Her gut tightened with tension as she watched his posture shift into offensive rescue mode. She knew Hunter had placed his trust in the right man when he’d said for her to stay with Finn. And she rather liked Finn, despite his bossy demeanor. But she worried about both him and Anna.
As soon as Finn disappeared into the stairwell, she noted how empty the lobby was. Just one clerk was at the front counter, dressed in a charcoal gray suit and a red tie that clashed with the tile floor and busy taking a reservation on the phone. She glanced back at the doorway, thinking of the man who’d looked vaguely like Cyn. If that had been him, he wouldn’t like seeing her with another man, and she figured he wouldn’t attempt to approach her. For all Cyn knew, she was mated to Finn, they had gotten a room, and he was in a hurry to take her there for a romantic night.
Since Hunter hadn’t let her date Cyn, she knew Finn wouldn’t allow her to meet with him, either, even if everything was all right upstairs and she had the opportunity. If not for Imposter Joe, who could still be on the premises, she would have left the hotel on her own to satisfy her curiosity—to set Cyn straight that she wasn’t in a permanent relationship with Finn and to see if Cyn was still worth pursuing. She was beginning to have her doubts, since he hadn’t gotten in touch with her since before Hunter’s failed mission. Oh, and of course, she wanted to find out if the man even was Cyn.
That made her wonder if she’d seen someone else lurking, rather than enjoying the view and the great outdoors—someone like the assassin who had hit Allan. That made her decide to stay where she was.
But considering how devoid of guests the lobby was, she wondered if she should have remained in the dark in the Hummer. If she had stayed in the vehicle, she might have seen more of the man lurking by the tree without him noticing and discovered if he truly was Cyn.
But Joe was a wolf, too, and in the dark, he could have easily spied her sitting there all alone.
Just like here.
Finn dashed up the stairs to the sixth floor of the hotel and reached Anna’s suite in record time. With his lockpick, he quickly unlocked her door, which automatically shut and relocked itself behind him when he entered the suite. He hurried through the empty living area, noting a table overturned, a lamp lying on the floor, and a couch cushion askew—evidence of a major struggle. But no smell of blood.
His heart pounding thunderously, he cursed under his breath as he stalked to the bedroom, smelling Joe Matheson’s and Anna’s scent throughout the place while listening to a faint rustling sound in the bedroom.
Anna wasn’t saying a word, and neither was Joe. Had they heard Finn? Most likely, despite how he was trying to move soundlessly across the carpeted floor. They couldn’t have missed the door closing with a slight click.
Knowing it could be a trap, Finn pondered shifting into the wolf, but instead, with gun in hand, he rushed into the bedroom. And found Anna gagged, with her hands tied to the headboard, her legs spread-eagled, her ankles tied to the footboard, and her eyes wide with surprise. But appearing uninjured, thank God.
Snapping his gaping mouth shut, he did a quick search through the room, the closet, and the balcony, finding no one in the suite but Anna.
When Finn headed back to the bed, he tried to fight a smile and failed. Anna rolled her eyes at him. That’s when he noted what Joe had used to confine her. A pair of her sheer black panty hose was tied around her mouth. Her wrists were tied to the headboard with another pair, and her ankles tied to the footboard with… he squinted to identify the items. A black silk scarf and black net leggings. She was still fully clothed but he imagined she’d been stripped of her weapons, and she looked unharmed, just a little tussled.
He freed her mouth first, then quickly worked on her wrists while she scolded him. “Hell, Finn, where’s the girl?”
The girl—Meara—was about the same age as Anna. His teammate’s derogatory way of calling Meara “the girl” was probably because Anna knew Finn had a thing for Meara, like the rest of the guys on Hunter’s team, and because Meara was a civilian and not “one of the guys” trained to use deadly force like Anna was. At least as a human. As a wolf? That was a different story. Their wolf instincts for self-preservation and protecting others came naturally to them. And from the stories Hunter had told about Meara, she didn’t hesitate to use her wolf teeth to make her point with other wolves who gave her trouble.
He was already leaving the room, letting Anna free herself the rest of the way so he could make sure Meara was safe, when Anna called after him, “The fake Joe did this so he could find you again, Finn. And he wanted to make sure I was one of the good guys on your team.”
“I take it he’s one of us.”
“Deep cover,” she said, hurrying after him. “Or at least I assume he is. He didn’t tell me. I just figured since he tied me up and didn’t do anything else, he was waiting for you to come to my rescue. Which would prove we worked together.”
