by Terry Spear
They heard someone walking through the living room. Hunter turned at the bar and looked to see Meara approach. Her chin was tilted up in defiance, but she still looked a bit unsure.
If Hunter took her to task for what had happened between Finn and her, Finn would give him hell right back.
Chapter 15
To Finn’s consternation, Meara looked snappish, probably waiting for Hunter to give her hell. And she’d give it right back to him—forget about Finn getting the chance. But she looked a little worried, too, as she shot a glance Finn’s way, most likely looking to see if he was wearing bruises now like Bjornolf was.
“Hey, Hunter,” Meara said, trying for a casual greeting, but Finn noted the tension in her voice as she walked into the kitchen, twisting her hair into a knot that looked damned sexy, and then leaned over to give her brother a light, sisterly hug.
Hunter looked just as tense but gave her a perfunctory hug back. She tried to shrug off his mechanical reaction to her, but Finn noted she was bothered by it.
Finn filled the teakettle with water and started heating it for her tea, knowing she’d want some first thing and that it might make her feel more at ease. Hunter gave her a disgruntled look but then watched Finn in amusement as if he thought that a lot more was going on between Meara and Finn than his teammate had revealed.
“You didn’t have to come here and protect me, Hunter.” Meara inserted a finger though Finn’s belt loop and gave a tiny tug that made him want to haul her right back to the damned bed. But he got the distinct impression she wanted him close by to stand up for her if she needed him. Or maybe she was trying to protect him from Hunter if her brother showed hostility toward him. It would be like her to do so.
He slipped his hand into her back pocket and smiled down at her. She looked up in surprise at him, her face warming like soft sunlight on a sunny day.
“Finn’s doing a great job. Except…” She pulled his phone out of her front pocket and waved it at him. “…he keeps forgetting to take his phone with him.” She tried to hide it, but she bit her lip slightly with anxiousness. “Bjornolf wanted to talk to you.”
“Bjornolf?” Finn said, astonished. He figured Hunter was again running the show, and Bjornolf would have called him with any news.
“Yeah, he wanted to know if Hunter had killed you yet.”
Hunter chuckled darkly in amusement.
Smiling, Finn took the phone, kissed her cheek, and set a tea bag in a floral cup for her. He redialed Bjornolf’s number, and when he answered, Finn said, “Meara told me you called.”
“Yeah, did she tell you what about? I thought maybe I had a chance with her if you were gone now.” Bjornolf sounded like he was only half joking.
Finn chuckled. “Yeah. Hunter said he’d let you near her only over his dead body.”
Meara glanced at Hunter who gave her a small shrug. “It’s true.”
Bjornolf laughed over the phone. “Okay, well, although I told Hunter I’d get back to him, since you’re still around, you can give him the news.”
In that instant, if Finn wasn’t reading too much into the situation, Bjornolf was acknowledging that Finn was still in charge of Meara’s safety? He wondered if the way to impress Bjornolf was to catch him unaware and sock him. Or if it had to do with Finn getting the woman. Maybe a little of both.
He looked down at Meara. Hell, she’d sure hooked him. And he wasn’t letting her go. But as far as a mating, this wasn’t the time to propose it. No matter how much Hunter might think he should have a say, this was strictly between Meara and Finn.
“Cyn formed a team of four men, who, from what I could learn, were from his own home pack in Georgia. The one you killed when he attacked Meara in his wolf form was one of them. I assumed Cyn was hiring any old assassins off the street, in addition to using his wolf team, to see if he could eliminate anyone protecting Meara without jeopardizing his own people too much.
“He and the other three men had been SEALs. They quit the Navy right before you attempted your mission but after Hunter told him no about joining his team. Apparently, Cyn had the notion that Hunter was the top wolf and that working for him would be the pinnacle of Cyn’s career. But Cyn knew Hunter handpicked his own men and figured he might need an in, so he went after Meara first. Which was probably his first big mistake.”
