Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
HADLEY
The silence of Wolf’s office settles back around me the second he steps out.
The faint, lingering scent of spicy evergreen and leather still clings to the air, making it entirely impossible to focus on the numbers flickering across my monitor.
I pull up the latest batch of shipping manifests, cross-referencing the digital entries with the physical logs.
My fingers freeze over the keyboard.
There it is again. The exact same weird anomaly I noticed yesterday.
A set of duplicate tracking numbers paired with massive weight discrepancies that make zero sense.
Knowing how deeply the reputation of King’s Logistics and the club relies on absolute accuracy, I can't just ignore it. Wolf needs to see this.
I stand up, smoothing down my sweater, and step out of the office, heading down to the main floor to track him down.
The warehouse is vast, shadowy, and mostly quiet at night.
A few other data entry specialists sit hunched over workstations in the distant bullpen, mostly keeping to themselves, headphones clamped over their ears as they click away at their keyboards.
But as I wander down the cavernous aisle between towering stacks of pallets, I spot a man standing near the loading bay who doesn't look anything like an analyst.
He’s thick, burly, and reeks heavily of stale beer and diesel exhaust. When he notices me stepping out from the rows, his eyes rake over me from head to toe in a slow, greasy sweep that makes my stomach turn.
Before I can turn around, he steps directly into my path, crowding me backward against a cold concrete pillar.
"Well, what do we have here?" the man mutters, slurring his words as he leans in close, trapping me in the narrow space. "Night shift's getting a lot better looking since the last time I—"
He doesn't finish the sentence.
A heavy, terrifying force violently yanks him backward by the collar with enough raw power to send him tumbling to the floor. He hits the concrete with a hard, rattling thud right at my feet.
Standing over him, chest heaving and posture locked like a coiled spring, is Wolf.
"Get up," Wolf snarls, his voice a lethal, vibrating growl that echoes off the steel girders.
The drunk man scrambles to prop himself up on his elbows, blinking stupidly. "What the hell, man? I was just talking to—"
"You're drunk, you're not on the clock, and you were being entirely inappropriate with an employee," Wolf cuts him off, stepping forward so menacingly the guy flinches.
A sneer twists the drunk worker's face. "What? Are you playing protective boss, or are you just pissed because you've got competition for the redhead's attention?"
Wolf doesn't even blink. In a single, fluid motion, he grips the front of the man's work shirt and hovers him straight up off the ground, lifting him high enough that only his boots dangle. The sheer, terrifying display of controlled muscle makes my breath catch.
"Listen to me very carefully," Wolf whispers, his voice dropping into a deadly, ice-cold register that sends a shiver straight down my spine.
"You ever look at her again. You ever speak to her again.
You cross this line by even a single inch, and I won't just fire you.
I'll make sure you can't walk out of this town. Do we understand each other?"
The worker’s face drains of color, his hands clawing uselessly at Wolf's wrists. "Yeah. Yeah, man, crystal clear."
Wolf drops him. The man hits the floor gasping, scrambles backward like a crab, and bolts into the dark corners of the warehouse, his boots clattering against the concrete until he's gone.
The heavy silence rushes back in. Wolf stands motionless for a second, letting his breathing even out before he slowly turns around to face me.
He takes a deliberate step closer, giving me every opportunity to back away, to escape, to put space between us.
But I don't want to move an inch. I want to be right here, wrapped in the safe, immovable orbit of a man who cares with an intensity I’ve never experienced in my entire life.
His protection doesn't feel suffocating or controlling; it feels like armor.
He stops right in front of me, his dark green eyes sweeping over my face, searching every micro-expression.
"Are you okay?" he whispers, his voice rough and stripped of all its usual bite.
I swallow hard and give him a small nod.
Slowly, deliberately, Wolf raises a calloused hand and tucks a few stray strands of red hair behind my ear.
His fingers trail warm and light along my jawline until his thumb rests right under my chin, gently tilting my face up.
He’s silently asking for my voice, giving me all the space in the world.
I let out a shaky, uneven breath, unable to find my voice.
Everything about him is utterly enveloping, from his spicy evergreen scent, the heat radiating off his massive frame, and the profound comfort of his presence.
Not to mention the sharp spike of heavy, unfamiliar need pooling deep between my thighs.
How can one simple touch make my heart flip and knees tremble?
"I, um..." I trail off, my gaze dropping to his lips as my brain short-circuits, forgetting every single sensible thought I've ever had.
Wolf’s thumb drifts down from my chin, tracing slowly over the front of my throat before dancing lightly across my collarbone. He stares at every square inch of skin his finger touches, his eyes dark and dilated, looking as if he’s reveling in the feel of me.
"I um, actually was looking for you," I finally manage to choke out, my voice barely a rustle of sound.
A dangerous, dark flash sparks in his green eyes, deepening into something intensely heated as a slow, crooked smile breaks across his face.
"Is that right?" he murmurs, and without realizing we're doing it, the space between us evaporates as we sway a fraction closer together.