He glanced back at her. “Lose your weapons?”
She gave him a withering look, opened a drawer in the chest of drawers, yanked her guns and knife out of it, and then quickly tucked them in the leather holsters where she always kept them.
“He put them in the drawer?”
“Yes, of course. I was wearing them.”
He could almost hear the “duh” after her statement. “How’d he manage to overwhelm you? I thought you were more capable than that.”
His words were spoken with tight humor, more joking than critical, but he couldn’t help worrying about Meara’s safety. Teasing Anna helped to diffuse the tension he was feeling. He hurried out of the suite and down the hall toward the stairs.
Anna snorted as she followed him to the stairs. “You said he was good. You were right. And unlike at least one of the assassins who came after you, he’s a wolf.” She smiled. “Not bad looking, either.” Then she frowned. “But you shouldn’t have risked coming after me and leaving Meara to fend for herself. I could have taken care of myself.”
Racing down the stairs with Anna trying to keep up with his lankier stride, Finn shook his head. “You looked like you were doing a fine job of it.”
In the lobby, Meara was watching the hallway to the elevators and emergency stairs for any sign of Anna and Finn, as well as the front door, half expecting the man who looked vaguely like Cyn to come inside. The man most likely had a room here.
Then movement from one of the hallways caught her eye, and she turned. Her jaw dropped. Joe, or whoever he really was, exited into the lobby. Her heart began skipping beats.
Now all dressed in black—trousers, boots, and T-shirt, but no weapons that she could see—he looked very spook-like, his expression hard and determined, his gait focused. He was definitely on the move. Nothing casual about him.
She hesitated to react, wanting to sink into the cushions before he spied her or to get up quickly and find another location where he couldn’t see her. Even though she wasn’t usually a coward, she was worried about Anna and Finn, and she didn’t feel equipped to deal with this man.
The tension in her spine ratchetted up several notches as she watched Joe head toward the lobby. Before she could do anything, he saw her.
His eyes widened, and he changed course, heading straight in her direction.
Heart beating even harder, if that was possible, she stiffened and quickly pulled out her cell phone, scolding herself for not having done so the instant she’d seen him. Although she knew any movement on her part would have caught his eye. She had hoped he wouldn’t see her. Fat chance. She was the only one sitting in the lobby. Even if she’d been a block of wood resting on a chair, he would have noticed.
Joe was smiling at her like a cat that had cornered a mouse, and she frowned back at him as she punched a button to automatically dial Hunter’s number. She had no clue what he could do for her when he was in Hawaii. Maybe relay a message to Finn or Paul—who was on his way but would be too late to do her any good.
She hadn’t thought to program her phone to include Finn’s number. But Mr. Wolf-Man Spy hadn’t, either.
Even so, she wasn’t afraid of Joe, figuring he wouldn’t risk trying to move her out of the lobby, considering the fight she’d put up. Maybe she should be more afraid. What if he shoved a gun in her ribs and told her to come with him or else? She’d be dead if she went with him. No matter what, she wasn’t leaving here with him.
Would she have been better off in the Hummer? No. He could have forced her out of the vehicle, and no one would have even noticed. Except maybe the man by the pine tree. If he was still there.
She felt safer in the well-lit lobby, although at this late hour, it was empty. The same lone clerk stood behind the counter, speaking on the phone to yet another potential customer and oblivious to the menace approaching Meara.
“Meara! What’s wrong?” Hunter asked over her cell phone. She gave a start when she realized he was speaking to her over the phone, having forgotten she’d punched in his number. How many times had he already asked her what was wrong without her hearing him?
Joe reached her in a couple of lengthy strides. Towering over her, he stretched out his hand, palm up, and silently asked her to give up her phone.
She hesitated to speak to her brother as Joe slowly shook his head at her, his eyes dark and his expression even darker, warning her not to say anything.
“Meara?” Hunter said again, only this time his voice was even harder and more anxious.
“What do you want?” she asked Joe, still not handing over her phone. “You can’t take me hostage with all the people hanging around here.” There, she’d let Hunter know what was happening. He was probably wondering what had happened to Finn.
Joe smiled at the reference to the nonexistent people hanging around the lobby. Maybe also because she’d defied him by letting Hunter know what was going on, although technically she hadn’t spoken to her brother on the phone. The man had to know she was warning someone about his threatening presence, yet he remained cool and didn’t seem the least bit worried about Finn arriving to save the day.
