Page 107 of A Wolfe in the Woods

“Polaris has watched the region for some time,” he said casually. “County data. Local insights. Even a few trusted eyes in the area.”

Polaris Equity. Skoll Corp was behind it, had been all this time.

My jaw tightened.

Erik gaze flicked from the screen to me. “People change when opportunities present themselves,” he said lightly. “Like I said, it’s a golden future.”

“And like I said,” I replied, my beast prowling in my chest, my fist clenching at my side, feeling my claws begin to elongate, “the landisn’tfor sale.”

I walked directly into the elevator. Erik’s face was the last thing I saw as the doors slid closed, his expression one of quiet contemplation, another chess piece moving in his head. I needed to get out of here before I did something I regretted.

I didn’t look for Blanche in the lobby.

By the time I reached the doors leading from Skoll, doubt had already crept in. A slow, corrosive burn spreading inward, my instincts warning me not to ignore them again…to not repeat mistakes that had once cost me everything.

But one thought ran on repeat in my mind.

She betrayed me.

CHAPTER 29

BLANCHETTE

Jonathan was the only bright thing in my week.

That realization hit me as I shoved my badge into my bag and power-walked through the corridor, heart light in a way it hadn’t been in days. Work had been hell—meetings stacked on meetings, Erik’s shadow everywhere, the air at Skoll thick with tension and quiet fear—but the thought of seeing Jonathan again carried me through it.

I was running late.

Of course I was. When I reached the lobby and hurried out from the elevator bank, I rounded the corner too fast and only just caught myself before colliding with someone waiting.

“Oh—” I started, then froze.

Erik Skoll stood there, immaculately composed as always. Fang hovered behind him. His hand steadied my elbow, and I stepped away, hitching up my purse, when I realized it was him.

“Blanchette,” he said mildly. “Running off to the woods again, are we?”

My stomach tightened, and I tried to step around him. “I’m sorry—I’m in a hurry, Mr. Skoll. Have a good weekend.”

His gaze never left mine. “He arrived early. You might’ve missed him already.”

“What?” I asked, stilling as a frown spread.

“Jonathan,” Erik supplied. A faint, knowing smile curved his mouth. “I should thank you. For bringing him to me. We had a nice chat.”

An iciness slid down my spine.

“Excuse me,” I said hurriedly, already stepping around him. My pulse was too loud in my ears as I hurried past the security desk. When I happened to glance over my shoulder, worrying my bottom lip, Erik was already gone, back up to our main office floor.

What had he meant? And why did it make alarm bells go off in my head?

My eyes scanned the lobby instinctively. The security readers, the fountain, the wide glass entrance beyond?—

Jonathan.

He was walking away, nearly halfway through the plaza.

But it was him. There was no mistaking the broad set of his shoulders or the richness of his dark hair. Plus, he was the only onenotin a suit and tie.