Page 56 of Wed Or Dead

“I’m afraid that’s not gonna be possible.”

Frowning, she glanced back over her shoulder. Gage was dressed now. No more sexy peeks at his ass. Pity. “Why not?”

“Because I had two of my pack escort Curtis to a safe location.”

Her eyebrows rose. She’d thought they were already in a safe house. “Then escort me to this same location.” Seemed simple enough to her.

But Gage didn’t exactly look agreeable as he said, “I didn’t want the demon knowing where I’d hidden the rest of the pack, so I didn’t let him get close.”

Right, okay, sounded fine to her. “He probably had a tracker on him anyway.” Unless he’d dug it out. Without Lyle knowing? Maybe. The demon seemed to have plenty of secrets. “I would have mentioned that tracker bit to you,” she muttered and some nice, remembered fury spiked her blood. “But you know, youdruggedme first.”

His lips tightened.

Speaking of trackers…“We need to check Davis’s body. If he was tagged, then Lyle could already be on his way here.”

Gage didn’t look particularly worried about that scenario. “Yes,” he agreed slowly, with a faint nod. “He could be.”

Just like that, the light finally dawned. “You want him here.” Gage wanted Lyle to come after them.

Gage held her gaze. “I dug the tracker out of the demon before I let him go to the safe house.”

So hehadn’tbeen so clueless after all. Tricky wolf.

“And I brought it here with me.”

What? Her breath expelled in a rush.

“So I figure with the demon’s tracker and Davis’s both giving off a signal to this place, we’ll be having company soon.”

The killing kind of company. “Why?” Why would he want to bring the hunters to him?

“I brought in reinforcements.” Gage shrugged and didn’t even look a little bit concerned about the coming attack. “Wolves from other packs. Wolves who are tired of being hunted.”

She couldn’t read his expression. Nothing showed past the stoic wall of determination that hardened his strong features. “You’re setting your own trap.”

“It was my turn.”

Or had it been his plan all along? Suspicion slipped through her.

“Shamus will be coming soon. He’s going to make sure you’re taken away from this place during the battle.”

Was Gage saying she couldn’t handle a fight? What? Did shelooklike a piece of fluff? “I’ve been battling since I was sixteen years old,” she pointed out.

“So aren’t you due for a break?”

She blinked at him, then forced her clenched jaw to relax. They’d gone from hot sex straight to him kicking her out? That was too fast of a one-eighty for her. “I’m not going to leave you when you need me.” That wasnotwho she was.

His lips tightened. “And I don’t want you to see what I do to the hunters you once considered friends.”

Her heart was about to slam through her chest. “You’re not killing them all.” That wasn’t an option. “They think they’re making the world a better place! That they’re out there fighting monsters!”

“Then they should be prepared for when the monsters fight back.”

She shook her head. No, no, she wouldn’t let a bloodbath happen on her watch. “They only thought they were taking out killers. We had files, reports! We didn’t attack innocents!”

But he just stared back at her, and her words seemed so hollow to her own ears. Nausea rolled through her. So many lies. Lyle had fooled them too well.

They’d let themselves be fooled.