The Awakening: Britton (Entangled Covet) by Abby Niles Page A

with, and shatter this awkward, unbidden attraction he was
    feeling. Why the hell was he suddenly finding her so frickin’ appealing?
    Maybe it was exactly what he’d said to her. Maybe in laying the past to rest, he was finally seeing her as
    Val Calhoun. The woman. Not the bitch on wheels.
    Unfortunately, he was also seeing what a damn attractive woman she was. He hadn’t liked how Miles
    had looked at her, how he wanted a “rain check.” Yeah, Britton knew what kind of rain check he had in
    mind. The doctor’s reputation was as bad as Britton’s, and Val deserved better than that.
    Wait.
    He shook his head. She deserved better?
    Man, his mind had jumped on the loco train. He and Val had just decided to be friends. Now he thought
    he knew what she deserved?
    The loco train had just sped by the sanity station.
    If she wanted to go out with the doctor, then what the fuck did he care? Maybe a wild romp would do
    her good.
    A violent growl vibrated in his chest. What the hell ? Unsettled by his beast’s sudden rage, he went into
    the kitchen and rummaged through the cabinets to find something for dinner. He settled on making elbow
    macaroni with Italian dressing. He grabbed cans of diced tomatoes, black olives, and mushrooms. He’d
    usually fry up some boneless chicken breasts and add to it, but the general store only carried
    nonperishables.
    After putting a pot of water on the stove to boil, he went to the table and opened the briefcase with the
    case files, grabbing the map inside.
    He spread it out on the table. With a black marker, he circled the cabin where Charlie’s scent had been
    found. Then he marked out the area to the southwest, and circled the area to the northwest. He shaded in
    the areas they’d already searched.
    There was still a ton of mountain left.
    He peered at the map. The nearest city was about twenty miles away. But in the sparsely populated areas
    all around it were many backwoods hidey-holes. Nothing could be overlooked.
    The bedroom door opened. Every instinct in him wanted to snap his head up and watch Val emerge, but
    he refused, keeping his focus firmly locked on the map.
    “Find anything interesting?” she asked.
    “Not really.” He used the marker to pinpoint an area. “Charlie’s scent was still strong when I turned
    around. I was here.” He picked up a fine-point pen and drew a line from the area of the abandoned cabin to
    where he’d stopped hiking. It was a perfect line toward the northwest. “Tomorrow, we’ll pick up where I
    stopped.” He tapped the pen against the area even farther up. “I have a feeling they have him somewhere in
    this region. No roads and all deep woods. They’re shifters so they’ll be able to sense our approach once we
    get within striking distance of them.”
    “Yeah,” she agreed with a frown.
    “They know you are on the case. If they’re smart, and I have a feeling they are, they’ll be scouting
    around seeing how close we’re getting to their hideout. Right now the only thing we have in our favor is the
    element of surprise—the fact that the council lifted my sentence. Once they get wind I’m involved, things
    could get more difficult.”
    “Do you think they have anyone with a heightened sense of smell?”
    Not liking the way his body tingled at the sound of her voice, he shrugged. “Our ability is rare. I highly
    doubt they can tell it’s my scent specifically they’re sniffing, and not just a shifter. Still, that doesn’t mean
    they aren’t keeping an eye on me. Just because I haven’t caught wind of a shifter watching me yet, doesn’t
    mean it hasn’t happened. We’re sticking to one trail. There are trees and all kinds of cliffs. Eyes could be
    anywhere.”
    When she pulled a chair across from him, he stiffened. This time it wasn’t from nausea or the urge to
    retreat, but from a desire to reach across the table and take her hand—to touch her. He kept his attention
    firmly on the map and his fists clenched around