by Terry Spear
Anna wasn’t saying a word, and neither was Joe. Had they heard Finn? Most likely, despite how he was trying to move soundlessly across the carpeted floor. They couldn’t have missed the door closing with a slight click.
Knowing it could be a trap, Finn pondered shifting into the wolf, but instead, with gun in hand, he rushed into the bedroom. And found Anna gagged, with her hands tied to the headboard, her legs spread-eagled, her ankles tied to the footboard, and her eyes wide with surprise. But appearing uninjured, thank God.
Snapping his gaping mouth shut, he did a quick search through the room, the closet, and the balcony, finding no one in the suite but Anna.
When Finn headed back to the bed, he tried to fight a smile and failed. Anna rolled her eyes at him. That’s when he noted what Joe had used to confine her. A pair of her sheer black panty hose was tied around her mouth. Her wrists were tied to the headboard with another pair, and her ankles tied to the footboard with… he squinted to identify the items. A black silk scarf and black net leggings. She was still fully clothed but he imagined she’d been stripped of her weapons, and she looked unharmed, just a little tussled.
He freed her mouth first, then quickly worked on her wrists while she scolded him. “Hell, Finn, where’s the girl?”
The girl—Meara—was about the same age as Anna. His teammate’s derogatory way of calling Meara “the girl” was probably because Anna knew Finn had a thing for Meara, like the rest of the guys on Hunter’s team, and because Meara was a civilian and not “one of the guys” trained to use deadly force like Anna was. At least as a human. As a wolf? That was a different story. Their wolf instincts for self-preservation and protecting others came naturally to them. And from the stories Hunter had told about Meara, she didn’t hesitate to use her wolf teeth to make her point with other wolves who gave her trouble.
He was already leaving the room, letting Anna free herself the rest of the way so he could make sure Meara was safe, when Anna called after him, “The fake Joe did this so he could find you again, Finn. And he wanted to make sure I was one of the good guys on your team.”
“I take it he’s one of us.”
“Deep cover,” she said, hurrying after him. “Or at least I assume he is. He didn’t tell me. I just figured since he tied me up and didn’t do anything else, he was waiting for you to come to my rescue. Which would prove we worked together.”
He glanced back at her. “Lose your weapons?”
She gave him a withering look, opened a drawer in the chest of drawers, yanked her guns and knife out of it, and then quickly tucked them in the leather holsters where she always kept them.
“He put them in the drawer?”
“Yes, of course. I was wearing them.”
He could almost hear the “duh” after her statement. “How’d he manage to overwhelm you? I thought you were more capable than that.”
His words were spoken with tight humor, more joking than critical, but he couldn’t help worrying about Meara’s safety. Teasing Anna helped to diffuse the tension he was feeling. He hurried out of the suite and down the hall toward the stairs.
Anna snorted as she followed him to the stairs. “You said he was good. You were right. And unlike at least one of the assassins who came after you, he’s a wolf.” She smiled. “Not bad looking, either.” Then she frowned. “But you shouldn’t have risked coming after me and leaving Meara to fend for herself. I could have taken care of myself.”
Racing down the stairs with Anna trying to keep up with his lankier stride, Finn shook his head. “You looked like you were doing a fine job of it.”
***
In the lobby, Meara was watching the hallway to the elevators and emergency stairs for any sign of Anna and Finn, as well as the front door, half expecting the man who looked vaguely like Cyn to come inside. The man most likely had a room here.
Then movement from one of the hallways caught her eye, and she turned. Her jaw dropped. Joe, or whoever he really was, exited into the lobby. Her heart began skipping beats.
Now all dressed in black—trousers, boots, and T-shirt, but no weapons that she could see—he looked very spook-like, his expression hard and determined, his gait focused. He was definitely on the move. Nothing casual about him.
She hesitated to react, wanting to sink into the cushions before he spied her or to get up quickly and find another location where he couldn’t see her. Even though she wasn’t usually a coward, she was worried about Anna and Finn, and she didn’t feel equipped to deal with this man.
