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He’d passed Buck’s mother on the road, and anger surged through him. He’d have to find out who the hell shot her. The locals didn’t pull that shit. Not in Bear Canyon. And the deer were on his property, so at the very least, the bastard who did that was trespassing.
    A growl of outrage and agreement came from his bear, catching Cross off-guard.
    I didn’t know you cared about the little one or his mother.
    His bear rumbled a response.
    He switched the ignition off and got out. Ariadne did the same.
    “I’m going to bury his mother.” He reached for a shovel hanging from the wall, grabbed a tarp to wrap the doe’s body.
    “Do you think you could let me borrow your computer?”
    Odd question. He wasn’t sure he wanted to comply. There was no telling what she’d want to do with it. What if it were traced back to him somehow? Though he didn’t really think that was very likely. He had enough precautions in place to make signals bounce all over the world and redirect anyone who tried to look for his location.
    He didn’t feel like discussing it right now though. He’d talk about it with her when he returned.
    “Sure. When I get back.” That’d tide her over until he returned. Then he’d find out what she wanted it for.
    He started walking with her down the path to the cabin, to make sure she arrived safely.
    “I can get there on my own. Why don’t you take care of her, that way she doesn’t have to be out all night?”
    Cross frowned. Why did it feel like she was trying to get rid of him?
    I’m way too suspicious.
----
    H e’d finished placing Buck’s mother in the tarp, carefully wrapping it around her, and laying her in the hole he’d made in the middle of a patch of ground between several pine trees. With the back of the shovel, he was patting the mound of dirt he’d put in over her body, smoothing it out. He’d put a stone marker for her there tomorrow.
    His phone buzzed against his leg. A text had come in.
    Taking out the phone, he swiped his password in.
    The message was from his security system. The same system that had alerted him there was an entry to his communications room earlier today when he’d busted Ariadne told him he had another intrusion.
    Entry Zone 1
    Camera Engaged and Recording.
    Why had Ariadne entered his comm room? He’d told her he’d let her use a computer. He tapped on the screen so he could view what the camera was recording and began to walk toward the cabin while he watched the camera’s recording on his phone’s screen.
    Sure enough, it was Ariadne, holding something in her hand. She took a survey of the computers in the room, nervously running her fingers through her hair.
    He took long strides toward his cabin.
    Whatever she had in her other hand wasn’t larger than her thumb. She approached one of his laptops and slipped the item into the USB drive.
    A flash drive!
    Except that she wouldn’t be able to log into the computer, she didn’t have the password.
    He stepped up the stairs on the front porch slowly, avoiding the creaky board he’d set up to alert him to intruders.
    He opened the front door slowly.
    She booted the system up.
    Cross had a plan…
    She stared at the screen requesting a password. Her frustration was evident as she closed the lid.
    He slammed the front door.
    She ran from the room.
    He studied the screen carefully, his shifter vision acute.
    The flash drive was still in his computer.

Chapter Nine
    A riadne wiped the bead of sweat from her forehead. It wasn't even hot enough to perspire like that.
    Damn. Damn. Damn.
    That was so close.
    Shit. Shit. Shit.
    She’d left the fucking flash drive in that room. And now… he was here. She was screwed. She’d have to wait until he fell asleep to get it.
    But what if he offered to let her use his computer?
    I can’t have him going in there now.
    Time to use her feminine wiles.
    Feminine wiles? I’m doubly screwed.
    She so wasn’t that super-spy, feminine wiles kind of woman.
    She’d run