I ripped off her glasses and tore the wig from her head, throwing both on the ground before she could utter a word. And there they were: bright blue eyes. Her orange tresses were pinned to her scalp to fit the wig. A buzz of righteous satisfaction went through me at having exposed her lie. By the time the day was over, I’d learn every secret she kept from me, including a confession of her theft.
She froze in place, her wide eyes taking me in and her mouth partially open in shock.
“We need to talk,” I said, my voice surprisingly steady for standing next to the woman who’d hurt me like no other.
My words seemed to break the spell holding her. She straightened, her eyes jumping to the building in front of us before returning to me. “Fucking hell, Landon, you have the worst timing on the planet.”
I cocked my head to the side, frowning. That wasn’t what I expected her to say. But when she tried to rip her arm from mine, I held fast. The flare of fear in her eyes, matched with the scent of it, was more effective than a splash of cold water. I let go and stepped away. It wasn’t in my nature to manhandle women, but I didn’t want her slipping away from me. Those answers I needed were way too important.
Movement out of the corner of my eye made me turn. Two security guards exited the building, big guys with bulges under their black suits like they were concealing weapons.Bloody hell.They’re going to beat the crap out of me for touching her, aren’t they?
“Okay, time to go.” Jolyn’s voice snapped my attention to her. She seized my arm, pulling me down the sidewalk, away from MBI and the two guards.What the…
Her fingernails dug into my arm so tight, I knew they’d leave impressions. I tried to ignore the resulting goosebumps blooming across my skin. High heels clicked a staccato rhythm on the sidewalk. Faster and faster she walked until I almost jogged to keep pace. She kept glancing over her shoulder, and I did the same. The men followed us, closing the gap a step at a time, but trying to act casual.
“I know, I know,” Jolyn muttered to herself, and I shot her a look. Except for the fingernails in my arm, she wasn’t paying attention to me. “Just give me a damn second and we’ll regroup.”
I blinked., My earlier anger was replaced with a general sense ofwhat the hell?After all these years, this wasn’t how I’d envisioned our first meeting would go.
I cast another glance over my shoulder. The big dudes were still there. One spoke on his phone, but both of them had their eyes glued to Jolyn. I faced forward. Cracks in the pavement stretched out before us, interrupted occasionally by sections of sidewalk which appeared newly poured.
Why would Jolyn be running from MBI’s security guards? Had she stolen something from her brother too? Was she a corporate thief? Was that what the disguise was all about?
We crossed against the lights on East Congress Street and cut toward an alley. I would have dug in my heels and found out what was going on if it weren’t for the two guys trailing us. After a quick glance down the alley, Jolyn’s grip on my arm tightened. She yanked me to the left, into the shadows between two buildings. A delivery truck sat parked on the right, but other than dumpsters further along, we were alone.
“Can you tell me what the—”
“No,” she said, cutting me off. “Stay quiet.”
My bear and I bristled at her tone. Screw the dudes following us. Even if her words held no heat, I didn’t need this. I was the CEO of a multimillion dollar tech company. No one told me to “stay quiet.”
I yanked my hand out of her grasp and spun to face her. “You’ve got a lot of—”
“Quiet, I said.” She gave me a light shove and I stumbled behind the delivery van, out of sight of the mouth of the alley.
Straightening, I flattened out the lapels of my suit jacket, trying to regain some control of the situation. “This has got to be the most—”
I didn’t finish the sentence. One of the big dudes appeared from the other side of the delivery truck and gripped my shoulder.
“That’s enough,” he said.
Something metallic pressed against the side of my temple.Click.
Jolyn’s eyes widened.Shit.Even as a shifter, there was no way I could dodge a bullet that close.
The dude’s voice rumbled from behind me. “Mr. Mahn wants to talk—”
Jolyn took a step forward, but the other guy zipped behind her, reaching for her arm, a gun in his hand.
“No!” Not thinking, I lunged forward. Before I’d taken a half step, Jolyn spun around, low to the ground, and swept the dude’s feet out from under him. His head knocked on the truck,thwap, and he crumpled to the pavement, unconscious.
My jaw dropped. Somehow, she’d also taken his gun from him and now pointed it at me. I raised my hands reflexively.
She cocked her head, eyebrows quirking at me, then stared down the dude at my back. “Let him go, and I might not shoot you.”
The gun lifted away from my temple. “Like hell—”
Bang. Bang.The earsplitting sound sliced through my skull. My vision blurred.Have I been shot?