“So he thought Meara had kept him from his chance at being on Hunter’s team?” Finn asked, running his hand over her arm in a soft caress as she watched him, still possessively holding onto his belt loop. “But what about his sister? Didn’t he want on the team to rescue her?”
“Not sure. I doubt we’ll know the truth until we catch up to Cyn. From the looks of it, he and his men sabotaged Hunter’s mission, hoping to destroy the team in the process. Not sure if they’d planned for all of the team members to die or just to curtail the mission to give Hunter and all of you a black eye, but the situation got out of hand.”
“But his sister… how does she fit into the equation, if Cyn had anything to do with the sabotage and had hoped everyone on the team would die? His sister could have been killed that way.”
Meara broke in and said, “What if he was involved in the hostage taking?”
Not having considered that, Finn stared at her with awakening pride, glad she had come up with a new angle. “Bjornolf, did you hear what Meara asked?”
“Yeah. Hell, if he was involved, he probably wanted a share of the ransom money and maybe even intended to be the sole survivor of the team, had Hunter agreed to allow him to be on it. Then he would have sent the women safely home, having earned all the glory and the money.”
Finn shook his head at the idea that anyone could have sold out the team and risked his own sister’s life. But then another thought nagged at him, one that Bjornolf had set him to thinking about in the inn’s lounge. “How did Meara save us?”
“Ask her about the coded message she intercepted that was meant for Hunter. That she consequently destroyed. She probably thought it was about another dangerous mission and wanted to save him from going on it. Instead, it was a message changing the location of the meet. If Hunter and his team had gone there, all of you would have been dead.”
Finn frowned at Meara. He wondered if Hunter knew about the coded message she’d gotten ahold of. Thinking back to the way she had been pondering his question on the beach about how she had saved their lives, he assumed she’d recalled something about deleting the message.
“One other thing, your formerly wounded team member, Allan, is on the move, headed in your direction. Paul told him where you all are.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah, I told you the whole team would be in one spot and then they’d come for you.”
“Fine with me.” Except that Finn didn’t want Meara here when the fighting went down. But sending her to some other location where he couldn’t protect her wasn’t a viable option, either.
Finn wrapped his arm around Meara and held her close.
“A little birdie told him Meara was interested in mating him,” Bjornolf said. “So apparently, he wants to stake his claim before he’s too late. He was in a real rush to join all of you.”
Finn frowned down at Meara. She raised her brows in question. “He’s too late,” Finn said but wouldn’t elaborate.
The moment he’d seen her in her cabin making small talk with Bjornolf, Finn had known the only real choice he had was to send her packing to Hunter in Hawaii. So what did he do? Pretended to be her lover so he could protect her instead. And now? He didn’t want to give her up. But he was certain she wouldn’t go along with him going on dangerous missions any more than she wanted Hunter to do so.
“Hmm, I figured Allan was too late where Meara is concerned. Does Hunter know about the two of you?” Bjornolf asked, a hint of dark amusement in his voice.
“He will.�
�� But only after Finn discussed the conditions with Meara.
Bjornolf didn’t say anything for a moment, then added, “With the team all coming together again, I think you can handle this. I’ve got a job elsewhere that’s of national importance. If I’m not there to avert this new crisis, God knows what a mess it’ll be.”
Finn was surprised to hear that Bjornolf planned to leave them behind to take on another mission when this one wasn’t quite resolved. Although he suspected the other paid and this one didn’t. He wondered if Bjornolf’s leaving had anything to do with Finn’s declaration that Meara would be his mate. But he appreciated all that Bjornolf had done for them up until now.
“Thanks for helping us out, Bjornolf.” He stopped short of saying they couldn’t have done it without him, as he still felt testy about Bjornolf’s kissing Meara and feeling her up before that. “Do you want to talk to Hunter?”
“No. That’s all, except, hell, if you decide not to mate Meara, let me know, all right?” Then there was a click, and Finn realized the phone line had been disconnected.
