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"I originally came here to blow this place up The C- 4 is in my trunk"

Joseph was still for a moment; then he slowly pushed hi darker and darker with every passing second

Zach moved his body so he was between Joseph and Lexi, and he put his hand on his sword "Stay where you are," he warned Joseph

That furious stare swiveled around until it was squarely on Zach "You brought her here"

"I did"

"He didn’t know," said Lexi She was at his side, trying to get past Zach, but he didn’t budge "None of this is Zach’s fault"

Joseph’s words came out like slabs of ice--cold and heavy "You’ve committed an act of war"

"No, she planned one She didn’t actually coht explosives onto our property--into our homes There are humans here Children"

"I know," said Lexi "That’s why I didn’t follow through I’d never hurt kids I thought you were allI’irl Your action is punishable by death"

"Overcorpse," said Zach He pulled his sword and held the naked blade with the tip pointing at Joseph’s heart

A ht Zach’s eye, but he didn’t turn "Apparently, I’ve coan from the doorway "So his fate by siding with the enemy," said Joseph

Lexi slipped out from behind him and wrapped her hand around the razor-sharp steel If Zach so h her delicate skin

"Stop it with theit worse"

Anger and a sickening sense of dread rolled around inside hi him queasy He couldn’t let Joseph hurt her, no matter how an, keeping her hand on the sword’s sharp edge "Ione Joseph flipped, which is totally understandable, and now these two are leaking testosterone all overthe weapon away," suggested Logan

Joseph’s jaw bulged, but he lifted his hands, pal to hurt her Yet She deserves a chance to speak"

Zach gathered every strand of control he could find and pulled hard Lexi looked up at hih for what, he wasn’t sure Put the weapon away? Get her out of this mess? Go back in time so they’d never met?

"Shit," he spat "Get your hand off my sword, and I’ll back down"

Lexi did and Zach sheathed the sword

His protective instincts were still running hot, pounding through hi to be able to control hih to think rationally, but he had to try For Lexi

"Good," said Logan "That’s a good start Now, ive ht a trunkful of explosives here to blow you all to hell Needless to say, I’ve changed , so it works for an with only the faintest interest coloring his cultured voice

"Because I thought you were the bad guys"

Logan nodded "Given the way these tere acting just now, I can hardly blarated out Joseph "She was going to kill the children"

Logan’s voice poured out like cool water over scorched earth "I understand how upset that must make you, Joseph, but I think we canthe circumstances We need her, and she did confess"

"That doesn’tshot We don’t even know if she’s lying," said Joseph

"Zach will know They’re connected He’d be able to see if she’s lying" Logan turned to Zach "Isn’t that right?"

"No," said Zach, feeling like a traitor to the one woet into her head, but it didn’t go so well"

Logan’s gaze narroith suspicion and he swiveled his head around toward Lexi "Is this true?" he asked her

Lexi shoved her pointed chin up and looked Logan right in the eye "I’uess"

"You had to have been blocking hi him out," said Joseph

"I didn’t mean to"

"She tried to let me in, but it didn’t work," said Zach "She’s built up too "

"Whatever defenses she has, they won’t work on lided closer His lips lifted just a fraction of an inch--enough for Zach to see the pearly gleas

Instincts sware Lexi was his He’d vowed to protect her and he meant to do just that No matter who he had to slice down to do it