Veiled Target (A Veilers Novel) Read online

  Standing so close to him without support in the open doorway, she almost fell butt first into the driver’s seat. She still tasted his lips on hers, pleasure still wove a warm path inside her. Much to her dismay, her legs wobbled. “No. It’s personal.”

  That got his attention. He rubbed his jaw, studied her with interest.

  If she could read minds, she’d probably find him weighing how much he owed her. She had saved his life. Had fought beside him. He didn’t need to know she’d loved every second of it, felt a rush of adrenaline while fleeing the Banoth, and really had no regard for her own safety. He didn’t need to know she lived on the edge and didn’t want to slow down long enough to think too hard about her life.

  “Why me?”

  “It’s wolf-related.”

  His eyes widened. The light from the street lamp above highlighted their azure appeal. He looked both surprised and curious by her admission.

  “I can’t help you.” He sounded resigned to the fact.

  “Can’t or won’t? Come on. I think I’ve proven you can trust me.” She put her hand on his arm. “I’m proposing a fair trade, so really it’s not like either one of us is—”

  “I’m not sure I…” Commotion swirled in his eyes now, like he couldn’t decide between doing the sensible thing or taking a chance.

  She took a deep breath. “You’re not sure what?”

  “I’m not sure I can—”

  “Hugh,” Dane called out, waving a cell phone in the air. “We need to talk.”

  Hugh shifted his stance and looked like he’d rather rewind the night and do everything differently. “I’m not sure I can trust myself,” he said. “Around you.” A moment of silence passed before he added, “Give me a minute with Dane.”

  Wow. That wasn’t what she’d expected to hear. Trust himself how? Tess wondered, watching him walk away.

  Hugh wanted to kiss Tess again. And again. And again. He wanted to kiss down her neck to her breasts, take her nipples between his teeth and suck until they pebbled into tight, hard nubs. Then he wanted to lick down her stomach, spread her legs and taste her until her juices slid down his throat. Tess hadn’t just saved his life tonight—she’d made him think for the first time ever there was someone made for him. Someone he didn’t want anyone else having. Her kiss had gotten inside him. Made him feel better than anything he’d tried before. The notion scared the shit out of him.

  He needed to keep walking and never look back. Get his ass on his bike, and ride away like nothing else mattered but getting to the checkered flag. After the evening’s events, Trey’s life depended on him thinking intelligibly. Acting swiftly. Tending to the present situation with a clear head.

  Tess put a crater-sized crack in accomplishing all that.

  She filled him with lust.

  And so much more he didn’t want to think about it.

  Talking to her was easy. Confiding in her easier. He wanted to find out everything about her. He wanted to help her. But he didn’t know if bringing her into his world was the right thing to do.

  She wasn’t the first human to know about Veilers. But other humans treated their existence with a shrug, a Tooth Fairy mentality that meant they didn’t truly believe. The world was full of monsters. Some saw them. Some didn’t. Others pretended they didn’t exist. Hugh worked damn hard to blend in. He lived by his own code, did the right thing by his pack and humans. Tess hadn’t shied away from him when she found out what he was. She hadn’t freaked or cried or screamed. She’d accepted.

  Her acceptance was his undoing, and suddenly she mattered to him. Suddenly he understood how his brother could fall so helplessly for someone.

  “What is it?” he snapped, wishing the clatter in his head would shut the hell up.

  Dane didn’t look pleased by his annoyed tone, which was tough shit. Friends one day, enemies the next—things hadn’t changed since childhood. Nowadays, they merely tolerated each other for the sake of the pack.

  “Word on the street is Trey’s being held by the Wolf Seekers.”

  “We figured that out already.”

  “But the Wolf Seekers are denying it. They’re saying they had nothing to do with it.”

  Headlights coming down the street prompted them to move to the sidewalk. Hugh looked over his shoulder to be sure Tess was still there. She’d closed the car door and leaned against it. When he returned his attention to Dane, a cackle of voices came from the bar entrance.

