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Rachel Laversse, the niece of a dear friend. Rachel, my second eldest son, Rome.”
    Rome’s lips curved in a brilliant smile. “Welcome. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
    No denying the man was a sexy hunk of male goodness, but there wasn’t the same flash of heat or acute sense of physical awareness she’d experienced with Porter.
    She didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.
    “Nice to meet you.” When Rome reached out and clasped her hand, Rachel’s cat merely yawned, making Rachel nearly sputter with laughter. Because, in the simple way of the animal kingdom, that kind of response was nothing but an insult to an alpha male shifter. Yes, Rachel had felt that quick and purposeful spurt of power when Rome entered the room, as had her feline, but for whatever reason, her girl wasn’t the least impressed.
    “Rome,” Melinda said, looking at Rachel, “do you still correspond with your pen pal?”
    “Sure.” Rome looked from his mother to Rachel, bewilderment creasing his face. “Started back when I was in the military. A group of school kids sending thank-you letters. It was great. I actually got the chance to meet Brody some five years or so ago. Why?”Rachel was flabbergasted.
    “Brody?”
    One hefty and masculine shoulder lifted. “Brody Hensen. From North Carolina.”
    Rachel turned her shocked gaze to Melinda, who only murmured, “Small world.”
    “You know Brody? Is he all right?” There was no reason for Rome to assume Rachel knew Brody, not when the Greenleaf pack and her home were over two hundred miles apart.
    “Brody seems just fine,” Melinda responded for Rachel, who was still coming to grips with the fact that the naive, twenty-year-old kid she met back home knew the man standing over her like an avenging warrior. “And evidently taking whatever you told him to heart. He sent Rachel to us.”
    Pure granite replaced mild curiosity, turning those dark eyes flat as they scanned Rachel from head to toe. “You in trouble?”
    Since Rachel had yet to find her voice, it was up to Melinda to summarize the events that led Rachel to their door.
    By the time Melinda was finished, Rome’s eyes had narrowed into twin points of swirling brown. “Bastard probably put a tracker on your car. I’ll get Porter and we’ll check it out.”
    Rachel whipped her head from Melinda to Rome. “Oh. But if he did, that means he knows where I am.”
    A tight, cruel smile curved Rome’s lips. “Let him come. The Felix men will be more than ready to take on one cowardly weasel.”
    Melinda only smirked. “Told you. Damsels in distress are us. Now, are you hungry? Dinner won’t be for a couple of hours, but if you’re feeling peaked, we have plenty of snacks available to tide you over.”

Chapter Four
    After handing her car keys to Rome—and leaving her purse behind—Rachel trailed after Melinda as the other woman gave her a brief tour of the B&B. Now that she had reached her destination, and been granted the sanctuary she’d been searching more than a week for, her body began to shut down. She viewed the library, parlor, rec room, pool house, and other amenities through a fog.
    Melinda guided her through a huge dining room, pointing out the stocked fridge and snacks available for guest use, and into a kitchen that could have been ripped from some modern chef magazine. With Maddie happily jabbering away in a playpen next to a huge, scarred wood table, the room went from cool and professional to warm and inviting.
    Brown and black granite slab countertops ran down two walls, broken only by a wide stainless steel sink. At the far end of the counter was a column of wall ovens while at the other end, to Rachel’s immediate left, Katie stood in front of a big, upright, stainless steel freezer, pulling out several packages of bacon.
    “For breakfast,” the redhead explained and placed the meat on the bottom shelf of the adjacent and matching large double-door refrigerator.
    An older woman with a head