Veiled Target (A Veilers Novel) (6 page)

“That’s right.”

She stopped, leaned against the side of a dilapidated building, and pulled off her shoe. “I keep getting damn pebbles.” She brushed away the tiny rock and fixed the shoe back on her foot.

“Where’d the heels go?” He looked at the broken shoes and tried not to laugh.

“They were slowing me down so I got rid of them.” She stayed put, thinking. He quieted the chatter in his head, not wanting to take advantage of the situation. If he gave into it once, it would be that much easier the next time, and he’d prided himself on keeping his connection to people as human as possible.

Temptation, however, beckoned him like it never had before. Tess was quite possibly the most infuriating, sexy and adventurous woman he’d ever met.

“I need to get a move on,” he said, breaking the silence and stepping away.

“I get to ask one more question.”

Hugh looked over his shoulder. “I believe you just asked it.”

She hadn’t budged.

He wheeled around and, without warning, tossed her back over his shoulder.

“Hey! Put me down!” she wailed.

Fists met his back while he tried not to let his hands roam too much. Or enjoy the feel of her body squirming against his. “You done?”

“Yes.” She surrendered, her body relaxing.

Once again on solid ground and falling in step beside him, she added, “You’re so going to pay for that.” Tugging her dress back into position, she let out a rankled sigh. “Believe me buddy, as fast as you want to be rid of me, I want to be rid of you faster.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

“Shmuck,” she whispered under her breath, obviously unaware that he could hear a pin drop. “So Night Runner, why would someone want to kidnap your friend?”

“That’s a good question. One I…” He halted and put a firm hand on Tess’s arm. His senses perked up. An acidic smell touched his nose. Whispers of breath, raspy and gruff, touched his ears. Someone or something was close. Very close.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, no hint of fear in her voice.

He looked around but saw nothing. Whatever was out there was very good at masking itself. “Nothing.” With his hand on her arm, he moved them forward with caution. “And to answer your question, I don’t know. I met you tonight because I thought you might be able to shed some light on the situation.”

“How the hell could I do that? I just met you.”

“Yeah. About that.” Only a few hundred more feet and they’d be out of the alley, closer to a safer part of town. Shit. Was he walking them toward danger or away from it?

“About what?” She didn’t seem to mind his hand on her arm. In fact, she lifted it and put her arm underneath his to join them in stronger companionship.

That small gesture was all it took to convince him to tell her the truth. “My name’s not Trey. Trey is my missing friend. My name’s Hugh. Hugh Langston.”

She doubled over at his admission, breaking their arm connection. Choking sounds and attempts to catch her breath followed. “Hugh. Langston.” She uttered his name like it was laced with poison.

Before he could reply to her charming echo of his name, the source of his apprehension made an appearance. With a thump that shook the ground, a savage, shaggy, burnt-orange-haired Banoth dropped from above in front of them. How the hell the giant had gone unnoticed was beyond him, but here he was.

“What the—”

“No time, Tess.” He yanked her behind him then turned and grabbed her hand. “Run!”

Chapter Five

Holy shit.

Tess hated hearing the word
run
. She didn’t mind the act of doing so, just despised the fact that when yelled, it meant someone or something was chasing her. And she hated being chased.

But more than being chased, she hated not knowing what the hell was in hot pursuit of her ass.

He looked like a wooly mammoth on two feet—thick, clubbed feet, which right now moved too swiftly for his big size. Long hair hung over his extremely tall body, and spiraling, jagged horns protruded from his oversized head. Lips like an orangutan’s spread all the way across his face while thick saliva sputtered from his mouth. Hair covered his eyes too, allowing only a peek at his red, crazy stare. Yes, it was a he, she decided. No female creature would wear a beard that hideous.

With another quick glance over her shoulder, she found the beast a bit too close for comfort. And yet, excitement shot through her. She lived for danger. And the creature wanting to take a bite out of her was very dangerous. When she’d left to follow Trey—Hugh—she hadn’t imagined the evening turning out like this.

Hugh.

“Quick, down this way!” he yelled, his hand still firmly holding hers.

She matched him stride for stride. When her mind wandered to him shifting and what that might feel like, she gave herself a mental slap. Hugh was her assignment, the wolfen she had to investigate and e-l-i-m-i-n-a-t-e.

Nausea hit her so fast she was sure she’d throw up while running. “I think I’m going to be sick,” she yelled.

“Not here, you’re not. If we stop for even a second, that thing will overtake us.”

She swallowed the bad taste coming up her throat and tried to catch a breath. If he hadn’t been gripping her hand so tight, there was no way she would have been able to continue at the Olympic pace he’d set. “What the hell is that thing?” she asked, pushing aside the appreciation his protection stirred inside her.

He cut her a quick glance before looking over his shoulder. “A Banoth.”

“I’ve never heard of them.”

“They don’t make an appearance very often.” He sounded winded, but not from the running. It was more of a desperate, worried tone, probably from having to deal with the Banoth. And her.

