Fierce Informer (Sierra Pride Book 6)

by Liza Street

  Then there was the matter of Mateo himself, looking handsome and distracting across the table. If she didn’t know he was an over-privileged, entitled dickhead, she might have been attracted to him.

  Gloria and Julian had both reminded the brothers to keep things civil, but Justine thought they needed something much stronger in the way of conflict mediation. Like a big old brawl in the woods.

  Setting aside her book, Justine shook her head. Drama was stupid. She missed her family. Her brothers and her sister had fought, sure, but when she had left home, Nan was slowly dying and not telling anyone, and Cora and Justine had been best friends and twins, and her brothers had been there. Her family had been relatively drama-free, exchanging stupid pranks with the Stricket boys.

  She’d spoken to them a few weeks ago. They had called to check in and she’d pretended everything was fine, when the entire call, she’d been aching with missing them so bad she could barely breathe. She hated that they’d called. If they weren’t in touch, she could set that part of herself aside and focus on the job at hand.

  Now that she could get into the computer, she could finally, finally, figure out if the Coronas had any involvement in Starla’s disappearance.

  After pretending to read and pretending not to think about Mateo’s strong jaw line or the way his t-shirt clung to his muscles, Justine listened to the house fall silent. It was late enough to hope everyone was asleep.

  The hall floor creaked under her feet and she paused, counting to sixty. In her fatigue, she’d forgotten that squeaky area. With an extra-long step, she bypassed the rest of it and scurried down the stairs.

  The office was locked, but Justine had long ago stolen Rafe’s key. He’d been embarrassed that he’d “lost” it, so had secretly made himself a copy from Julian’s.

  Silently, Justine eased her key into the lock and clicked it open.

  She sidled into the office and closed the door behind her. The faint light from the screensaver was more than enough for her to see by. Sitting in the chair, she wiggled the mouse to get the computer to wake up, and then typed in the password.

  Victory! Finally!

  Now there was just the matter of looking through the files. If she had a laptop of her own, she’d transfer the Coronas’ files to a flash drive to peruse at leisure. She supposed she could mail a flash drive to her pride, but, in examining the folders, she decided there wasn’t that much to sort through. Gloria kept everything tidy, and it would be faster to skim everything right now. If she found something interesting, she’d buy a flash drive in town to copy the evidence.

  She wouldn’t find anything interesting, though. The Coronas were a good family. They were more honest and trustworthy than Justine, who’d been abusing their hospitality and sneaking around for three years.

  The sooner Justine got through these files, the sooner she’d be reassured that the Coronas had nothing to do with Starla’s disappearance, and the sooner she could be on her way home, back to her brothers and Cora.

  After an hour of speed-reading through useless documents about the financials of the Corona resorts (they were worth millions of dollars—Justine had never realized) and their contacts with other prides (interesting gossip in there, but nothing related to her sister), Justine sat back. This whole enterprise had been worthless. Maybe Nan had been delusional—her visions had no basis in reality.

  Her eyes pricked with tears. Had she wasted three years of her life on the ramblings of her ailing aunt?

  “You have to go to the Corona Pride,” Aunt Nan had whispered. “Cora’s going to the Nevada Pride. Through the two prides, we will find out what happened.”

  Justine had only been nineteen, and she’d been happy in California. “What if I don’t want to go?”

  Nan’s whisper grew harsh. “You’ll do your duty. You think I would’ve let you wait to be an Exchange? It’s time for both you and Cora. Why can’t you be more like her? She’s agreeable, and she goes where she’s told. Only you would be challenging me, Justine.”

  Justine had never been able to hide her true feelings around Nan, and her eyes had gone watery at the reproach. She’d never been the girl Aunt Nan wanted her to be. She’d been too opinionated, too rough. When Nan sent her to Montana, Justine got the impression that Nan was distinctly happy to be rid of her.

  It hurt to be unwanted. Justine had never experienced the sensation before; she’d been raised to love herself. Even Aunt Nan had coached her in loving herself. But being sent away against her will—that had undone a lot of Nan’s teaching.

