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"You’re doing well in there" His deep voice arrested her where she stood He didn’t bother to look at her, and although the corowled accusation

"Thanks" Tentatively, since there was no point in trying to avoid hi "I like Signor Turati And I have a good feeling about this ht"

Lazaro grunted "I’ll be sure to infor"

Melena exhaled a short sigh "I’ I understand what’s at stake--"

"No You couldn’t possibly," he replied, finally swiveling his head to look askance at her

And oh, Lord If she thought Lazaro Archer was inti His littered as dark as obsidian in the ht, ruthless under the ebony slashes of his brows His strong nose and sharp cheekbones gave him a ferocity no huid jawline seeranite

Only his ht now, as he looked at her, his broad, sensual lips were flattened in an irritated scowl

"How old are you?" he de her a brief once-over Based on the fierce ticking of a tendon in his already ironclad jaw, she guessed he didn’t particularly like what he saw "You’ve barely been out of diapers long enough to understand how important it is to have peace between the Breed and humankind You were only a child when the veil between our world and theirs was torn away You didn’t wade through the blood in the streets You didn’t see the death, the brutality inflicted on so many innocents by both sides of this war" He blew out a curse and shook his head slowly back and forth "You can’t possibly colier war now Nor can you know the lengths to which soo to rip that thread to tatters"

"You’re talking about Opus Nostrum," Melena said quietly A flicker of surprise in those narrowing indigo eyes now "As my father’s personal assistant, he trusts me completely with all of his GNC business I collect data for his, as well as cohter, so of course, I’ at the suo I know Opus wanted to take a lot of lives at that event--Breed and human I also know the Order’s primary objective now is to unroup down"

Lazaro grunted but seemed less than impressed "If you came out here to recite your credentials, Miss Walsh, let ed me to tell you," she pointed out

"And all you’ve done is confirm what I already knew about you I have a job to do here too, and you’ve been standing in lanced back out at the water "I’m sure your ample charms will find a far more receptive audience back in the salon"

Ample charms? Was that a cut on the fact that she actually had curves and a figure, or could he possibly ?

"I didn’t coiveyou" Frustrated, Melena pushed back fro She started to pivot away, then paused Glanced over at hi "We’veby that she really didn’t want to consider When he didn’t respond after a long moment, she decided it was probably for the best God knew, she would be better off forgetting the night she nearly died too

She turned and headed back across the deck

"I re stupid," heso"

Rather like the way he see at the co a look over her shoulder at hi out at the black water "I was seven years old, and you saved my life I’d be dead if not for you"

"Saved you? Christ" He exhaled sharply, as if the idea annoyed hi about the way he said that, the quieting of his tone, and the ale to his words made her drift back toward him She rubbed a chill from her arms as the recollection of her accident washed over her with fresh terror

"Well, you did save me You pulled me out of that frozen pond and you saved ed she had returned "My fa at your Darkhaven A bunch of us kids were playing outside that night,nephews and my older brother, Derek Unlike irl with them besides, it took all I had to keep up"

So, still struggling to prove her worth in everything she did She realized she held others up to her same impossible standards too Her parents had pointed it out to her on numerous occasions So had more than a few of her exes