“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Tess. I’m not stupid. Your being here tonight is no coincidence, is it?”
“Whatever the hell you think you know, you’re wrong. I was supposed to go on a blind date tonight with some guy named Trey. My friends set me up. It wasn’t something I wanted to do. End of story. All the other shit that’s happened tonight was accidental. With the exception of my saving your ass. And I must say, if this is how you repay me for showing you kindness, I’m going to have to remember not to do you any more favors.”
And with that she kneed him in the groin, effectively getting him to release her. She stepped back and smiled. “For the record,” she added, “I saved you because I needed your help. No other reason.”
“Not out of the kindness of your heart, huh?” The pain in his cock was no match for the pain she’d just flung at his ego.
“I’m not a kind person.”
“Yeah, I think you already mentioned that. Guess I’m having a hard time getting it through my thick skull.”
The wind picked up, carrying the smell of car exhaust and greasy food. She took a step closer, and he’d bet she never wavered or cowered from a fight. She needed things to be on her terms, and if the tables turned, she turned them right back around.
He needed the duct tape. Slipped his hand inside his pocket.
“I’d really like to be on my way. Do we have a deal or not?”
He didn’t like what he was about to do, but she left him no choice. She certainly wouldn’t cooperate with him when she discovered what he was up to. With so much on the line—Trey’s life, the pack’s future, his life—this was the only way he could think of with time ticking to get himself out of her line of fire. He’d make a deal with her, and then all bets were off.
“Yes. We have a deal.” Using his wolf speed and strength, he turned her, crossed her arms behind her back, and duct taped her wrists together. It happened so fast there was nothing she could do about it. “But there’s a few details we need to work out.”
“What the hell are you doing?” she shouted, wiggling her shoulders to try and loosen the tape. He spun her back around to face him. She eyed the offensive binding dangling from his finger and kicked him in the shin. Hard. “Untie me!”
He jumped out of the way before she got another kick in. Moving to the side, he put an arm around her waist and opened the car door. “Get in.” He pushed her head down and goosed her into climbing into the passenger seat.
“Hey! Keep your hands to yourself. And I asked what the hell you’re doing.” After a few humpfs, she settled into the seat, her hands nicely trapped behind her back.
With difficulty, he shook away how her backside had looked as she’d climbed into the car. He situated himself behind the steering wheel and shut the door. “Where’s the key?”
She gave him the silent treatment along with a wish-you-were-dead stare.
“Tell me where the goddamn key is, Tess. Otherwise I’ll duct tape your mouth too.”
“Side of the door,” she mumbled.
The engine hummed. He leaned over and buckled her seatbelt before doing his own. Anger poured off her in tsunami-sized waves that sucked the air out of the small interior. He rolled down the window. “How fast can this baby go?”
Tess shot him the now I’m really going to kill you look.
“I’ll just see for myself.” He shifted into gear and took off. “Hang on.”
Chapter Eight
Hugh drove Tess’s Beemer through the streets of Los Angeles, speeding through yellow lights and only reluctantly stopping for red. He slammed on the breaks when a white Ferrari crossed into his lane to avoid a limousine stopped illegally in front of a club. God, he hated Sunset Boulevard on weekend nights.
Tess didn’t flinch at the sudden movement. In fact, she’d remained eerily still and quiet since he’d hijacked her car. Every attempt to engage her in conversation had met with cold, hard silence. Her head was turned to the side, relaxed against the headrest of the passenger seat, but he could hear the blood rushing through her veins. She wasn’t calm. Not by a long shot.
Since her attention stayed on the passing scenery, he snuck glances at her legs. They were tan, lean, muscular. Smooth and silky. He pictured them wrapped around his waist before forcing his eyes back to the road. His grip tightened on the steering wheel, he did multiplication problems in his head. He had to get the fuck over the desire she stirred in him and get her talking about eliminating him. That ought to cure his idiotic attraction to her.
“How about we’re honest with each other?” He tossed a sideways glance and smile her way.
“You’re an asshole,” she said without moving a muscle.
“Okay. That’s a start. You’re”—he hung on to the “rrrr”—“a bitch.”
She whipped her head in his direction and shot daggers at him, then just as quickly turned away so she looked out the passenger window again.
“I thought we were being honest,” he added.
Silence.
“You know, a bitch isn’t all bad. Especially coming from a wolfen.”
Silence.
“You started it, Tess. So why don’t you finish it? Come on. I know there are things going on in that head of yours. Let’s hear it. Give it to me straight.”
Silence.
The road grew more congested so he made a turn down a less crowded street. They were only a couple of miles away from his hideout now. Up the canyon and they’d be there. He didn’t plan on telling anyone where he was, at least for tonight. The place was well equipped with food and necessities for occasions like this, so even if they needed to stay a few days, it wouldn’t be a problem.
He turned on the radio.
She turned off the radio. By lifting her leg and slamming the bottom of her shoe into the knob.
Yeah, that did nice things for his viewing pleasure. She wiggled, trying to get the dress to cover a little more skin. Didn’t work.
“Want to try again?” He needed confirmation she was an eliminator, and if so, who hired her and how it related to Trey’s disappearance. “I’ll start. You’re the most confusing woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.” There were a few other adjectives he could use—compelling, beautiful, impressive—but he needed to keep those to himself.
Her head rotated against the backrest in slow motion until her blue eyes rolled at him. “I’d be happy to be a part of this conversation if you’d be so kind as to take the duct tape off my wrists. It hurts like hell.”
“You know what hell feels like?” he joked.
She sighed disapprovingly. “I think I’m in it right now.”
He laughed. “So belligerent.”
“You’ve fucking kidnapped me. I think I’m entitled.”
“This isn’t a kidnapping.” Now it was his turn to roll his eyes. “More like I persuaded you without risk of bodily harm. Your hands are a deadly weapon.”
“Trust me. It’s not just my hands.” She shifted in her seat, sat up taller.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to do, sweetheart. You ready to talk?”
“I think I am. I need to make a correction. You’re an asshole I’m going to kill.” She tilted her head and gave a tight, closed-mouth smile like she was quite happy with herself and positive she’d succeed with her mission.
Hugh couldn’t have been happier. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”
“I beg your pardon?” Irritation sounded in her voice. Lines creased her forehead, her eyebrows furrowed.