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Alonzo moved out from behind the counter and instantly both Timur and Mitya stepped between him and the door Alonzo didn't look at the undercover cops, but he saw thee with the other two, and knew at so to talk to his wo to have to shut that shit down fast

He took his table, drank his coffee and ate the cinnaht and flaky and warm It smelled like her The last of the work crowd caet coffee for their trip hoh he knew she had to be exhausted She knew enuinely seeift She was interested in the people co to her bakery She always asked about loved ones She laughed a lot, but he noticed that the affectionate, loving save only to him was never in evidence

He loved her for that Loved that so in the world was his alone His woone, she flipped the sign to closed and then went back behind the counter He sipped coffee that was aods and watched her clean theher work He didn't even pretend he wasn't watching

She glanced up, color swept up her face and she shook her head, a s to spend ti that bottom lip

"Stop lookin' at me"

"I like looking at you"

"Well, stop it It's distractin'"

Ti Tier to his brother He'd been raised the saht woman could be All he saas that every eneo to the bakery if they wanted a shot at killing him She was a vulnerability he couldn't afford Worse, Ti he could to keep her safe

He shot his brother a look that told him to back off Timur raised an eyebrow but didn't look intimidated That was the proble him that same "are you nuts" look It hadn't occurred to either one of them that they could find a woman of their own

"There's a storage room"

Evangeline's voice was soft Shy An offering? He wasn't certain what shethe last of the pastries out of the display case and then began to wash it

"In the back, off the kitchen"

"Your office, kretin," Timur translated

That earned hieline flushed more and turned away, clearly e his brother in the face That would be more than satisfactory And then he'd do the same for Gorya, Mitya and Sevastyan His leopard stretched, liking the idea They hadn't seen action in a while A good fight would take the edge off

It would be pure subliot up slowly, and instantly his brother and cousins knew his intent just by the way hea little bit

"Not In Here" Evangeline enunciated each word carefully "I h to last ry"

Alonzo halted in the ht in the ers curled into fists to relieve the ache in his joints His leopard wanted a fight even more than he did, if that was possible Still, he stoppedForced his body to relax, to stand down Tiain

"My brother needs a little lesson in manners"

"I'reed She sprayed the case with glass cleaner "But not in here You'll break solass s Thank you very much, Timur"

"You're welco Alonzo on

"We have a cleaning crew co in to do that," Alonzo said He put a hand to his neck and o hoht" He was tired He hadn't slept all night and he wanted to go to that home where it smelled like paradise and lie beside her Maybe, if he was really, really lucky, he could seduce her

He'd e of the fact that he could seduce her with kisses He wanted her toHe knew she was nervous She was inexperienced and she didn't give herself lightly, but he could have her He just wanted to be her choice He didn't blao back and change that He could try to e what he was at his core What his father had shaped him to be

Evangeline's eyes came to his Rested there Soft That s hio home"

She hadn't gotten much sleep either He wanted that for her, but ed

Her gaze suddenly ju its place Si, all claws and fury, rising fast, pushing hard to eht of Tiun

9

IN that split second, Evangeline realized ht out She only knew that she made it decisively Fyodor/Alonzo was her choice Not her leopard's Not his He was her choice He'd been her choice from the o

Theseto kill him In that instant, that split second, she knew they wanted his death No one had ever stood for hi to do it She didn't think about his bodyguards, only about ot to shoot hioing to take care of him

She put one hand on the counter and launched herself, reaching for her feth Ti herself at Alonzo His bodyguards turning toward the door Men filling the door,fire Alonzo shouted at her, whipping a gun out, shaking his head, yelling to his guards to protect her

She hit hi hiht her in ht Still, her body covered his and she felt the burning kiss along the side of her head, up high near her tehout her body along her arround Alonzo's gun fired right next to her ear She felt the heat of it, although h her fast

She kept trying to cover Alonzo's body with her ohich now, thinking about it, was a little silly He ice her size, and Mitya had both of the his weapon as well

Alonzo's hand went to her hair Stroked Tre et off her"

She realized she couldn't hear the sound of guns anymore It was quiet Still She kept her face buried in Alonzo's shirt, afraid if she moved her body would shatter

"Talk to eline Let me know you're still with me"

There was fear in his voice, but now that she had ti off, she knew she couldn't be hurt too bad She felt war her arh The bullets had been sprayed across the rooet They'd hit her left side as she covered Alonzo before Mitya slaround

"Are you hit?" She blurted out the question against his shirt

His hands ran over her body Mitya was doing the same She tried not to cry It hurt like a son of a bitch Su

rely if it was really, really bad, she wouldn't be so aware of everything Mostly she needed reassurance that Alonzo hadn't been shot

Not too bad Her feood shots Fyodor and his men were better at it

The animal didn't sound worried; in fact, she sounded aleline felt her concern

"Da?" Alonzo snarled

"Are you hit?" she repeated, needing him to answer

"He's not," Mitya said, his voice cal to turn you over and lay you down Sevastyan, Gorya, lock that door and turn off the lights If we're lucky no one saw this mess Call in help We need someone to clean this up Your first priority is Alonzo, no matter what the fuck he says"

"I've got her," Tientle So were his hands "Stop growling at her, brat, she protected you We should have expected it"