Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

T he bang of the glass against the counter startled Bolt's inner wolf. It went on instant alert, growling and looking for the threat that had made Regina Lansford create the loud noise.

Bolt silently ordered the beast to stand down. It glared at him with glowing green eyes, refusing to stand down. Idiot, she ' s angry at me. There is no danger.

He knew his own eyes would now be that color since the wolf had come to the surface. Lowering his gaze to the floor so he wouldn't startle Regina, he took a deep breath and mentally forced his wolf to back off. The beast grumbled but finally relaxed and allowed himself to fade into the background with one final rumble of a growl under its breath.

Why did it act so protectively of Regina? Bolt raised his eyes again to watch the pissed-off woman in the kitchen .

"I will not allow cameras in my apartment," she said, blue eyes blazing.

"They're already installed. Our team put them in immediately after our meeting this afternoon." Had there been a miscommunication? "In any stalking or anonymous threat situation, we send in a team that sweeps for electronic surveillance equipment in our client's home. And then, we install our own. I'm sorry. I thought you'd signed off on our procedure." Had Arek not secured approval before he sent in the team? It didn't seem likely since their alpha loved checkmarks and protocols. Bolt pulled out his phone and shot Arek a quick text, asking who'd approved the team's entry to the apartment. "I'm checking on who authorized the installation now."

"Well, I sure didn't. And I'm the one living here." Taking a deep breath, she braced her hands on the counter and closed her eyes. When she exhaled, she looked at him again. Her eyes were still shooting sparks. "This is my home. I will not allow anyone to film me while I'm here. I absolutely did not approve of this." She lowered her shoulders, but the gesture showed obvious effort. "Did they find any surveillance equipment?"

He liked this new fiery Regina, far from an ice queen now. Too bad her ire was aimed at him, though. "They didn't." Bolt's phone vibrated, and he quickly scanned the message from Arek. "Your grandfather gave us permission to install the cameras. He said he'd let you know and that you would be okay with us entering your apartment."

She shook her head. "Of course he did."

She muttered something under her breath that even Bolt, with his superb hearing, couldn't quite make out, but it had something to do with arrogance, testosterone, and family obligations. Even if he could hear the words, he did not want to get involved in the drama between her and her grandfather.

"I need to do something about his authority to approve access to my apartment. We agreed it would be for when I'm out of town, or in an emergency. Not to allow people to install spy equipment."

"I should probably tell you that he also allowed us access to your office and your warehouses," Bolt said.

Regina closed her eyes again, and her shoulders tensed. "I can live with cameras in my professional spaces, but you have to take down the ones in here. All of them." She looked straight at him, her cobalt blue eyes imploring him to do as she asked.That look went straight to his gut. He'd love to do as the lady asked, but that would endanger her. The thought of Regina in danger stirred something deep inside him. Something he didn't want to examine more closely.

His wolf lifted his head, reacting to the weird feeling. It growled quietly. What was going on with his beast? It never reacted this way to people. Bolt shook his head, focusing on the conversation again. "I'm sorry, but in order for us to protect you and find the ass...the person stalking you, we have to be able to monitor your home and your office."

A small smile played on her lips. "It's okay to curse in front of me. Besides, asshole is not that strong of a word. I can take it."

Bolt couldn't help but grin back. "I'll keep that in mind." She was gorgeous when she smiled.

His wolf agreed.

He told it to shut up.

She picked up the glass of water and joined him at the table. Handing him the drink, she said, "I understand that in order for you to do your job, you need surveillance in place. But this is my home. All of this is too intrusive." She swept out her hand as if to include him, and his stuff, with the cameras that she couldn't see. "I need someplace where I can just be by myself, where things can just be normal. Where I can breathe." Her hand shot up to cover her mouth as if she didn't mean for the last sentence to slip out.

He sympathized with her. He really did. Being on camera all the time was bound to be intrusive. But on the other hand, he and the team needed to do their job, and the faster they got the creep making her life horrible, the faster he—and the cameras—could get out of her life. Surely she could see that? "Would it help if I told you I could set the angles of the cameras so you have some spaces where you won't be seen on the feed?"

"Like how?"

"We're monitoring the apartment to protect you from intruders and harm. We're not using the cameras to spy on you. The concierge service and the building's general security make our job easier in terms of who enters the building. For your apartment, we need to be able to see your interactions with guests and any entry points, like the front door and the windows."

"What about my bedroom and bathroom?"

He shook his head. "We have to be able to see your bedroom and bathroom windows in case anyone breaks in, but we do not need to see your bed or your shower and bath." A thought struck him. "Unless you're planning on having guests in the bedroom." For some reason, that disturbed him.

