Holden nodded. “I’ll keep Capriccio safe from the storm.”
“Thanks.”
“There will be other competitions when the weather gets better.”
“I’ll go through the test one more time.” She smiled. Almost lunchtime, she had the ring to herself. “Start the music.”
Emma mounted Capriccio and entered the arena as the music played. She started him with stretching and warm up before working on his freestyle combinations. Just to be on the safe side, she double-checked the area as she rode.
She saw no one but trainers and a few riders by the stables. Wait. There. A tall man wearing a cap stood next to an empty paddock. She’d never seen him before and her guard shot up. He was out of place. Black leather coat, wool cap, and dark glasses. You have to be kidding me. He could play the role of some Cold War Russian spy. Too obvious to be an assassin. Although by the look of his large frame, he could strangle someone without much of a fight. Rylee said she’d send an agent, but didn’t specify whether male or female. Could Boris be lycan? All she knew was her lycan contact’s code name, Dagger. They were supposed to meet at a café in Woodside at three p.m. Not here. Rylee had a sense of humor to send someone named Dagger to bring back Cloak. She stared at the mysterious man. Who was he?
A Jack Russell terrier ran to the mystery man and greeted him like an old friend. The dog’s owner, a rider she knew from England, chatted with him. Okay, the man must be her friend, actually with his good looks, a lover. Casanova rather than Boris.
She ignored the man and asked Capriccio to trot before transitioning him to piaffe and pirouette. No longer feeling threatened, she went through the dressage test. Once she finished, she’d give Rylee a quick call. This business of taking over her father’s job as Mr. H., the designated human inside the CIA for the lycans, may be more than she bargained for. Was there a way out? She actually enjoyed being a field agent for the CIA. Then again, she looked forward to finally working with the lycans.
Nik fixed his gaze on the beautiful equestrian with the sexiest ass he’d ever seen. Each movement, hypnotic. Like Russian ballet. Being yanked out of Prague to bring back the new Ms. H. had ruined his plan to follow a lead to an escaped criminal she-wolf, but to see this woman was worth the frustrating loss. Rylee didn’t describe Emma York, only that she would meet him at the café and wear a red sweater and cap. Cricket’s idea. Not surprised. The runt had a quirky sense of humor.
The British woman, Sarah, held her terrier and smiled toward the woman riding the horse. “Good form.”
“Very good form.” He grinned. “Never have I wanted to be horse until now,” he muttered in his heavy Russian accent. She could ride him all day. He hoped he wasn’t salivating like his wolf was.
“I meant Capriccio, the horse, but yes her, too.”
“Who is she?”
“That’s Andrea Fulton.”
His enthusiasm plunged. Not Emma York. He wouldn’t be so lucky. But why not learn more about Andrea? “She looks like she was born in the saddle.” He shook his head and returned his attention to Andrea. “Ride them cowboy.”
Sarah frowned. “You haven’t been around horses, have you?”
“Mostly Russian circus, but it’s been a while.”
“So what brings you to the farm?”
“I’m looking for a woman competing in the upcoming horse show.”
“I know just about everyone in the competition. Who is the lucky woman?”
“Emma York.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know anyone by that name. Then again, she could be new.”
“Yes, perhaps.” Of course, she wouldn’t use her real name. Rylee had not bothered giving him her fake name or even something with her scent. She must think he was a genius. Then again, he was.
The woman put down her dog. “Maybe Andrea will know.”
“Good advice, I’ll ask her.”
Alone at last, Nik returned to staring. His wolf wanted to pounce on the beautiful woman as soon as she dismounted, but he’d play it cool. He would simply ask her if she knew Emma York and then never see her again. Lycans did not really approve of human-werewolf relationships. Some alphas like him had dalliances with humans, but his life was too dangerous, too complicated to risk dating a fragile human. Still. He smiled. It wouldn’t hurt to get her number for later. What harm would come from one dinner date? Better yet, a riding lesson. Her on top.
As she rode by, his heart thumped. His wolf sensed danger. On the hill above the ring beneath an oak tree, the muzzle and scope of a rifle aimed straight at the woman.
Unfortunately, the assassin had a clean shot. Even in wolf form, he’d never reach the assassin in time. Better to startle the horse.
He growled as the horse neared. The steed panicked and bolted.
The assassin’s bullet missed, but the woman fell off.