Finn stared at the phone for a minute, then slipped it into his pocket. He didn’t know if Bjornolf had really meant want he’d said about Meara or if he’d only wanted to push Finn into making a decision concerning her. On the other hand, Bjornolf had kissed her, and the way he’d slid his hand in her pocket, yeah, the bastard was damned interested. But he must have known he’d have a real fight on his hands if he went after Meara when Finn wanted her.
Turning his attention to Hunter, Finn said, “We’re on our own. Bjornolf’s got another assignment, and Allan’s on his way here. Cyn’s got at least two other wolves left on his team.”
Hunter swore under his breath. “Okay, I want Meara safely away from here. Tessa’s home. You take her and you watch over her.”
“There’s Anna and me,” Meara said, objecting to Hunter’s wanting her out of the way. “We can help. And you’ll need Finn.”
Finn could tell from Hunter’s expression how much he didn’t want her here or involved.
“Tessa’s home, south of Meara’s. An hour and a half away. That’ll work,” Finn said, agreeing with Hunter. He handed the cup of tea to Meara. Trying to lighten the mood, he said to her, “Somehow Allan must have gotten word you want him for a mate, Meara.”
Meara’s eyes widened. “Who would have said such a thing to him?”
Finn shrugged. “You told everyone that. Maybe Paul joked with him about it. Who knows?”
Hunter shook his head at Meara. “I knew I shouldn’t have left you alone. As soon as I was gone, you led my whole former team astray.”
“That’ll teach you to tell them to stay away from me.” She smiled mischievously in the way only she could, looking halfway innocent and a whole lot devilish, and then she took a sip of her tea.
***
So that Hunter and the others could discuss among themselves what they intended to do about the impending threat—and knowing they didn’t want her in on the discussion since she wasn’t a highly trained operative like them, only she wished they’d let her help if she could—Meara retired to the master bath to take another long soak, without the bubbles this time.
After turning into a near prune, she dried off, wrapped her soft terry cloth robe around her, and rested in bed while reading a Highland werewolf tale to relax. Her favorite author, Julia Wildthorn, had switched from writing contemporary stories to historical tales of Highland werewolves and had even picked up a castle in Scotland, a wolf pack—at least Meara assumed—and a handsome Highland laird of her own to sweeten the deal. Meara sighed, wishing she could have such a romance.
Then she thought back to what was inevitable about her situation here. She hated that her brother and the others would be risking their necks while she hid at Tessa’s house. At the very least, she could resort to using her rifle or revert to her wolf form and use her wickedly lethal teeth.
She was still thinking along those lines when she heard the door to the master bedroom suite open. She looked up from her book and saw Finn enter the room. He closed the door behind him with finality. His predatory gaze took in her robed figure with the comforter covering her lap. If he’d thought they’d make sweet love while her brother was in the house and they weren’t mated—
“Meara, we’ve got to talk.”
He looked deadly serious. She guessed this wasn’t about making love then. She figured he was going to tell her that she had to leave the safe house without further delay. Had they gotten some more news?
She set her book beside her on the mattress and folded her arms, attempting not to look cross, except she didn’t feel anything but. “I could help the cause, you know. You don’t all have to treat me like some innocent bystander.” Hunter knew damn well how capable she was in dealing wolf-to-wolf when the circumstances warranted. Just because one gray wolf had tackled her in the woods near here and then Finn had wrestled him on top of her didn’t mean she was always that disadvantaged. She had been unaware of the menace. That was all.
This time she would be prepared for any eventuality.
He shook his head. “That’s not what I want to talk about.”
That surprised her even more. Before she could come up with another reason for his dark mood, he moved in close to the bed and towered over her.
As much as she hated to admit it, the effect was intimidating. He stood taller than her anyway, but while she sat on the bed, the difference was astronomical. She patted the mattress and scooted over so he could sit down. He’d still be taller but not quite so daunting. Not that she wouldn’t stand her ground; it was just the principle of the thing. How would he feel if he sat on the floor beside the bed and she talked down to him? That brought a smile to her lips.