It bothered his wolf more, though. The beast growled. Once again, alert and looking for threats.

Bolt frowned and reined in the wolf with a sharp command down their mental connection. Something bothered the beast, but he couldn't deal with that right now. Maybe it had become restless because it had been a while since he'd run in his animal form.

He turned his attention back to Regina. "For our relationship to work, you should know that I wouldn't be with a cheating fiancée—fake or not." That didn't come out right. "What I mean is that in order for people to believe that we are together, you can't sleep with other men—or women. Can't sleep with other people."He rubbed his chest. That weird feeling stabbed him again.

Regina blushed. "I wasn't planning on it." She wiped her hands on her thighs. "And the same goes for you. I wouldn't remain engaged to someone who cheated on me. I'd lose all respect for them."

Like he would ever cheat on someone like her. Actually, Bolt abhorred any kind of cheating. An honorable person finished a relationship before having sex with anyone else. And he bet sex with Regina Lansford would be something a man would never get enough of. Why would anyone risk losing that by looking for intimacy elsewhere? His dick agreed, and it pressed against the fly of his jeans.

What the fuck was he thinking?

He would not be having sex with Regina. His dick disagreed and grew even harder. Controlling both his wolf and erection had now turned out to be a full-time job.

The lady who caused both of his base instincts to misbehave stared at him, which made him realize that the silence between them had officially entered awkward territory. "Right," he said and had to clear his throat. "Noted. No sex with other people."

She blushed and looked away. "But why do you need to monitor the living and kitchen areas? Wouldn't you know whether I'd invited someone in by checking the cameras by the door and the windows?"

Bolt felt sorry for what he had to say next. She really had no clue about how messed up her life had become. Or that the statistics were stacked against her stalker being a stranger. "Your stalker is most likely someone you know and trust. Someone you're friendly with. Maybe even someone you work with. They wouldn't need to force their way into this apartment. You'd probably invite them inside. We need to make sure they don't hurt you once they've gained access." Regina's eyes widened. He hated that he frightened her. "I'll be here most of the time—or someone from my team will—but just in case you're ever here by yourself when someone visits, we need the cameras to monitor what goes on."

"On some level, I knew that the stalker could be someone I know, but this makes it so much more real." She bit her lip. "I'm going to need some time to process this."

Bolt understood. Most likely, whenever they found her stalker, she'd experience a deep sense of betrayal. For her sake, he hoped for a colleague rather than a close friend. He pulled out a dining room chair and gestured for her to sit. "Let me show you exactly what my team will see on the cameras. Maybe that will make you feel better."

She sat, and he placed the laptop on the table. As he adjusted the screen so she could see better, he touched her shoulder. A jolt of electricity zapped his hand, and he snatched it back. What the fuck?

Regina jumped. "What was that?" Her eyes were big and round as she turned and looked at him.

"I must have built up some static on your rug." It had felt about a hundred times stronger than a static charge buildup, but that must have been it. The explanation seemed to satisfy Regina because she turned back to the screen. Bolt's inner wolf, however, was not satisfied. The beast stood at full alert, ears forward, its muzzle slightly open as it drew in air over the scent glands on the top of the roof of its mouth.

Mine , it whispered inside his head. Ours .

Calm the fuck down , Bolt thought back. I'm working and do not have time for your games.

The wolf chuffed, but did as he asked, its tail twitching. Mine , it said again before putting its head on its front paws and closing its eyes.

He sighed inwardly. This job would be hard enough without his stubborn wolf messing with his mind. The beast had reacted to attractive women before, but not with quite as much enthusiasm. Nor had it claimed them as theirs.

As soon as logistically possible, he'd head across the Golden Gate Bridge and to the Marine Headlines to shift and have a long run in his wolf form.

Maybe he could get a group of wolves together for a moonlit hunt. It had been ages since he had given his wolf a good run. If it hadn't been for Arek's dozer of a plan to make Bolt pose as a fake fiancé and thereby make him have to move in with Regina tonight, he would have taken the time to shift and run before starting this case.

The wolf became restless when he went too long without shifting. And a restless wolf was an unpredictable wolf.

An unpredictable wolf was a powder keg.

Anything could happen when his wolf hadn't been let out for a while, and it decided to take charge of both of them.

Usually, the people working for Heimdall got downtime between cases so they could decompress and make sure both their wolves and their minds were in the right place before starting another job. But business had picked up, and they were stretched thin trying to cover all their active cases. Especially with Bayden missing and Justice trying to figure out what the hell happened to the younger wolf.

Bolt would do whatever his alpha and his pack required him to do. Even if it meant sucking it up and getting his bonkers wolf to follow orders.

Or at least appearing to behave.