Page 19 of Rogue Wolf Hunter

Jace held his frustration in. It was only for the sake of the rest of his division that he fought to keep his voice even. “Pushing isn’t going to work. We need to build trust.”

“You want to build trust with these monsters? Do it on your own time.” Chet stepped forward, pointing toward the interrogation room door. “Now get back in there and push that bitch harder, or I’ll do it for you.” Chet tossed the file back at Jace again, nearly spilling the contents all over the floor.

“I’d like to see you try,” Jace mumbled under his breath.

“What was that?” Chet shot back.

Jace grit his teeth. Man, what he’d give to see Princess tear into Mr. High and Mighty Prick like she had him. Jace wasn’t sure which pissed him off more, the threat toward him or Chet calling Francesca a bitch. It didn’t matter whether she was a wolf.

It was uncalled for. Violent in its own perverse way.

Jace forced a pained smile onto his face. “I said, ‘of course’. After all, Headquarters knows best.” He shot a sarcastic glance toward Damon and grinned for Chet’s sake. “The rest of us are mere peons by comparison.”

Chet’s lip curled.

Damon clapped Jace on the shoulder then, and Jace wasn’t sure whether it was for his sake or the region lead’s that the division leader whispered, “Just do what he says.”

A moment later, Jace was back in the interrogation room, meeting Francesca’s gaze head-on. She stared up at him, those large doe-eyes sparking with challenge. He didn’t exactly have a plan for this interaction. He’d intended to keep her on ice a bit. Let her sweat it out, until finally she was ready to talk, because she wanted to get the hell outta there.

Best laid plans and all that shit. So much for that.

“Back so soon?” For a wolf shifter, her grin turned positively feline. “What happened? Did you miss me?” Her eyes flashed to her wolf momentarily. Gold and glowing.

Fuck, that was sexy in a way it shouldn’t be.

“Don’t flatter yourself, Princess.” He closed the door behind him. At the very least, he was thankful to escape Chet. “Turns out your story checks out,” he bluffed.

“That quickly?” She looked a little amused by that. From the way she was watching him, she was too clever for anything he’d concoct on the spot. If he was going to make any headway with her, he needed to play this straight. Earn her trust. Honest.

Exactly like he’d told Chet.

“Look,” he said, leaning against the doorway as he hitched a thumb over his shoulder. “I’ve got my prick of a region lead from Headquarters riding my ass in there.”

Francesca quirked a brow. “One who can hear what you just said about him, right?”

If it weren’t for the interrogation room’s sound proof walls, Jace could have sworn he heard Chet losing his shit at that moment. Or maybe he’d simply imagined it for his own amusement. Damon would be pissed. But it’d be worth it if it got Chet off their backs, and also led to results. “It’s said with lovable affection, of course.” Jace grinned, placing a hand over his heart. “He wants me to push you hard for answers. But I don’t wanna to do that.”

She watched him for a beat, eyes shifting back to a human-like brown. “Okay, I’ll play. Why not?”

“Because me and my division lead don’t think you’re good for this.”

She nodded slowly. “Finally, some common sense. Can’t say I disapprove.” She nodded to the abandoned cuffs on the table. “That mean you’re going to wise up and let me out of here?”

Jace faked a pained expression. “Unfortunately, it’s not so simple.”

“Because I’m a wolf shifter?” She lifted her brows defiantly. “We all know the Execution Underground doesn’t take kindly to that. To any non-human species for that matter.”

In other words, she thought he was some supernatural-hating ass.

Damn, if she only knew the half of it.

“I’m not some corporate flunkie,” he shot back, a little too defensively. “I’m pre-buy out.”

She grinned, clearly realizing she’d struck true. “Oh, I see.” She blinked those large warm eyes at him. “A government-sanctioned vigilante then. That’ssomuch better.”

Princess could dish out the sarcasm. That’s for sure.

Jace frowned. “Look, whatever you think of me. I promise you’re not gonna take as kindly to that guy in there.” Slowly, he made his way toward her, drawing near until he leaned over the interrogation table, close enough to whisper into her ear. “You’d rather kiss me than die, remember?” He felt a shiver run through her. “You can’t hate me that bad. How do you think it’d go if your packmates heard about that?”

---