  She heard footsteps coming from the family wing. It was probably one of them going out to shift, to burn off some excess energy. Still, Justine put the computer back in “sleep” mode and crouched down beside the desk.

  The footsteps stopped. Puzzled, she cocked her head, wondering where the person had gone.

  Shit. There was a noise just outside the door. Justine leaned back and bumped into the desk, which was enough motion to activate the computer again. The monitor suddenly lit up. Alarm shot through Justine.

  Then the office door burst open, and Mateo stood there, eyes blazing in the reflected light from the computer, a furious expression on his face.

  “You,” he said.

  four

  He couldn’t believe he’d spent the past hour searching the guest wing, looking for Justine’s room. What a fool, to be so besotted with her that he’d ignore his brother’s claim and try to talk to her alone. A fool, when all along she’d been trying to betray his family.

  He hadn’t been able to knock on her door when he found it, anyway. First of all, she was dating Rafe, and even though he hated Rafe sometimes, Mateo wasn’t that big of a prick that he’d try to hook up with Rafe’s girlfriend. Secondly, he hadn’t been able to hear any sounds in her room. No faint breaths, no heartbeats, no rustlings of her blankets.

  Which had led him back to his own room, until he couldn’t stand the mystery of it anymore. Usually when someone was going to shift, they let the family know so they could make sure they weren’t going to be anywhere near human guests who would likely be terrified to be caught unawares by a mountain lion. Justine hadn’t said anything about going for a run.

  Was she still in the building? he’d wondered. And if so, where?

  This had led him to the office, where he found her crouched on the floor, a panicked look on her face.

  “You,” he snarled.

  “I can explain.” Her voice was soft, placating.

  “Really?” he said. “You can explain your presence in an office that’s supposed to be locked, with a computer that holds all of our financial information? You’ve been going through our files. Please, do share your excuse.”

  “I had to make sure your family didn’t know anything,” she said.

  “About?”

  “Look, it’s complicated. But everything’s fine. I couldn’t find anything suspicious, and now I’ll just be on my way home.”

  She stood up to leave, but he blocked the doorway.

  She was face to face with his chest. Hell, she smelled too good. Like rain soaking a pine forest. Like a cat with warm fur, curled in front of the fireplace. It was hard to think when she was this close.

  “What did you think we might know?” he finally choked out. If she saw his hard-on and said something about it, he’d be toast. He’d have to admit he was attracted to her, that he was the biggest asshole for lusting after his brother’s girlfriend.

  “Honestly, I never thought your family was in any way involved. But Nan sent me here, sure that I’d find something about Starla.”

  “Starla?” The name sounded familiar, and then it clicked. Starla Fournier. “I heard that she died—it was a tragedy.”

  Justine nodded, her blue eyes locked on his. “Nan didn’t believe she died, though. Now I wonder if that was wishful thinking, but she kept having visions about Starla. And she sent me here, and Cora to the Nevada Pride. She said it was important.”

  “So what did
you find?”

  “Nothing.” Justine sighed. “The only thing that looks off to me, actually, is about Barrett.”

  “Barrett?”

  “Yes. Well, not him. But Al Gunser, the guy with the adoption service. Nothing looks wrong on paper, but when I was looking over everything related to the adoption, I got a weird feeling.”

  “A weird feeling.” He couldn’t help letting his skepticism lace through the words.

  “Yes, a weird feeling. Okay? That’s all I have. Can I go now?”

  She pushed on his shoulder, but he wouldn’t budge. When she tried to go past him on his other side, he gripped her arm. Not too tight—he didn’t want to hurt her—but he also couldn’t let her get away.

  “No, this is not okay,” he growled. Ignore how good she smells. Ignore how soft her skin is. “Al Gunser is well-respected around here. I’m not going to let your ‘weird feeling’ ruin my mother’s chance at happiness.”

  “I’m not going to ruin her happiness. I just—I wasn’t even going to say anything.”