  They’d need to take extreme caution from here on out. If the Wolf Seekers were denying their involvement in Trey’s disappearance, then perhaps there was a third party interested in the Night Runners. Or… “They could be lying.”

  “True. Especially given what else I just found out.” He looked up and down the dark street, took notice in Tess’s direction, then fixed his eyes on Hugh.

  “What’s that?” Hugh’s fingers drummed along the side of his leg. He wanted to get back to his conversation with Tess.

  “There’s a hit out on you.” He said it like he’d told Hugh the sky was blue.

  Anger bubbled up inside Hugh. Every muscle strained against his clothing. Who the fuck had ordered a hit on him? “Really?”

  “I just got off the phone with a guy who’s got his ear pretty close to the ground with all this Wolf Seeker business. He says the call went out yesterday. P.I.E. is handling it.”

  Private Investigations and Elimination. He’d known about them for years. Knew their reputation. They thought they were helping the human population by eliminating Veilers. But really they were helping the Veiler population by getting rid of the criminals influencing the balance of power between Veilers and humans.

  Hugh wasn’t a criminal. Which meant only one thing: it was personal.

  Eliminators for the top-secret organization were supposedly the best assassins in the business. Their identities were virtually impossible to find out. Being human, they blended in with society, but had the unique talent of mixing in with Veilers as well.

  They also killed with the knowledge their targets deserved it. Was someone supplying phony information on him? The idea made his jaw clench, his hands fist. It had to be all connected. Trey’s disappearance, the hit, the Banoth.

  “Was the Banoth a warm-up?” Hugh started to pace, casting glances in Tess’s direction while he contemplated their next move.

  She looked about ready to bolt, her head tilted to the right like she’d been waiting so long she couldn’t keep it up. Her long, athletic legs were thrust out, putting her body at a relaxed yet fatigued angle against her car.

  “Probably. But it’s a possibility we’re dealing with more than one opponent.” Dane paced opposite him.

  Hugh was pleased Dane had said “we” and not “you.” Regardless of their differences, he had to believe he could count on Dane when things got tough. “I agree.”

  And that was when it hit him.

  Like a bulldozer.

  He looked over his shoulder at Tess. At the woman who was anything but ordinary. She gave a wave, a smile crossed her sensual lips. He blinked and her scent surrounded him.

  She’d lurked around a dark alley in a seedy part of town unafraid and reacted unruffled to Dane’s shifting. She’d thought the Banoth fun—his senses had picked up on her amusement more than anything else. Very few humans knew about Sentients, but she had. And when he’d told her his real name, she’d choked and doubled over, completely thrown off balance to discover he wasn’t Trey.

  His stomach lurched like he’d eaten bad fish. His chest tightened and burned. Tess was the P.I.E. eliminator. It made perfect sense. Her bravery, fighting skills, attitude and knowledge of Veilers all pointed to the occupation. What didn’t make sense was why she’d just saved his life if she planned to kill him.

  “Head back to the main house and see what else you can dig up,” he told Dane. “Put some calls out to the others for help. I’ll be in touch.”

  “What are you going to do?” Dane landed a hand on Hugh’s arm, p
utting a stop to their pacing.

  “I’m going to talk to Tess.”

  “Maybe I should stick around for that.”

  “You shouldn’t. But…” He didn’t like what he was thinking, but it was time to turn the tables. “Have you got any duct tape left over from the patch job you did on the air duct at the main house?”

  Confusion clouded Dane’s face. “I think so. It’s in the car.”

  “Great. Go get it for me.” Excitement coursed through him, the pain in his chest and stomach lessened. He wasn’t sure what the hell he was doing, but he and Tess were going to get a few things straight.

  “Why?”

  “Just do it.”

  Dane jogged to his car and Hugh gave Tess the minute signal with his finger. “Here you go,” Dane said.

