CHAPTER 65

Thirteen bugs later and we'd put riced sized monitors on all of Leanne's shit. The little high tech phone she kept stashed away in the drawer, and a tracking device that she kept high on a shelf in her closet. I decided against any clothes, since there was no telling what, exactly she would choose to wear. Instead I bugged the hell out of her jewellery and purses and put the remaining three grains of rice in different areas of the room.

Aiden had encouraged me to spread them out a little more into the house, but I didn't trust that he didn't have a way to keep the little bugs going even after I attempted to destroy them, so Leanne's items and her room were as far as I was willing to go.

We'd planted the last one, just on the underside of the bedside table when my wolf went alert.

*She's finished in the office, heading this way.*

Shit. That didn't give me much time. I glanced at the door, but it shared the hallway with the office and I would be fully visible leaving the room. My second option was the closet, seeing as it had a door that closed, but it also lit up like a game show studio when the door opened and there were no convenient ways to hide, no piles of clothes or low shelves packed with boxes to hide beneath.

The only option I had was the king-sized bed. It was raised on a frame with decorative arched legs, just high enough someone small like me might squeeze beneath. I cursed as I scrambled against the swooping and curling frame, trying to contort my body so I could wiggle first my head and shoulders and then my hips through. The grappling gun scraped against the hardwood the sound loud as a screaming alarm in my ears. I curled my body and pulled my feet out of sight just as the door to the hallway swung open. The light came on.

From my position I could see Leanne's feet and calves, shod in the best high class leather, pants of some fine blend that caught hints of light and threw them at me. I tensed, waiting for her to figure out she'd been invaded, to shift slightly and take in the sight of the naked woman huddled beneath her bed. I felt vulnerable and exposed.

She didn't even hesitate though her feet clomped across the floor at the foot of the bed and she set something solid down on the surface of the dresser. A waft of that expensive perfume followed her swirling into my nostrils. I'd had to experience my wolf's senses for long minutes while we bugged the room. It had been bordering on painful, and I now found this scent accompanied by a slight wave of nausea.

Maybe that explained Anthony's migraines.

She spend several agonizing minutes in front of her mirror doing god knows what before, to my horror, stripping. Dear god I was in the room with her naked.

I mean, all I could see was her calves, and she couldn't see me at all, but the embarrassment of the situation got to me anyways and I could feel the flush in my cheeks.

Just put some clothes back on, you hussy. I willed with all my might.

She did so, walking to the closet—good thing I hadn't hid in there—and slipping something over her head. I couldn't see it, whatever it was wasn't long enough to come down into my line of sight, but I could hear the rustle of the fabric. She turned back without closing the closet and stood in front of the mirror again.

I found myself counting seconds, trying to stem my own impatience. My shoulder had begun to itch and my bad hip was aching from where it rested on the floor, little shots of fiery pain reminding me that this was one injury that I would always have a reminder of. Seriously, how long could the woman preen? I don't think I'd ever stared at the mirror for such a long stretch in my entire life.

Finally, after what felt like eternity, she spritzed another heavy wave of that scent on herself and walked out of the room. I forced myself to lay still, monitoring her progress to one of the rooms farther along the hall, my stomach drop kicking my emotions when I recognized it as Anthony's.

*Relax*, my wolf told me, *he's not in there. He's still sleeping in the office*.

It took a moment for my hurt to simmer down enough to realize she was right.

Something was wrong. Anthony was a strong alpha, with a wolf that was just as wily and clever as he was. If he'd just ordered an internal hit on one of the organization's biggest suppliers, and I was willing to bet that he had. He should be wide awake, waiting to see how things played out, or, even better, planning for the kickback that was likely to occur. Not so sound asleep he hadn't even noticed Leanne leaving.

Carefully, I crawled out from beneath the bed internally cursing Leanne's ostentatious style when I nearly got stuck trying to wedge my hips back beneath one of the swells in the woodwork. By the time I was released from my self imposed prison the hallway had gone quiet. Everyone upstairs was asleep, or near enough to. The main group of people downstairs had vacated, which, given that they were the ones tasked with the hit, was a bit of a problem. A few security guys were down in one of the rooms, someone I didn't recognize was watching tv in the foyer. Martha was still banging around in the kitchen, but her movements had slowed and the smell of her cooking had a finished quality to it. I would bet she would soon head upstairs to bed.

By all accounts I should take the small opportunity I had and flee. I was still undetected and my goal had been even more of a success than I had expected.

*I want to look at that*, my wolf's attention was on the dresser now, where a professional briefcase sat.

*What is it?*

*I don't know, but I think it might have been what I was feeling earlier, only it's shut down now.*

*We have to hurry, Martha....*

*It won't take me long.*

I walked over to the case and pulled open the latches, careful not to shift the box in any way. I wanted to leave everything the exact way I had found it.

I pulled open the lid, surprised at the hefty weight. Inside was...not what I expected. There were no files or even normal looking electronics. What was inside the briefcase was nothing short of some prop from an old sci-fi movie. A helmet, or cap of some sort with what was literally a coil of metal wrapped around it. The cap was attached to the base of the briefcase with thin wires, long enough that it could be removed about five feet. There were several unmarked switches and buttons in the base as well. I reached out and pushed the most obvious one, which was stupid. What if it had been alarmed or something? All our work would have gone out the window. If Leanne knew I'd been snooping there was no way she'd be relaxed enough to give us any information. And I really, really needed that information.

It wasn't alarmed though, there didn't really seem to be any effect at all.

*There is though*, my wolf announced, *the energy is pulsing and swirling around that cap. It's what I sensed before, but I don't understand what it is for*.

It has to be the treatment Leanne was talking about. Or maybe it helps people sleep or something. I thought of Anthony who was still heavily asleep in his office.

My wolf was dubious, but we didn't have time to explore the possibilities. I pushed the button again, powering the cap down, and closed the briefcase, leaving it exactly how we'd found it.

Once in the hallway I hesitated, torn between fleeing through Martha's still open window and stepping into the office to check on Anthony. As much as I resented our last few interactions I really did have a feeling something more was going on with him. Something driving this behavior...

Downstairs Martha closed the dishwasher, the taps falling silent. I could hear her clearly as if she were in the next room as she walked to the entrance and shut off the light.

I gave the closed office door one long last look and then moved quickly down the hallway, slipping out the window and setting the glass back into place just as Martha reached the top of the stairs. With any luck no one would notice the loose panes for a while. With any luck, by then, I'd have Leanne by the throat.