The tension in her spine ratchetted up several notches as she watched Joe head toward the lobby. Before she could do anything, he saw her.
His eyes widened, and he changed course, heading straight in her direction.
Heart beating even harder, if that was possible, she stiffened and quickly pulled out her cell phone, scolding herself for not having done so the instant she’d seen him. Although she knew any movement on her part would have caught his eye. She had hoped he wouldn’t see her. Fat chance. She was the only one sitting in the lobby. Even if she’d been a block of wood resting on a chair, he would have noticed.
Joe was smiling at her like a cat that had cornered a mouse, and she frowned back at him as she punched a button to automatically dial Hunter’s number. She had no clue what he could do for her when he was in Hawaii. Maybe relay a message to Finn or Paul—who was on his way but would be too late to do her any good.
She hadn’t thought to program her phone to include Finn’s number. But Mr. Wolf-Man Spy hadn’t, either.
Even so, she wasn’t afraid of Joe, figuring he wouldn’t risk trying to move her out of the lobby, considering the fight she’d put up. Maybe she should be more afraid. What if he shoved a gun in her ribs and told her to come with him or else? She’d be dead if she went with him. No matter what, she wasn’t leaving here with him.
Would she have been better off in the Hummer? No. He could have forced her out of the vehicle, and no one would have even noticed. Except maybe the man by the pine tree. If he was still there.
She felt safer in the well-lit lobby, although at this late hour, it was empty. The same lone clerk stood behind the counter, speaking on the phone to yet another potential customer and oblivious to the menace approaching Meara.
“Meara! What’s wrong?” Hunter asked over her cell phone. She gave a start when she realized he was speaking to her over the phone, having forgotten she’d punched in his number. How many times had he already asked her what was wrong without her hearing him?
Joe reached her in a couple of lengthy strides. Towering over her, he stretched out his hand, palm up, and silently asked her to give up her phone.
She hesitated to speak to her brother as Joe slowly shook his head at her, his eyes dark and his expression even darker, warning her not to say anything.
“Meara?” Hunter said again, only this time his voice was even harder and more anxious.
“What do you want?” she asked Joe, still not handing over her phone. “You can’t take me hostage with all the people hanging around here.” There, she’d let Hunter know what was happening. He was probably wondering what had happened to Finn.
Joe smiled at the reference to the nonexistent people hanging around the lobby. Maybe also because she’d defied him by letting Hunter know what was going on, although technically she hadn’t spoken to her brother on the phone. The man had to know she was warning someone about his threatening presence, yet he remained cool and didn’t seem the least bit worried about Finn arriving to save the day.
A trickle of worry slid down her spine. What had happened to Finn? Was he hurt or worse? And Anna? What had Joe done to her?
Meara would not show how terrified she was that they could be injured or worse. Already adrenaline was shooting through her icy veins, preparing her to do everything she could to fight him, should Joe
try to remove her bodily from the lobby.
Hunter was silent, and she knew he had to be worried sick about her and Finn. Angry, too, that anyone might be threatening either of them.
Joe pried the phone from her fingers, ended the call, and handed the phone back to her. “Don’t try to lose me again.” His words were spoken with dark emphasis.
Then as if he wanted to make sure he’d impressed her with his serious intent, he crouched in front of her with his hands on her knees, firm and caressing. When she tried to jerk them free, he tightened his grip. As if he could read her thoughts, he said, “I wouldn’t need a gun to encourage you to come with me.” His eyes were nearly black with promise.
Yet, something else flickered across them. Intrigue, sensual desire. She had to be mistaken.
Then without another word, he leaned forward and kissed her on the lips, soft and warm and honeyed. Not pressuring, just a sampling of what he could provide if she took him up on it.
Shocked, she didn’t react to his impudence like she would have, had she been thinking clearly. He leaned back and smiled a little to see her lips parted in surprise. Then he stood, winked in a most maddeningly self-assured way, and strode off into the lounge.
