“You could say that.” He took a gulp of coffee.

Gavin picked up another section of newspaper. “Go get her then.”

“What?” Hugh put his cup down. It tasted like shit this morning.

“I said go get her. It’s obvious she means a lot to you.”

“How the hell would you know that?”

“Because you’re barking like a dog, look like you got maybe four hours sleep, and in the five years I’ve known you, I don’t think you’ve been on more than three dates. This girl, from the way you were looking at her last night, you want to have more than dates with.”

The distance he always kept with Gavin shrank. His body relaxed some. The muscles clenched with agitation mellowed. His partner had pegged him to a T. And whether he wanted to admit it or not, Gavin knew him better than he knew himself sometimes. “Maybe you’re right.”

He should fly to San Diego and help Tess, no matter her thoughts on the topic. If Dobson was a wolfen and involved with the Wolf Seekers, it was important he get to the bottom of things.

Wait a minute. Tess’s disappearance had mottled his brain. There was no should. He needed to get to Dobson. Hugh was positive everything was tied together somehow. And he needed to find out why for the safety of his pack.

“I’m rarely wrong.” Only Gavin could sound conceited and endearing at the same time.

Rising to his feet, Hugh felt better about the situation, felt his head clear. “Gavin, you’re a genius.”

“It’s a curse I live with 24/7.”

“I’m going to take the—” The ringing of the telephone cut him off. He got up and grabbed it off the reception desk. “Langston Aviation.”

He fisted his free hand at hearing the voice on the other end. “Hugh, it’s Lieutenant Andrews.”

“Lieutenant, how are you?” He knew the answer to the question. The police didn’t call just to say hello.

“I could be better. We need you. A rock climber set out yesterday afternoon and hasn’t been heard from since. His mother phoned us this morning when she discovered he hadn’t come home. He’s somewhere in the Angeles National Forest.”

“Somewhere?” Hugh moved around the desk and sat. He opened a side drawer and pulled out the Angeles National Forest map.

“The boy’s mom has no idea where he went. She did say he always carries a cell phone, but so far we’ve had no luck.”

“How old?”

“Nineteen. A student at Loyola. You got the time this morning?”

Hugh looked over the desk at Gavin and wished for a second his partner could handle this. But only for a second. Because this was what he did. He rescued people. And right now a college kid needed rescuing.

“Of course. Come on over. I’ll have the chopper ready.”

“Will do.”

He hung up and opened the map to find the most logical place to start looking. As difficult as it was to focus, he had to. The sooner he found the boy, the sooner he could go to San Diego. He told himself later wouldn’t be too late. He’d meet up with Tess. They’d find Dobson and question him. Then he’d whisk her away. Figure out a plan to get her out of P.I.E. and save both their lives.

If she wanted it.

“Want some help with the copter?” Gavin lumbered up to the desk.

“That would be great.”

“You look distracted,” Gavin said. “Don’t worry about Tess. From the way she looked at you, I’d say you’ve got nothing to worry about. So things are on hold for a few hours. No big deal. Right now keep your mind on the job.”

“Point taken.” Only it was a big deal.

A very big deal.

Zilch. Tess had come up with zilch to prove Hugh was anything but a respectable, upstanding individual. She sat on her bed, her body warm from the hot shower that had made her skin prune. The contents of the file she’d been handed all those nights ago in the limousine were spread across her comforter. The allegations inside were totally bogus. There wasn’t a shred of truth to the accusations of fraud, death threats, embezzlement, force with a deadly weapon or kidnapping.

Well, unless she counted her abduction. Which she didn’t.

She felt bad about slipping something into his glass of water after they’d made love for the third time. He hadn’t discovered the tiny pills tucked inside a fold in her wallet when he’d searched her purse. And getting him to sleep soundly was the only way she could snoop around his office without being caught.

He’d woken once, when the rain had stopped, and she’d feared the pill wouldn’t work. But after she snuggled against him and brought his arm to her chest, he’d finally dozed off for good.

Langston Aviation thrived, a by-the-book business from her estimations. She’d pored over all the files, invoices, logs, and come up with nothing to indicate any wrongdoing. In fact, if anything, her fondness for him skyrocketed when reading about all the lives he’d helped save.

Not wanting to leave anything to chance, she’d also investigated Gavin and found everything on his side of the business in order too. There wasn’t a file cabinet she didn’t open, a desk drawer she didn’t empty of contents, a book she didn’t look behind. No one was more thorough than her, and when finished, she knew whoever the hell had hired P.I.E. to eliminate Hugh had an ulterior motive.

Because he didn’t deserve to die.

One of the hardest things she’d ever had to do was slip out of the hangar before the sun rose. She wanted to see his sleepy eyes open, wanted to kiss him awake, feel the stubble on his face against her cheek.

Impossible, she reminded herself.

Tess plus Hugh equaled impossible. The feelings he’d triggered were unwelcome, dammit. She couldn’t—wouldn’t—allow herself to feel anything or remember the damn kisses and touches and sensations. For the past five years, she’d jumped out of planes and been dropped from helicopters on snow-covered mountains that touched the clouds. She’d mountain climbed, rock climbed, surfed waves big enough to swallow her whole, and scuba dived with sharks. That was how she liked to live her life. On the edge, unafraid to take a challenge—no thought to personal safety.

Work. Adventure. Those two things kept her distracted from thoughts of anyone but herself. They didn’t give her any time to think about giving her heart away.

In one hour, she’d walk into P.I.E. and argue for Hugh’s innocence. She didn’t know how Christian would react to her findings. In all her years, she’d never found anyone innocent before. A sick feeling came up her throat and she swallowed it down. From the very beginning, something had felt off about this case. Something that had nothing to do with her attachment to Hugh or her last chance.

She fell back onto her pillow and stared at the ceiling. She’d never get Hugh out of her head. His face was stamped into her memory for good. Her mind couldn’t focus on anything but the way he grumbled when she bated him, the way he looked at her when she teased, the way he cherished her when they made love.

Which only made her more miserable. She’d loved three people in her life. Her parents and Jason. And they’d died. If—and it was a big if—she allowed herself to love Hugh, she feared he’d die too. So no matter what she did, he was doomed.

And no matter what, so was she.

Her quandary sent pinpricks of razor-edged pain to her heart. A slow death from heartbreak had begun. Was this how Max had felt?

Rolling over to her side, away from the lies in the file, she brought her knees to her chest and wondered if there was a way to avoid it all. Could she stay away from Hugh? From the job that had given her purpose, but now had her doubting its integrity? A chill shook her and she blinked back tears. Disappearing would physically remove her from pain, but emotionally escaping from harm was impossible.

Then she considered how it all began. The blind date she’d been reluctant to accept had set in motion a series of events she’d never anticipated. Was it a coincidence or fate that had brought them together? After a few slow deep breaths to ease the ache in her chest, she thought the latter.