  “Good. And that’s one reason I’m not going to report you to the family immediately. I can tell they like you. Fuck, Rafe likes you. Maybe he’ll go with you to your pride or something and you can get married.”

  “What?” Her blue eyes went wide.

  “He’ll have to marry you to join your pride. Men can’t be Exchanges.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “You and Rafe.”

  She scowled. “There is no ‘me and Rafe.’”

  Startled, he held her back a little further from him. “You’re not dating?”

  “Um, no. I’m not dating anyone, least of all your brother.” Her cheeks darkened with a blush.

  How had his brother sneaked a lie past him? “Happily together”—that was how. It didn’t mean they were a couple, but they’d spent some happy moments in each other’s company. Mateo shook his head. He should have known better.

  Now she smelled good, she was soft, she had those gorgeous eyes and those perky tits, and she was single.

  He let her go as if he’d felt an electric jolt. This girl was nothing but trouble, and being single made her even more dangerous. “I want you gone before Barrett gets here. That gives you two days to pack and make whatever excuses and arrangements you need to make.”

  Her chin jutted out. “I’m as good as gone.”

  five

  Justine watched the morning light filter through the pines as she dialed home. She hadn’t slept much the night before, the interaction with Mateo running through her brain on an endless loop.

  Gabriel’s anxiety was palpable through the phone. “We’ve got Cora back,” he said, “but she’s been through a lot.”

  “What do you mean?” Justine’s voice was shrill.

  “The Nevada Pride did a number on her.”

  “I’ll come home immediately. That’s why I’m calling.”

  Gabriel was quiet for a moment. “You don’t have to. I know you’re doing good work out there.”

  “I know I don’t have to,” Justine snapped, “but if my sister’s having a hard time, I should be there. I don’t think I’m welcome here any longer, anyway.” She tried to believe that didn’t hurt almost as much as it had hurt when Nan sent her out here to begin with. “Can I talk to her?”

  After a moment, Cora’s voice came over the line. “Hey, sis.”

  “Hey, sis,” Justine echoed. “You okay?”

  “Getting there. It’s weird being home again. And everyone’s fawning over me all the time.”

  “You wanna talk?”

  They’d spoken for far longer than Justine had talked to anyone from the Sierra Pride since coming here. Cora was still healing, that was for sure, but Justine could tell her twin had grown stronger inside, too. It was only a matter of time before she was back to herself.

  *

  All through the main course of dinner that night, Mateo ignored Justine, and Justine ignored Mateo ignoring her.

  “Justine, dear,” Gloria said, “is there really nothing we can do to get you to stay? An increase in wages? A nicer room? Well, you have the best room in that wing. But, I don’t know.” She fluttered her fingers over her plate, as if trying to drum up ideas. “More time off? We’ve so enjoyed having you here.”

  “No, but thank you.” Justine felt as if her face were on fire. She hated having everyone’s attention on her. She’d never cared before about attention—she’d always been the wild child, the outgoing twin to Cora’s quiet reservation. Now, though, Justine felt something like shame, and it made her squirm with discomfort.

  “Did someone say something to upset you?” Gloria sent a reproachful gaze toward Rafe, who only had eyes for his pasta.

  “No, not at all.” Shit, Gloria would be able to smell the lie. Mateo had upset Justine, because he hadn’t listened to her. He hadn’t cared about her reasons for spying.

  Worst of all, Justine didn’t know why she cared whether or not he cared. She’d only met him two days ago. One of those days had been spent thinking about him, though. His fiery gaze in the office where he’d confronted her, his full lips that looked soft and perfect for kissing…

  Focus, Justine.

  Rushing to cover her lie, Justine decided to say something that was true. “Really, it’s time. I miss my family more than I can say, and my pride could use my help.”

  Even if Cora said she didn’t need Justine to come home, Justine wanted to be there.

  Throughout dinner so far, Mateo had focused on his plate, on the wall behind Justine, on the window showing the tree-spotted view of the mountains.

  The dining room grew quiet except for the sounds of silverware touching fine porcelain. The grandfather clock in the hallway ticked loudly.