He truly didn’t want to see her hurt. The thought made her want to throw up again. She should yank her hand from his and take off in another direction. Put distance between them and make her own escape. But she couldn’t. She’d found her next assignment, and like it or not, her investigation had started. The fact that he wasn’t like the marks she’d been assigned in the past complicated things, though. From the first second she’d met those Veilers, she’d known they were bad seeds. Hugh seemed like a genuinely good guy.

Which begged the question: why him? In all her years with P.I.E., not once had her investigation proved the mark innocent of any wrongdoing.

If she were smart, she’d figure out a way to let the Banoth have his way with Hugh. Let the beast do the job for her. The job that she’d been warned would be her last if she didn’t succeed.

Hot breath hit the back of her neck along with a little moisture.
Eww.
The lousy monster was breathing down her neck
and
spitting? He royally pissed her off.

“Faster,” she yelled, willing her feet to move quicker. Regardless of what she’d do about Hugh, at the moment she thought it wise to stay by his side. Two against one Banoth were pretty good odds, considering who they were.

“In here,” he called, making an abrupt left through an open warehouse door. He slammed it shut behind them and threw down the metal reinforcement bar.

A loud bang and some pretty serious bumps in the door followed, but it remained closed.

“I guess they can’t crash through steel.” She put her hands on her knees and bent over to catch her breath.

“No, but they’re very resourceful so it’s only a matter of time before it figures out another way in.”

Hugh looked around the expansive room filled with crates and machinery. Just enough light from the skylights overhead allowed Tess to see they’d snuck into some sort of manufacturing plant. After surveying the place in hopes of finding a blinking red exit sign, she turned and found Hugh staring at her.

More emotion—pain? Confusion? Trust?—crossed his face than she was comfortable seeing. Falling into those amazing eyes of his, she decided she needed to find out more before she, or anything else, took him out. She needed to play it cool and keep in contact. Do her investigating with her work face firmly in place. The face she’d perfected over the years. The face that allowed her to get close to her targets so they trusted her. Right before she eliminated them. This time was no different. It couldn’t be.

Could it?

“You’re not scared,” he said, running a hand through his hair.

“I don’t scare easily.” Why oh why did he have to stir something warm and hopeful inside her?

He took a few steps closer before reaching out and wiping a drop of perspiration from her forehead with the pad of his thumb. “Glad to hear it.”

She batted his hand away, terrified that she didn’t hate wolfen as much as she used to. “Keep your hands to your—”

He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her snug against his body. The contact sent tingles she should not be feeling straight to between her legs. Before she could protest—not that she really wanted to—he dropped them both to the floor.

Something smelling worse than a skunk-spray-cow-dung cocktail flew past their heads and landed with a splat on the wall behind them. Hugh’s arms cushioned their fall so her backside landed gently on the concrete floor. His rock hard body remained over hers and she tried not to think about her breasts pressed against his chest.

“These hands come in handy sometimes. You might want to remember that.”

He jumped to his feet and extended one of those very fine hands to help her up.

She took it with secret gratitude. The instant she was vertical again, another stink bomb whizzed past them, sparing her from saying thank you. “What is
that
?”

“Poison to you, a pain in the ass to me. Let’s go.” He released her and ran in between the heavy-duty shelving units lining the warehouse.

She followed right on his heels. “I guess the Banoth found a way in.”

“Yeah, and it won’t stop until it sticks its fangs into one of us.”

“Us? I think it’s after you, big guy. I’m hardly the type to interest a big hairy beast like that. You must have ticked off its mother or something.” She felt a grin flank her face. Her juices were flowing, her body was pumped. Hands down, this was one of the best romps she’d had in a long time.

A piercing cry—like fingers scraping on chalkboard magnified times ten—echoed through the warehouse. The noise sent a chill over her lips and down the back of her legs, eliminating some of the excitement pumping through her veins.

“That doesn’t sound good,” she said as they turned down another aisle, this one darker and narrower.

Hugh slowed and then stopped, allowing a few seconds to pass before he spoke. “It means there’s more than one of them.”

“Don’t tell me they travel in pairs.”

“Okay. I won’t tell you.”

He stood only inches away, his nearness good and bad. She could see the wheels turning in his head, and noticed he seemed to be assessing the situation like he was clairvoyant. Which he kind of was.

“So with these killer senses of yours, you can smell and hear him even though we can’t see him?” She relaxed against the shelf, glad for the chance to catch her breath, and really happy to be on an adventure.

Her mind spun when he hesitated to answer. She could tell from the look on his handsome face that he was more concerned for her than himself. The regard caused something to shift inside her, like a vine twisting its way through her veins, awakening nerve endings she’d shut off. But feelings were something she couldn’t afford. She had a job to do. And if she discovered information about Hugh that justified his elimination, she’d follow through. Her life depended on it.

“Pretty much.” Something flashed in his blue eyes and he quickly looked away.

“Can you control your shifting?” She told herself to guard the things going on inside her head more carefully.

“Yes.”

“Are you thinking about shifting right now?”

