Chapter Nine
Truth be told, I hated this idea. “We’re asking Ellie to use herself as serial killer bait.”
“Synamon’s doing it,” Ellie clarified. “And she doesn’t really exist.”
“She absolutely does.” I sighed. “Synamon’s more real to me and whoever’s after you than Ellie.”
Her lips parted like she wanted to protest. Hell, I wasn’t even sure how I should be thinking of her.
This woman who called herself Ellie was shy and unsure of herself.
Had more secrets than a teenager’s diary.
But then the fire came back to her eyes like Synamon had pushed her aside.
Like she was trying to convince herself to believe in her own fantasy.
What do you believe? my bear asked.
I believed this woman belonged to me, but damn, nothing about this would be easy.
“He won’t get that close again,” Bellamy insisted. “We’ll be watching you closely. Surveying the area. If he sets foot in Granger Falls, we’ll nab him.”
“But he was already here. In the same room as Synamon Honey,” I reminded my coworkers. They didn’t know what that realization had felt like in the moment. How my heart dropped. How I had to get her away from that crowd.
How it had been so close to her in that storage closet, with her delicious scent singing in my nostrils.
“I don’t want to perform at The Stepchild again.
At least, not yet,” Ellie said. “They do want me back. But for now, performing on Only Bears should be more than enough. The Centerfold Slasher doesn’t get to take my entire life away.
And if you haven’t noticed, my fans are pretty feral.
If I don’t put out a new video soon, they’ll find me faster than you find the Slasher. ”
“We’d love to access your subscriber records so we can track unusual behavior.” Barrett wrapped his hands around his coffee cup. “We have to consider all angles until we can be sure who we’re looking for.”
Ellie pursed her lips together. She was struggling with this. Sweet moon, did she ever have a hard time letting people get close to her. This was a woman who was used to doing everything herself.
Which made me wonder, who hurt her?
“We still have the lease on the place Beau and Kayla stayed at. It’s remote enough that no one will know you’re there, but close enough that we can get there in a hurry if we need to,” Bellamy said. “And I’ll call Stephanie and get that equipment, so you can start filming ASAP.”
“That’s probably more professional than I’m used to,” Ellie said. “I just use a camera, ring light, and greenscreen.”
“Not anymore.” I wouldn’t let my mate hold back. She was a bigger threat to herself than any serial killer. “If you’re going all in on Synamon Honey, go all in. I know this sucks, being stuck with me—”
“That part might not suck.” She grinned, and a hint of Synamon shone through the doubt.
“You have a chance to take things to the next level. You might not have to worry about living a double life anymore.”
And just like that, the confidence disappeared, just like it did any time Ellie was mentioned.
What was she so afraid of?
The Centerfold Slasher could be the best thing that ever happened to this woman, because she was in more trouble than she wanted to admit. It was crazy to think I probably owed a serial killer a thank you, but he’d brought me to my mate. More than that, he was giving me a chance to keep her safe.
Now, I had to make sure I didn’t fuck it up.
I wished I could talk to Jen. Get a little more inside scoop on what made Ellie tick. It was possible she’d be performing the whole time, even when it was just her and me.
“We’ll be back soon with supplies,” Barrett said as he checked the cabinets, taking an inventory.
“I know you don’t have your tech with you, but I have to reiterate how important it is to only use the channels we provide for you so we can monitor everything.
If you need anything, we’ll bring it for you.
And for the love of the moon, don’t leave the cabin without telling us where you’re going. ”
“I’ll dedicate my next performance to Sawtooth Security,” Ellie said with a flirtatious wink, then clapped her hand over her mouth. “My makeup. My wigs. We need to go back to my apartment.”
“No,” I said in unison with Barrett and Bellamy. “We can order everything. Make us a list.”
“But that takes time to get here. I need to start filming soon. It’s bad enough I left them thinking something happened to me.”
“Something did happen to you,” I reminded her. “You’re in shock. Perfectly normal response after a major loss. You had your safety violated. You’ll be filming soon enough, and this break will give you a chance to come up with a great story for your fans.”
She sighed and wrapped her arms around herself. In that nondescript sweatsuit, she looked so small. So vulnerable. And she didn’t understand that I’d move heaven and earth to keep her safe. All this worry was for nothing.
She doesn’t understand yet, my bear corrected.
Finally, she nodded. “You’re right. The break will be good. I can come up with some new stuff.”
“Do you have anything prerecorded in drafts? Can you send written messages without video?” I hadn’t had a chance to get too familiar with the Only Bears platform before all hell had broken loose during her performance.
“Yeah, I have a few things in draft. But I still feel like I have to explain what happened.” Her eyes were wild.
I couldn’t wait until that fear finally faded away.
“My fans mean the world to me. You can go ahead and laugh—thinking they’re a bunch of guys beating their meat, watching me perform.
But some of them are so sweet and kind. Without them, I wouldn’t be Synamon Honey.
