“That’s two hours from now.” She remained clear on the other side of the room, sitting on the bed and looking through her bag.

For the gun with a mercury-tipped bullet perhaps?

Time ticked away, and he knew from the silent treatment she’d given him since lunch, she was trying to figure out what the hell to do.

After getting only a couple hours of sleep last night because they’d been too busy ravaging each other, he couldn’t imagine she’d be able to follow through with her elimination assignment. Especially after he’d told her she was his mate. But there was something she wasn’t telling him, and he didn’t know whether it had to do with him, the job or finally meeting Dobson. He’d let his human-sentient side come to the surface briefly and sensed a mixture of worry and affection. Fear, too. But not because she was scared. It was more like dread.

His phone rang again. Tess lifted her head and he divided his attention between her and the caller’s number.

Even from across the room, he made out the sprinkling of freckles across her nose, smelled the scent of hotel soap mixed with her own unique fragrance. He’d never get it out of his system. He forced his eyes away.

“Dane. Where are you?”

“I’m in San Diego. Trey told me to get in touch with you. Where are you?”

Hugh hesitated. “San Diego as well.”

Silence lasted several seconds before Dane spoke up. “Is there something going on I should know about? Do you need my help with something?”

Dane’s tone suggested the offer was out of obligation, not commitment. Hugh should be used to that by now, but given the tenuous situation before him, he’d hoped to gain some confidence in his pack mate. Instead, doubt and suspicion plagued him.

“What are you doing in San Diego?” he asked.

“Visiting family. It came up last minute.” Dane cleared his throat and Hugh could just make out the sound of someone else breathing over the phone line. “How about I come meet you for a drink? Where you staying?”

In all the years they’d known each other, Dane had never asked for such a cordial encounter.

Hugh zeroed in on Tess’s black pupils surrounded by a brilliant blue-green, and took the strength and alliance he saw there to help him make his decision.

“How about five o’clock? The lobby bar of the US Grant Hotel.” He had no reason to suspect Dane was in town for anything other than family, but hairs standing on the back of his neck put him on alert.

“I’ll be there.”

Hugh hung up and closed the distance to Tess. He sat at the foot of the bed, leaving some space between them. She kept her eyes trained on him with one hand in her bag.

Could she do it? Could she eliminate him?

“Care to share what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?”

“If I do, I might have to kill you.” The muscles in her face barely moved as she spoke.

“Try me.”

She pulled her arm from her bag. “It’s complicated and up to me to figure out. I’m the one in charge here, remember?”

Hugh let go of the breath he held. Her hand was empty. “Yeah, I remember. I’m waiting for you to get bossy.”

He had every intention of playing along with her plans, but had spent most of the day thinking about his own plan of action.

She narrowed her eyes and straightened her back, which only drew his attention to the beautiful mounds beneath her T-shirt.

“Hugh! Can you keep your attention up here, please?” She made a motion with her hand to indicate above the neck.

At least he’d finally gotten a reaction out of her, which was much better than the monotone voice and minimal body mechanics of the last four hours. “Sure. Start talking.”

“Fine.” She stayed erect. Probably to torture him. “Since we’ve narrowed it down to one of the top floor suites for the meeting—”

“That’s not the kind of talking I meant.” He scooted a little closer without any intention of touching her. He just wanted to include her on the ledge he stood on.

She hopped off the bed. “That’s the only kind you’re going to get right now,” she said, making a beeline for the window across the room.

If she thought her backside would keep his focus off her body, she was mistaken. He watched her move and couldn’t help but think about how he’d navigated every inch of her last night. She made him vulnerable—made the human side of him want to fight to the death to protect her while the wolf side of him wanted her to tame his savage soul.

“I’m going to show up as a room service attendant and knock on the doors until I find the right one,” she continued.

“That’s original.”

She turned with the kind of perturbed posture a disgruntled teenager might wear. One shoulder was higher than the other, one leg was bent, the other straight. Her head slanted to the side and her arms were crossed.

“Do you have a better idea?” she asked with a sassy tone that shouldn’t turn him on when they needed to focus on business, but did anyway.

“Of course I do.”

But before he could share it with her, there was a knock.

He used his superhuman speed to get to the door before her. He had no idea who stood on the other side, but his skin prickled, his muscles tensed and instincts told him to be cautious.

Tess stood behind him a few seconds later, her warm breath on his neck. “Let me answer it.”

“No.”

She tried to get around him. He countered her every move with one of his own, keeping his back to her attempts. Didn’t she realize he had seventy-five pounds on her and several inches in every direction?

“Dammit, Hugh. Let me get it.”

Another knock sounded. He ignored her and opened the door.

Dane stood in the hallway, looking rather amused in a relaxed stance. “Am I interrupting something?”

“What—” he and Tess said simultaneously before she backed away.

“What are you doing here?” Hugh continued, opening the door wide enough for Dane to enter.

The Night Runner strolled past Hugh and stopped in the middle of the room to look around. Hugh noticed his attention linger on the computer and desk area before settling on Tess. She leaned against the side of the couch, her hands bracing on the arm as if she were waiting for the right moment to launch off.

“The hotel was closer than I thought, and the young woman at the front desk was kind enough to give me your room number so I could come get you.” He stood with his arms at his side, his fingers twitching.

Tension filled the room.

“Bull—”

“Tess,” Hugh interrupted, “can I see you over here for a minute?”

She pushed off the couch, took a detour by the bed to retrieve her bag, and met him near the bathroom door.

“I want you to stay in the bathroom for a few minutes while I talk to Dane,” he whispered.

“The hell I will. He’s lying and I want to know why.”

“I’ll find out what’s going on, not you.” No way was Dane’s being in San Diego a coincidence and Hugh needed to interrogate him alone.

Her eyebrows furrowed. “It sounds like you don’t trust me.”

“You are the one with the mercury bullet.”

She blinked long enough for him to see the corner of her eye spasm. When her lids lifted he saw pain in the blue-green depths, but he refused to acknowledge it. He was protecting her, goddammit. Reminding her if push came to shove, she had a job to do.

“This isn’t your deal, it’s ours. Dane’s arrival means something, and knowing the history between the two of you, I might be able to get more information out of him than you,” Tess said.

“Get in the bathroom, Tess.”

“You can’t force me in there.”

He darted his gaze to Dane. His pack mate wasn’t hiding his interest in their conversation. Hell, he’d most likely heard every word. Hugh readied himself to end the show. “Watch me.”

Faster than he’d give her credit for, Tess moved out of his reach. With her arms in the air, a twirl in her stride and a voice to rival Mary Poppins, she said, “Oh Hugh, don’t be silly. Dane would love for me to join you in a drink. Wouldn’t you, Dane?”