Melinda’s Wolves(59)

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“So, how did it go with the inspection today? Any merit to that email?” Trace stood to clear away the dinner dishes while he spoke to Keegan.

Melinda pushed her chair back, but Trace stopped her. “Stay, babe. Let me.”

He wanted her to know right out of the chute that she would never be considered anything less than their equal, and that included household chores.

Keegan leaned back in his chair. “Unfortunately, there was a lot of merit to what that email contained.”

Trace returned and took his seat again. “You think the developer cut corners?”

“Yeah.” Keegan lifted his gaze toward Melinda. “And our mate wasn’t pleased with the vibe on the site either.”

Trace shifted his gaze to watch her fiddling with her napkin, rolling one corner of it toward the center. “What did you feel?”

She shrugged and blew out a breath. “It’s so hard to define. But that place isn’t safe. Not even now. I had the eerie sensation it was about to collapse and take down everyone working there. Illogical considering the only parts erected so far are the concrete foundation and some of the framework.”

Trace knew enough to take her seriously. She’d been spot on with Rebecca, probably saving her life. He turned toward Keegan. “What can you do?”

Keegan inhaled long and hard. “I don’t know. But my boss was there today. I showed him the email. I gave him a tour. As far as I can tell with a simple visual inspection, there’s a possibility everything in that email was true. Now, if only we could trace it and find the sender.”

“Yeah. Good luck with that. The criminals always manage to stay one step ahead of law enforcement where technology is concerned.”

“I was afraid of that.” Keegan’s shoulders slumped. “All I can really do right now is dig deeper into the accusations.”

Trace looked back toward Melinda. “You okay?”

She shrugged. “I get a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach every time I think about it.”

“She did look green,” Keegan added.

Trace reached for her hand and covered it with his. “I’m sorry, baby. That’s awful. Does that happen to you often?”

“The sensations yes, but not to that degree. The last time I felt that level of fear was when Rebecca was about to run the Spartan Race. And then we had a major earthquake.”

Trace sucked in a sharp breath. “You think there could be another?”

She shrugged again. “No idea.”

Keegan leaned forward on his elbows. “Hon, just keep me posted if you get any other vibes. Okay?”

“Of course.” She lifted her face to shoot him a sharp glare, if Trace wasn’t mistaken.

He shifted his gaze from one mate to the other.

Keegan lowered his face. “And I’m sorry for being an ass earlier.”

She tugged her hand free of Trace’s and stood. “It’s okay. I’m sure if I were in your shoes, I’d be inclined to disbelieve the crazy medicine woman. I just hope no one gets hurt before I convince you of my abilities.”

She turned and left the room.

Trace winced. “I guess you pissed her off today?”

“A few times. I don’t mean to be an ass. I swear. It’s hard. I’m being bombarded from every angle. The woman hates the casino, she hates what I do there, and she’s convinced the place is about to cave in.

“And it doesn’t help that all I really want to do is lean her over any available surface and slide into her. She’s potent.”

Trace set his hand on Keegan’s shoulder. “I know. I hear you. And we’ll get through this.”

Keegan gave a wan smile. “We have no other choice.”

Trace glanced down at Keegan’s hand. “Gonna tell me what happened to your hand?”

Keegan cringed. “There’s no way to explain what happened without seeming like an idiot. I tripped.”

“Over what?” Trace smirked.

“That’s just it. Nothing.”

“Nothing.”

“Yeah. It was as if there was a concrete block in my way, but when I turned around, nothing was there. And I managed to slam my palm down on a pile of nails.”

Melinda reappeared in the doorway. “You didn’t tell me all that.”

Keegan cleared his throat. “Yeah. Well, I didn’t really want you to think I was a total klutz after knowing you for two days.”

“Did anything else happen?” Trace asked.

Melinda crossed her arms over her chest and cocked a hip out. “Did he mention the malfunctioning crane that dropped a two-by-four inches from him while he was giving his boss a tour?”

“Nooo.” Trace was shocked.