Part 28 (2/2)

Nothing's going to happen to her. She'd proven to him several times she was tough, that she was capable of handling any situation. So why was he worried?

Could it be the slight smile he saw spread across Dane's face as they headed toward the door?

A sick feeling turned his stomach, and sounding snider than he intended he said, ”Let's get this over with.”

”My thoughts exactly,” Dane said.

”Hugh,” Tess called as Dane preceded him into the hallway.

He stopped right before crossing the threshold, closed the door halfway, and looked back at her.

”Be careful.” Her voice was so quiet he barely made out the words. But he heard them, and his doubt about her agenda lessened.

Tess shot up from the couch the minute the door closed. The last time she'd followed them, she'd been caught. Could she pull it off this time? Doubtful. And really, this was what she wanted, right? She wanted to be on her own. She didn't need backup. Didn't need Hugh getting in her way.

The tiny matter of eliminating him loomed over her like a fourteen-foot giant dripping in sweat and smelling worse than week-old fish left on the kitchen counter, but she'd deal with that later.

She pulled out her cell and tried Kensie and Francesca. They hadn't answered any of her earlier calls or dialed back from the messages she'd left. ”It's urgent,” she'd said. ”I'm in San Diego and we really need to talk. Please call me back as soon as possible.” They had a deal, the three of them, that if they said ”urgent” it meant a call back was imperative.

But once again their voicemails picked up, promising to return the call as soon as they could.

They can't call me back.

Her mouth went dry, and the back of her throat squeezed shut. Had Christian done something already? Was he set to carry out his promise if Tess didn't follow through with hers?

When she'd started with P.I.E. as a teenager, she thought the organization justified in its mission. Never did any doubt cross her mind that she wasn't doing the right thing. She'd promised Christian, promised herself, she'd always remain loyal. P.I.E., after all, had given her a life, a family.

But the waters were muddy now. The evil she'd always thought was on the other side of the coin now had two faces. She'd just been too blind to see it. It took meeting Hugh to show her that her past had been marred by narrow-minded beliefs, by thinking she owed her place in society to P.I.E.

Tonight would change all that.

She'd finally put to rest Jason's death and then...

Her heart hammered inside her chest. She paced back and forth around the room, thinking she'd rather be struck by lightning than face the night ahead. Wasn't there a demon family in her past that would be more than happy to strike her down? Right now would be a good time.

No, it wouldn't.

She never backed down from anything.

Then again, she'd never had so much to lose.

She had to stop thinking so much. Until today, she'd been comfortable moving into action without a plan, didn't let deadlines bother her. Her instincts were just as good as any half-s.h.i.+fters and with no sidekick to worry about, maybe storming into Dobson's meeting was a good idea. It required less finesse and more a.s.s-kicking-exactly what she needed right now.

The room service disguise would get her in the door, so without further thought, she grabbed her bag and headed out. As her hand reached for the doork.n.o.b, a knock sounded. s.h.i.+t. Was Hugh back already? He must have forgotten his wallet or something.

She quickly moved to the bedside table and put her purse down before rus.h.i.+ng back to the door. She didn't want him thinking she was leaving. Then, without a second thought, she swung the door wide and stared into the eyes of the one man she did not want to see. Her boss.

”h.e.l.lo, Tess.”

An uncomfortable, clammy feeling spread over her skin. Her stomach clenched. Stupid, stupid, stupid. If it had been Hugh at the door, he wouldn't have knocked. He'd have had a key in his pocket and come right in. She had lost her touch.

”Hey. What are you doing here?” She wiped her hands down her jeans.

”Aren't you going to ask me in?”

Tess got the feeling if she didn't let him inside the room in the next second, she might lose a limb.

All her limbs were of utmost importance at the moment.

”Of course. Come on in.” She stepped to the side and caught a whiff of his cologne. Her nose twitched and she drew her top lip in to prevent a sneeze.

She pushed the door shut with the back of her foot. Christian strode to the couch, his head turning left, then right. He took in everything in the suite, and when he twisted to sit, his penetrating gaze went right through her.

Does he know what I was doing in here last night? The made bed was from her hand, not a maid's, so it was anything but perfect. She prayed any color in her cheeks didn't give away her feelings for Hugh.

She had two choices. Stare right back and refuse to let him intimidate her. Or look away and play the hapless female off her game trying to right her workmans.h.i.+p. Because her boss was a lot of things but idiot wasn't one of them.

He wasn't in town to pay a friendly visit and see if she needed help with her a.s.signment. He was in town because he didn't trust that she'd finish her a.s.signment without botching something up again.

If he'd found out about George, it wouldn't matter what she did.

”Are you enjoying San Diego?” His even-keeled tone sent s.h.i.+vers across her shoulder blades, and she couldn't help but flinch.

The direct approach had always worked best for her in the past, so she held her ground and his gaze and spoke with her own version of the dull, upper-crust voice she loathed hearing from his lips. ”How did you know I was here?”

He unb.u.t.toned his suit coat and brushed large, manicured hands down the top of his thighs like there was lint on the dark slacks. ”Since when do you answer a question with a question?” Agitation laced his words.

The disconcert sent a gulp the size of an orange down her throat and a sharp pain radiated from her chest and spread through her body like a lit fuse. He'd never let emotion into his words before. Which meant only one thing.

He knew.

She was as good as dead.

”You here to kill me?” What the f.u.c.k? She may as well cut to the chase and get to the bottom of his unpleasant visit. If she had any hope of getting to Dobson's meeting on time, things needed to progress quickly.

”Another question? Tess, you're begging me to.” A spaghetti-thin smile spread across his face, his black eyes sparkled with sinister intent. ”Have you completed your a.s.signment?”

Now probably wasn't the best time to stretch the truth. ”Not yet. Is that why you're here?” Desperation built up inside her. She clenched her jaw.

”Why the delay?”

Tess almost asked why he got to answer a question with a question, but refrained. She kept her eyes trained on him, and the longer they waged a staring contest, the more strength started to bubble inside her. She no longer looked at him the same way. No longer believed he shared any compa.s.sion. The man that had saved her when she was sixteen had preyed on her weaknesses.

Think, Tess. She recalled their original meeting on the topic, ignoring their last discussion where he couldn't care less. ”He's proven a more difficult target than I antic.i.p.ated, and the personal dealings you wanted information on have been harder to come by. The standards I've been taught by P.I.E.-investigate, find sufficient evidence to warrant removal, then kill-all point to innocence.”

”The client has gathered his own data. I told you to simply eliminate him.” His inflexible tone told her it was pointless to argue.

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