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Alliance suspected him to be a linchpin of the Collector’s organization, but nothing solid had ever been found. Yet.
    A thrill coursed down KT’s back. She tensed, scenting a weakness. “Douglas Torne? Mr. Untouchable?”
    Peyton nodded. “Massey let it drop by accident that we would be taking you to a private hanger at the airport. I did some digging. The hanger belongs to Eddington Industries, a solely-owned subsidiary of Torne Enterprises.”
    A cold grin eased across his face and raised the hairs on the back of KT’s neck. “Every lead in Lance’s case winds back to Torne. If he didn’t actually do it, he knows who did.”
    KT tilted her head. “We’ve been trying to link him to the Collectors for years. What makes you think this’ll do it?”
    He laughed. “Even Mr. Untouchable couldn’t talk or buy his way out of being caught red-handed with a captured paranormal in his possession.”
    Bingo! KT kept her smile to herself.
    “Good point.” KT jerked her chin toward her front door. “So, you two planned to ambush me outside my door, dose me, and then carry me off. There you’d turn the tables on them and finally get your chance at Torne.”
    Peyton’s jaw clenched and his words emerged sharp as razors. “It doesn’t matter. You’re going to your father’s penthouse or some other safe place.”
    KT finally lost her temper. She slammed her hands onto the floor and leaned forward to thrust her face toward his. “And just like that, you let your best chance at catching Douglas Torne slip right through your fingers? As well as my best chance to find out who has my aunt? Not happening. I won’t allow it.”
    “You won’t allow it?” Peyton’s hands shot out to grip her arms and he yanked her to her feet as if she weighed nothing. She gasped as he spun her around to face Massey’s unconscious form.
    “Look at that! See those plastic ties? See how defenseless he is? That would be you! You’ll be at the mercy of people who think you’re nothing but an animal that walks on two legs.”
    She braced herself when he spun her back around to face him, his fury hot and fierce on her skin. Her racing heartbeat ratcheted up the pain in her cheek. Out of nowhere, another of her grandmother’s truisms rushed to mind, lose your temper, make mistakes .
    KT let her knees buckle, her dead weight dragging his hands down. His grip shifted a tiny bit. She raised her hands inside his arms and thrust her forearms outward to break his hold. Something crunched under her foot when she kicked herself upward but she was already in motion. She twisted while she arched over the couch and Massey’s unconscious form into a tumbling roll to her feet. Teeth bared, hands up, fingers curled as if clawed, she spun into a crouch.
    Peyton remained behind the couch. The primal urge for supremacy turned his eyes a brilliant gold. Power poured off him, muscles flexed beneath the fabric of his shirt. Her eyes followed the rise and fall of his chest, up the curve of his neck to the inflexible line of his jaw. His sheer masculine power called to her, making her nerves zing with sexual tension.
    Alpha, Andi named him and alpha he clearly was, as he faced her across the room. KT yanked her focus back. A man like this would be hard to sway. She couldn’t, wouldn’t lose what she feared was her best chance to find Patricia.
    “Nice move.” His voice sounded grudging though she could see the respect in his eyes.
    KT took a shaky breath. “Thanks.” Straightening up, she smoothed her clothing, the stroking motion calming her even further. She held up her hand. “Okay, I get it. But hear me out.”
    Peyton took his own deep breath. The gleam in his eyes dimmed, returning them to light brown. He glanced down behind the couch, bent to the floor, and straightened up. The pieces of his cell phone lay in his palm.
    “You owe me a new phone, princess.” His gaze dropped to Massey and then back. “You’d have to be crazy to even consider