Page 12 of Wed Or Dead

He’d known all along that she had secrets. The fact that was she was a hunter?—

“I let you escape.”

He laughed at her confession. Such bullshit. Did she even see it? “Sweetheart, I let myself escape.” That was why he’d booked a room on the third floor. That kind of jump was nothing to him. Always have an exit strategy—that was his motto.

Always.

He jerked the wheel to the right and barreled down the thin strip of road that most folks would never even notice, not the way it was nestled behind an old, run-down highway billboard.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Kayla stiffen. “Where are we going?” Now there was suspicion in her tone.

Because she realized that he wasn’t just blindly fleeing the city, scared of the big, old tough hunters.

Fuck that.No, fuck them. He’d never been afraid of hunters, and he wouldn’t start now. He’d left Vegas for a reason.

In less time than it took to shift, he could have taken out every man in that hotel room. He hadn’t, though, because that wouldn’t have been part of his plan—and he did have a plan.

So now it was his turn to play the silent game. But the game didn’t last long. All too soon, they were pulling up next to the small, wooden cabin that lay nestled in the middle of freaking nowhere.

Before he’d even parked, two men strode toward them. One was tall, fair, with light hair. The other—dark-haired and leaner—shadowed the blond’s movements. Neither man looked particularly happy.

What else was new?

Gage almost smiled. He would have, if he hadn’t still been so pissed off.She’d betrayed him.

He jumped from the truck and slammed the door shut behind him.

The blond approached. “Thought you’d be here sooner,” Davis Black said, rubbing his chin as he surveyed the pack alpha.

“Um…” This came from the other wolf shifter. A grin lifted his lips as William “Billy” Tanner glanced over Gage’s shoulder and back at the truck. “Trouble with the missus?” The light hint of his native Mississippi drawl rolled beneath Billy’s voice.

Gage narrowed his eyes. “Nothing I can’t handle.” The other members of the pack wouldn’t be making an appearance. That was the plan. Only his top two enforcers were supposed to meet him here.

The others would wait, until he needed them.

“Is everything set up?” Gage asked as his gaze swept the area. The place looked deserted. With its sagging roof and busted windows, the cabin seemed damn near uninhabitable. But appearances could be deceiving.

Why didn’t humans ever seem to truly understand that fact?

The truck door squeaked behind him. So Kayla was coming after him now?

Control.He just had to hold on for a little longer. A few more minutes, and he’d have her in the cabin. They’d be alone. Just a few more?—

He saw Billy’s nostrils flare. “Oh, man, she smellsgood.Like sex and?—”

His control snapped, and Gage slammed his fist into Billy’s jaw. Though he was stronger than a human, Billy wasn’t an alpha, and that blow had him stumbling back.

“Billy,” Gage barked out as the wolf howled inside of him, “don’t push me right now.” The thread of his control had been stripped raw.

The easygoing facade he’d worn for Kayla was gone. All that remained right then was animal instinct. He hadn’t realized just how wild he’d be after claiming Kayla.

A little matter of betrayal could break a guy.

But he didn’t want Billy sniffing around her. Pity he needed the shifter, for the moment. A moment that wouldn’t last much longer if Billy kept pushing and eyeing Kayla like she was some kind of tasty meal.

Kayla’s feet crunched over the gravel driveway. Gage turned and took in her wide eyes as she gazed down at Billy. What? Like this was the first time she’d seen a guy get decked? In her line of work, not likely.

“She doesn’t look like much of a hunter,” Davis noted, and he was still rubbing his chin. Davis always did that. An old habit. His eyes swept over her. “Kinda small, don’t you think? A little weak.”

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