Another spike of frustration surged through both her and her bearcat. The animal kept lashing out with her claws and baring her teeth. She wanted to rip his cock off.
Aspen only stared at him blankly. There was no sense in faking terror or even acting remotely intimidated—he’d never buy it. Wayland knew her. Knew she’d plan some sort of preemptive strike. He’d be ready for it. Which meant she’d have to do something he wouldn’t expect. Something that would go against her nature.
Like flee.
The people she’d worked with when part of the Movement had often joked that she had no flight instinct. Wayland knew she was the type to launch herself at a threat rather than run. The problem was … she’d never make it to the door—he’d take her down with a bullet.
She inwardly cursed. It was so hard to keep still when there was a twitchy feeling in her muscles. It made her restless to move. Dive. Attack.
None of which she could do.
But dammit, she couldn’t just sit here and do nothing. Not when she suspected that he would shoot her the moment Camden arrived. Wayland would have to, really. He’d know that seeing a gun pointed at her head wouldn’t stay her mate. Camden would charge in a full-blown rage, forcing Wayland to turn the gun on him … which would allow Aspen to pounce on the asshole.
Wayland would be aware that if he wanted to kill both her and Camden he only had a small window of time with which to act. He’d have to literally kill her mega fast so he could then swiftly aim the gun at Camden and save himself.
Her mate was damn fast, and he wasn’t easy to put down. It would take a hail of bullets, not simply one. Tigers were tough motherfuckers that way. But that might well be moot, considering Wayland would hit her with a fatal shot the very moment Camden reentered the apartment. The shock, pain, and snapping of the bond would all weaken and distract her mate, allowing Wayland to pump Camden with enough bullets to take him down.
As such, she couldn’t act subdued until her mate came home. She couldn’t rely on Camden to help her defeat Wayland—he wouldn’t have the chance. She was essentially on her own. And if she didn’t do something, both she and her mate would die right here for sure.
“Camden’s taking his sweet time,” grumbled Wayland. “Where’d he go?”
“To speak to the old Alpha. It turns out they’ve captured …” She trailed off as a plan began to form in her mind. Yeah, that could work. As if not wanting to say more on the subject, she shrugged and added vaguely, “Well, Camden shouldn’t be long anyway.”
Wayland frowned. “Captured who?”
She averted her gaze. “I doubt it’s anyone you’ve heard of.”
“Who?”
She feigned reluctance as she replied, “No one important. Just Camden’s weird-ass uncle.”
“Weird-ass? Why is he weird?”
She shifted slightly in her seat. “Julius is messed up in the head. Like on a whole other level than most people. Seriously, he has you beat. Makes you look positively saintly. Sexual assault is like a hobby for him. And he gets a real kick out of watching people like some kind of pervert. He’s been a pain in our ass recently. Well, mostly Camden’s. Spying on him like some kind of—”
Wayland froze. “Wait, spying?”
She winced, as if suddenly realizing she’d said too much.
“Are you saying he’s been watching Camden? For how long?”
She swallowed. “Um, we’re not exactly sure. But I’m certain you’re glad of it, right? It’s meant that our attention has been divided and—”
“Stop babbling, there’s no point in backtracking now. How long has he been hanging around?”
She sighed. “A while. Longer than you.”
Wayland shook his head. “I’d have seen him. I’d have noticed if someone else was …” His words trailed off, and she suspected he’d sensed he had company a couple of times and was now recalling those occasions. “I looked into Camden’s family. I remember his mother had a brother called Julius. The guy’s a tiger.”
Aspen knew what he was thinking: If a tiger didn’t want you to see them, you wouldn’t.
Wayland cursed beneath his breath and scooted forward on the chair. “I was wondering why Camden would leave you on your own for so long. Now I get it. His uncle noticed me earlier and he’s told him I’m nearby, and Camden’s planning an attack.”
Hopefully that was the case, but she honestly doubted it. Julius was too much of an asshole and had no love for Camden whatsoever. But she wasn’t about to tell Wayland that.
“No wonder you’ve been sitting here quietly like a good little girl. You knew that Camden would suspect I’m here. I suppose you think there’ll be some sort of rescue.”
“No, actually, I figure you’ll kill me now and then scamper.”