“Hi, Sunny.” His voice when he answered the phone warmed her from within. “I’m glad you called. Are you safe at home now?”

  “Safe and sound,” she reported, feeling just the tiniest bit breathless talking to him again. His voice purred over her senses in a velvety wave of sensuality. “Did you get a chance to talk to your detective friend?”

  “I did. She’s free to video chat with you tomorrow, if you’re available.” They set the time, and Den gave over the information she’d need to connect to the call. Then, he said something unexpected. “You know, Sunny, I’d really like to see you again. Would you consider having dinner with me tomorrow night?”

  “Uh…” She didn’t know what to say.

  It had been more than a year since she’d been on a date. Her last boyfriend, Alphonse, hadn’t stuck around once her dancing career was over. He’d been a dancer too. He’d pursued her when it looked like they were going to dance together in the local company, but once she was injured, he’d found someone else, hurting her to her core.

  Alphonse hadn’t loved her as he’d claimed. He’d just seen her as a steppingstone to bigger roles and more clout within the company since she was a principal dancer. The bastard. She was still bitter about it, but this ex-soldier was nothing like Alphonse. For one thing, Den could probably wipe the floor with Alphonse without even breaking a sweat. For one moment, she imagined the scene but quickly banished it from her mind. That wasn’t nice, even if Alphonse had broken her heart.

  Den was still waiting for an answer, and she had to think fast. Didn’t she deserve a bit of fun? Didn’t she deserve a nice dinner with a nice man? Hell, yeah, she deserved it. She liked Den and wanted to spend more time with him. Sunny made her decision.

  “I think I’d like that. Shall we meet somewhere?” she asked, her heart in her throat.

  “We could, or I could pick you up,” he offered. She wasn’t quite ready to trust him that far. Being out in public with him was one thing, but giving him her home address was another.

  “It’s easier if I just meet you, I think. Where were you thinking?” she asked, trying to sound bright rather than wary.

  “Have you heard of Arturo’s?” he asked, naming one of the swankier steak houses in the city. She was impressed. She’d heard there was usually a waiting list to get a table there.

  “I’ve heard of it, but I know it’s hard to get a table there. Are you sure?”

  “Arturo is an old friend of mine. There will be a table. I guarantee it.” He sounded so confident. She shrugged and figured he knew what he was talking about. “Meet me there at seven-thirty. Just give the hostess my name, and she’ll take you back. I eat there a lot whenever I’m in town.”

  “Okay,” she agreed, feeling shy all of a sudden. “I really want to thank you again for helping me today.”

  “No problem,” he told her, his voice rumbling over her senses, making her feel things she hadn’t felt in a very long time and never this strongly. Never so soon, either. She’d only just met the man, and not under the best of circumstances. “Take care, Sunny. I’m really looking forward to seeing you again.”

  “Me too,” she replied. “See you then.” She ended the call without saying anything more, afraid she would give away how very attracted she was to the man by saying something stupid.

  She hugged the phone to her chest for a moment, a smile playing over her lips as she thought about having dinner with the handsome captain. Then, she realized she was going to Arturo’s. She had to figure out what she was going to wear.

  An hour later, she had made a thorough mess of her closet, but she’d chosen her outfit for tomorrow night. Now, all she had to do was bide her time, and in just about twenty-four hours, she’d see the handsome ex-soldier again. She could hardly wait.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  When Sunny connected to the video call the next day, she was surprised to find Den on the call as well. She probably shouldn’t have been so shocked. He was only being polite. He introduced Sunny to his friend, Sally, and Sunny felt a chill run down her spine. Not in a bad way. There was just something really familiar about the other woman.

  Den was just as handsome as she remembered. That strong jawline looked phenomenal on camera, and his eyes twinkled with an energy that was visible even over the Wi-Fi connection. Sally was a beauty too. And there was this feeling of familiarity that Sunny just couldn’t shake. The woman was as professional as Sunny could’ve hoped for and got right into the nuts and bolts of her investigation.

