“No permanent damage,” Hugh yelled out.

With his eyes trained on Trey, he avoided one dart, then another, and reduced the distance between him and his apprentice. He couldn’t figure out why Trey stayed motionless—until the Seekers had scattered and he got close enough to find a short, beefy man with a gun aimed at Trey’s chest. A gun that no doubt contained a mercury bullet.

Trey’s hands were bound behind him, but a flash of animal in his eyes told Hugh he wanted to battle. If Hugh could just…

A Wolf Seeker blindsided him like a linebacker, taking him to the ground. They tussled for half a minute before Hugh knocked the guy out with a right hook. He jumped back to his feet and sprinted toward Trey.

The Seeker holding Trey captive didn’t seem the least bit intimidated when Hugh’s eyes clashed with his. He did, after all, have the gun right where it needed to be. Hugh slowed as the man shuffled Trey to the side, closer to the building. He must have figured out that standing in a wide-open space wasn’t the best defense when fighting Night Runners.

A slight nod from Trey told Hugh he’d drop at Hugh’s signal. Kick the Seeker’s legs out from under him on the way down and roll away, giving Hugh enough time to leap and wrestle the gun away.

But before it came to that, the Wolf Seeker lowered the firearm.

Huh?

The man’s hand fell to his side. He dropped the weapon and kicked it to the side. Trey took a step away and turned to look behind him. Right then Hugh caught whiff of Tess. Her lavender body lotion fragrance, the one cosmetic she’d requested Blanche get for her touched his nose and hell if a grin didn’t spread across his face.

Two seconds later, the Seeker’s knees buckled and he went down, face first into the concrete. Tess stood in his place, the pistol she’d used to hit him over the head in her hand and a tough as nails expression on her face. When her eyes met Hugh’s her mouth moved into a pucker and she blew him a kiss.

Hugh picked up the gun and took the few steps toward them. “Nice work.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You okay?” Hugh tore the bindings from Trey’s wrists with one swipe of his claw.

“I’m fine,” Trey answered.

A howl sounded and Hugh spun around. Two Wolf Seekers were on one of his men. Without hesitating, he ran to help. He grabbed the first Seeker by the back of his shirt collar, lifted him into the air, and tossed him aside. The second Seeker, witnessing the action, let go of the Night Runner and back peddled to a safer distance.

Tess and Trey came up behind him, forming a united front. Hugh paused long enough to survey the scene. Each of his men was in combat, but winning. The tranquilizers were no longer in anyone’s possession. Dane handled the leader of the Wolf Seekers, the human’s face not nearly as battered as Hugh would like, but…

“That’s enough,” Hugh yelled. “We’ve got what we came for.”

The fighting stopped. Wolf Seekers scrambled to their feet and took off running, the leader included. Hugh let them go, caring little for where they were headed now that he had Trey.

Dane rounded up his pack mates, checking on their wounds. Hugh shifted and turned toward Trey and Tess. “Talk.”

“First,” Tess said, extending her hand, “I’m Tess. It’s nice to finally meet you, Trey.”

Trey took her hand and held on a little too long for Hugh’s liking. He also looked at her a little too keenly, taking in more than her pretty face. “Tess? Blind date, Tess?” His voice sounded thicker than usual.

She gifted him with a smile that reached the corners of her eyes. “That would be me.”

“I don’t understand. Our date was what, six or seven days ago? What are you doing here?” He looked at Hugh, then back to Tess. “Wait. Whatever the reason, I think you might have saved my life.”

Tess bestowed a killer smile on Hugh. “No problem. I found your location too, but who’s keeping track?”

The way she looked tonight, her hair falling around her face, her cheeks still pink from the motorcycle ride, the blue of her eyes deeper than the ocean under a full moon, Hugh felt so happy she was safe that he’d give her the kudos she deserved without any grumbling.

“I’m in your debt, Tess. Thank you,” Hugh said.

“No need to thank me. It’s your turn now.”

Trey looked confused. “His turn?”

Hugh didn’t feel the need to clue Trey in at the moment. But a deal was a deal. He wouldn’t stop until he found Dobson.

“How do you two know each other? And hang on. You obviously know what we are. Are you Veiler?” Trey rolled his shoulders back like they were stiff. His wounds had all but vanished now.

“No. She’s not. As to how we know each other, when you disappeared I decided to go on your blind date. I thought one might have something to do with the other.”

“That’s funny,” Trey said, chuckling. “You on a blind date.” He looked at Tess. “I guess you had a good time since you’re here. And by the way, Kensie and Francesca’s description didn’t do you justice.”

Something cracked inside Hugh. Warmth followed by a quick burst of cold ripped through him like a tornado. He moved beside Tess and put an arm around her waist. “I’ll fill you in tomorrow. Right now, talk.”

His possessiveness rattled him, but left no impression on Trey, because he said, “The least I can do is take you on that date, Tess. You free Saturday?”

Hugh had such a tight grip on her she couldn’t move away, yet he felt her try. She wouldn’t accept Trey’s offer, would she?

“I think—”

“No date,” Hugh growled. “Now talk.”

Trey winked at Tess and added, “We’ll talk about it later.”

Like hell they would. Hugh wanted to give Trey another fat lip. Instead, he took a deep breath so the hair on his arms settled. “Talk.”

A car drove by, seemingly oblivious to their position in the park. The windows were tinted black but Hugh heard the radio playing, a male voice humming along. It turned the corner and vanished.

“They jumped me outside Cupid’s. Hit me from behind then shot me twice with a tranquilizer. I woke up the next morning here.” He nodded toward the library. “The assholes kept me bound and used me as a dartboard so I never gained enough strength to shift.”

“Dartboard?” Tess asked.

“Yeah,” Trey said. “Aimed at my shoulders, thighs, then turned me around and aimed for the center of my back. The truth is, I could have taken them in the early morning hours after a night of rest, but I wanted to stick around to find out what the hell was going on.”

“What did you find out?” Hugh released Tess, at ease now that Trey was off the topic of dating her. She stayed close, pleasing him to no end. Whether it was a conscious decision on her part or not, he didn’t care.

“The Seeker in charge told you the truth. One of their guys was taken and killed, and from what I heard, it points to a Night Runner.”

Hugh’s leg muscles went rigid. “That can’t be.”

“I didn’t want to believe it either, but a witness who saw the murder gave a description of a wolf-man and said the killer told the Wolf Seeker he could feel his fear.” Trey started jogging in place. “Man it feels good to be back outside.”

“Did the witness see his face?” Tess asked before Hugh could.

Trey stopped moving. “No. And fuck—pardon my French—if I know anyone in our pack who would do such a thing.”

“Aren’t there other Night Runners here in LA? Maybe you need to look outside the pack.”

“We’re the only ones,” Hugh said.

Tess’s eyes widened. “You’re the only Night Runners?”

“That’s what I said.”

She bit her bottom lip. Her eyes stayed on his with enough affectivity to make his stomach feel like a swarm of eels were inside.

“Wow. How many are in your pack?”

“Sixty-four,” Trey said when Hugh didn’t answer right away. He was trying to figure out what was going on in that beautiful head of hers.