***
Jace struggled to catch his breath. It wasn’t that the little slip of a woman who had run right into him had knocked it out of him, but rather what she—and her scent—represented that had his heart racing and his lungs burning for air. Mate.
Her short sleeved shirt hugged her body, revealing curves that made his mouth water, but he forced his gaze to her face. When she tilted it up, beautiful green eyes the color of emeralds shone up at him. Not in recognition or even joy, but in fear. What the hell was she afraid of? The last thing he’d ever do was hurt her. Her whole body was tense as he steadied her on her feet.
“Hi there. I’m Jace. Is everything okay?” he asked her, trying not to freak her out by holding her to him, but unable to quite let go.
She swallowed hard, her mouth gaping open a little as she looked at him.
“I’m sorry,” she said as she brushed long strands of luxurious red hair from her face. Not the kind of red hair that women sometimes found in a box, no, it was glorious and shiny, and the color of fire shining in the sunlight.
Her husky voice sent heat rushing through him, and he had to fight from pulling her closer. “What’s wrong? I’d be happy—”
The woman whipped her head around, looking over her shoulder before rushing past him. He took two steps after her when he realized that she hadn’t been afraid of him. She was running from something, or someone. Squaring his shoulders, he faced the alley, waiting. Whatever had his mate running scared would have a hell of a rude awakening if they came looking for her.
“Jace, what the hell are you doing?” Luke came up to him and clapped him on the shoulder. “Expecting someone?” he asked as he peered in the same direction.
“Something like that.” He spared his friend a glance. “Would you believe I ran into my mate? Well, if we’re being technical, she ran into me. Literally. She was running as though the devil himself had given chase, and I’m waiting to see what the hell was after her.”
Luke gave a little whoop and squeezed his shoulder. “I’m happy for you, dude. Now you can stop moping around each time Maddie and I start smooching around you.”
“You know I’m thrilled for both you and Brycen,” he said. Sure, he’d been a little jealous of seeing his friends so happy while he didn’t have a mate, but he’d never begrudged them for it.
“I know—” Luke dropped what he was about to say when two sets footsteps sounded in the alley, drawing closer.
Recognizing the scent, Jace sighed. “It’s Austin and his latest fling.” As though to punctuate the fact, the ditzy blond giggled before they rounded the corner, announcing their arrival.
“What’s up, guys?” Jessica asked, smiling and batting her eyelashes at them as though the fake things she glued to her eyelids would make them take a second look.
“Jace is waiting for some bad guys to come down that alley. It seems they’ve somehow threatened his woman.” Luke drew out the last word.
Austin’s gaze snapped up to meet his. “Mate?” he mouthed so that Jessica wouldn’t hear. “Since when do you have a woman?” he asked aloud.
Jace couldn’t keep his grin off his face. “I don’t. Yet. But we ran into each other a few minutes ago.” He ran his fingers through his hair and looked the way the woman had run. “I think I’ll go looking for her now. Whatever had her running scared doesn’t seem to be coming this way.”
“What the hell are you waiting for? Go.” Luke nudged. “Maddie and Stella won’t be done at the salon for another hour, so I’ll just chill here for a bit in case.”
“I’ll hang around, too. You don’t mind, do you, Jess?” Austin looked at the blond whose smile had dropped.
“Yeah, sure, I guess. Come to my place later?” She leaned into him, brushing her breasts against his arms in a blatant display.
“Sure thing, sweetness.” He gave her a quick kiss and then swatted her ass as she turned away.
Nothing about that woman was right for him. They all knew it, even Austin. So why did he bother? Jace rolled his eyes but kept his opinion to himself. If he wanted to spend his downtime with her, that was his choice. “Thanks, guys. I appreciate it,” he said before turning and jogging in the direction his mate had gone.
TWO
Charlotte couldn’t look at another map. Rolling her neck and shoulders, she tried to release the knots, but she was tight as a bowstring. Every few minutes, she would catch the scent of the man she’d bumped into, diverting her from the task at hand, and she couldn’t afford the distraction.