Page 3 of Broken By Her Mate

“This is really important, so he called me,” Ryder said absently as his fingers moved over the keyboard.

To Tolliver’s shock, an image of Laila appeared on the screen. He inhaled sharply. For years, he’d closed himself off because emotions were a luxury he couldn’t afford. His life was a series of calculated decisions that kept him detached, focused, and alive.

The moment he saw her—not as a ghost haunting his dreams, but her actual image on a screen—emotions he’d buried surfaced. She was the one calculated decision he regretted. As he stared at her grainy image, the emotions that assaulted him nearly knocked him off his chair. Regret, hurt, love,lust.

He glanced at Ryder warily. His friend nodded, silently telling him to watch the footage. For once, Tolliver was afraid. First, he zoomed in on her. Laila Thomas had always been the most beautiful creature in his eyes. Her wealth of dark,almost black, hair cascaded around her shoulders in loose curls. Without thinking, he lifted a hand to graze a finger over the screen as if he could actually touch her.

To this day, her gray eyes and heart-shaped face gave her a look of sweet innocence that called to him. His gaze moved over her petite, curvy figure as he recalled how many times he’d had her in the most erotic ways.

Taking a deep breath, he played the footage. Laila walked down the sidewalk, her hips swaying and her hair bouncing. A man came into view a distance behind her. The man was watching her, and she had no idea. Annoyance rose to join Tolliver’s panic. How could she not detect the threat of the other shifter? Tolliver was sure it was a shifter. It was in the way the man moved with agility and stealth that would allow him to sneak up on a human with average senses. Why didn’t Laila sense his presence or smell him when she was a wolf shifter?

Laila crossed the street and headed into a building. Her stalker didn’t follow her inside. Instead, the man stood and watched the entrance for a moment before pulling something out of his pocket. Tolliver zoomed in some more. It was a cell phone. The man had a quick conversation, shoved the device back into his pocket, and walked away.

Tolliver let out a breath that sounded suspiciously shaky. How could Laila be in danger? He had let her go to protect her. She was supposed to be happy and safe. Panic then clawed its way up his chest—something he hadn’t felt in…ever.

“Uh… Tolliver? Are you all right?”

Ryder’s voice seeped into Tolliver’s mind and pulled him from his panicked haze. He blinked, cleared his throat, and threw up his stony mask. “I’m fine.”

Ryder watched him with pure skepticism. He suspected his friend knew he wasn’t fine because he knew about Tolliver and Laila’s history. However, he didn’t comment.

“This is good work,” Tolliver said. “It’s the first solid lead we’ve gotten in weeks.

“If our intel is correct, Laila doesn’t have much time before—”

“I know,” Tolliver bit out. “That shifter is waiting for the right moment to grab her.”

“What are we going to do?”

“We need more tangible evidence to take to the higher-ups than just our theory and two cases of missing female shifters.”

Ryder nodded in agreement.

“In the meantime, I’m going to Cedar Ridge,” Tolliver announced.

Ryder’s jaw slackened. Nowadays, Tolliver rarely went into the field. He recruited and trained the men and women of their special unit. “Youare? Why not send one of the other…?” His mouth snapped shut when Tolliver wheeled his chair around to pin him with his glacial stare. Ryder sighed. “Okay… It’s Laila. I get it. Go on. I’ll take care of things here.”

“Thanks.” Tolliver got up and grabbed his keys. Before leaving his office, he glanced at the screen where he’d seen his mate. Every instinct screamed at him to move fast and get to her to make sure she was safe.

***

Tolliver strolled down the sidewalk with his hands in his pockets. He tried to look as inconspicuous as possible. However, he doubted a six-foot-four stranger would go unnoticed for long. Luckily, it was dark. He surveyed his surroundings as he walked through the small town of Cedar Ridge bordering Bellefleur.

As he turned into the alley between Laila’s bakery and a bookstore, he thought of how proud he was of Laila. The bakery she had dreamed of owning was now hers. As if thinking about her conjured her, she appeared through the bakery’s back door carrying a trash bag.

Tolliver hid behind a huge dumpster. His breath caught in his throat when she stepped into the dim light of the alley. That happened every time he saw her up close. He’d been in Cedar Ridge for two days now, watching her from the shadows like some kind of creep. He’d spent the entire day lingering around the bakery and listening to the goings-on inside. This morning, he’d had to listen to a rather annoying conversation between Laila and one of her employees. It was about some professor who Laila’s employee wanted to set her up with. The thought of her dating made him see red. But he had left her. She was free to date as she pleased.

He stayed out of sight, not wanting to alarm her until he was absolutely certain she was really being hunted by a sick, twisted organization looking to capture female shifters. So far, he hadn’t seen anyone else following her. Maybe what he saw on that security footage wasn’t what he thought it was…

Laila got closer, and he held his breath, hoping she didn’t sense him. He couldn’t tear his gaze away from her and her delicious curves. They were lethal enough to bring a man to his knees. Her full breasts strained against her white blouse, and the dramatic flair of her hips made his mouth water.

He had to force himself to stay focused on scanning the surrounding area. So far, she’d been oblivious to his presence, as if her shifter senses weren’t working. To his surprise, she froze after she tossed the bag into the dumpster and turned in his direction. Her eyebrows furrowed as she peered into the darkness, and her cute, little nose twitched.

She then backed toward the door, her gaze still scanning the alley. She walked right into a stack of crates and sent them clattering to the ground. Her arms flailed as she stumbled over one.

Tolliver was on alert, ready to use his preternatural speed to catch her before she landed on her ass. However, she caught her balance.

“Oh,fudge,” she huffed. “Why am I such a klutz?”