“Did Rey tell you who, Nina?” Cade asked.

She shook her head. “He said it was someone big, that what’s-his-face told him it was someone high up. Gabriel didn’t see anyone’s face, though. God, they killed him for no reason! He didn’t know anything.”

“Damn it! I told you, Cade,” Lex said, and as he moved she saw the big gun in the shoulder holster and she stiffened.

Oblivious, Lex brushed his hands through his hair again. It made Nina’s body tighten just to watch. Oh jeez, perfect timing to get horny, right after your brother is killed and you might be next. Truthfully, she knew that Lex was right. If they’d wanted to hurt her, they could have quite easily. But damn it, she didn’t know up from down and she felt totally off balance.

“I just didn’t want to believe it. Thank god you pulled all clearance but yours and mine.” Cade turned back to Nina. “No one is allowed at the house but me and Lex and my personal guard. All of us are Wardens, absolutely trustworthy. We have a Pack house here in town for everyone else, but my house is a safe haven. You’ll be safe there. We’ve got to get out of here in case reinforcements show up.”

Safe from the killer sure—but not from Lex. And Nina had a feeling that Lex Warden posed a way bigger threat to her than any scary werewolves who wanted to kill her. Still, she wasn’t going to let go until the guy who killed her brother was taken care of.

She took a deep breath and tried to relax. “Okay, for now. But I need to deal with the cops about my house and call my assistant to deal with my business.”

Lex nodded and stifled a predatory smile as they grabbed her stuff from the room and her car and headed to Lex’s Mercedes. When he got into the back with her and let his brother drive, Cade raised a brow in the rearview mirror but said nothing.

“What were you doing here, anyway?” Lex asked her as they drove away, heading east.

“I was going to check out the laptop my brother said belonged to the guy who got shot.”

Lex looked at her sharply for a moment and then down at the computer case she held. “You what? I’ve been watching you for weeks now. Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“I just did.”

He barely held his annoyance in check. Mate or not, the woman was a pain in the ass. “Earlier,” he ground out through clenched teeth.

“I had to be sure I could trust you.” She wasn’t going to apologize!

“What’s on it?”

“Dunno. Gabriel said that he couldn’t get in. He came to me for help.” Her voice broke on the last word and Lex reached out, took her hand in his own and squeezed it. He’d been angry at her for not telling them about the laptop, but seeing how upset she was pushed all of that aside. He just wanted to make it better for her.

“How? How were you going to help? Do you know a computer expert?” Cade asked and she chuckled wearily.

“I am a computer expert. I’ve never met a program that can lock me out. It may take me a while to get in, but I will. I haven’t even booted it yet.” She shrugged as she looked out the window at nothing. “I didn’t want to open it up until I got somewhere where I could hook it up to my own laptop with some security protocols. Gabriel should have been smart enough not to trigger any defensive viral programs but we’ll see. I went out to my car to get my kit, I forgot it. Gabriel came out to see if I needed help…” she choked out, unable to say anything else.

Lex didn’t say much more as they continued east. He ached to make it better for her, to pull her into the shelter of his body and hold her. But he knew she wasn’t ready for that so he kept her hand in his own and pushed his overwhelming desire for her to the side—for the time being.

* * * * *

Cade pulled into a long drive. Midway a set of large iron gates stood closed. He slid the car to a stop next to a keypad and rolled the window down. He quickly keyed in a code as Nina cast a quick, assessing glance at the setup.

“What do you think?” Lex asked, seeing her curious look. “If you’re a computer expert, I take it you know about security too?”

She leaned over him to get a better look through the window. She gave a low whistle. “State of the art. I could hack it, even remotely, but it would take me a while. While I’m here, remind me to check your security system.”

“I’d appreciate that,” Lex said.

Nodding absently, she only barely held back a gasp when they came around the bend and the house came into view.

Impressive was the first word that came to mind. Fronted entirely by glass, it loomed out of the hillside and undoubtedly had some prime views. It was one of those places that graced the cover of architectural and design magazines. This was no cookie-cutter house—someone with a great mind and a lot of talent had created it. The cleverly landscaped gardens that surrounded it gave a sense of wildness and burst with a riot of color. There were trees everywhere and hanging baskets, containers that were overflowing with flowers and plants, and she could see several water features as well. The house was an oasis.

They pulled into a garage with three other bays. There was a Mercedes and two motorcycles, including the Harley that she’d seen Lex ride on multiple occasions. Lex grabbed her stuff but she kept her kit. He sighed and then shrugged, turning to lead her inside.

When they came into the lower level of the house from the garage she made a low sound of pleased surprise. The view through the big glass walls was of the entire valley below and the forests all around.