Jared (River Pack Wolves 3)(55)

He smiled a little. “I should’ve known.”

She frowned, and that moment of confusion held a touch of innocence again. The fiery girl ready to take on the world was replace by the pure, good-hearted girl he had seen through his scope, the very first time, when he had decided not to kill her father—she was all those things. And goddammit, he was so in love with her.

“You should’ve known what?” she asked.

“That there really was a tiger underneath that kitten exterior of yours.” He smiled broadly and hoped like hell she would say yes when he asked. Because he was definitely asking. Not now, but soon.

She grinned. “You haven’t seen anything yet, Jared River. And I know exactly what we need to do next.”

He had no doubt.





Jared River was a damn liar—he had two gunshot wounds that his brother, Jace, had to sew up. That was not Grace’s idea of “fine.”

Regardless, once he was stitched up, he seemed to heal fast enough that she didn’t need to worry about him. Too much. Her clothes were a wreck, Jared looked exhausted, and his brothers, along with the rest of the pack who had come to rescue her, all seemed completely on edge. The tension in the van was crazy high. But she knew they had no time to waste—they needed to head straight to the Senator’s campaign office downtown.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Jared asked for the fourth time, eyeing her. She really looked a fright—with her white blouse bright with blood, and a black skirt that hid it a little better—but that was the point.

Grace could tell Jared was just voicing the other’s thoughts, the ones rumbling through all the hulking, good-looking shifter men who packed the van. Damn. They were all extremely hot. How did female shifters get anything done with this much drool-worthy, man flesh around all the time? Even so, Jared was the largest and hottest among them. And her wolf only had eyes for him—she’d already given him her virginity, along with her heart. Now that he had saved her life, she owed even that to him. But the thing she was about to do… well, it was a bit crazy.

She hoped he would understand.

Grace gave him a nod she hoped was reassuring. “Yes, I am sure this is a good idea,” she said, not just to him, but to all of them. “You want to stop the Senator, right?” She waited for the nods to grudgingly come out. “Well, I know how to do that. What’s on these hard drives is all the evidence you need, but I’m uniquely suited to deliver the missile straight to the target.” She held Jared’s gaze. The rest of them, with all their eyes on her, faded into the background. “This isn’t just for me—this for every shifter who was captured, or went under the blade, or was injected with experimental medicines. This is something I can do for all of them.”

Jared just nodded. She wasn’t sure if he was agreeing, or just didn’t want to argue anymore, but the tension in the van dropped a couple levels. Lots of looks were exchanged, but no words during the rest of the trip back to her father’s campaign office.

She insisted that only Jared accompany her. He insisted that the rest of them stay on standby outside the high-rise building. She didn’t object—in fact, it was comforting to know she wasn’t on her own with this. Not anymore. And looking at Jared, she hoped never again.

It was late—past ten o’clock—but she knew Kylie and Nolan and her father would still be in the office, preparing for the next day’s campaign activities. They were still in ramp-up mode to the launch in a few days—everyone would be pulling late nights, under normal conditions.

Things were about to get very not normal.

She shoved open the door to the office and strode in. Her father, Nolan, and Kylie were all gathered in the center of the office, in the bullpen. They were huddled over Kylie’s desk, examining a map of the districts, no doubt planning out a strategy to hit every precinct during the official launch—which speeches Nolan would write, which messages Kylie would tailor for the residents of each district. Her father was always intimately involved, but Grace had to wonder what he told them about his campaign manager suddenly going missing. They certainly seemed to be carrying on like nothing was wrong.

She walked up to them, Jared at her back, and stood a dozen feet away, hands on her hips, bloodstained shirt making her look like something out of a nightmare.

Kylie was the first to look up. She shrieked, and her hands flew to her face, covering her horror. Nolan and her father were next. Her father’s face turned three shades more pale, and Nolan’s mouth dropped open.

Nolan was the first to recover, his face flushing red as he tore around Kylie’s desk. “My God, Grace, what happened to you?” Then he threw a glare at Jared behind her. “What the hell kind of bodyguard are you?”