“Yes.”

“Wanna jump off a bridge?”

“Ye—” His gaze jumped back to hers.

She smiled. “Just checking to see if you were listening. How about we grab a burger and fries when this over?”

He tiptoed closer. Her senses not too shabby either, she could feel the heat radiating off him, smell his masculine scent magnified by the intensity of the situation. She saw beyond the whites of his eyes to something that made her feel like she’d swallowed the tiny white, twinkling lights found in trees during the holidays. For a split second, she thought he might lean in and kiss her. She
wanted
him to lean in and kiss her.

Instead, his warm breath tickled her ear and he whispered, “Let’s focus on getting out of here alive.”

Blinking away the pleasant sensations circulating through her body, she silently cursed her trembling knees back into kickboxing mentality.

“No problem,” she said, her tone serious and tough.

What an idiot she was. He had no interest in her whatsoever. He’d flirted with her some, yes, but that was because he thought she might know something about Trey. Now that he knew she didn’t, as soon as he could ditch her at her car, she’d never see him again.

Until she started investigating him, that was. And then it would be all about the job. She’d decide on a course of action and without his knowledge, get her hands on information to prove he wasn’t as nice as he appeared. P.I.E.’s clients always had good reasons for hiring the company, so this time shouldn’t be any different.

Even though it felt different.

She pushed herself away from the shelving, forcing him back. “What’s the plan?”

“The plan is you’re going to get out of here, and I’m going to deal with the Banoth. If you go back the way we came in and—”

“Oh no—”

“Oh yes—”

“Oh hell no.” She put her hand over his mouth as he was about to speak. “I am not running away from this thing. It tried to take a bite out of my backside. Sorry, but I’m staying, and I’m going to make that SOB pay for its actions. So you can just tell me how we kill it, and the sooner we get the deed done, the sooner you’ll be rid of me.”

He grabbed her wrist and pushed her hand from his mouth with a firm, yet gentle hold. His jaw clenched, his eyes narrowed. A low growl escaped his pursed lips. “I don’t have time to argue with you.”

“That’s right. So how do we kill it?”

“You’re no ordinary private investigator.” He placed her arm at her side and released his grip. His steely gaze said he was trying to intimidate her, get her to tell truths she didn’t share.

“Maybe I’ll fill you in sometime, but not right now. I think tall, dark and hairy is coming to get us.”

As if on cue, the shelving unit beside them toppled over, boxes falling to the floor with a thunderous crash. Banoths obviously weren’t keen enough to hit their target unless it stood right in front of them.

“Run!” Hugh yelled, shoving her away from the jagged pieces of clay pot littering the floor.

“Would you quit saying that? I know.”

They took off again, Tess leading them through a maze of aisles. After tearing around a corner, she halted abruptly when she noticed the shaggy savage waiting for them at the other end.

For a creature that had to weigh at least five hundred pounds, it sure traveled quietly. And if she wasn’t mistaken, its thick botoxed lips were pursed in a smile that said “come and get me, baby.”

Not sure what to do, she looked over her shoulder for help from Hugh. He wasn’t there.
Great.
She turned her head back to her enemy and plastered her sweetest closed-mouth smile back at him. They glared at each other for what seemed like an eternity before she wondered if he understood English and she could talk her way out of this.

“Hi. I’m Tess. And you are?”

The beast snorted and scraped one of its feet like it was getting ready to charge.

“Okay, so talking is out of the question.” Instead, she might have to play matador. The super-sized Cousin It looked ready for a bullfight. Steam even came out of the area she assumed housed nostrils. It was hard to tell underneath all the hair.

“You colorblind?” she called out, referring to the color of her dress. Red, blue, she supposed on the color wheel they might be pretty close to each other. She’d never paid much attention during art classes.

Another gruff sound answered her. Where the hell was Hugh? He wouldn’t leave her here alone with this monster, would he? Sneak out on his own and go find Trey, happy to have her occupied. No. He wouldn’t dare. Would he?

Trying discreetly to dart her eyes to the left and right, she searched for something to help her out. Once again she mentally reprimanded herself for going out alone at night without her purse. At the very least, she should have strapped a knife to her thigh.
But nooo.
She’d been too anxious to follow Trey. Who was really Hugh. Who was a Night Runner. And terribly hard to forget. Even now, under the present danger.

She found nothing to aid her in the overwhelming desire to shove something sharp into the Banoth’s chest, so decided there was only one course of action to take. She was a pro at it by now.

Run.

This time, knowing better than to turn her back on a stinkball-throwing giant hairball, she hoped its depth perception was off, and he wouldn’t notice her taking cautious steps backward. Holding her breath, she inched away from the Banoth. As soon as she reached the end of the aisle, she made a sideways beeline for safety.

Hugh wasn’t going to find Trey tonight. In fact, he doubted the information Dane had received was accurate at all. The more likely explanation included a setup to capture and kill Dane and himself. With the three top Night Runners out of the picture, the pack would be vulnerable to a takeover. Or worse.