  “I did a little preliminary research last night, after Den called me. He gave me your name and the name of the dance studio. He didn’t have your last name, but that was easy enough to find from the studio’s filings. I hope you don’t mind. With that information, I did some database searches that didn’t pop up any red flags except for the police report surrounding your automobile accident.” Sally paused, and Sunny grew apprehensive. “The on-scene investigators noted a few inconsistencies, but nobody ever followed up. Judging by what I read in the report, it’s just possible that the accident wasn’t really an accident. I know Den probably mentioned that possibility to you yesterday. Have you had any further thoughts about who might want to kill you?”

  “None at all,” Sunny confessed. The very idea still bewildered her.

  Sally’s expression turned speculative. “It’s also possible that they weren’t trying to kill you, but to disable and, perhaps, capture.”

  “Capture?” Sunny’s voice rose sharply as the implications of the detective’s words came clear in her mind. Somebody was trying to kidnap her for heaven knew what purpose. “Like for ransom? My parents are artists. They’re reasonably well-off, but they’re not super rich or anything.”

  “There are other reasons for kidnappings,” Sally told her with a grim expression on her face.

  Sunny’s imagination ran wild. “Like slavers or something? But wouldn’t they want undamaged women for that kind of thing? Shooting me—or if the car accident was on purpose—I’d have been hurt badly if they captured me.”

  “For some things,” Sally paused, her expression growing troubled, “it wouldn’t matter what physical shape you were in.”

  Sunny couldn’t even begin to imagine what kind of things Sally was talking about. She shook her head, drawing a blank.

  “Sunny, this may sound odd.” Den spoke for the first time since making the introductions. “Do you know anything about magic?”

  Sunny squirmed a bit. Her parents were rather unconventional, to say the least. They did have some strange beliefs that Sunny knew weren’t quite mainstream. Neither Sally nor Den seemed the hippie type that her parents usually hung around with, but maybe she was wrong.

  “Um…my folks believe in some of that stuff,” she admitted somewhat vaguely. “Why?”

  “Okay. Do you believe that there is such a thing as evil in the world?” Den pressed on.

  “Yes, I do. You only have to turn on the news these days to see that evil exists,” Sunny replied.

  “Good point.” Den nodded. “Well then, there are some people—evil people—who might try to capture someone, in any condition, in order to drain their power.”

  “But…I don’t have any power. What kind of power are you talking about?” Sunny protested.

  “Think about it. There are all kinds of power in the world,” Den said mysteriously. “There are people who can see the future. People who can move things with their minds. People who can make things grow. And a lot of other weird stuff under the sun.”

  Sunny shivered. How did he know? Did he know? Or was he just fishing? Only her parents knew the things what she could do, and as far as she knew, they had kept the secret all her life. They’d counseled her often enough to never speak of it and never do it where she could be seen by someone else.

  “Regardless,” Sally interjected, changing the subject, “the fact is that the car accident could very well have been orchestrated to get to you. Likewise, the assault on the dance studio might have been a second attempt to get you. I would advise extreme caution. In fact, you might want to look into getting some protection.”

  “Like a gun? I already have one, but I don’t usually carry it around,” Sunny revealed. Let them know she would be armed and dangerous. She didn’t really know these people, but her instincts told her they were okay. Still, she would be cautious. She didn’t like anyone thinking that she was helpless.

  “Start,” Den said shortly. She frowned, and he explained, “Start carrying your weapon with you at all times. And whatever other protection you might have. I would suggest that you don’t leave home unless you have good reason and a safe route mapped out. You might also want to acquire other kinds of protection, such as a bodyguard.”

  “I don’t know if I can afford that kind of thing,” Sunny said, thinking how outrageous it would be to have a bodyguard following her around. No, thank you. “And it would be weird. I’m nobody. I don’t even know where to start to find somebody who could act as a bodyguard.”

