When the limo stopped, he didn’t wait for Michael to open his door, but did it himself and stepped out. The cool night air welcomed him. On nights like this, Marquette, Michigan was at its best. He could shrug off his business attire and, with it, the need to be cool and calculating. All he’d need to do was give in to his primal side and let nature take over. The wolf in him momentarily awoke at the hope of doing just that. But no, not right now. His human side had business to take care of.

  Kristof grabbed his heavy, floor-length wool coat and shrugged it on over the business suit he wore. The human side of him preferred the expensive clothes, while his wolf growled in the back of his mind. The slam of his driver closing the door behind him and the roar of a motorcycle pulled him out of his thoughts. Lajos whizzed by him with a nod and drove his sleek, black MV Agusta F4CC into the garage.

  Kristof waited patiently for Lajos to park and walk the short distance to him. While he waited, he let his wolf enjoy the crisp, cool air. Where they were going, it was a stifling eighty-five degrees, and he doubted Jacksonville had many places for the wolf to roam free.

  Lajos stood next to him and took in a long, deep breath, doing the same for his inner wolf. “What are you thinking?”

  “I want to know if anything was found and then drop the human firm off the account.” Kristof started for the steps of the Citation X that was waiting for them.

  “I won’t be able to sleep until I figure out how the human firm was discovered. I can’t believe one of my top security aides would allow a breach or, worse yet, was the breach.”

  As he ascended the stairs with Lajos at his heels, Kristof thought about it. If a member of the security team was involved in the embezzlement, the crime ran deeper than he’d ever imagined. “Let’s hope it was just a breach. Breaches can be fixed.”

  Kristof nodded at the pilot as they entered. Since they didn’t fly often, and preferred to keep to the ground, the company hired a private contracting service when pilots were needed. He took one of the seats on the luxury jet, settling into the comfortable leather chair. Lajos threw his bag into the closet, where Kristof knew Michael had stowed his away, then took another seat.

  “Where are you going to send the account to now? You can’t use another human firm. We can’t have another death on our hands.”

  Kristof grimaced. Lajos was right, and it had been something that he already thought of. “The Vamps.” Just saying it left a bad taste in his mouth and the wolf inside stirred and growled with displeasure.

  “I hate the bloody Vamps,” Lajos said.

  “Everyone hates the Vamps.”

  Chapter Four

  Trudy checked her appearance in the bathroom mirror for the twelfth time in the past two hours. It was seven-thirty at night and she had a business suit on, when all she really wanted was to be in her PJs nursing a bowl of ice cream. After she’d received the call from Kristof Farkas, the CFO of Dark Wolf Enterprises, saying he was flying into town and wanted to meet with her, something deep inside told her this wouldn’t be a happy visit.

  Had he seen the front of her office plastered on all the major news stations? The story had run all day long, showing the broken-down door and blood splattered on the wall. Of course, he’d drop her like a hot potato now. A company as big as his wouldn’t want a firm known for break-ins and murder having access to their books.

  She’d tried to press him for more information, and when he wouldn’t budge, she went for desperate measures. She told him that she’d found something—which she had—normally she would’ve waited until after confirming her findings, before blurting anything out to the client, but she’d had no other choice.

  When he’d heard that, he seemed to be more intent on meeting her—tonight and at her home, no less. She’d washed her face, applied a small amount of make-up and changed out of her sweats into the business attire. She had also put her mid-length hair into a bun and clipped the wayward tendrils down with pins. If she ignored the panicked expression in her eyes and the light sheen of sweat across her forehead, she thought she looked professional. She glanced at her feet. Well, except for the white baseball socks. Would putting on heels overdo it? She was at home and it was seven-thirty—correction, seven-thirty-three in the evening.

  She chewed on her bottom lip. Why was he coming all the way from Michigan on such short notice? She’d spoken to him once before, and that conversation had been just as brief as it had this time. When she’d spoken to him previously, he’d wanted her verbal assurance that she would give the account her full attention. He’d requested that no one else in her office work on the account, nor know that she had even been tapped to handle the task. Why he wanted her verbal confirmation, she didn’t know, especially after she had signed so many nondisclosure agreements.

  She grabbed the towel hanging on the rack and wiped her brow. What does one wear to a business meeting, at night and at your house?

  Not baseball socks. She rushed to her closet for a pair of loafers. It didn’t take long to grab the modest brown pair and slip into them. Her mother had told her once that brown went with almost anything. Brown was also a safe and boring choice, Meisha had also said.

  Crack.

  She cocked her head. Off in the distance, she thought she had heard a glass breaking. Piper raised her head from where she was sleeping in her doggy bed, next to Trudy’s bed. “Piper, did you hear it too, girl?”

  Piper stood and stretched at hearing her name. Maybe she hadn’t? It had been so faint that it could’ve come from next door. She didn’t have the problem with living in an apartment as Meisha did, but she did live in a young and thriving neighborhood where quiet was a four-letter word.

  Footsteps.

  Trudy froze. Piper growled and lowered her head. Definitely not outside. Trudy crept to her bedroom door and peeked out. Two men tip-toed down her hall. Her eyes widened as she recognized them—from her office. They spotted her.