He frowned at her and the smile quickly faded. No, this was to be a serious discussion, nothing amusing about it.
He remained standing. Damn him.
Fine. She glowered up at him. “What?” she snapped, whatever thread of patience she had breaking.
“Bjornolf said you intercepted a coded message for Hunter and deleted it. How did you access it, and whatever possessed you to do such a thing?”
Her lips parted without her express permission as she gaped at Finn in surprise. “What… what coded message?”
His expression took on a darker cast. “Don’t try to hide the truth from me, Meara. It’s up to you to tell Hunter what you had done. But in the meantime, you’ll tell me how you did it and why.”
She cleared her throat, frowned furiously at him, and said, “If I had done something so dastardly and wished to own up to it, I would speak with Hunter about it, not you. If the message had been for Hunter, he’s the only one I’d feel obligated to apologize to for my actions. Bjornolf is wrong. I wouldn’t have done anything so despicable. What do you take me for anyway?”
Finn ground his teeth, and then he said in an even voice, “Someone who wants to protect her brother at all costs. I understand the underlying reason for doing what you did, but don’t you realize how disastrous the consequences could have been?”
She snapped her gaping mouth shut. Didn’t she just tell him she hadn’t done anything of the sort?
“Listen, you…” she said, jerking the comforter aside, ready to end the discussion here and now. But as soon as she moved the comforter, her robe slipped open, exposing her belly all the way down to her toes.
She grabbed her robe to yank it shut and then planned to shove him out of the way as he blocked her in while standing close to the mattress. He seized her arm, forcing her to stay right where she was, and then yanked the comforter back over her lap.
“You’re not going anywhere until you tell me the truth.”
There was something about a man—or a woman, for that matter—telling her what to do when they had no right, that stoked her ire to blue-flame level.
“I told you,” she said with barely controlled anger, “that I did nothing with Hunter’s messages.”
Finn stared her down as if trying to read the vast inner workings of her mind. “All right.” He pushed at her thigh buried under the comforter, indicating he wanted her to move over.
Now he was going to sit beside her? She didn’t want him to now!
Yet she realized that whatever had happened must have been grave enough to warrant his concern so she set her annoyance aside—barely, let out her breath, and shifted over on the mattress. He sat next to her, facing her, his eyes still dark.
“I concede you may have inadvertently deleted a message meant for Hunter and—”
“Damn you, Finn! I didn’t delete anything of Hunter’s! On purpose or otherwise.”
A shadow of a smile flickered across his face and then was gone. If she hadn’t been glowering at him, staring him in the eyes like a wolf who was not about to back down, she would have missed the subtle reaction.
“If you inadvertently did it,” he repeated, “you might not even realize you had done so.”
That gave her pause.
His hard expression softened somewhat, and she felt as though he was taking several steps back from his initial reaction concerning what he thought she’d done. If she had carried out something like that by mistake, how could he fault her? At least that’s what she thought he was thinking.
When he backed off, she considered any time she might have come across a message and deleted it by accident if she’d had Hunter’s phone for some reason. Which, when she considered it, could have been the case. Maybe. But on his computer? She didn’t think so.
“What was the message?” she asked quietly, figuring it had to be damned important or Finn wouldn’t be making such a big deal of it.
“The contents gave new coordinates to where Hunter and the rest of us were to land on the beach.”
“The final mission?” Tears filled her eyes.
She couldn’t help it. If she had deleted something that vital to the team, she would have been responsible for them having been wounded and the mission being such a failure, resulting in hostage deaths even. They could have all died because of her. But then she attempted to shake loose of that notion because she hadn’t ever done anything with Hunter’s computer except to check her own emails a few times when hers was down. And she’d used Hunter’s phone whenever her battery was dead and she needed to call about something important. But she didn’t think she’d deleted any of his phone messages by mistake.