  “You know,” Den said slowly, “a very good place to start is with ex-military personnel, and it just so happens that I’m one. You know me. You could ask me how to find a bodyguard who wouldn’t cramp your style or deplete your pocketbook.”

  Sunny didn’t say anything for a moment. She wasn’t sure about any of what he’d said. It sounded way too overboard to consider, but a little voice inside told her maybe it wasn’t. She’d already escaped death twice, if these two relative strangers were correct.

  “If that doesn’t appeal, I could at least give you some pointers on personal safety. We can talk more about it tonight, if we’re still on for dinner,” Den offered, seeming to back off a bit, which made her feel a tad more comfortable.

  “Yeah, we’re still on for dinner,” Sunny told him, though she wasn’t sure if it was such a good idea after all.

  Something felt a little off, though she didn’t think either of these two meant her harm. If Den had wanted to hurt her, he’d had plenty of chances to do so at the dance studio. Her instincts said he was okay, and she couldn’t really argue with that because she had no evidence to the contrary.

  “I’d like to keep working on this, Sunny,” Sally said after a moment. “If you permit. Maybe we could do another video call tomorrow, and I can let you know what else I’ve turned up.”

  “If you think it would help. I’m not sure I can pay you—”

  “No payment necessary. I don’t like to see good people being targeted. It rubs me the wrong way,” Sally assured her. “I may be retired from the police department, but I still feel it’s my duty to help where I can. This is just research, and frankly, I’ve got nothing more interesting to do at the moment, so I’m happy to assist in any way I can.”

  Sunny could hardly believe it, but the other woman’s words rang true in Sunny’s ears. She still had this overwhelming sense of familiarity, but she couldn’t figure out why.

  “Have we ever met before?” Sunny asked, unable to help herself. “You seem so familiar to me, but I can’t place why.”

  Sally smiled, and her eyes twinkled. “We’ve never met, but ask me again in a few days, and I’ll tell you all I know.”

  That was an odd answer, but Sunny didn’t get any bad vibes from the woman. Quite the contrary. Sally seemed to be truthful in everything she’d said, and Sunny was pretty good at telling when folks were lying to her.

  “Well…thanks for helping me. I really appreciate it. Maybe I can take you out to lunch as a thank you one of these days,” Sunny offered. Surely, lunch was safe, and it might give her a chance to figure out why Sally seemed so familiar.

  “Definitely,” Sally said. “When you’re out of danger, I’d love to meet you in person and share a meal.”

  Her smile was open and friendly, and Sunny found herself smiling back. Sunny confirmed the time she was meeting Den at Arturo’s later that night and ended the call. She thought maybe something significant had just happened, but she really wasn’t sure what it had been.

  Den stayed on the video call with Sally after Sunny clicked off. He wasn’t surprised to see Jason, Sally’s mate and Alpha of the Wyoming wolf Pack, enter the viewing area as he sat beside his wife and put his arm around her. She had tears sliding down her face, though she wasn’t crying heavily. She just seemed a bit…overwhelmed.

  “Thanks for setting this up, Den,” Jason said as Sally rested her head against her mate’s shoulder for a moment. “I know it means the world to Sally.” Jason’s expression tightened. “But I’m really concerned about Sunny’s safety. Two close calls are two too many.”

  “Agreed, Alpha. I’m keeping her place staked out. I’ll be following her to our dinner meeting.” Den didn’t want to call it a date in front of Sunny’s sister, just yet. He was going to see where things led first before he made any declarations to anyone. “We’re going to Arturo’s, so she’ll be safe as can be while there, and I’m enlisting a few of his men to help me guard her family’s ranch. The place has a strong ward around it, but I’m going to go over the line, if I can, later tonight in my fur and do some reconnaissance.”

  “You’re coordinating with my brother, right? Is he sending anybody out there to help you out?” Jason asked.

