Veiled Target (A Veilers Novel) Read online

  Her nose tickled, the back of her knees itched. She blinked several times, trying to focus and rid the haze in her mind that had sprung from the sudden movement.

  When things cleared up seconds later, shock swept over her.

  Dane had shifted.

  Holy crap. He was a Veiler. A…wolfen. She studied his wolf-man features, discovering interest, not hate, bristled under her surprise. She’d never been this close to one before. His hands, neck and face were thick with hair. His eyes glowed a brownish-orange. She sensed more than noticed greater muscle and superhuman strength. They were the only race of wolf shifters that remained on two legs, and standing toe-to-toe with one made her want to know more about the elusive group.

  She gulped. “You’re a wolfen?”

  He didn’t looked surprised by her question, which meant he knew more about her than she knew about him. Her stomach clenched.

  A regular person would freak out, but her calm response must have alerted him to her knowledge. Worse, though, than giving herself away, was that she hadn’t realized what he was. She hadn’t picked up on anything to indicate his true colors.

  “From the pack Night Runner, and you’re mixed up in something you shouldn’t be, so get the hell out of here.”

  “A Night Runner?” She hadn’t known there were different packs.

  His deep grumble told her his patience wore thin. “Run, don’t walk back to your car.”

  She didn’t give a shit what he wanted. “I’m not going anywhere until—”

  Distress slammed into her. The picture of a gorgeous, strong, able-bodied man flitted through her mind. “Where’s Trey?” She swallowed hard as her heart took on a crazy uneven beat. If Dane was a Night Runner, was Trey one too? No. No. No. He couldn’t be. The first man to make her think of something besides work, to send a rush of adrenaline through her, to cause her to forget her better judgment, could not be some sort of shifter. The one form of Veiler she loathed more than any other. The kind of Veiler who’d taken the love of her life away from her.

  Dane stared at her, as if deciding how to answer. “Trey’s not here.”

  She turned her head in the direction she’d last seen him, searching for his leather jacket. When had her middle name changed to Idiot? The last thing she needed was a complication when her boss’s threat hung over her if she failed her next assignment. Rather than gallivant around deserted city streets to help a guy she barely knew, she should be home, researching. Figuring out a strategy to nail this Hugh Langston and save her own ass. Unless…

  Unless she considered this research. Maybe Dane or Trey knew Hugh Langston? Maybe she could walk away from this a little wiser than she’d started. And besides, she was lying to herself if she thought she’d leave without making sure Trey was okay.

  “No shit,” she said, staring right back. “I want to know what you’ve done with him.”

  She refused to believe Trey anything but a man. His friendship with Dane had to be easily explained. Had to be, she realized, because he’d made her feel. The thought petrified her. Or was the realization that she might have liked a wolfen what scared the crap out of her?

  “I haven’t done anything.” His growl bounced off the wall and echoed. “Now get the hell out of here.” He released his hold and backed away.

  Her feet stayed glued to the spot. She hated being pushed around. And she hated not knowing the truth about Trey. If he was human, she’d help him. If he was wolfen, well, then, maybe they could help each other.

  “Go!” he demanded.

  “Dane, I can tell you aren’t going to hurt me,” she started, sweetness in her tone. “And I’ve got a feeling you haven’t hurt Trey either. I just need to know what’s going on. That he’s okay. Spell it out for me and I’ll be on my way.”

  He sighed, as if he finally understood she had no intention of leaving until she got what she wanted. Took him long enough. She looked into his fiery eyes and tried to decipher just how big a threat he was. His demeanor confirmed her long-standing belief that shifters were bad news. Yet if he really was bad news, wouldn’t he have killed her by now? She was unarmed, pinned against a wall. He could easily end her life if he wanted to. But something held him back. Was it Trey?

  Usually her instincts and intuition left her in no doubt of a Veiler’s proximity. Tonight she’d been clueless. She prayed her bad judgment wasn’t permanent.