  The house staff brought forth dessert and hurried away to give the family their privacy.

  “Normally Exchanges end up marrying a son of the pride, but every now and then, it doesn’t work out,” Julian said, looking up from his flan.

  In his mind, that was the end of the matter.

  After dinner, Justine tried to catch Mateo’s eye one last time, as they walked from the formal dining room. She’d even gone so far as to brush against him. She heard his soft intake of breath, but he didn’t say anything.

  She wanted to hit him and yell, but she also wanted to brush up against him again, and hear his reaction once more. She wanted even more of a reaction. She wanted to feel his firm hand on her arm again, moving her into position, burning against her skin.

  Something was wrong with her, and she didn’t know what it was.

  *

  Justine threw another balled up pair of socks into her giant, international-sized travel duffel. Forget whatever was wrong with her—forget the strange things she was thinking about Mateo. He wanted her gone, and she’d be gone in the morning. No matter that she’d caught him staring at her again when she’d gone down to the lobby to look for her phone charger. No matter that she couldn’t seem to look away from him for very long, either.

  Each time their eyes met, she felt a jolt of pleasurable warmth through her middle.

  She wanted to blame it on hormones, or maybe a rare disease, but she knew better.

  Three days ago, packing would have made her sing with happiness—going home to her family where she belonged. In a few years, when she actually felt ready, she’d go on an Exchange again, maybe meet a man she could marry. A man who was definitely not Mateo.

  Three days ago, she’d have already packed instead of waiting until the last minute.

  What was holding her here? Was it anxiety about Barrett and Al Gunser? Maybe a little. But the Coronas were a powerful pride, and they could handle themselves.

  If she was honest, her hesitation was about stupid Mateo. She didn’t like the idea of leaving him at all, and she liked the idea of leaving him when he hated her even less.

  Fuck it. The sooner she got home to her pride, the better. She took the entire drawer from the dr
esser and emptied it into her duffel, then slammed the drawer back into place. She did the same thing with the second drawer, and the third and the fourth, until she was done.

  She stood back, surveying the duffel. She was unsatisfied. Thinking of Mateo had gotten her riled up, and now she wanted sex. She could take matters into her own hands, but for some reason, that didn’t appeal to her. Maybe she just needed to get out for a while.

  She texted Gloria. Going for a run near Honeycomb Meadows. Any guests out that way tonight? Sometimes the guests embarked on short, one-or two-night camping trips near the lodge. Justine hadn’t heard anything about any campers, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

  No. Have fun, Gloria responded.

  She made her way downstairs and out the rear entrance of the lodge. From there, she walked straight south, and as soon as she’d reached the little copse of rocks and trees that would keep her out of view of any humans who might be watching from the lodge, she shed her clothes.

  Finally, alone. Ready to run. Ready to be free. In only a day and a half, she’d be back in California and running with her pride, so tonight she’d take this moment to let her mountain lion free to roam alone.

  She folded her clothes and placed them at the base of the rock formation, then got down on all fours and let the shifting take her. It was slightly painful, like stretching sore muscles, but it was over quickly, and Justine was a mountain lion. Strong, lithe, graceful, and ready to race across this beautiful Montana forest.

  The scents in the air were heavenly. Although it wasn’t California, Montana was gorgeous in its own way. It didn’t taste as dry to her cat senses, and the trees and ground felt lush and springy. Trees and rocks streaked past her as she ran. She finally reached Honeycomb Meadows where she stopped, exhausted, and rubbed up against one of the quaking aspen trees.

  She used to run like this with Cora. They’d sneak away from their brothers so they could run, just the two of them, in tune with each other. No need to race or chase or prove how strong they were by wrestling in their cat forms.

  She missed her sister. Mad as she was about stupid Mateo and whatever hold he seemed to have on her, maybe it would be good to be home and support Cora. Then again, maybe Cora had had enough of everyone “helping” her get over her time spent in captivity with Bryan Brooks. She’d sounded a little frustrated by her brothers coddling her.