Her CEO Stalker and Her Second Chance Mate Chapter 43

Carter

I stepped into the office, ignoring the eyes on me as I made my way to the desk. I sat and ignored them. Everyone seemed to know what I was doing. Yes, it was my job, but right now, it served  a dual purpose; I would do my job and then some. Nobody else would know anything but what I told them. 

She had no criminal record, which didn’t surprise me. Digging deeper, I found she was an A student, across the board. Her high school records showed a few misconducts but nothing out of the ordinary. By the end of the day, I had paused to make rounds and come back to more of the same. I downloaded her mother's information and sent out a query on it. That would take some time to come back. There was no father listed on her birth record. Not surprising, as most shifters that tangled with human women avoided it.

I packed up, eager to go home. I hadn’t heard from her all day. I suppose I shouldn’t expect it. In her mind, she was just a house guest and I was busy at work, but I had found myself checking my phone too often to see if she had messaged.

When I walked in, I noticed her bag by the door and she stepped out of the kitchen with her arms crossed. Rosie sat at her side.

“I’m going home,” was all she said, staring at me with accusation.

“I don’t think they got the power turned on just yet, why?” I asked.

“I called my friend today, and she informed me you have been requesting reports on me. I thought I could trust you, obviously, I can’t. I haven’t lied to you once. I never asked for your help, and this is what I get,” she huffed. She walked across the room to grab her bag. Rosie whined and I caught her hand before she could grab it.

“Let me explain,” I found myself pleading.

“You don’t have to explain, Sheriff Carter, you thought I was a criminal, at least that’s how it feels,” she shot back, pulling her hand from mine.

“At least, let me drive you. You shouldn’t be carrying all that right now. You're still healing.”

“I really don’t give a shit right now.” 

I closed my eyes, reigning myself in. How do I fix this? “Let me drive you, and I will explain. It's not what it looks like,” I promised. The look she gave me should have been joined with a snarl, because she was fuming. “I’m just asking you to listen, you can hate me all you want after that.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at me. How had I fucked this up so bad? That's right, she didn’t have a clue as to what she was surrounded by in this town, that I was the only one standing between her and the Alpha, who hated outsiders.

It was clear her answer was against her better judgment. “Fine, I’ll hear you out, but you have the ride there, and nothing more,” She snapped, snatching her bag. I sighed, heading for the closet under the stairs. I grabbed the shotgun shoving several rounds of ammo in the case, and found her waiting in the truck, avoiding eye contact. I chucked the gun in the bed and got in.

“Look, I know what it looks like, but that's not what this is. A large part of my job is vetting people who stay too long, and to gather information for my boss to judge whether they are a good fit for the community. It’s stupid small town politics but I believe you are who you say you are, I want this to be a home for you; however, I don’t get the final say. I need receipts to verify you are who you say you are. That you are not problematic. So it's my job to run the records. I delayed on yours because I believe you. That doesn’t mean I can neglect my duties.

She shook her head. “Did you ever stop to think that a man of Creedon’s means could see everything? He has an entire department dedicated to watching his enemies and allies. All I can hope for now is that he is to prideful to put my whereabouts in front of them.” 

I looked at her stunned.

She shook her head in disbelief. “You have just joepordized me being able to stay here,”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize, but it’s not just that, Adelaide,”—I pointedly said her real name—“I needed to know how to protect you. If anything else came up, I wouldn’t be able to do that. Now I know I can. Creedon isn’t the only person I’m trying to protect you from, I can’t say much more on that, but I swear to you, I had no intention of luring that sack of shit here. My queries are careful. I don't know how you found out, they fly under the radar of even basic police work. If you are endangered by my actions, the last place you should be is where they expect you. You also shouldn’t be alone.” She was staring at me like I had just shot her at the sound of her name.