  “Hey,” she said, filling the silence. “You can trust me. As I think you’ve figured out, I’m not oblivious.”

  “Trust doesn’t get anyone anywhere.”

  “You can try lying then, but I’ll know. And then I’ll just be here longer.” She smiled and crossed her arms over her chest. Her feet were starting to hurt and she desperately wanted to get out of the damn dress, but she was battle ready. And by the look on his furry face, Dane knew it too.

  Before he spoke another word, he jerked his head to the left. A second later, she heard a noise. Something resembling a trash can toppling over. A scuffle maybe? It was difficult to determine the distance, yet she was certain Dane knew. The hair on his arms stood up.

  “No time,” he said.

  “The hell there isn’t. Talk!”

  “Listen, Blondie—”

  “Tess.”

  “Listen, Tess. Go back to your car and go home.”

  She let out an exasperated sigh. “Where’s Trey?”

  Another sound came from afar. This time subtler, more ambiguous. With his eyes carefully trained on hers, Dane took a few more steps away. “He went back to the bar. If you hurry, you might catch him.” And then he bolted.

  With the speed and agility of a four-legged creature, he sprinted away and vanished around a corner.

  There was a good chance he’d lied about Trey going back to the bar. After all, she’d given plenty of people the slip the same way.

  But she took off in the direction of the restaurant anyway. If Dane were lurking, it might convince him she believed what he’d said. He didn’t have to know she’d be keeping an eye out for Trey along the way.

  She ran her hands up and down her bare arms. With each step, nothing looked familiar, and she realized that she hadn’t paid close attention to the direction she’d gone. Good onya, Tess. One wrong turn and she’d be foolishly navigating alleys she had no business being in. Not without her purse.

  One wrong move and she might never see Trey again. She stopped and let that thought sink in. The longer she stood there thinking, the more Trey’s charm wrapped around her like a warm blanket. Which really sucked. It made her head hurt, her mind cloudy. She’d risked enough in her professional life and had vowed never to risk again in her personal life. Yet here she was, torn by a brief encounter. There had to be something wrong with her.

  Somehow, her feet started moving again. She muttered a few foul words she hoped might set her straight. To her dismay, she liked—really liked—a guy who may or may not be a shape shifter. Criminy. She’d also been spotted, then cornered by Dane, meaning her tailing skills had flown out the window. And she’d broken the heels off one of her best friend’s shoes, a friend who could be sweet as cherry pie one minute and far less amiable the next. Double criminy.

  She may as well surrender to the insane reality she’d plunged herself into. Really, there was no sense in thinking about what lay ahead or what she could have done differently. She needed to care about right now. Because, par for the course this evening, she found herself not anywhere near the bar. Crossing a narrow street, she looked down the alleyway to her right and swore she saw movement. Curiosity being another of her endearing qualities, she decided to go in for a closer look. Maybe it was Trey. And not a rat or mouse or other icky rodent.

  She tiptoed down the darkened alley. Without a cross breeze, the stagnant air stank of sewer stench. This was definitely stupid. But stupid was a lot more fun than being sensible. When she let her guard down, her mind buzzed with anticipation, her body perked up.

  As she drew closer to the big black dumps
ter in front of her, she noticed the alley extended much farther than she’d thought. Shit. She glanced behind her, then paused to let her eyes focus on the depth of the alley and listen for signs of life. If she needed to get out of there fast, she’d sprint back the way she came. But when she got to the dumpster, she found nothing. The flash of something that had caught her eye must have been in her imagination.

  Her shoulders fell. She turned around and bumped smack dab into another body. A hoarse yelp came from the back of her throat. From surprise, not fear. Never, never fear. When she looked up from the broad chest that smashed her nose, she nonetheless gave a sigh of relief.

  Trey stood before her, his mouth a tight line, his eyebrows raised.

  “Trey! Are you okay?” She almost reached out to touch him, but clenched her fists at her sides instead. She also decided she sounded way too concerned, given his stern expression, so she added, “I mean, what the hell is going on?”

