
“I hope not. But if she doesn’t, then she doesn’t. I don’t want to let the pack down, but if my options are to lead with an unwilling mate or not lead and not be a part of this thing, then I’m willing to step down.”