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“I think we need to talk,” he said, and Tahnee frowned. It sounded just like him… but also it didn’t. The cadence was ever so slightly wrong. Not that she thought she was an expert on how Robb sounded after such a short time together… but there was something missing.

She wanted to say that it was the warmth of the mate bond, that surely she’d be able to feel more if Robb really was calling her – something more than this cold, hard knot in her gut.

Then again, she could just be hearing what she wanted to hear. Maybe he was just extremely pissed off at her, and wanted to call things off.

Still, at least this gave her an opening to find out more, even though that warning voice inside her head was still yelling at her that this was a trap.

There was no way in hell that she was just going to break up with him over the phone, when she wasn’t even sure what was going on. If Robb did want to end things with her, then he could do it to her face.

On the other hand, if he was in trouble, then she was willing to throw herself headfirst into that trouble to get him out of it. No matter how stupid she was being, or how much danger she was putting herself in.

“Yeah, me too,” she said, being careful not to give too much away in case someone was listening in. “I think I overreacted the other day. Not that you were exactly blameless,” she added, unable to help herself. “But yeah, there’s a lot we need to discuss.”

She held her breath, wondering how he would react.

“Agreed,” said Robb perfunctorily.

Who talks like that in this situation?! she thought, her anxiety over his potential response giving way to mild indignation. There was definitely something weird going on. Even for Robb, this was just cold.

And sure, Robb could be thoughtless in how he talked, and he could put business ahead of everything else in his life. But he wasn’t cruel.

“Are you still in town?” he asked her, as if she were just a distant acquaintance he didn’t particularly want to see, but was meeting up with out of some sense of obligation.

Tahnee paused. If someone else was listening in, the last thing she wanted to do was give any inkling of the sanctuary’s existence.

“I’m not,” she said. “But I can be there in five hours.”

“Good. I’ll send you the details of a bar we can meet at.” Again, he just sounded as if he was arranging his affairs with someone he barely knew. And again, Tahnee knew that Robb might be a straitlaced guy, but this was not how he’d speak to her under these circumstances. Even if he was planning on breaking her heart when they did see each other again.

She swallowed. If this really was Robb, it was clear there was something more going on than he could discuss over the phone.

Why are people always trying to lure me into traps in Melbourne? Don’t they know the cost of petrol these days?! she thought, exasperation adding itself to the strange mix of emotions she was feeling.

Because she was certain now that this was a trap. She didn’t think that Robb himself would lure her into one, but maybe he was being used or controlled, or maybe Hargreaves had some voice tech or something.

Either way, it just wasn’t right. Robb wouldn’t invite her to a bar in a different part of the country to hash out their relationship.

And she couldn’t see him being this cold. She just couldn’t. She knew that he had that kind of reputation, but she also knew that that wasn’t what he was truly like.

It was what he’d made himself into, in order to deal with the pain of pushing down the mate bond for so long.

Ask me how I know, she thought, closing her eyes.

“Sounds good,” she said shortly, once she was certain she could speak without her voice wobbling. “See you in a bit.”

And then Robb hung up without further comment, and Tahnee stared at her phone’s blank screen for several seconds while she tried to get her heartbeat back under control.

What the hell was that?!

Her brolga’s forehead was furrowed in a scowl. I do not like this at all. Something is wrong.

You won’t get any argument from me, Tahnee replied.

Her phone buzzed as the name of a bar popped up on her screen, the text message again coming from a private number.

Uncertainty gnawed at her. Either Robb was in trouble, or someone was imitating him, or he wasn’t who she thought he was and he really was acting this way because they were done, completely done, this time.

I don’t like any of those options, Tahnee thought glumly.