  “I was about to ask you the same thing.”

  She took a step back because his close proximity made her knees weak. He looked just as good as he had in the bar. There wasn’t a hair out of place to indicate he’d done anything but go for a walk. Thankfully, his eyes shined bright blue, not brownish-orange.

  But he’d snuck up on her without making a sound.

  “Me? I’m just out for a little exercise is all.” She rolled her shoulders back and tilted her head from side to side.

  “Cut the crap, Tess. Why were you following me?”

  “How do you know I was following you?” Oops. She meant to say, “What makes you think I was following you?”

  He gave a knowing smile—that looked ridiculously sexy rather than irritating. “I know you don’t want to insult my intelligence so let’s just say for argument’s sake, if you were following me, why would that be?”

  At least she’d gotten him to change his tone.

  “Truthfully?” She leaned a little closer to him. She couldn’t help it.

  “That would be nice.”

  “I’m really not a very nice person,” she announced.

  “Neither am I.” He reached out and moved a strand of hair behind her ear.

  Was he trying to confuse her? Because it was working. She’d nearly fallen into his hand before he pulled it away. He was indeed a very bad man.

  “That’s good. I hate nice guys. So where does that leave us?”

  “I haven’t got all night, Tess.” He lowered his chin, indicating—she presumed—he was growing tired of their banter.

  She lifted an eyebrow. “No? That’s too bad. I’m a night owl. I can—”

  “Answer my question before I haul you to your car over my shoulder.” His tone sent a little zing of pleasure right to the tips of her breasts.

  “As if you could—” She was over his shoulder in one second flat. He moved swiftly, quietly and with superhuman strength. Uh oh. “Hey, put me down!”

  He started down the alley, seemingly unbothered by her spastic attempts to get him to let her go. “You ready to walk and talk now?”

  “Fine,” she conceded, although the view of his backside was pretty damn good.

  When both feet securely hit the ground, she tugged down her dress and shifted the V-neck into place. He watched her squirm to put the rest of the material back where it belonged and his roving eyes heated her from the inside out.

  “I followed you because I wanted to help.”

  He started walking. “Do I look like I need help?” A little gleam—and major interest?—flickered in his sideways glance.

  “Well, no. But I’m very capable and I didn’t feel like going home, so I decided there was no harm in making myself available to you should you need me.” She took a deep breath. It was time to put the question out there. “Did you know Dane is a—”

  “Wolfen? Yeah I know.”

  “How do you—”

  He stopped and turned toward her with confusion and passion in his deep blue eyes. For several seconds he stared at her, like he was trying to get inside her head. Guess what she was thinking. “I’m the leader of the Night Runners,” he finally said.

  She imagined he’d told her something he’d never told another human being before.

  What the hell was she going to do now?

  Once again, Hugh spoke without thinking. The woman made him forget himself. The way she just came out and asked if he knew about Dane. The way she’d interrogated Dane on his behalf. He’d never met a woman more open and inquisitive. More concerned. A characteristic he was sure she’d deny. Probably didn’t even realize she had it. Caring, his instincts told him, was something she did unconsciously. She’d look out for herself before anyone else, sure, but she’d lay her life on the line for someone she cared about.

  And she cared about him.

  His gut clenched. The spot behind his left ear pulsed. She hadn’t cowered when Dane shifted, hadn’t been surprised. Or afraid. That meant only one thing. She knew about Veilers. Which was part of the reason why he’d told her who he was.

  The other part was he didn’t want her to give a damn about him. He already felt a territorial urge for her that unsettled him. He didn’t want that urge. Not after what had happened to his brother. When Max’s mate died, his brother couldn’t handle it. Couldn’t live with the grief. He’d died from a broken heart three months later. Hugh had watched him weaken and suffer, and hadn’t been able to do a damn thing about it.