  “Thanks. You can take off now.” He put the tape in his jacket pocket, waited for Dane to leave, then headed straight for the woman who quite possibly could be the death of him regardless of her intentions. The fact that she might be an eliminator did nothing to squelch his desire for her.

  “Is everything okay?” she asked, genuine concern in her voice.

  She straightened her posture and ran her palms down the side of her thighs. Was she nervous? Did she guess he might be on to her?

  “It’s fine. Thanks for waiting.” He positioned himself on her left and leaned back against the sporty vehicle. A pretty expensive automobile. One he was hard pressed to believe the average private investigator could afford.

  They stood in silence for a few moments, as if neither of them knew what to say. He guessed her inquisitive nature was because of the job. A job she’d been cleverly honest about. In return, he’d supplied her with more information than he’d ever told anyone else, so maybe his first step should be to get more information on her. Even the playing field.

  “How long have you been a PI?” he asked.

  She cast a quizzical glance at him. “Why do you ask?”

  “I like to get to know the person I’m thinking about helping before making a decision.” That ought to be vague enough to keep her gullible.

  “A long time.”

  Touché, he thought. “And being at it so long, you haven’t been able to find this person you’re desperate to locate?” He had a feeling her needing his help was a ploy to stay in contact with him.

  “I never said I was desperate.” She rubbed her hands up and down her arms like she was cold.

  He wanted to warm her up. Give her his jacket. Take her in his arms. He didn’t.

  “You know what? Forget I even asked.” She moved to open the car door.

  “Hang on.” He caught her by the shoulder. “I didn’t mean to sound so callous. I’m just surprised you need help. After what I’ve seen tonight, I imagine you can do pretty much anything.”

  “It would serve you well to remember that.” She released the door handle and shrugged his hand off her shoulder.

  For the first time all night, her voice turned lethally businesslike. It startled him. She wasn’t a woman to be taken lightly. He couldn’t help but be further intrigued.

  “What agency do you work for?” No more beating around the bush. Considering the late hour, he planned to…he didn’t know what he planned to do beyond interrogating her until something slipped.

  “None of your business.” She squirmed then recovered without so much as a beat. “Unless of course you want to hire me. I was willing to do this trade-off without a contract, but if you insist on making it a more formal agreement, that’s fine by me. However, I was under the impression you wanted to keep Trey’s disappearance off the radar.”

  “Tell me about who you’re looking for.” If he could get her to drop the attitude and relax, he was sure he’d be able to tell if she was lying about needing to find someone.

  “Have we got a deal?” She bent over while speaking, pulling something out of her shoe.

  “Talk and I’ll let you know.”

  The sound of voices wafted in their direction again. More people left the bar. Headlights slanted across the road as a car turned the corner and drove past them. A man and woman holding hands crossed the small side street and got into a convertible parked a few automobiles up the road. The guy leaned over and kissed the girl before starting the ignition.

  Tess took in the visuals around them just as he was. She was waiting, he assumed, until the coast was clear to start talking. He also imagined she was deciding how much, if any, truth to tell him. Letting the silence continue, he took the opportunity to focus in on her body rhythm. Her breathing was even, her heart rate normal. That all too pleasing scent of hers touched his nose and he knew he’d forever remember it.

  “I’m looking for a wolfen,” she breathed, her gaze straight ahead, eyes searching past the bar and parking lot.

  “Can you be a little more specific?” He stared at her beautiful profile.

  “Not really.”

  He sensed her unease, that what was on her mind was difficult to share, so he bit back his snappy comeback. He let the sentient part of him rise to the surface, just enough to detect she told the truth.

  Maybe he’d let his imagination run away with him, and she wasn’t an eliminator after all. Or maybe she was, and the kiss they’d shared had tilted her axis as much as his. He knew it meant something to her. There was no faking the passion that passed between them.

  Why the hell had she saved his life?

  Because she really did need his help?

  “How long have you been looking?” he asked, an involuntary shiver racing down his spine.

