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"Why there?" Joshua asked

"No hohts It's rural and dark," Alonzo pointed out "I scouted that area a long tiet hit"

"Sounds like you've done this before," Joshua said

Alonzo knew that challenge was all about Evangeline and nothing to do with the hit on the weapons Joshua didn't like his cousin anywhere near the business and Alonzo couldn't blaeline was the one woman his leopard would accept She could soothe that brutal need for bloodshed in both one on her Co back froot for the both of them

"Yeah," he conceded "I have"

No one touched that and it was just as well He wasn't about to explain himself They didn't like it, he could walk They all knew it too They kneouldn'tthem in that direction

"Okay, once we have the weapons, where do ant to stash them?"

"We aren't stashing them," Drake said "I'll take them with Joshua back to the bayou and they'll disappear into the sea"

"It's too far The risk is too great," Jake objected

"We'll use trucks no one can identify The furniture is built around the weapons Ee trucks traveling together or the vans Alonzo uses We're going to use several suard inside the cab with the driver There won't be anything suspicious in that at all," Drake insisted "Saria's pregnant and I don't like being away fro and she's okay with it, but I don't like leaving her all the ti So I'll head back with the trucks"

Alonzo wondered if Evangeline knew Saria was pregnant If she did, it wasn't in the text nant and so was Jake Bannaconni's wife, E to be nant as well Not only would that tie her to him even more, but she would have friends and so would their child It would be nice to allow his son or daughter to groith people he could trust and count on

"You'll handle the hit, Alonzo?" Elijah asked "Then Joshua and Drake will be responsible for the weapons"

"Sounds good to reed He was desperate for action It had been too long He let his leopard out to run every night, but it wasn't the saht As that adrenaline rush

"The next order of business is Patrizio Amodeo," Elijah said "He's a pain and we can't afford him"

"You have to give otten access to his coot a hu Even if you take him out, one of his lieutenants will take his place and that ring will still be there The word is, he's taking wo them in Russia, Europe and the Middle East We have to shut that shit down first"

Alonzo stiffened His gaze slid to Timur's His eldest uncle, Lazar Amurov, was one of the hout Europe, the Middle East and the United States He had to be in league with Patrizio No one could possibly traffic women and not deal with Lazar Patrizio would know him Do business with him That hit very close to home

"We can take him I'll make him talk," Alonzo said, confidence in his voice He'd learned interrogation at an early age He knew more ways to hurt a man than most knew existed

"I want toand knohere it leads and to whom He'll have tentacles everywhere I want it all," Jake said "Give me just a couple more weeks Don't move on Patrizio until it's absolutely necessary"

Alonzo waited, his body still, feeling his leopard waiting too They both kneas at stake Tiet too cozy with Patrizio Alonzo wouldn't put it past Patrizio to go to Lazar and ask for a favor, never realizing he'd be selling whatever was left of his soul to the devil But that favor would be a hit from the Russian mob on Alonzo As soon as his picture was distributed, Lazar would know right where to find him

"We'll wait," Elijah decided "That's too important, but you'll have to hurry, Jake Patrizio will lanced at him "Watch your back"

That was the second warning That meant Elijah was really concerned about an attack Alonzo silanced at his brother Their eyesto die very soon, ht want He'd track down the trafficking ring himself if he had to

They went on to the next order of business Alonzo allowed the talk to swirl around hiht up the live feed at the bakery There were seven cameras and he cued up each one

His wo one hand on the counter, her uarded as she'd been the day before He liked seeing her that way as she talked with a customer The custonized Brice Addler Thehimself out to be a carpenter

Alonzo i hiestured toward the door, still laughing Brice and his two fellow cops obediently sauntered out, but not before Brice put his fingers to his ear , went to help the next customer in line

She was beautiful He swept his finger over the screen, touching her face, that flawless skin, her gorgeous, exotic eyes, the long hair she liked to ta it into some intricate classy braid, and the curves that filled out her luscious figure She was his All his Brice could go fuck hieline

Without warning he smelled blood Water Fear Every leopard in the room went still, and Jake froze The door opened and E very pale and clearly scared

"Jake My water broke The contractions are very strong"

Jake was up so fast he knocked over the chair he'd been in Drake wasinto a radio for a helicopter as he rushed around the table toward E her up into his ar orders to someone Alonzo couldn't see, presumably someone to watch his other children as he raced his wife to the hospital

Alonzo hadn't known Jake Bannaconni long, but he knew his wife had nearly died in childbirth He couldn't iine how the man had to feel There was blood on the floor, otten to their feet instantly, both looking grim, and he re time

Alonzo signaled to Ti he could do there Elijah would talk with Siena, probably order her on bed rest and lock her down for the duration of her pregnancy Alonzo couldn't blame him if he did He had business of his own to take care of at the Arnotto estates before he eline hoood news on Emma by that time

He rethought the pregnancy idea half a dozen times while he planned with Tiht in Alonzo hadn't been thrilled when two Amur shifters had shown up, but Timur vouched for them and admitted the two men had been with him for the last few years and he trusted them

The oldest, Mitya Amurov, was his uncle Lazar's eldest son Like Alonzo, Mitya had been subjected to unspeakable brutality from the moment of his birth As Lazar had been even crueler than Alonzo's father, Alonzo didn't want to think too much about Mitya's life or his leopard On the other hand, if his loyalty was truly to Timur, Gorya and Alonzo, they would have a fierce, unbeatable fighting team

Sevastyan Amurov was his uncle Rolan's oldest son He was cool under fire, said little and saw everything Like Alonzo and Mitya, he didn't like hisbrutalized and the

n murdered The moment his cousins, Fyodor, Timur and Gorya had disappeared, he and Mitya had done the same Alonzo hadn't known that the cousins had been in touch He would have put a stop to it for safety reasons Now, they were here and he was glad

They hadEmilio's weapons when Drake called Ereat deal of blood and it was touch-and-go for a short while, but the doctor had pulled both through

Ti it carefully for boood sense of smell Timur settled into the seat beside him "I don't like this, Alonzo"

"What? I thought you were fine with the plan to stop the trucks We've done it hundreds of times back home What don't you like?"

"The bakery You're exposed there She's exposed there I'll be the first to admit I don't know shit about a relationship, but aren't you supposed to protect her?"

There was a soft gasp of protest from Gorya, but then silence Alonzo allowed it to stretch out He loved his brother, but Tieline was a boundary he didn't want his brother crossing

Tiet the fact that she's your wo to risk your life for her That aloneI've never seen in our fa you, and I hope you can hearto risk my life for her too I want this for you Hell, for all of us But we can't protect her adequately there You know that"

Alonzo could hear the genuine concern He sighed "I'ave us on her They're fast and they kno to fight She'll never be happy if I try to take her bakery away from her I'd lose her as surely as if someone put a bullet in her head"

Timur swore in Russian "I was afraid you'd say that She has too much sass, you know that don't you?"