Unmasking the Wolf by Christy Gissendaner Page B

the guy in the jaw. Still gripping with one hand, he landed several fast and furious hits to the man’s face. Blood spurted from the guy’s nose, but he didn’t give up.
    Luke dodged his parried blows easily. The man was tiring, no match for Luke’s brute strength. Up close, he knew the man wasn’t human. He wasn’t sure what he was, but definitely more than homo sapien . The teeth indicated vampire, but the smell was off. It carried a whiff of something more, something familiar yet tainted.
    The man wasn’t as durable as a vampire should be either. He had all the bells and whistles, fangs, muscular body, pale skin, but seemed disgustingly human. His blood even smelled human.
    Landing another solid blow, the man went down like a sack of potatoes. Luke didn’t stick around to finish him off. Wiping the blood off his knuckles, he turned and stretched out a hand to Gina. “Come on.”
    She put her hand in his, a jolt of electricity rocking him down to his toes, and hurried onto the elevator. He punched the number for the lobby. This time, there was no humming. Gina stood by his side, visibly shaken. “Who was he?”
    “I don’t know.” He clenched his jaw. But I’ll find out .
    Gina took a deep breath. “Do you think Dominic is safe?”
    “I’m sure he is. He’s probably out looking for you.”
    She seemed reassured, bobbing her head in a tight nod. “He wasn’t human. At least, not anymore.”
    “I noticed.” Luke’s thoughts whirled. Why would a non-wolf be interested in his research? Vampires and werewolves had existed peacefully for centuries. Masking the scent of a wolf had no bearing on a vamp’s lifestyle. Or was he missing something important? “I’ll get to the bottom of this.”
    Gina squeezed his hand. Suddenly, his attention veered to their linked fingers. Her hand fit perfectly in his, her palm soft and warm. His gaze traveled over her cotton clad arm, over the curve of her rounded shoulder, to the beauty of her face. She was pale except for her cheeks. A delicate pink flush stained the area beneath her cheekbones. The blue of her eyes had returned, but they were still brighter than normal.
    He gave her a searching look. “Are you okay?”
    “Yeah.” She reached and gently touched his cheek. “Does it hurt? You have a bruise.”
    “Not as much as my knee,” he answered with a grimace. The man’s steel-toed boots had certainly done some damage. “I’ll be fine. The important thing is getting you home.”
    “And finding Dominic,” she reminded him.
    Oh, right. Dominic. Her cousin, the man who would likely flay him alive if he even so much as breathed in Gina’s direction. Well, he’d better prepare for a fight because Luke was definitely thinking of doing more than breathing.
    •●•
    The ringing went on and on until finally Dominic’s voicemail picked up. She left a message, the third in the last few minutes, and put her phone back in the pocket of her jeans.
    “Still no answer?”
    She glanced over at Luke and shook her head. “Straight to voice mail. Where the hell is he?”
    “Relax. I’m sure he’s fine.” Luke reached over and wrapped his fingers around hers.
    It felt so right to hold his hand, as if the missing piece of a puzzle had finally been put in place. It was the weirdest thing. If she could feel this with a human, how would it be with her mate, the man she was destined to marry? Perhaps she’d been too hasty in refusing to find him. But she didn’t want to lose this time with Luke for anything. Granted, it was a bit more dangerous than she would’ve liked, but being with Luke far surpassed anything she’d ever known.
    After retrieving his car, he’d called the head of security to deal with the man in the basement. It was odd how no one questioned how an injured man came to be in the high-security area. But she had bigger problems on her mind. No need to sweat the tiny details.
    Her phone blasted out her ringtone, the beginning chords of an up-tempo