  She grabbed the door and slammed it shut as the men bolted for her. She turned the lock. One of the men rammed the door, almost splintering it. She jumped.

  “Go away!” she yelled as Piper barked uncontrollably.

  Her door creaked as one of them hit it again. Thinking fast, she pushed her dresser over, blocking the door before it splintered. The contents fell as the dresser toppled to its side and crashed to the floor.

  Window.

  Unlike her office, her window opened to her backyard. No long drops. She unlocked it and opened it in a panic. Piper continued to bark at the men. One of them had punched a hole in her door and pushed a hand through, trying to move the dresser out of the way.

  “Piper! Come!”

  Piper didn’t give her a backward glance as she continued to bark and growl. Trudy thought she heard one of the men growl back.

  Oh, God.

  She ran to scoop Piper into her arms, then headed back to the window. She tossed Piper outside, where she grunted and whimpered as she hit the ground none too gently. Trudy went out of the window, not so full of grace herself. Head first, landing on her arms and chest. She rolled to her feet and grabbed Piper. She took off for the front of her house and ran straight into a wall.

  Kristof held onto the woman in his grasp. When she wiggled and screamed, he held her firmer and brought her close to whisper in her ear. “Shh, be quiet.”

  “Help me! Someone please help me!” she yelled, moving her head away from the hand he was using to try to cover her mouth. The dog she held in her arms struggled, barked and snapped at him.

  “Stay still. I’m Krist—”

  He didn’t have time to finish telling her his name as crashing pain erupted in his groin. His vision clouded and stars fired in his head as he fell to the ground with a grunt. She took off and all he could do was roll on the ground and curse.

  Dogs barked in the distance. The smell of wolf permeated the air. Not his Pack. His wolf stirred and pressed, instinctively wanting to pursue the others. Kristof clamped down and fought against the urge to shift.

  Not here and not now.

  If he shifted in this unknown town, he’d have a hard time getting somewhere safe to shift back. He couldn’t end up naked in downtown Jacksonville, Florida.

  As the pain subsided, he jumped to his feet. He took in a deep breath. The woman was no longer in the immediate area. The sound of her banging on a neighbor’s door and it opening and closing assured him she wasn’t in any more immediate danger.

  He found Lajos at the side fence, sniffing the air and pacing. Kristof trotted to him.

  “I had one of them,” Lajos growled and punched his fist into an open palm. “The bastards shifted and got away. I should’ve followed.”

  Kristof placed a firm hand on Lajos’ arm, stilling him. “No. We can’t go running into the night in an unknown city. You did right by staying here.”

  Lajos punched his palm again.

  “Did you get a good look at them?” Kristof asked.

  “No. I came up behind them at the window and before I could they shifted and ran.”

  “What about their scent?”

  Lajos shook his head. “None that I recognized. Definitely not one of us.” By ‘one of us’ Lajos meant they weren’t from any Pack his had an alliance with.

  Kristof narrowed his eyes as he stared into the night. The embezzlement was an inside job, that much was true, but now it appeared contractors had been hired to do... What, exactly? Kill the human and send them a message? Or was this all just a way to buy time? He and his brothers wouldn’t be able to find out anything until they had whoever was behind all of this in their hands.

  Sirens blared in the distance. “Come on. We’ll probably have to make statements to the police.”

  The sirens grew louder and he and Lajos made their way to the front yard. They waited, leaning against their rental car, as the police came barreling down the street.

  Kristof watched as the police vehicles screeched to a halt not too far from him. Two officers jumped from the vehicle with guns drawn and trained on him and Lajos.

  “Don’t make a move! Put your hands up where I can see them!”

  “Aw, this is just great,” Lajos muttered.

  Kristof put his hands up and clasped them behind his head. “Do as the nice humans have asked,” he whispered.

  “Are you the punks that broke into the house?” one of the officers asked.

  “No, officer,” Kristof said as he stared down the barrel of the gun. “My brother and I have an appointment with Gertrude Hollander. When we arrived, we noticed her kitchen window had been broken. We looked through the window and saw some men trying to break down one of the doors inside.” He tilted his head toward Lajos. “This is my brother Lajos. He broke the front door down to try to capture them while I went to the back to head them off.”

  “Uh-huh, so where did these other men go?” the officer said with a sarcastic tone in his voice.

  “They got away, sir.”

  “Sure they did,” the officer said.

  Kristof resisted the urge to glare at the human. “We just flew in from Michigan. I have my ID in my pocket. If you’ll allow me, I’ll retrieve it for you.”

  “And while you’re getting your driver’s license you can also get out your gun.” Both officers laughed. “Keep your hands up. My partner will fetch your credentials. One move and I’ll make your night.”

  At that, Kristof did glare. But he stood still as he was patted down. After the officer finished with Lajos, with wallets in hand, he went back to his partner. “Their ID says they are who they say they are.”

  His gaze flickered to two women, one holding a Beagle, the other in curlers, and a man walking toward them. Although the dog no longer barked, he recognized it and the woman holding it instantly. The wolf in him stirred.

