She gaped at him, provoking him into a frown.
“What is it?”
“Nothing. That just sounded like something a husb—” Her lips snapped shut and rolled together in a firmly sealed line. He suspected it’d take a jackhammer to pry the remainder of the word from her. Not that it mattered. He knew what she’d been about to say.
And it gave him hope.
Struggling to contain his grin, he ducked his head and kissed her, his tongue taking a far-too-brief foray past those stubbornly fused lips. He retreated and her breathy sigh feathered against his mouth. Smoothing a finger over her flushed cheek, he rubbed noses with her, his skin warming with a delicious tingle. Yep, he was definitely going to have to try that while in form sometime. “I won’t be long.”
“Yeah, you already mentioned that.”
His grin slipped free this time at her surly tone. “Don’t miss me too much while I’m gone.”
“Vain, arrogant and delusional.”
He laughed. “Naming all my best traits?”
Her smile was too sweet to be believed. Chuckling, he strode from the room.
Finding the fleabag motel on Twelve Mile and Main proved easy enough. Determining where the hell Claudia was lurking was a whole other matter. His molars in danger of being ground to dust, Aiden dug in his pocket for his cell. Scrolling through his recent calls, he hit redial on the top number.
Claudia picked up on the second ring. “You’re five minutes early.”
Christ. “Tough shit. I’m giving you exactly two minutes to get your ass over here before I leave.”
He could practically hear Claudia roll her eyes.
“Relax, I’m just grabbing an iced latte from the coffee joint across the street. I’ll be right there.”
Releasing his seat belt, he propped open the door and climbed out, barely getting a beady-eyed glance from the family of gulls busy squabbling over a discarded carton of French fries. The biggest of the birds bullied its way into the center of the throng and absconded with the entire carton. The steady clomp of boot heels striking the asphalt made Aiden pivot. Claudia was walking toward him, sucking on the straw protruding from the plastic cup in her hand.
She stalled and took one last noisy sip before lowering her drink. “Follow me.”
He glowered at her. “I’m not going anywhere until you explain what I’m doing here.”
Her thumb jutted in the direction of the motel. “Morgan Kinnit has a room in that shithole.”
A surge of adrenaline kicking through his veins, he swung his focus to the dilapidated two-story building across from them. “Why the hell would Kinnit’s son be in Michigan, staying in that dump?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. But I suspect he’s here for the same reason as you. Or should I say for the same person as you.”
Dana. Fury boiled inside him. No doubt Thomas and his devil spawn saw Dana as their best chance to strip him of his alpha ranking. “Take me to him.”
Claudia arched her brows at his thunderous growl. One corner of her mouth lifted in a cockeyed smile. “Hoo boy, this is gonna be fun.” Whistling, she plopped her unfinished latte on the hood of the Navigator and strolled across the parking lot. He followed after her, his muscles bunched and ready for confrontation and one hell of an ass-kicking he planned to deliver.
Up close, the motel appeared even seedier, and plenty creepy. It didn’t take a stretch of the imagination to visualize Norman Bates jumping from one of the shadowed doorways, wearing a granny wig and wielding a bloodstained knife. Claudia trotted up the rickety metal stairway to the second level and stopped outside room 108. He pulled up beside her and she held a finger to her lips. Shoving back the cuff of her leather jacket, she shifted her hand into a talon and inserted one curved claw tip into the lock. She looked up and caught his frown. “What, you think you’re the only one skilled in this trick?”
He gaped at her, trying to figure out how the hell she’d seen him sneak into the gallery. Shit, he wouldn’t put it past her if she’d been spying on him from inside the dumpster.
Claudia swung the door open and stormed inside the small, dingy room. She ground to a halt and he almost collided with her. Grabbing the back of her jacket, he narrowly saved her from pitching face first into the threadbare carpet.
“Motherfucker!” Claudia stomped her foot and tried to yank out of his grip.
Releasing the leather bunched in his fist, he scanned the room, prepared to pounce on Morgan—soon as the son of a bitch showed his coward face.
“Bastard flew the coop.”
He granted Claudia a narrowing of his eyes. “Assuming he was here in the first place.”
“Damn it, Fortune. Do you think I called you out here because I wanted to dick around with you? The asshole must have spotted me outside and took off while I was in the coffee joint.” Grumbling beneath her breath, she plowed her neon purple nails through her hair. “Who knew Morgan had enough brain cells to put two and two together.”
Her irritable statement snagged his full attention. “Two and two? Why do I get the feeling there’s something you’re not telling me?”
Claudia’s features morphed into a mask of feigned innocence. “What do you mean?”
He backtracked to the door. Shutting it firmly, he leaned against the flimsy slab of wood and crossed his arms in front of him.
Shoulders slumping, Claudia lost the fake guileless expression. “I lured Morgan here, okay? Not that it does a damn bit of good now.”
Dropping his arms, he stalked toward her. “How, exactly, did you manage that?”
She started to sit on the mattress but apparently thought better of it. Wrinkling her nose at the stained bedspread, she perched on the edge of the nightstand. “I hacked into Tucker’s email account.” She met his incredulous stare and shrugged. “Can I help it that my brother has the easiest cracked password of all time? Like I told you, I’m desperate. And my snooping paid off this time.”
“What did you find out?”
“For starters, I was right about Kinnit using his blackmail tactics to coerce Tucker into taking care of Kinnit’s dirty business. In this case, it required my brother kidnapping your little sacrifice.”
Before he could stop it, an angry flame burst from his nostrils. Claudia ducked out of the way just in time. Crouching on her butt, she peered overhead at the bare metal hoop hanging haphazardly from the lamp. “Shit, Fortune. You have something against tacky fringed lampshades?”
Clenching his fists, he stumbled backward and sucked in what he prayed would be a calming breath. “Continue.”
“Are you sure you want to hear the rest? I doubt that bedspread there is flame retardant.”
“Continue.” He bit the word out in three fierce syllables.
Claudia grasped the corner of the nightstand and hoisted to her feet. “An email came in from Kinnit senior apparently on the same day Tucker arrived in Michigan. He reminded my brother to be discreet, and not tip you off about Tucker being in town. Kinnit also left the number of a local dealer he wanted my brother to get in touch with.”
“Dealer? You mean as in drugs?”
“No, as in antiques. Apparently Kinnit’s in the market for a china cabinet.” Giving an undignified snort, Claudia brushed off the seat of her skintight jeans. “Yes, drugs. Specifically ruffies. From the sound of it, Kinnit has some real nasty plans where your sacrifice is concerned.”