  If Tess knew he was a wolfen, she’d surely want nothing more to do with him. Right? She’d run in the opposite direction. They’d go their separate ways and the unwanted stabs of desire he felt for her would go away. He’d continue to lead his pack in solitude, find Trey and get on with his goddamn vacation.

  Which reminded him why he’d doubled back to confront her in the first place. His main objective was to find out why she followed him—he didn’t entirely believe her offer of help—and whether or not she knew anything about Trey’s disappearance. That and get her the hell out of here. Hugh smelled something dangerous. He didn’t want Tess getting mixed up in his world.

  She waved a hand in front of his face. “Hellooo. I just asked you a question.”

  He rounded his shoulders and focused on the present situation. “Sorry. What?”

  “I asked what exactly a Night Runner is. I’ve never come across your kind before.”

  “My kind? How many Veilers do you know?” He tried not to let too much interest enter his voice. He had a feeling if she knew how much she unsettled him, he’d be in even bigger trouble.

  “That’s none of your business,” she answered, defiance in her tone.

  “Really?” He started to walk again. “And my pack is none of yours.”

  She fell in step beside him, keeping up with his long strides. Her light scent tickled his nose and he realized it wasn’t his memory of the floral smell from the bar that he’d taken with him on his way to find Trey, but the subtle aroma of the woman on his tail. That should have tipped him off much sooner. It was his fault she’d gotten as far as she had. He’d allowed himself to enjoy the scent rather than think rationally about it.

  “Is the friend you’re looking for a Night Runner too?”

  He shot her a disapproving glance. Would she ever run out of questions?

  “I’ll take that as a yes.” She pressed her lips together in a smug smile.

  “Tell me again why you were following me.” He clenched his jaw, trying really hard to keep his temper in check.

  A breathy, impatient sound came out of her mouth. “I already told you. To help you find your friend. Of course, that was before I knew you were a wolfen.”

  “What did you know about me before we met?” Come on, Tess, give me something more. No sane woman goes lurking around alleys alone at night.

  “What did you know about me?” she shot back.

  “Nothing.”

  “Nothing? You agreed to a blind date knowing nothing? I thought Kensie and Francesca sang my praises.”

&
nbsp; He picked up his pace, hoping to get her back to her car sooner rather than later. The more they tap-danced around each other, the more he realized she didn’t know anything. And the less she knew about him the better.

  “They did,” he guessed. “But neglected to mention you can be a pain in the ass.”

  She shoved him. Hard. It took him by surprise, and he ended up against the side of the building in two seconds. A jolt of pleasure shot through him. She was no ordinary private investigator.

  Her eyes widened. “You really want to know what I’m capable of, Mr. Night Runner? Because I’d be more than happy to give you a demonstration.”

  No doubt she was strong. But he was stronger.

  In less than a second, he whipped her around like she was a Barbie doll and had her pinned against the wall. His hands remained on her upper arms as he looked down into her surprised face. Although dim, the light post over his shoulder allowed him to see blue eyes so startling clear they roused every nerve in his body. There wasn’t a hint of fear anywhere in their depths. Instead, she looked ready to give him another whirl.

  “Give it your best shot,” he said, wanting to play. Hell, his playful side rarely made an appearance these days, and at the moment he felt like a ten-year old who’d eaten enough sugar to last a week. Only this time his sexual appetite wanted in on the action.

  “That’s exactly what Dane said.” Impossibly long eyelashes reached up to her forehead as she spoke.

  He was noticing eyelashes? And angling for a glimpse down her dress, if truth be told. “Yeah, well…”

  Their close stance rendered him unable to string more than a couple of words together. He released his hold and took two steps back.

  “Where’d he go, anyway? Maybe he found your friend?” She lifted herself from the wall without any apparent hard feelings or obvious intention to seek revenge. Instead, she closed the gap between them while waiting for his answer.

  He moved another step back. Did the damn woman know what she did to him? Her pouty lips and keen eyes with long lashes suggested she did. Women didn’t play fair. “We decided to split up so I could get you back to your car.”