It took her a moment to recover, to think of what to do. Hell, she didn’t even know his name. Not that she figured he was going to give it to her. But she wanted something to call him other than Imposter Joe, should the need arise. And she hoped she could delay him long enough that Finn might catch up with him, if he was able to reach her anytime soon. From the way this man had treated her, she assumed he wouldn’t have harmed Finn or Anna. Or maybe that was damned wishful thinking.
“Wait!” she called after Joe, standing, her legs surprisingly weak and her stomach weaker. “What’s your name?”
But he didn’t say a word or even glance in her direction, leaving her torn between chasing after him or finding Finn and Anna. She didn’t have a clue which room Anna was staying in, though. She hurried after Joe. “Wait!”
He cast a knowing smile at her over his shoulder. Like a pied piper, he opened a dark door, luring her toward the darkened hotel lounge, which was filled with people, she noted with surprise as she drew closer. Joe was right. He hadn’t needed a gun to get her to go with him. Although she wasn’t going with him exactly, but rather following him. Maybe she could ID his car’s license plate number, get the make of his vehicle, and learn more about him when he left. Not that she was going anywhere outside with him. She would peek out a window, though, and try to determine what his car looked like and its plate number.
Then she’d tell Finn what she’d learned.
The stairwell door opened with a loud thunk that resounded through the lobby. Meara whirled around. Finn hurried toward her, Anna on his heels, both looking like they were ready to have heart attacks, their gazes dark and worried. Relief flooded her that they were both okay.
“Hell, Meara, you’re all right,” Finn said, his voice threaded with concern. He frowned at her when he noticed she’d been headed away from her chair toward the lounge.
She quickly motioned at the door of the lounge, which was closed again. “Joe went that way.”
“Damn it, Meara. What were you doing? Following him?” Finn turned to Anna and said harshly, “Stay with her.”
Meara didn’t like his tone of voice, as if she had been a disobedient child and he was leaving a keeper with her to make her mind.
“When I offered before, you didn’t want me to watch her.” Anna tilted her chin up, defying him to deny it and sounding testy.
Meara was surprised to hear Anna talk back to him, as harshly as he’d spoken. She figured both she and Anna were in the proverbial doghouse. The notion was even more insulting to a wolf.
He gave Anna an irritated look, stormed off toward the lounge, and said over his shoulder, “That was before this Joe tied you up, and you thought he was pretty good looking.”
Shocked, Meara switched her attention to Anna.
Anna raised her brows at Meara’s questioning look. “He was handsome. Don’t you think?” Anna asked Meara, giving a tiny shrug.
“He tied you up, and all you can say is that he was handsome?”
Chapter 10
“Come on,” Anna said to Meara in a rushed tone as Finn disappeared into the hotel lounge. “Let’s go back up to the relative safety of my room. You never know when the real bad guys might show up again.”
“Who was he?” Meara asked, hoping that Anna had learned more about Joe, although maybe not, considering the way he had tied Anna up. She glanced at the lobby door as she pondered asking if Anna was armed and if they could check out the pine tree where the man had been standing.
“Joe’s a deep undercover operative, I figure. On our side—for now.” Anna looked in the direction of the door and said, “What?”
“Are you armed?”
“Yes.” Anna growled her response, and Meara wondered why. Then she realized Imposter Joe probably had disarmed her, and Anna was still sore about it.
“I saw someone outside and thought maybe… I might know him. Would you mind if we took a walk out there and checked?”
Anna gaped at her. “Seriously?” The way Anna said the word revealed her disbelief that Meara would consider anything of the sort. Then Anna raised her chin and narrowed her eyes a little. “He’s not a former lover, is he?”
“Forget it,” Meara said and headed toward the elevators in the hall.
Anna quickly joined her. “Well, is he?” She sounded more curious than annoyed.