So this isn’t a one-sided thing. They deserve to know I’m okay. ”
“They will,” I insisted, but I couldn’t wait to get my hands on that client list. I’d be checking notes, making sure no one had acted out of line. She had hundreds of thousands of subscribers, and moon only knew how many of them could be considered suspects.
“Thank you for understanding that,” she said with a nod before she headed toward the bedrooms.
Like I needed that reminder we’d be sleeping with only a wall between us.
For now, my bear said smugly.
Barrett pulled me aside before I had a chance to remind my bear that we needed to keep things professional. “I want you to know that I trust you implicitly with this case. But I also need to acknowledge that you have your hands full.” He blew out a breath. “She’s hiding something.”
“Absofuckinglutely.” I was glad I hadn’t imagined it, or made more out of this than what we had in front of us.
Maybe I was a little delusional too, hoping she didn’t have a serial killer tracking her every move.
A fan or some developer who didn’t want to take no for an answer seemed like a more palatable answer.
But dead was dead no matter who delivered the final blow.
“Get her talking,” Barrett commanded. “And make sure you report everything to us. There are too many loose ends in this case, and she might slip and give us the information she’s trying so hard to protect.”
I nodded.
The guys left, and I took a seat on the couch. Synamon Honey was my roommate for the foreseeable future, and I had to get her to trust me—mind, body, and soul without getting too close to her.
The crack of a door opening startled me back into reality, and Ellie appeared in the living room, hands on hips. Something about her was different—she was still in the sweatsuit, but she’d brushed her hair and judging from the pink in her cheeks, washed her face.
How long would it take, being this close to her, for her scent to drive me wild?
She lifted her chin defiantly. I prepared myself for her to tell me she had no plans of actually staying.
I meant what I said, if she ran, I’d follow her to the ends of the fucking earth.
“What’s your deal?” she asked.
“Excuse me?”
“You know everything about me and I know nothing about you. Hardly seems fair.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. I was dealing with Synamon Honey now.
“I’ve worked for Sawtooth Security for a little less than a year. After Barrett took the Moonlight Mates case, the business exploded. Can’t buy that type of publicity. I hit the ground running with these guys. I’m thankful for the opportunity.”
She shook her head. “I didn’t ask about your job. I asked about you.” She took a seat on the edge of the couch. “After all, we’re roommates now.”
“What do you want to know?”
She tipped her head, considering me for a moment. “What did you do before this? What made you want to be a bodyguard?”
“Isn’t that about work?” I countered, trying to be playful. But not too playful, because my bear wanted nothing more than to crawl across that couch and find out if she tasted as sweet as she smelled.
“Maybe.” She shrugged. “I’m shit about talking about myself too. Just trying to warm you up a little.
Everyone has a backstory.”
“I worked as a survivalist before I came to Sawtooth. Way up north, near the Canadian border. There aren’t as many rules up there.
I’d take humans on camping trips in the most remote parts of the forest and teach them how to survive on nothing but instinct.
In the off-season, I worked as a search and rescue specialist.”
“A tracker,” she said, matter-of-factly.
“Hikers like to take risks. They think they’re prepared for what the mountains have to offer, but nature is full of surprises. And humans, even with all their technology, can’t get as remote as a shifter can. We sense things they can’t. Scent, sight, and sound.”
“What else did you look for?”
I leaned closer. “What are you asking me, Ellie? Or am I talking to Synamon? I’m never sure with you.”
Heat radiated from her body, and that scent intensified. I could distract myself and think I was picking up on her arousal, but chances were much better I’d simply pissed her off.
“I’d prefer you thought of me as Synamon.” She met my gaze, defiantly. She didn’t need makeup and pasties to be in full character. “All right, then let me be more direct. Why are you so interested in my case? How do I know you aren’t that creep in the bear head?”
“You really think I broke into your house so I could later pretend to save you and lure you to this safe house?” This woman was absolutely impossible.
“I’ve had fans do much crazier stuff to get my attention.” She shrugged. “And for the record, you’re much better looking than the guy who broke in. But that doesn’t mean you weren’t driving the getaway car.”
I didn’t have the luxury of basking in her compliment. “No, I wasn’t driving the fucking getaway car. And you need to tell me these crazy things fans have done to get close to you. The time for keeping secrets ended when you almost got abducted on camera.”
She waved her hand. “We’re still talking about you, Brad. Why do you care about this case so much? I fired you. And yet, here we are. I didn’t sign a contract—I just got whisked away to this remote cabin. Doesn’t seem that different than what Bear Head had in mind.”
“You agreed to come,” I reminded her, willing myself not to growl in frustration. “And I’m not a serial killer.”
“And you still haven’t answered my question.”
What did I tell her?
After giving her so much shit about keeping secrets, I couldn’t tell her the truth—at least, not yet.
If I uttered those words—because you’re my mate—she’d run.
And this time, I might not be able to save her.