Page 35 of Targeted By Temptation
I had trained and trained and trained. I worked hard and got as much done as I could in the time we had. But at the end of the day, we had to move forward. I had killed a few animals: a squirrel, a couple of rabbits, but never again had I shot at a deer. I’d had a few run past me, but try as I did, I wasn’t able to pull the trigger.
I’d told myself repeatedly that it was because the deer was innocent and not that I wasn’t strong enough to do this. Once I let self-doubt seep in, I was done for, and the people I cared most about were in danger. Not gonna happen on my watch.
What I needed was to get out of my head and stay there, because whether I liked it or not, today was the day. I had one chance to do this. One. We opted to strike preemptively, to get him before he could get near us. If we were in control of when and where everything went down, then we had our best chance.
I hated that my mate was gone, that I was alone, that I had to do this without him. All I wanted was a hug… to feel safe in his arms and have him tell me everything would be okay. But the time forthat was gone. I couldn’t scent him at all. So it was me, and that was it.
Except it wasn’t only me. The guys were set up strategically. They would be there if I needed them. Or, more likely,whenI needed them.
I showered, scrubbing myself with soap that shifters swore removed their scent. It felt like betrayal, washing away my mate. But I did it, and then I put on the uniform they got for me.
It was the first time I opened the bag, wanting it to smell as human as possible and not let Ezra’s scent seep inside. I got dressed quickly. It was go time.
On my way to Calloway, I picked up a new gun that was waiting for me from a sketchier-than-sketchy pawn shop my mates had arranged for. It was human-owned, and as far as any of my brothers-in-law could tell, they hadn’t seen a shifter in that shop in a while.
Please, let that still be true.
When I walked in to get it, I noticed a toolbox on the counter, not wanting to look suspicious to other customers that might come in. Or maybe I was drawn to it and looking for an excuse. It was difficult to determine which.
I opened it up. It was filled with all different kinds of tools. I had no idea what most of them were for, but it looked like the kind of kit you would have to do general maintenance. It was definitely not a car kit.
“You here for the item?” He smirked. He apparently knew exactly who I was.
I nodded. “I think I’m taking this too.”
“Ah, that’s special.” He winked.
What the heck did that mean?
“Special? How so?”
He opened it up, then took out some tools to reveal a false bottom.
“What do you think? Your item would fit in there nicely.” He was a salesman… a sketchy one at that. But also, he was right.
“I think it’s perfect.”
Luke laid the toolbox out for us. Luke and I had never been good friends before, but I would accept his offer. I placed the gun inside, put everything back, and off to the building I went.
It was no surprise that security stopped me when I walked in.
“Why are you here?”
I held up my toolbox. “Why do you think?”
“No, I need more than that.”
I tried to convince myself he was just doing his job, but his sneer shouted that he loved being the alphahole in charge.
“There’s an issue on the third floor. I’m here to troubleshoot. If it’s something easy, I’ll fix it. If not, I’ll have my crew here within an hour.”
The lies just fell from my lips with ease.
“Hold on.”
He went behind the counter and opened a book. A book. Who still used books? Wasn’t that what computers were for? Heflipped and he flipped and he flipped, eventually slamming it shut.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
