AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Eventually, he’d look at the screen, realize what happened, and start tracking me. But before that, I wanted him to realize that I knew what a lying, lowlife asshole he was.
Stop it. You’re wasting time. Get your ass out that door and on the road.
I yanked the safe door open, finding a respectable stash of twenties bundled into five-hundred-dollar stacks. I calculated my percentage of Caleb’s stash and tucked eight hundred dollars into my pocket.
I pushed myself to my feet and slung the bag over my shoulders. After casting one last glance at the steamy bathroom, I shook my head and made for the door. I had my hand on the door handle when I felt long, wet fingers snap around my wrist.
Caleb was standing behind me, dripping wet, with no towel in sight. His expression was hurt and confused as he looked me up and down, spotting the bags, the jacket, all the signs that I was bolting.
“What are you doing?” he demanded.
I had a hundred responses tumbling around in my head.
Just going to get some ice, honey.
I’m going down to the lobby for some Tylenol.
I’m blowing this Popsicle stand, you lying sociopathic werewolf dick.
But I couldn’t seem to produce the words. They seemed to be building up in my throat, threatening to choke me if they poured out of my mouth.
“Tina, what’s going on?”
I was practically hyperventilating. All the moments we’d shared, the laughs, the mishaps, every kiss and touch, spun through my head on fast-forward. And rage, white-hot and all-consuming, bubbled up from my belly. I yanked my hand out of his grasp, raised my foot high, and stomped his sensitive instep. Caleb yowled, letting go of my wrist as he hopped away on his good foot.
“What did you do that for?” he demanded, but by that time, my hand had snaked into my bag and charged the Taser. I clicked the control, swung my arm up, and pressed the prongs to his skin. Without a moment’s hesitation, I fired it, sending canned lightning straight into Caleb’s chest.
Unfortunately, I hadn’t considered how the water covering Caleb’s skin would carry the current, and he ended up twitching on the carpet in full-body shock. He shouted for just a second before his jaw muscles locked up. The charge ended, and Caleb looked up at me, eyes wide and golden in their distress. “If this is some sort of kinky ‘naughty cat burglar’ role-playing game, I am not getting it,” he said, panting.
I grunted and gave him another shot, just on principle. This could be considered a breakup, right? Nothing says I’m just not that into you like Taser fire.
“S-stop T-t-tasering me!” he shouted, sounding more annoyed than injured. For a millisecond, I felt a little guilty. There’s nothing more pathetic than a wet, naked guy flopping all over a hotel carpet while being electrocuted. And then the laptop caught my eye, and I got pissed off all over again. I dropped the Taser into my bag. He sat up, gingerly pressing at the already-healing contact burns on his chest. “What the hell is going on?”
“Read your e-mail,” I snarled. Caleb caught my arm, dragging me down to the carpet next to him.
“What are you talking about?” he demanded.
I shrugged him off and tried to stand up, only to have him grab my arm again and stop me. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, you asshole!”
He sighed. “I’m really sorry about this.”
“You think sorry is going to cover what you did?” I hissed, finally managing to push to my feet.
He shook his head. “No, I’m sorry about this.” With speed you wouldn’t expect from a guy who’d been recently Tasered, he swiped his leg out, knocking my feet out from under me. I flopped onto the carpet next to him with a startled uuhf!
My only excuse was that, as with a lot of things about Caleb, I just didn’t see it coming.
He groaned, pulling my arm away from his face, where it had apparently flopped with quite a bit of force as I fell. As petty as it was, that made me feel a little bit better.
“I’m sorry I kicked you,” he said solemnly, working his jaw to loosen the abused muscles. “But considering the Taser, I think we’re even. Now, will you please tell me what the hell is going on?”
“You know who I am,” I told him, scooting across the floor to brace my back against the closet door.
“Of course I know who you are!” he cried, rolling toward me. “You told me all about it.”
Something about the way the lie rolled off his tongue so easily had me reaching into my bag again. He snatched the bag out of my hands and threw it toward the hallway door. I narrowed my eyes at him. “You’re going to sit there and pretend that you haven’t known exactly who I am from the minute we met? I saw the e-mails from Schuna, Caleb! I know you’ve been working on the ‘Bishop case’ for months.”
All of the color drained from Caleb’s cheeks, leaving a waxy werewolf scrambling across the floor to kneel in front of me. “Tina, please.”
