He’d be running with the rest of the Pack. And when they changed back in the morning, I’d be long gone, fading into the masses of people in Chicago.
A couple weeks ago it would have been a great adventure. Tonight I dreaded it.
I slid a couple of bills out of the wad of cash and bought a hot chocolate, a chocolate truffle, and a chocolate chip cookie. Apparently I needed comfort food and lots of it. I pulled up my next article deadline, and then opened Word and stared at the blank document. The cursor blinked, taunting me to write something, anything. I started my letter three separate times, but it was all crap. I sighed and closed my laptop. I couldn’t write while my heart was twisting in a wringer and Nero had a nasty jaguar assassin on my tail.
I slipped my laptop back in the bag and wandered around until I found a blank greeting card with a picture of the sun sparkling on Lake Tahoe. Seeing the peaceful lake reminded me of the day Adam took me there. Before we found Gabe and everything started to unravel around us. That afternoon when he taught me to use my cat senses and patiently waited for me to grasp what I really was inside.
I paid for the card and wrote a note inside for Adam. No matter what I said he wouldn’t be happy, but someday I hoped he’d understand.
Tucking the card in my bag, I went back out to the Jeep and started out of the parking lot when I caught Sebastian’s scent. I pulled into another parking place and got out, scanning the area for the elusive tracker. If he didn’t want me to see him, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t, but I looked anyway.
“Sebastian?” I called, turning around slowly. “I know you’re here.”
Finally I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and spun around. He approached from the shadows behind a dumpster outside a coffee shop.
The corner of his mouth quirked up into a little crooked smile. “You’re getting better at reading your senses. I thought I’d masked my scent by standing near the restaurant waste, but you caught it anyway.”
Wait, was he proud of me? I tried not to let my bewilderment show on my face.
“Why are you still following me?”
“Because Sasha is in Reno.”
I frowned. “Already?”
“The Organization knew I found you here. I’m sure she knew you would return with the wolf.”
“So you’re back to helping me instead of blowing my brains out?”
He raised an arrogant brow that made me want to punch him. “If blowing out your brains was truly my plan, you’d be dead now. How many times do I need to tell you that?”
“You fooled me last night when you held that gun to my head and cocked the trigger.”
“What was important was that I fooled Sasha.”
I crossed my arms, wishing I could get a straight answer from him. “I got the feeling if she hadn’t have backed off you would’ve pulled that trigger.”
“I wouldn’t have allowed Nero to get their hands on you.” He rolled his shoulders back, his eyes scanning the parking lot. “Where is the wolf?”
“Why do you care?”
His eyes met mine. “I thought I made myself clear—”
“I’m not a child, Sebastian. I can take care of myself in broad daylight.”
“So he is not with you.”
I rolled my eyes. God, he was pissing me off. “I don’t have time to play these games, Sebastian. Stay away from me.”
“No.”
I shook my head and turned to get back into the Jeep. He caught my wrist and twisted it up behind my back before I realized what was happening. Sebastian yanked me back and whispered against my ear. “Sasha is even faster than I am and you never saw me coming. How do you think you can avoid her on your own?”
I answered him by kicking my heel right up between his legs. Hard. When his grip on my wrist weakened I hammered my elbow back into his rib cage and took off. In less than a second I was in the Jeep with the tires screaming across the pavement. My eyes kept flicking up to the rearview mirror, watching him straighten up and stare at me. My chest heaved as I pulled into traffic and checked my mirror again. I half expected him to be sitting in the backseat. I knew he couldn’t fly, but it felt like he was everywhere.
I turned a corner and saw the Reno archway, and a familiar face exiting the Circus Circus hotel on the corner. My heart pounded and a chill ran down my spine.
It was Sasha.
I zoomed past her, wishing for the first time that Adam owned a normal car with climate controls. As it was, I was driving past a master tracker with no window or roof between us. My scent was out there in the breeze just waiting for her to catch it. I got to the next light, but she didn’t seem to notice me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw her walk around the corner to the parking lot. While she was out of view, the light changed to green. I drove through the intersection slowly and pulled over to the curb once I was across. A baseball hat was wedged between the front seats, so I grabbed it and put it on. Not like it was a great disguise, but it couldn’t hurt.
I held my breath, watching for her with my foot hovering over the gas pedal. When she finally pulled out of the lot in a black Mercedes, my breath whooshed out of my lungs. She pulled into traffic, and I turned around, following behind. As long as I was behind her, the wind would blow my scent back, or at least that’s what I was counting on.
I stayed a few cars away, trying to remember every single cop show I’d ever seen on television. I had no training for surveillance, but I’d written about personal bodyguards before so I had done some research. When I wrote the article I never dreamed I’d be using the knowledge to follow a woman who was trying to kidnap me.
After a few blocks, she pulled into a gas station. Shit. The best way to not have her sneaking up on me was for me to know where she was. As long as she was in front of me, she couldn’t surprise me from behind. But I couldn’t pull up to the pumps and wait. I drove around the block and stopped behind the station’s minimart to watch for her exit.
I didn’t expect her to come around the back to make a phone call.
With nowhere to run, I slid down in the seat, tugged my hat down slightly, and prayed that the wind would keep blowing my scent away from her.
“I already swept the hotel. She checked out.” She plugged her other ear as she listened.
“Sebastian is here, sir. His scent is all over this town.”
She waited, nodding. “I know. She’s being protected by the wolf pack here. One in particular.” She shook her head. “The twin got away. I did get a shot off, but I don’t believe it was a mortal wound.”
I listened to her talking to her contact inside of Nero, grateful that it kept her distracted.
“Yes, sir. I understand, but is it wise to take out the wolf? Do you want a war with the Pack here, sir?” She paused. “The twin doesn’t like the girl—he was just helping his brother.” Another pause. “No, I’m not defending him, I’m just saying…” She sighed and nodded. “Yes, sir, I understand. I know it’s the full moon. They’ll shift tonight. But I thought you wanted the girl.” She rubbed her forehead with her free hand and shook her head slowly. “Perfectly clear. Her boyfriend dies tonight.”
She closed her phone and walked back around the corner to the gas pumps.
I skootched up in the seat, my stomach clenched. I had to stay calm. As long as I didn’t lose sight of Sasha then I had the upper hand. But how was I going to stop an assassin from killing Adam?
My eyes welled with tears. I rubbed my face and pulled out of the station after her. I needed to think, not cry.
She got on the highway, and I lost sight of her for a second. My pulse raced as I wove in and out of the lanes, searching for the black Mercedes. When I finally saw her ahead I let out a sigh of relief. I still knew where she was. For now.
I pulled out my cell phone and hit Adam’s number.
“Hi, beautiful.”
My skin flushed just hearing his voice. “Hey, Adam, we need to talk, but I can’t right now.”
“Okay.” He sounded confused. “But you just called me.”
“I know. I just needed to know you were all right. Sasha is in town.”
“Already?”