“No.”
She and Anna took the elevator to the sixth floor, and Meara appreciated the fact that Anna wasn’t treating her with as much animosity as when they’d first met on the beach. But she got the distinct impression that Anna didn’t like the idea that Meara might have a former lover hanging around outside the hotel.
Anna unlocked her door and pushed it open, then turned to Meara and said, “Why would your friend be here?”
“He might not be. I just wanted to see if it was him.” Meara’s lips parted as she saw the mess Anna’s room was in—the overturned table, the lamp on the floor, and the upset seat cushions on the couch in the living area.
Meara’s phone rang, and her heart seized. She jerked her phone out of her pocket, saw the caller ID, and her heart fluttered—Hunter!
“I’m all right,” she hurried to say, instantly remorseful that she hadn’t called him as soon as she knew she and the others were safe.
“What the hell happened?” His dark voice was strangled with worry.
“A man was following us, but he turned out to be one of the good guys. Well, kind of a good guy.”
He had tied up Anna, and he hadn’t allowed Meara to talk to Hunter to let him know what was going on, and he had kissed her without her permission, which made him kind of not a good guy.
“Let me talk to Finn. You’re not making any sense, Meara.”
“He’s not here,” she said, exasperated.
“You’re alone?”
She envisioned Hunter wringing Finn’s neck. “No. He’s talking to the guy in the lounge downstairs. Anna’s here with me in her hotel suite. Anna Johnson. I’m okay, all right?”
Silence.
Knowing he wasn’t going to let this slide until he had every detail of what had happened, although no way was she going to mention to him or anyone else that Joe had kissed her, Meara let out her breath with a heavy sigh. “Hunter? I’m all right.”
“Who is he? Why did you hang up on me?”
“He wouldn’t let me talk to you and ended our call. Anna says she thinks he works as a deep undercover operative.”
“Hell. You were alone? With him?”
“I was with him in the lobby. Full of people.”
Anna smiled at Meara�
��s little white lie.
“I didn’t hear anyone conversing in the background, Meara. It’s late there. The damned place was probably empty. Don’t cover for him. Where was Finn?”
Meara should have realized that with his wolf’s hearing, Hunter would have known the truth. “Finn was making sure Anna was safe,” Meara said.
“Hell, he knows better than to leave you by yourself. I’m returning home on the next flight out of here.”
“No! Hunter, you can’t. It’s your honeymoon. Enjoy it with Tessa. I’m fine. Anna’s with me, and Finn will be back any minute. I won’t hear of your ending your honeymoon over this. Stay there!”
Anna was chuckling to herself.
“Got to go, Hunter. It’s late. Kiss Tessa for me, won’t you?” Meara quickly said.
“Don’t. Hang. Up. On. Me. Meara.”
“’Night!” She ended the call, her pulse pounding.
She was certain he’d have words with her over this as soon as he came home. Then again, by the time he returned, his anger would have settled. She imagined Tessa would help calm him, too. At least Meara hoped she would.
Anna turned away, but not before Meara saw a glimmer of a smile on her lips. She was probably used to Hunter being in total charge and expected his sister to bow down to him like so many people did. Anna probably hadn’t expected Meara to tell him what to do. Meara knew Hunter would call Finn next and give him hell about what had happened. She almost felt sorry for Finn, but she figured he was used to it and could stand up for himself.
“Did the man hurt you?” she asked Anna, wanting to think of something other than how angry her brother was.
“A bruise here or there, I’m sure,” Anna said as she and Meara began righting the table and lamp. “A little roughhousing never hurt anyone, if neither was trying to kill the other.”
“Weren’t you? Trying to kill him, I mean?”
“Nah. At first, I reacted pretty violently, figuring he intended to kill me, and I planned to do it to him first. But I could tell by the way he forced me down, countering all my lethal moves with blocking maneuvers and attempting not to hurt me, that he didn’t intend to harm me permanently. At least I didn’t think so.”