Page 33 of Targeted By Temptation
The maintenance uniform looked wrong held up against Reign because I was used to seeing him in jeans and t-shirt.
He couldn’t wear the uniform or take it out of the clear laundry bag that it was sealed in because a smidgen of our shifter scent would attach itself to the fabric.
Nope. It had to be pristine.
We were at the house I shared with my three younger brothers, and I studied the navy overalls that had “Metro Building Services” stitched on the pocket. It looked authentic, and my brothers agreed, but we kept our distance as Reign stood on the balcony, making sure he didn’t pick up any of our shifter scent.
Tomorrow my mate would walk into Calloway's building alone while wearing this. And I wouldn't be there to protect him.
“Stop staring.” Reign ushered me and my brothers further inside so he could scoot around us. “You're making me more nervous.”
“Sorry.” I was terrified. But I did my best to wipe off my panicked expression.
My mate waved to my brothers, and I followed him at a distance as we left the house, but Boaz called out, reminding us to take a taxi. “Your car stinks of shifters.”
Technically, I shouldn’t be with Reign in a confined space, but I refused to say goodbye at the curb in front of the house. Maynard said I was putting him in danger, and Reign quipped he’d seal himself in plastic. I was glad he’d kept a snippet of his humor.
But we reasoned there'd be nothing of my scent on him tomorrow. Reign would scrub himself in the shower and throw away whatever he was wearing. I’d never been to his place, so there was nothing of me on the walls, the sheets, or the couch. Besides, humans lived side by side with shifters, so they often had a hint of us on their clothes.
We spoke little on the drive and had the cab drop us a block from my mate’s building. But when we got out, we stayed on the sidewalk that was empty of people at this late hour. Neither of us wanted to say goodbye.
It’s not goodbye. My wolf was adamant.It’s au revoir.
The plan was simple, as all plans should be. The more complicated they were, the better the chances of a huge F-up. The Stravons had arranged for a “maintenance issue” to occur at the office building Calloway was using as his base. They’d messed with the wiring in the ventilation system on the third floor. It wasn’t a huge problem, but it required a technician to check it out.
And that was Reign. My Reign.
He'd get in, locate Calloway, and then do what he had to in order to put an end to the problem. Stress was choking me, making itdifficult to breathe, but it was my mate who’d be in danger. So I sucked up my discomfort.
“Here.” I pulled out a small device from my pocket. “It’s the Airtag we talked about.” I’d shown him how to remove the heel of his shoe and gouge out a place for the tag inside. Reign insisted he had superglue to stick the heel back in place.
He turned it over. “I’ll feel better knowing you can see the little dot on your phone or laptop.”
“You’re more than a little dot, my love.” Gods, I wanted to kiss him and pick him up and run far away. But I had to consider the larger shifter world. And even if we lived in a hut in the woods, we’d never be free until Calloway no longer had a beating heart.
This was our only way of keeping tabs on my mate. Viktor insisted on no comms or phones. We couldn’t afford to tip off Calloway.
He slipped it into his pocket. “Don’t worry. It’ll be underfoot the whole time.” He blew me a kiss, and I caught it, but his lips trembled, and he slapped a hand over his mouth as the tears spilled down his cheeks.
Stop him. If you don’t, I will.
I’d just convinced myself that putting my mate in danger was for the good of all shifters, but my resolve crumbled.
“You don’t have to do this. I’ll find another way.”
Reign wiped away his tears. “There isn’t one. We’ve been over this.” He reached out to stroke me, but I took a step back, worried about him retaining my scent. “It has to be me.”
For a minute I’d envisioned a world where we were free of packs, debts, deals, and treaties and we could live our lives, just us two.
“You’re right.” I raked my fingers over my scalp. “But I hate that you’ll be alone.”
He lifted his foot, showing me the heel. “You’ll be with me digitally.”
I grinned. “Makes me sound like a bot.”
He blew more kisses, and as he walked backward toward his building, I told him he was ready. “Nothing will go wrong. You trained for this.”
He paused. “Really?”