  Gertrude Hollander drew closer and stood behind the officers. He hadn’t had enough time to appreciate her before, but now there was no mistaking. She was beautiful. She was taller than most human females, and had a shape he could appreciate. She didn’t look like one of those starving models that human men seemed to fawn over. No, she had curves—nice curves.

  “Ma’am, are you the one who called the police?” the officer asked.

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Are those the men who tried to attack you?”

  When her gaze rested on him, he saw the prettiest green eyes. Then she glanced from Lajos then back to him. “N-no.”

  “Take a good look. Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure. The other guys were the same ones that broke into my business yesterday. They were paler than these two, bigger and were wearing all black. Their hair was longer too.”

  “These two say they had an appointment with you, is this true?”

  Her eyes instantly brightened. “Oh, my God!”

  She rushed forward and his wolf sniffed the air that she stirred. He wanted her. The wolf pushed forward. Kristof closed his eyes to control the shift. Not now.

  His wolf beat against the barrier, wanting out. Normally Kristof didn’t have this hard a time trying to control him. “Later, I promise.”

  Reluctantly, he subsided, but wasn’t too happy. He didn’t fully retreat, but stayed to satisfy his curiosity.

  “I’m so sorry!”

  Kristof opened his eyes. She was even prettier up close. The bun she’d worn had lost its shape. Fine, brown hair surrounded an oval face. Green eyes full of concern stared up at him.

  Mine. The wolf’s emotions pushed through.

  Chapter Five

  Kristof’s knees buckled and his vision clouded. His head swam and his stomach lurched.

  Lajos reached out to hold him upright. His grasp was the only thing keeping Kristof from falling flat on his face.

  He shook his head, trying to regain focus. But nothing seemed to penetrate through to his thoughts except for her. He wanted her with every instinct in his body. Every nerve seemed to fire just for the woman before him. She controlled his heartbeat. Kristof longed to hold her.

  Oh, shit...did I just...imprint?

  Kristof glanced up again. She stared at him with an open mouth—one he wanted to smother with kisses.

  A wave of euphoria careened through him. His wolf sent him flashes of pictures of him and her together. If he was uncertain before, he’d just gotten his confirmation.

  He had found his life-mate.

  A human life-mate.

  “Are you okay man?” Lajos asked, concern filling his voice. “Did what I think happened just happen?”

  Kristof regained his footing and shook Lajos off. “I’m fine.”

  Lajos raised his brow. “Wow. That was intense. I’ve never witnessed an imprint—”

  “Lajos,” Kristof said, interrupting him.

  Lajos snapped his mouth shut, but shook his head in disbelief.

  “Were you hurt?” Gertrude looked Kristof up and down, as if inspecting him for obvious injuries.

  “No harm done,” he said to her.

  “So you recognize these men?” an officer asked.

  She peered at Kristof and frowned. “Yes, well, no,” she struggled to say. She closed her eyes and shook her head. Kristof didn’t know what type of effect imprinting would have on a human—or if she’d feel anything at all. He’d never witnessed a human-Shifter imprinting in his lifetime. For all he knew, she was genuinely a confused woman.

  “I’ve never met them before, but we had a business meeting,” she said, her words slurring slightly.

  Kristof and Lajos exchanged glances. If he hadn’t been sure, he definitely was now. She was experiencing the effects of an imprint.

  “I guess you boys are okay for now. We’ll need to get a statement from everyone.”

  Lajos growled at the term ‘boy.’ Neither of them had been boys for quite some time. When the officers had been boys, he and Lajos had been firmly in their adulthoods.

  She opened her eyes and locked onto his. “I-I’m so sorry for kneeing you before. I thought you were one of them. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  His ego took a blow, but his wolf didn’t seem to mind. He got the feeling his wolf would’ve liked for her to rub it and make him feel all better. “I recovered.”

  Yeah, but would she?

  Trudy groaned. She had kneed her client, and the sexiest man she’d ever seen, in the nuts. She pretty much assumed getting fired was a done deal now.

  He was the kind of man that women dreamed about. Tall, dark and handsome—literally, he was the epitome of it. By her guess, he was in his early thirties and too young to run a large company. He stood over six feet tall and had a muscular frame. He wore his brown hair short—not a strand seemed out of place. His watchful eyes unsettled her and he stalked her every move. His clothes appeared expensive, from his shirt to his shoes and even the wool coat that he wore. If she’d been the swooning type, she would’ve been on the ground.

  The man standing next to Kristof was just as handsome, but he didn’t have the same muscular build. Lean muscles seemed hidden beneath his clothes. The two men shared so many similarities Trudy was sure they had to be related.

  The officers had everyone wait outside while they did a sweep of her house. She stood in uncomfortable silence with Kristof and Lajos. Now was not a good time to ask them why they had wanted to meet with her. She needed to put some time between her assault on him and begging to keep the contract.

  She tried to stay focused on anything except for Kristof but, no matter how much she tried, she kept peering at him from the corner of her eyes. She swore he watched her as well. What she really wanted to do was touch him.

  Do it. Touch him.

  She took a step in his direction before she caught herself.

  What am I doing? I can’t go around fondling my clients.

  She didn’t know why, but she had urges to go to him, stand next to him, caress his body and make love to him.