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“We probably have a few minutes before Hargreaves finds us,” Robb said, as they ducked behind an old-timey bakery. “Less, if they have people coming from the other direction as well.”

“What’s the plan?” Tahnee whispered.

Robb grimaced. “I’m still working that out.”

Great. Fabulous.

Not that she blamed him, of course. It wasn’t exactly like he’d been given a lot of time to think this all through – and she wasn’t exactly coming up with any brilliant ideas, either. But still, the stakes were so high that she was really hoping that one of them would think of something very, very soon.

I guess there’s one thing that I can contribute right now.

Reaching up, she grabbed Robb’s face and pulled him in for a desperate kiss, letting her love flow through the mate bond and doing her best to cram a whole lifetime’s worth of intimacy into that one drawn-out moment. The thought of never kissing him again after their fight on the beach was something she couldn’t bear contemplating.

It’ll never be enough, she thought as she pulled him in even closer. But it’s a whole lot better than nothing.

After a few seconds she pulled back with intense regret, though she did have to admit that she was enjoying the spectacle of Robb Lockwood looking kiss-dazed and stupid.

“What’s the matter, Robbo?” she laughed quietly. “Never had a life-or-death make-out sesh before?”

Robb’s face twitched in annoyance, but the effect was ruined by his quickened breaths and messed-up hair. “What do you think?”

“What I think,” said Tahnee slowly, in the knowledge that they really didn’t have a lot of time, “is that James has to be taken out of commission ASAP, one way or another. Obviously I’d prefer it if we were both alive to see it happen, but if not, then I’m willing to pay whatever price is necessary.”

“Agreed,” Robb said, his jaw set in a tight line. “I don’t really want to die either, but I will if I have to. I don’t think escape is a viable option in anything other than the very short term. If this is now Hargreaves’s main goal, they will stop at absolutely nothing to hunt us down.”

“Is there any chance that someone else in Hargreaves will take James out?” Tahnee asked. “I mean, he basically just committed regicide, and I can’t see Anne as the type to have not had a plan in place.”

Robb shook his head. “Technically there would probably be a second-in-command, but they’re not here, and Hargreaves rewards initiative.” It was clear that he didn’t think much of Hargreaves’s idea of initiative. “If he does a good job now, they’ll probably let him stay in the role.”

“I’m glad I’ve managed to spend my life avoiding office politics,” Tahnee muttered, before her eyes widened.

“Oh, shit – I forgot to ask,” she said. “What does James even shift into?”

Robb’s peered out around the corner of the bakery, before, apparently satisfied that they weren’t about to come under attack, he said, “A giant boar.”

Tahnee blinked.

“Okay,” she said, after a slight pause. “Can’t say I’ve ever fought one of those before.”

“Don’t let his size fool you – he can move extremely quickly when he wants to, though he has trouble stopping and steering when he’s built up some momentum,” Robb said. “And his tusks are deadly.”

“Great,” Tahnee said. “A giant boar with a vendetta and a set of killer tusks. Just what we need.”

She racked her brain. She didn’t know much about this place other than what she’d seen from the window of the turret, but there did seem to be a lot of hiding places.

Apparently Robb was on the same page. “If we can lay low for a while,” he said, “my team and your chief of security may be able to take out enough of the Hargreaves agents to turn the odds in our favor, and we can then pool our resources to deal with James.”

Tahnee decided not to ask how Robb knew Liam’s job title.

“Sounds like a plan,” she said. “Not much of a plan, but better than nothing.”

“It’s not the best I’ve ever made,” Robb admitted. “But desperate times call for desperate measures, and I think that this situation is desperate enough that run and hide might be the most appropriate action for the time being.”

“Wait,” said Tahnee, an idea coming to her. “There’s a hedge maze, isn’t there?”

Robb nodded. “It’s pretty extensive, if I recall. We could probably hide from him for a bit… though we’d be at risk of getting cornered.”

“If all else fails, I can always shift and fly out of there to rejoin the others,” Tahnee said. “Not that I’d like to leave you alone, though.”