Part 19 (2/2)
”How do you two know each other? And hang on. You obviously know what we are. Are you Veiler?” Trey rolled his shoulders back like they were stiff. His wounds had all but vanished now.
”No. She's not. As to how we know each other, when you disappeared I decided to go on your blind date. I thought one might have something to do with the other.”
”That's funny,” Trey said, chuckling. ”You on a blind date.” He looked at Tess. ”I guess you had a good time since you're here. And by the way, Kensie and Francesca's description didn't do you justice.”
Something cracked inside Hugh. Warmth followed by a quick burst of cold ripped through him like a tornado. He moved beside Tess and put an arm around her waist. ”I'll fill you in tomorrow. Right now, talk.”
His possessiveness rattled him, but left no impression on Trey, because he said, ”The least I can do is take you on that date, Tess. You free Sat.u.r.day?”
Hugh had such a tight grip on her she couldn't move away, yet he felt her try. She wouldn't accept Trey's offer, would she?
”I think-”
”No date,” Hugh growled. ”Now talk.”
Trey winked at Tess and added, ”We'll talk about it later.”
Like h.e.l.l they would. Hugh wanted to give Trey another fat lip. Instead, he took a deep breath so the hair on his arms settled. ”Talk.”
A car drove by, seemingly oblivious to their position in the park. The windows were tinted black but Hugh heard the radio playing, a male voice humming along. It turned the corner and vanished.
”They jumped me outside Cupid's. Hit me from behind then shot me twice with a tranquilizer. I woke up the next morning here.” He nodded toward the library. ”The a.s.sholes kept me bound and used me as a dartboard so I never gained enough strength to s.h.i.+ft.”
”Dartboard?” Tess asked.
”Yeah,” Trey said. ”Aimed at my shoulders, thighs, then turned me around and aimed for the center of my back. The truth is, I could have taken them in the early morning hours after a night of rest, but I wanted to stick around to find out what the h.e.l.l was going on.”
”What did you find out?” Hugh released Tess, at ease now that Trey was off the topic of dating her. She stayed close, pleasing him to no end. Whether it was a conscious decision on her part or not, he didn't care.
”The Seeker in charge told you the truth. One of their guys was taken and killed, and from what I heard, it points to a Night Runner.”
Hugh's leg muscles went rigid. ”That can't be.”
”I didn't want to believe it either, but a witness who saw the murder gave a description of a wolf-man and said the killer told the Wolf Seeker he could feel his fear.” Trey started jogging in place. ”Man it feels good to be back outside.”
”Did the witness see his face?” Tess asked before Hugh could.
Trey stopped moving. ”No. And f.u.c.k-pardon my French-if I know anyone in our pack who would do such a thing.”
”Aren't there other Night Runners here in LA? Maybe you need to look outside the pack.”
”We're the only ones,” Hugh said.
Tess's eyes widened. ”You're the only Night Runners?”
”That's what I said.”
She bit her bottom lip. Her eyes stayed on his with enough affectivity to make his stomach feel like a swarm of eels were inside.
”Wow. How many are in your pack?”
”Sixty-four,” Trey said when Hugh didn't answer right away. He was trying to figure out what was going on in that beautiful head of hers.
”No wonder you're so protective.” She broke the connection to look at Trey. ”Why have the Wolf Seekers targeted your pack when there are several other wolfen?”
”They hate all wolves,” Trey continued. ”But we're the closest to extinction so they've set their sights on us.”
”Have you thought about teaming up with another pack? I mean, is that allowed? Can you co-mingle?”
”That's enough,” Hugh interjected. ”There's no time for a history lesson here. What else did you learn?” The reasons for their small number didn't factor into getting to the bottom of things.
”Right.” Trey spoke directly to Hugh. ”There's someone else involved with the Wolf Seekers. I don't know who, but there were quite a few phone calls from him. And the sons of b.i.t.c.hes-sorry”-he glanced at Tess-”are planning something big.”
”Such as?” Hugh needed concrete information so he could form an objective a.n.a.lysis.
Trey wavered. ”Unfortunately, I don't know. When it came down to discussing details or anything worth a d.a.m.n they turned on a high-pitched siren at a frequency that blindsided me. I couldn't make out s.h.i.+-c.r.a.p.”
”d.a.m.n.”
”There is other news I need to share with you.” His tone indicated it was a private matter.”
Anything you've got to say you can say in front of Tess.
Whoa. That took all of a split second to register in his mind. Did he feel that comfortable with her to include her in more confidential information?
Yeah, he did.
”Go ahead.”
Trey's eyes darted to Tess then back to him in a subtle attempt to say get rid of the girl. ”You sure?”
”I am standing right here,” Tess said. ”You can come out and tell me to take a hike. I won't take it personally. But I should tell you, I'm very good with private things.”
Hugh just bet she was. His c.o.c.k was more than ready to get up close and personal. And by the look on Trey's face, his apprentice thought the same thing.
”Talk,” Hugh demanded, almost on the verge of throttling Trey. Tess was off limits.
”There's a hit out on you. P.I.E.'s got it.” He glanced at Tess, a mixture of interest and concern on his face.
With a voice sinfully sweet, she said, ”I thought pie was something you ate.”
Trey fell for it hook, line and sinker. ”No. Actually P.I.E. is-”
Tess laughed before Trey could elaborate. The kid ran a hand through his unkempt hair and looked to Hugh for an explanation.
”Meet the eliminator,” Hugh said, tilting his head in her direction and raising his eyebrows.
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