Page 48 of Hunted

There was a short silence on the other end. Then Remy said, “I was sure you said you were going to kill that guy.”

“I was.” Michelangela glanced over at Gunn and gave him a wink. “I changed my mind.”

“Nice to know,” Gunn muttered.

“Seriously?” Remy said. “You had me searching for him for an entire year, and then you just change your mind about his bloody demise? Jaeda will be so disappointed.”

She grinned. “Sorry.”

Remy made a hmph sound. “Well, if you’re too sentimental to do it yourself, I’m always willing to kill him for you. Jaeda is too.”

“Hey,” Gunn called out. “I’m sitting right here.”

“Not sorry,” Remy yelled.

Michelangela giggled. “If anyone needs killing, I’ll let you know. Love you guys.” She was about to hang up, and then she said, “Oh, wait, I almost forgot. Tell Damien I need to pick up my stuff in Chicago, if he can set it up, and ask him if anyone’s using the apartment.”

“Will do.”

“Thanks.” She paused. “And… Remy?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for worrying.”

“What are friends for?” He hung up.

Gunn was still watching Michelangela as she put her phone away. She looked up and caught his gaze. “What?”

He said slowly, “You had some kind of super-hacker looking for me for a whole year?”

She dropped her gaze, toying with the phone. “Yeah. And kudos to Thanatos and his cyber security, by the way. Because anything Remy can’t do with a computer pretty much can’t be done. Your boss wiped you clean, my friend.”

“Good to know.” He knew she’d been hurt by what he’d done. But the thought of her calling in all her favors to try to track him down—it was a little terrifying. And heartbreaking. He reached out and put his hand on her thigh, and she covered it with her own. He said, “I’m glad you changed your mind about killing me.”

“Yeah well, you heard Remy. Don’t mess with me, or my friends will do it for me.”

“Got it.” His wolf was making little growly noises in his chest. “And who is this Remy person, anyway? You seem to know him awfully well.” And his wolf didn’t like it.

“Don’t go getting all rumbly and possessive,” Mikey said. “He’s just an old friend. Not the Enforcer kind, either, so don’t worry. Remember when I told you I used to boost cars in my misspent youth? Remy was one of the people I did it with.”

So, a really old friend. That made his wolf feel marginally better. And the guy sounded like he had a mate now—this Jaeda person—so he wasn’t after Mikey. “Obviously he didn’t follow your example and go straight.”

She shrugged. “He’s not a criminal—at least, not professionally. Except for the hacking, and that’s more like a hobby. But I trust him with my life.”

“And mine, apparently. When were you planning on telling me that you were setting me up as a trafficker?”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” she said. “I guess I should have asked you?”

“You think?”

Mikey blew out a sigh. “Okay. Maybe my communication skills need work.”

“You could say that.” He picked up her hand and kissed it. “But it’s a good plan. We can’t count on winning the auction, so I can be a buyer, and stall the auction so you can get the girl while it’s going on. A woman in a hot dress can get away with going places a man can’t.”

“Exactly.” Mikey pinched her lower lip, thinking. “Then we just need a way to get her out.”

“First we have to get me the ID, and the invite. Once we get that—if we get it—we’ll be able to get the details on how McIntyre is setting up the transfer, and figure out where the holes are. In the meantime, I’ll contact Switch and see if he can get us access to any blueprints of McIntyre’s house. See if there’s a way to get her completely away before the auction even finishes.”