Free When an Alpha Purrs by Eve Langlais

girlfriend isn’t online with social media or anything. Lucky for us, I’ve got a second cousin on my mom’s side who works for the cops out west. He was able to use his access to enforcement databases and he got a hit on her name.”
    “And?”
    “And is Leo there?” Hayder stalled, which didn’t bode well.
    “That bad?”
    “Depends on how you look at it. Seems her ex-boyfriend was quite busy. At least according to her. Nothing concrete was ever proven, despite the many police reports and investigations. Seems Gregory has a history of leaving not-so-polite messages for Kira to find. She called the cops a few times for assault, but with no bruises to show for it, they never laid charges. I suspect Gregory had friends on the force. But even they couldn’t cover his ass when he accosted her at work. According to witnesses, he showed up and went on a rant. She told him to leave, but he wouldn’t listen. Numerous people claimed he shook her before shoving her against a wall. It was after that a judge granted her a restraining order, which prevents him from coming within fifty yards of her and, in addition, lists her residence, her parents’ home as well as her place of business.”
    “In other words, the asshole is having a hard time letting go.”
    “More than hard. The restraining order just pissed him off. Things escalated after that. He attacked her outside her home, gave her a black eye, and might have done more if a passerby hadn’t intervened. That got him tossed in the slammer for a few days, and more charges were filed, but they let him out on bail. It was while he was out that the salon she owned and worked out of burned down. Despite Kira insisting it was him, the investigator didn’t find any concrete evidence linking Gregory to the incident. No accelerant was found, and the cause was attributed to rats chewing the wiring. Without hard evidence, though, the cops wouldn’t book him.”
    And so she fled.
    “Do you have a picture for me?” So Arik could see the face of the man he’d kill. Terrorize his woman? Not happening. Not to Kira. Scum like that did not deserve to breathe the same air as everyone else.
    “I’ve got a few images. I’ll text them over in a second.”
    “Good. After that, I want you to hire some security.”
    “The human kind or are you coughing up the extra dough for the Pack?”
    Pack, as in Lycans who charged a hefty price for their services. Problem was while the Pack was the better choice, he didn’t want any of those randy mutts sniffing around his woman. However, given they needed to protect her against one of their own, his jealousy would have to take a back seat. “Hire the Pack. But warn them they are not to have contact with her. I don’t want her to even suspect they’re watching. I want them for round-the-clock surveillance on her apartment and where she works. We don’t want this asshole repeating his arson.”
    “Do you want a security detail on her?”
    “No. I’ve got that covered.” That was one protective detail he intended to handle himself.
    With Kira, only the personal touch would do.
    And as for Gregory… Arik left a message of his own should the wolf come skulking around again. An old-school message that had Leo wrinkling his nose and saying, “Did you really have to pee on her building?”
    Well, yeah. How else was he to leave his calling card and take care of a pressing bladder all at once?

Chapter Twelve
    Gritty-eyed and her body aching from a night spent on the floor, it was all Kira could do to drag herself down the steep stairs. She dreaded going out. Out meant too many places Gregory could hide and accost her from. Out meant seeing that vile message again, a message her uncle would spot when he came in to work. A visible threat that would require explanation.
    If only she could stay hidden and pretend none of this was happening. Except ignoring it wouldn’t make it go away. But she could hide away. This time, she wouldn’t flee to a