  “Five years.” Her soft voice nearly wrenched his heart out of his chest. She cast her eyes downward.

  “With a track record like that, I’m not sure you can help me find Trey. No deal.”

  His callous retort had the desired effect. She turned on him with the speed and dexterity of a professional killer. With legs on either side of his, she pushed him up against the car and had his throat in a chokehold that reminded him of how strong she’d been when they’d arm-wrestled. Anger flamed in her blue eyes; her lips were pressed tight.

  She’d just convinced him she was a pretty P.I.E. player. And he needed to stop looking at her lips, because God help him, he wanted to kiss his eliminator senseless.

  “Fuck you. You’ve got no idea what I can do.” Her mouth was mere inches from his. “I could drop you right here if I wanted to.”

  He arched an eyebrow. Took in her heated breath. Then reached up and, with little effort, took her wrist and removed it from his throat. “Do you?” he choked out.

  “Do I what?” she snarled back.

  “Want to drop me.” He took his other arm, wrapped it around her waist and pulled her against him. “Because I’m kind of liking this position.”

  She tried to push away to no avail. “Let go of me.”

  Her squirming sent feel-good pulses straight to his cock, threatening his composed disposition. Focus, dude. He couldn’t give her the upper hand. She may very well land him on his ass.

  Holding tight to her wrist, he brought her arm behind her back, then the other, so that both her hands were locked at the base of her spine. Her small wrists were easy to grip with his large hand.

  “I don’t think so,” he said.

  “You’re going to be sorry.” She wriggled and writhed, looking more and more flustered by the second.

  The dress shifted around her chest in a most provocative manner as she fought him. He dipped his eyes down, glimpsed the top of a lacy black bra, and gulped down the desire to arch her back and pull the material away with his teeth.

  “What are you doing?” she barked. “Do not look down my dress.”

  His gaze shot back to her scowl. “Sorry. Couldn’t help myself.”

  She stopped her protestation and relaxed. Probably realized she couldn’t get out of his hold with force. “Will you please release me now?”

  “That depends on what you plan to do next. You see I’m a little confused. You kissed
me and saved my life, and yet I think you’re supposed to kill me.” He watched her face register little emotion. However, the hitch in her breath, and the skipped beat of her heart that rang in his ears said volumes.

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Tess. I’m not stupid. Your being here tonight is no coincidence, is it?”

  “Whatever the hell you think you know, you’re wrong. I was supposed to go on a blind date tonight with some guy named Trey. My friends set me up. It wasn’t something I wanted to do. End of story. All the other shit that’s happened tonight was accidental. With the exception of my saving your ass. And I must say, if this is how you repay me for showing you kindness, I’m going to have to remember not to do you any more favors.”

  And with that she kneed him in the groin, effectively getting him to release her. She stepped back and smiled. “For the record,” she added, “I saved you because I needed your help. No other reason.”

  “Not out of the kindness of your heart, huh?” The pain in his cock was no match for the pain she’d just flung at his ego.

  “I’m not a kind person.”

  “Yeah, I think you already mentioned that. Guess I’m having a hard time getting it through my thick skull.”

  The wind picked up, carrying the smell of car exhaust and greasy food. She took a step closer, and he’d bet she never wavered or cowered from a fight. She needed things to be on her terms, and if the tables turned, she turned them right back around.

  He needed the duct tape. Slipped his hand inside his pocket.

  “I’d really like to be on my way. Do we have a deal or not?”

  He didn’t like what he was about to do, but she left him no choice. She certainly wouldn’t cooperate with him when she discovered what he was up to. With so much on the line—Trey’s life, the pack’s future, his life—this was the only way he could think of with time ticking to get himself out of her line of fire. He’d make a deal with her, and then all bets were off.

  “Yes. We have a deal.” Using his wolf speed and strength, he turned her, crossed her arms behind her back, and duct taped her wrists together. It happened so fast there was nothing she could do about it. “But there’s a few details we need to work out.”