  “Most of his men are on a mission right now, as you know, but I’ve got a Redstone Clan construction crew nearby that can back me up. Arturo and his guys also come under my cousin’s authority, and they’re more than willing to help me out on this. I’ve kept Steve Redstone in the loop. Jesse knows and approves.” Steve Redstone had military experience and had served with Jesse. They went back a long way and were still good friends.

  “All right. As long as Jesse approves, so do I. But tell me, Den, why do you want to join us rather than stay with your Clan?” Jason hadn’t asked him that before. He’d let Jesse handle Den’s request to join the Wraiths up ‘til now even though Den had been friends with both Moore brothers for a very long time.

  “As you know, Redstone has all sorts of shifters, though we’re mainly cougars in the family. I enjoy the family, but I’m too fresh out of the military, and I don’t quite fit in with the construction company anymore. They don’t see much action except for the occasional dust-up. I want to use my military experience more than that, and there’s nobody better than the Wraiths. I know cats and wolves don’t usually mix, but I worked with a lot of Jesse’s guys when they were in, and I have a lot of respect for them. I’m hoping they’ll find me to be a useful member of the team, if all goes well.”

  That was almost verbatim what Den had said to Jesse when he’d first made contact and asked if there were any openings in the Wraiths for a Spec Ops mountain lion, just retired.

  “Well, judging by your quick results on this mission, I’d say there won’t be much of a problem,” Jason said, nodding.

  Den had to be brutally honest with Jason. “I wish I could take credit for the speed of this action, but really, it was just right place, right time. I got lucky in that the owner of the dance school had a luncheon and asked Sunny to fill in just when I got to town and began my surveillance of the studio.”

  “It was meant to be,” Sally said, lifting her head from her mate’s shoulder and wiping her cheeks as she controlled her emotions. “I firmly believe that there’s no such thing as coincidence. I’ve seen it time and time again as a cop,” Sally insisted. “You were meant to be there today to help her. Thank heaven. And thank you, Den, for taking care of her and watching over her. It sounds like she doesn’t know any more about her heritage than I did, but someone knows, or suspects.” Sally’s voice turned cold and hard. “You said the shooter fouled his trail with magic. That says a lot.”

  Den nodded grimly. “It certainly does,” he agreed. “I’ll do everything in my power to keep her safe.” It was a vow he would keep, no matter what.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Sunny pulled into the parking lot beside Arturo’s, feeling a bit odd giving her keys to her relatively inexpensive vehicle to the valet. The youngster didn’t make any comment but took her keys with the same attention to detail he probably would have given any of the expensive luxury cars already parked in the spacious lot. Her car looked really out of place among them. She shrugged and walked up to the entrance, which thankfully wasn’t far away.

  She went in and gave Den’s name to the hostess, who smiled warmly and led her a little too quickly toward the back of the dining room. Sunny scrambled to keep up with the young woman, not wanting to expose her infirmity in a room full of people, many of whom were openly watching her progress. When the hostess went through a door into another room, Sunny dutifully followed, glad to be out of the main room.

  What she found beyond that door surprised her. It was a private dining room with a large table that could have seated a dozen or more, set only for two on one corner. Had Den reserved the private room just for them? What must something like that have cost? She hated to think of the expense.

  Not that Sunny was poor. She was just frugal and hated waste. Ever since her accident, she’d had to be a bit more money-conscious than before. Her medical bills had been high, though her insurance had covered most of it. But being out of work and unable to return to her chosen profession had hurt her in the pocketbook more than she liked to admit.

  She’d had to move back home, and thankfully, her parents had been more than willing to take her in. Thanks be to the Mother of All for her amazing adoptive parents, who were away this week on a retreat—the first time they’d left her alone since her accident. So many times in her life, they’d really saved her bacon. They were the best, even if they were a bit off the mainstream.

  The hostess left Sunny in the room, and she took a seat at the table. No more than a minute later, the door opened again, and Den walked in. He came right up to her and greeted her with an outstretched hand, leaning in to place a kiss on her cheek.