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in Asheville?”
    “Yup. We caught a plane into Charlotte this morning then caught a flight to Asheville. We rented a car and—”
    Great. “Why?”
    “Why what? So that we’d have a way to get around—”
    Dev suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. He knew Cole was being obtuse on purpose. “Not that. Why are you coming to Asheville in the first place?”
    “Because Caroline and I want to meet your mate.”
    Dev couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry. “Okay, where are you?”
    “On the side of the road.”
    “Are you stranded? If you call the car rental, they should come and get you and give you another car.”
    Oh no. “Uh, you didn’t wreck did you?”
    “No, no.”
    “Okay, why are you on the side of the road?”
    Cole sighed. “Caroline was eating an ice-cream cone.”
    Dev couldn’t even imagine where this was going. “And?”
    “And she decided it was too cold to eat ice cream.”
    He still wasn’t seeing a problem that would have Cole stranded on the side of the road. “Did she drop the ice-cream cone on the map?”
    “No, she threw it out the window.”
    “And?” Dev asked.
    “And it hit a police car.”
    Dev’s mouth fell open, then he started laughing so hard he nearly dropped his phone. He had to stop outside Laine’s shop and compose himself. Good Lord. My life would make a great sitcom. “Okay, listen. Once you guys get situated in a hotel or a bed and breakfast or whatever, give me a call. I’m taking Laine and his grandmother out to dinner tonight, the two of you might as well join us. Then tomorrow, I’ll take you to see the office building and we can make appointments with the realtor to see the plots of land. I’m thinking about putting a bid on a two acre lot, just outside of town, if Laine likes it.”
    “Okay, we can do that. Did you meet with any of the plumbers or central air and heat companies yet?
    You know we are going to have to find some good ones to contract out with.”
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    Hadn’t he given Cole his itinerary? “Not yet, I have four meetings tomorrow and I also have a possible contract. The real-estate office I’m working with wants to do some major remodeling. They have four offices in this area.”
    “Cool.”
    “Yeah, cool. I’m at Laine’s shop, so I’m hanging up on you. Try to keep Caroline out of jail and call me later.”
    Dev’s good humor lasted until he opened the door to Flower Lane. He stopped dead in his tracks, the smile melting from his lips. The place was a disaster. Flowers littered the floor, along with shards of glass and ceramic from broken vases. Stuffed animals lay strewn from one side of the shop to the other and water covered the floor. The place looked like a twister had touched down inside. “What the…?” Oh God, Lainey. Dev’s heart plummeted to his feet. His gaze darted around the shop as he inhaled deeply, trying to scent his mate over the heavy aroma of flowers.
    Laine was sitting behind the counter, his head in his hands. He looked up and gave Dev a weak smile, but his eyes were a little on the watery side. “Hey. How did your meeting go?”
    “Fuck that. What happened?” He walked over the debris and made a beeline to his mate. He stepped in-between Laine’s legs, pulled him up and deposited him on the counter. It was waist high, making Dev’s face level with Laine’s chin. He hugged Laine tight enough to make Laine’s breath huff out. “Are you all right? Lainey, what happened?” He pulled back to look into the teary amber eyes.
    Laine blinked. He stared at the ceiling for a few seconds then looked back at Dev. “Victor’s goons came to give us a message.”
    Dev groaned and squeezed his eyes shut. He’d known deep down something like this was going to happen.
    Laine ran his fingers against the side of Dev’s face. “It’s not your fault. I started it. I’m the one who opened my mouth to protest their plans in the