I stare up into those deep, hypnotic eyes, utterly lost in the layers of green that seem endless, each one guarding a lifetime of secrets and pain. Eventually, the memory of why I left the office jolts me back to reality.
"I have something important to show you," I blurt out, my cheeks flooding with a blazing, mortified heat as I suddenly realize how my previous words could have been interpreted. "I mean… about the shipping logs! Not... not that."
Wolf blinks, the tension-filled bubble between us bursting instantly. He clears his throat, steps back, and gestures for me to lead the way.
We head back up to his office, and I pull up the corrupted file on the monitor, pointing at the highlighted rows.
Wolf leans over my shoulder, taking a look at the numbers while I look at him.
How can I not? With rippling muscles, a sharp jawline, and those other-worldy green eyes, the man is a walking temptation.
He lets out a low growl, the easy, warm amusement vanishes from his face. It’s replaced by a look so hard and cold it turns to stone.
"This isn’t a clerical error," he says quietly, his jaw locked tight. "It's an intentional, recurring glitch. Massive weight discrepancies across the board."
I glance up at him, sensing the unspoken tension vibrating through his frame. "Wolf? What does that mean?"
He holds my gaze, giving me a serious, heart-stopping look so intense I can barely draw breath. He doesn't have to spell it out. The dark warning in his eyes communicates the terrifying truth: You uncovered a secret, and now you’re in danger.
The room tilts sideways. The sheer weight of the realization, combined with the relentless stress of the past few days, makes my vision swim and my knees turn to water.
Before I can hit the floor, Wolf's arms wrap around me with lightning speed, catching me securely against his solid chest. His warm, solid embrace envelops me as my head spins. I rest my head against Wolf’s massive chest, listening to the rhythm of his heart and matching his steady breaths.
"Hey. Hey, look at me," he murmurs, softer than I’ve ever heard him before.
I reluctantly peel myself from his rock-hard body, just enough to meet his gaze. I can’t quite describe the look I see there. Fierce and protective, yes, along with anger and frustration at the situation. However, beneath that, I’d swear… there’s an ounce of genuine worry for me.
“You’re brilliant, Hadley. You caught something I’ve been trying to track down for far too long, and you did it in your first few days on the job.”
I beam under his praise and attention, the blush blooming into my cheeks and down my neck. Wolf’s eyes bore into mine, like he’s finding out something new about me. Then, his gaze turns serious, and I know there’s more to what he has to say.
“I never meant for you to get caught up in any of this,” he continues, breaking eye contact as he turns his head to the side. Wolf heaves out a sigh and shakes his head as if disappointed with himself. “But it’s too late now.”
“What?” I breathe out, my voice shaking. “Too late?”
His eyes snap back to mine, a softer expression taking over his features. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Hadley. I can’t.” My brow furrows at that. He can’t? “Which is why you’ll be staying with me. You’ll be under my protection twenty-four-seven.”
“Um, excuse me? I can’t just move in with you,” I scoff, though internally, the idea of being with Wolf all day, everyday, seems like a dream.
“This is non-negotiable,” he informs me, his voice firm and in control. “The warehouse will be put on lockdown, effective immediately. Only essential employees will come in. You’ll be able to do your job from home.”
“Your home,” I correct.
Wolf tilts his head, those green eyes turning sharp. “For now.”
I’m not sure if he means I’ll be staying for now, or it’s only his home for now.
I wonder where he’s moving. My heart lurches at the thought of not seeing Wolf every day.
I’ve only known him for a handful of hours, but I’m already stupidly and inexplicably attached to this man.
Maybe that’s why I don’t put up more of a fight.
If I only have a limited time with Wolf, I selfishly want to spend every moment in his presence.
“Okay,” I concede.
For the first time since Wolf pulled that creepy guy off of me, he smirks. “I didn’t need your permission, but thanks anyway.” I narrow my eyes at him, and his smirk turns into a full-on grin. “Let’s get out of here, angel. I’ll make the necessary calls once you’re locked safely inside my home.”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “That sounds an awful lot like kidnapping.”
“You already agreed, remember? Besides, I’ve never had anyone over before. It’d be a shame not to make use of the guest bedroom at least once, right?”
Before I can answer, Wolf takes my hand and leads me back up to his office to collect my things.
As we walk out of the warehouse and into the gravel lot, Wolf steps in front of me, his hand resting on the gun I’m just noticing in the waistband of his jeans.
I swallow thickly, realizing how serious this situation is.
Wolf nods and reaches backward, resting a hand on my hip without turning around. “I’ve got you, Hadley. No one is going to hurt you.” His hand moves to take mine, once again leading me out to his motorcycle.
God, a ride sounds amazing right now. My thoughts are all out of whack, hopping from one subject to another, then back again. It feels like whiplash in my brain.
When we get to his bike, Wolf turns around and fixes me with a calm but stern look. “You’re safe with me, Hadley. You can trust me and my brothers to eliminate the threat. I won’t let you get hurt. I promise.”
I stare into his fierce green eyes as my world spins, and in that single moment, I know without a fraction of a doubt: whatever danger is hunting us in the dark, Wolf will tear the world apart before he lets it touch me.