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Alonzo went through the kitchen, out the back Ti for them, already called when Alonzo had called Jake for the helicopter Stay alive for h to live He slipped into the car, Sevastyan slaer seat The car was in ot the door closed
Alonzo held himself very still His leopard was equally as still For most of his life, he'd been frozen inside He needed it that way to survive His leopard was all fiery passion, raging with fury and killing with ice-cold proficiency He had lost so ood
Solnyshko h to live He curled his fingers into a tight fist as if he could hold her in his palainst his heart She was his sun His heart His everything
He didn't know about faht to be loyal at an early age His father had beat it into him--he just hadn't told him he didn't have the freedom to choose who to be loyal to
He'd chosen his mother Timur, his brother Gorya, his cousin His loyalty had been to them When his father made the decision to beat thee, Alonzo had made the decision to protect them That, more than any other time, hen he learned he had choices
Evangeline was his choice His loyalty was to her He belonged to her Everything good in hi bad that could protect her All of him Heart,in his life Not once He'd never had anything that belonged to him Never
"Evangeline" He whispered her naht She had to live He'd ain with the devil if he had to He'd lived with demons, he knew them, was comfortable with them He'd left that life to the best of his ability, only to fall into a dangerous life he thought ht help make up for his past Noas afraid the price he would have to pay would be far, far worse than anything he'd ever expected Live for me Don't leave me
The moment the car pulled up to the hospital, Alonzo and Sevastyan were out and striding through the doors Jake and Elijah were there waiting Alonzo couldn't help noting the nu rooms In the midst of all the leopards, the men there to support him, he felt alone Isolated She had to live because she was his entire world Without her, he had nothing
"They took Mitya in first He's critical Lost far toopressure on the wound, slowing the bleeding, he can thank"
"He stepped between the gunmen and me," Alonzo said, his voice as dead as he felt
Elijah nodded "How did they get in without anyone knowing? I thought that place was buttoned down tight?"
Alonzo could barely hear the question The roaring protest in his mind was so loud, so chaotic when he was always so focused, he couldn't think His leopard was as out of control as he was, throwing itself at the surface, battering hi to find his mate and assure himself she was fine Desperate to re he knew for certain--she was in danger as long as Patrizio Aunmen sent to assassinate Alonzo
Stay alive for h to live He needed to see her Feel her heart beating He wanted her to knoas there That he needed her when he'd never needed anyone
He scrubbed his hand down his face as if he could wipe away his sins with that s to save her His cousin, Mitya, he loved Mitya had been born into the cruelest lair of all and like Alonzo and Sevastyan, he had chosen his mother When his father had killed her, Mitya had bided his ti he'd take his father's place as head of the lair and clean it up that way, but as tiacy Like Alonzo, he would have to kill every male and some female members of the lair He had quietly disappeared and found Timur
Mitya had known the life and what it entailed Alonzo had brought that life to Evangeline when she'd gotten out
"That isn't going to help," Elijah said softly
Joshua ca close Alonzo realized the three leopards, Jake, Elijah and Joshua, were there not only because of Evangeline and Mitya, but to contain hieline didn't make it He wasn't certain they could and that told hihtly around his heart and woven so seamlessly into his soul that he wouldn't recover, he wouldn't even want to recover if he lost her
He forced hirowl and take a deep breath Every joint ached His skull felt too tight His muscles hurt, and there wasn't a place on his body that didn't itch insanely "She can't die" He ery, I want to be with her"
"They won't allow it," Elijah said "You know that"
He looked at Jake "Make it happen"
Jake didn't bother to argue "I have to know you've got it under control"
"I do"
Jake assessed hi while "Give me a minute" He strode away
"We need to talk to your ure out how this happened"
Soht Alonzo out of the haze of concentrating Stay alive foraround to face Joshua, although he still kept his eye on Jake, as on his phone several feet away, his face carved in grim lines
"There has to be a mole, Alonzo Someone knew about the cameras outside the shop They knew about the bell and the door and had access to them They knehat time she locked up and when you'd be alone with her They have an inside man" He kept his voice pitched low, a mere thread of sound He clearly didn't want the other leopards in the room to hear
Timur and Gorya had been with him since he'd taken over Antonio Arnotto's territory He had new leopard recruits from Borneo, friends of Drake Donovan's Men proven in battle with no connections to Russia or to theshot that one of them would be the mole That left his cousins under suspicion He took them with him to the bakery all the time It was possible, but they'd had any number of chances to slip a knife into hiot close
Could he say he trusted them? He'd learned too early not to trust anyone Timur had earned his trust So had Gorya Both had that same faith in Sevastyan and Mitya Mitya had thrown his body over Evangeline's Over his That should buy hi trust
He raked his fingers through his hair, so he never did in public He was frozen--except deep inside he was screa like his leopard and then screae and fear to the demons below "What the hell does it matter who the traitor is? My woman has been shot When she lives, then I'll worry about traitors"
He turned his frozen stare on Joshua only to realize the man had deliberately distracted him He shook his head and turned back to Jake The h the double doors to a small room Jake stayed outside the doors, as did Sevastyan, who folloith a look on his face that dared anyone to stop him
Alonzo stepped inside and inhaled the smell of blood and hospital The combined scents bothered hi le sheet There wereeverywhere At least she wasn't suffering She hadn'tNo thrashing She'd been utterly still and quiet like a wounded animal He had to find out more about her past He'd told her about his; he needed her to confide in him about hers What would make a woman react that way?
Taking another deep breath, he stepped up to the side of the bed and reached down to cup the uninjured side of her
face He could hear her heartbeat TheStill, he needed to feel it He wrapped his other hand around her throat and closed his eyes His leopard settled He settled The wild, savage beast that was both leopard and th to just breathe because her heart beat into his palm
"Ya tebya lyublyu, Evangeline I need you to open your eyes and look at me Hear me Do this for me"
Her pulse jumped beneath his palm He could feel it Hear it A little faster Maybe a little stronger She heard hiht in her as her lashes fluttered and she , but she recognized hied to try to hide her feelings and it was there for him Plain as day He didn't deserve it, he never would deserve it, but he was taking it That look that told him he was her man Her choice She'd made that choice when she'd leapt over the counter and tried to save his life
"You fight your way through this, wo Never inNever Not once But you, you're a fucking miracle and so much a part of me, I don't kno to survive without you Not intact Not with one, shredded to pieces You have to live I can't nize me"
She shook her head and that small smile came When it did, he saw the instant bite of pain from the movement reflected in her eyes
"Just listen, Evangeline" He bent closer, his lips ood man, because I'm not There isn't ood Don't take that away froh life because I didn't feel Anything Nothing I existed, and I did what I had to do to survive, but I didn't feel anything doing it Until you You're the feeling Don't take it away from me Don't take you away"
She turned her head toward hiain he felt and saw her wince He shook his head and pressed his lips to her forehead Both eyes Her nose The corners of her eline Do you understand what's at stake here? What's left of my soul? That's yours That's your responsibility Mine is to make you happy for the rest of your life You keep my soul safe Because if you're not in this world and I feel the hell every minute of every day, I'll break You live"