desk.
A moment passed and then one of the office doors opened, a man leaning his head through the door. “Good morning, can I help you?”
Jake nodded. “We’re looking for Hayden Thorne.”
The man in question arched a brow and stepped out of his office. Jake knew without a doubt he was a shifter. He was tall and lanky, his body giving off a sense of coiled energy, an underlying thread of leashed power. He had golden brown hair and caramel eyes, a feline cast to his features. He glanced between Jake and Dane before stepping forward to offer his hand. “Well, that would be me.” He paused and nodded to the empty reception desk. “Our receptionist is out sick today, so I hope you didn’t wait too long.”
After quickly introducing themselves, Dane commented, “If now’s not a good time, we can come back later.”
Hayden shook his head. “Now’s as good a time as any. Come on in.” He gestured for them to sit at a table in his office and closed the door before joining them. “What can I do for you?”
Jake’s gut reinforced his perception from the many emails he read from Hayden to Callen that Hayden was not a bad guy, so he decided to get right to the point. “Does the name Callen Peyton sound familiar?”
Hayden’s gaze sharpened. He nodded slowly. “Sure does. How is it that you know Callen?”
“Callen’s dead,” Dane said flatly.
Jake cut in. “I found your name in some emails between you and Callen. We have reason to believe he got involved with some shady characters out here before he died. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure if we’re crazy to talk to you, seeing as you work for the Feds, but Callen opened up a can of worms before he died. We need to find out more about what he was doing out here and what you might know.”
Hayden leaned back in his chair, flipping a pen between his fingers. “And how is it you think I can help?”
Jake leaned forward, anger flashing through him. They didn’t have time for vague communication. He knew damn well Hayden had some idea of what was going on. “Callen was in regular communication with you about mountain lion shifters out here. Since he died, we’ve had two shifters show up from out of nowhere and a kidnapping. We don’t have time to drag this out. Either you help us out, or we’ll keep investigating on our own. If you think for a second I would hesitate to make your involvement public, think again.”
Hayden held Jake’s gaze, appearing unruffled by Jake’s comment. A weighted silence hung in the room before Hayden set the pen down and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “I suppose we’re all going to have to take a leap of faith here. I’ve heard both of your names and followed the local news in Maine about the kidnapping. Based on your roles in that situation and my gut, I’m going to assume we can trust each other.”
Jake held his silence, but relief washed through him. He’d had his doubts about coming here to meet with Hayden. Catamount shifters definitely didn’t need a spotlight from the Federal Fish & Wildlife shining on them. But Callen had already put them in its glare in his communications with Hayden. Jake had hoped against hope they might catch a break. Hayden’s cooperation was a start.
Hayden continued. “Callen started emailing me over a year ago. I knew right off he was scenting out if there were mountain lion shifters out here. I didn’t realize until later on that he’d linked up with a bad crowd of shifters. I’ve been investigating some of the shifters Callen fell in with over the last few years. I’m guessing you’re after the same thing I am—to find out who’s involved and who holds the power.”
Dane caught Jake’s gaze and nodded. “You guessed right,” he said, addressing his comment to Jake before turning to Hayden. “We knew something wasn’t right when Callen died. We knew he was trying to confirm if there were shifters out here, but it made absolutely no sense that he
A moment passed and then one of the office doors opened, a man leaning his head through the door. “Good morning, can I help you?”
Jake nodded. “We’re looking for Hayden Thorne.”
The man in question arched a brow and stepped out of his office. Jake knew without a doubt he was a shifter. He was tall and lanky, his body giving off a sense of coiled energy, an underlying thread of leashed power. He had golden brown hair and caramel eyes, a feline cast to his features. He glanced between Jake and Dane before stepping forward to offer his hand. “Well, that would be me.” He paused and nodded to the empty reception desk. “Our receptionist is out sick today, so I hope you didn’t wait too long.”
After quickly introducing themselves, Dane commented, “If now’s not a good time, we can come back later.”
Hayden shook his head. “Now’s as good a time as any. Come on in.” He gestured for them to sit at a table in his office and closed the door before joining them. “What can I do for you?”
Jake’s gut reinforced his perception from the many emails he read from Hayden to Callen that Hayden was not a bad guy, so he decided to get right to the point. “Does the name Callen Peyton sound familiar?”
Hayden’s gaze sharpened. He nodded slowly. “Sure does. How is it that you know Callen?”
“Callen’s dead,” Dane said flatly.
Jake cut in. “I found your name in some emails between you and Callen. We have reason to believe he got involved with some shady characters out here before he died. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure if we’re crazy to talk to you, seeing as you work for the Feds, but Callen opened up a can of worms before he died. We need to find out more about what he was doing out here and what you might know.”
Hayden leaned back in his chair, flipping a pen between his fingers. “And how is it you think I can help?”
Jake leaned forward, anger flashing through him. They didn’t have time for vague communication. He knew damn well Hayden had some idea of what was going on. “Callen was in regular communication with you about mountain lion shifters out here. Since he died, we’ve had two shifters show up from out of nowhere and a kidnapping. We don’t have time to drag this out. Either you help us out, or we’ll keep investigating on our own. If you think for a second I would hesitate to make your involvement public, think again.”
Hayden held Jake’s gaze, appearing unruffled by Jake’s comment. A weighted silence hung in the room before Hayden set the pen down and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “I suppose we’re all going to have to take a leap of faith here. I’ve heard both of your names and followed the local news in Maine about the kidnapping. Based on your roles in that situation and my gut, I’m going to assume we can trust each other.”
Jake held his silence, but relief washed through him. He’d had his doubts about coming here to meet with Hayden. Catamount shifters definitely didn’t need a spotlight from the Federal Fish & Wildlife shining on them. But Callen had already put them in its glare in his communications with Hayden. Jake had hoped against hope they might catch a break. Hayden’s cooperation was a start.
Hayden continued. “Callen started emailing me over a year ago. I knew right off he was scenting out if there were mountain lion shifters out here. I didn’t realize until later on that he’d linked up with a bad crowd of shifters. I’ve been investigating some of the shifters Callen fell in with over the last few years. I’m guessing you’re after the same thing I am—to find out who’s involved and who holds the power.”
Dane caught Jake’s gaze and nodded. “You guessed right,” he said, addressing his comment to Jake before turning to Hayden. “We knew something wasn’t right when Callen died. We knew he was trying to confirm if there were shifters out here, but it made absolutely no sense that he
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