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Hamish looked at the lynx-shifter sheepishly. “Let me guess, I am to tell no one. Are you setting Naomi up? Something about that girl doesn’t strike me as quite right.”
“Hutch? Hamish? With me,” ordered Colby as he picked up one of the plates with croissants and headed out of the kitchen and down the hall to his study.
“So, what’s going on, Colby?” asked Hamish.
“Naomi is not Naomi. Her real name is Nora Blake, but she is more widely known as the Ghost.”
Hamish blanched. “Holy shit. What’s she doing—wait; you faked Hutch’s death? Was she supposed to kill him? Does she know he isn’t dead?”
“She knows, and in fact, was in on the staging of Hutch’s death,” said Colby. “The resistance just gained a valuable asset. She was the Master’s top assassin. He sent her here to kill him. I don’t think anyone was planning on her being Hutch’s fated mate.”
“If he thinks I’m dead, we were hoping she could return and act as a double agent until we got the information we needed,” said Hutch. “You can imagine how much I disliked that idea. Then she got orders to stay. We figure either he’s either coming after her or he’s got another assignment for her here in Mystic River.”
Hamish shook his head. “You alphas and your complicated mates. I much prefer my Trudy—no cloak and dagger, no lethal skills, no reason to put herself in danger.”
“Which is why you cannot tell anyone, even Trudy, that Hutch is alive,” said Colby levelly.
“I’ll not lie to my mate, Colby,” growled Hamish.
“And normally, I wouldn’t ask you to. But in this case, the less she knows, the safer she is. The Master is likely to kill anyone he even thinks knows something.”
Hamish seemed to be thinking. “I suppose I can see where that might be true, but how long are we talking about?”
“Hopefully no more than a week or two, a month at the most.”
“But everyone at Windsong knows,” said Hamish.
“Because there was really no way for them not to if we wanted to keep him safe. The League wants Hutch dead because they know his skill set. He is a master at reconnaissance. We need him. This is when the real work starts. It’s fine to form the resistance and do training, but both sides are preparing for battle, and there will be blood. When it comes down to it, Trudy is going to need to shut down the B&B and come up here.” Colby raised his hand to keep Hamish from arguing with him. “I’ll cover all her expenses and lost revenue. In all honesty, the resistance may well need to rent her rooms for our own and visiting people. Can I count on your discretion?”
“For a while, but I don’t like it. I will tell you before I say anything to Trudy. That’s the best I can offer.”
“That’s more than enough, Hamish,” said Hutch.
There was a knock on the door, and one of Colby’s security people stuck his head in. “Trudy’s at the main gate. She says she needs to speak to Colby.”
“Did she say about what?” Hamish asked.
“No, sir.”
“Tell them to let her in. Hamish, go warn everyone that Trudy is here but is not in on our deception. Hutch, I need you to disappear upstairs.”
Hutch headed up the staircase and into his room as Hamish disappeared down the hall.
* * *
COLBY
Trudy’s appearance at Windsong seemed curious and coincidental. Colby didn’t like coincidences but stood as she was shown into his office.
“Trudy, to what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?” said Colby as he came around from behind his desk.
“I heard that the woman who was staying with me is some kind of assassin. I have her things that she left in the room. I wasn’t sure what to do with them. I’m expecting all of those people from Otter Cove, Seattle and other places. I’m not sure I have enough rooms. At one point you said you might have room for them here at Windsong.”
Plausible, and he had offered to help with rooms. But with a dead man hiding out, that might prove problematic. Trudy took the chair he offered and sat down, delicately sniffing the air and spotting the croissants.
“May I offer you one? There are some filled with chocolate and some with ham and cheese.”
“Thank you. I was so rattled by what happened yesterday that I forgot to eat. I made sure Hamish had his breakfast, but then I got busy.”
