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"I didn't say it was rational I said it was how itwithout you snarling at me"

Jake was silent for a moment and then he leaned closer to brush hisfor o see our boy Give ht back"

Alonzo forced a frozen saze to his Clearly Jake hadn't said anything about Evangeline or the shooting because he straightened, turned slightly and shook his head

"I'll coet soht" His allowed his gaze to drift up toward the bags of blood they had obviously been used for transfusions

"Just tired," she said

"I'ht" Alonzo backed out of the roo Jake privacy to say good-bye to his woman

He didn't understand certain things in relationships Jake had allowed Eh she'd nearly died and noas angry--not, he knew, at her but at hi her miserable Sad Upset

He'd snapped viciously at Evangeline as she'd lain in a pool of blood He'd been so ridiculous, as if his anger would so of helplessness Feeling Frozen soht of her face covered in blood from his mind, not until the day he died And it would never, ever, happen again

10

JAKE Bannaconni had a treether around a large table in a conference rooery entrance just in case a hit was planned against the women or Mitya Timur and Gorya joined them, and they didn't look happy

"The alarm above the door and over the sidewalk outside had been tampered with The bell inside the shop had also been tampered with The lock had been systematically shaved until it didn't work That had to be done over a day or two or Evangeline would have noticed"

"The cleaning crew?" Alonzo asked

Timur shook his head "It's a crew the Arnotto family used for years Same people I doubt that it's any of them"

"Not my men from Borneo," Drake said "I've known most of them since I was a child and they would have no reason to betray us Nor would any of them have time to build a relationship with another crime family"

Alonzo sighed "It isn't Mitya or Sevastyan They've been with Timur and Gorya for the last few years Had they wanted to kill me they certainly had many opportunities"

There was a s and then backed off He ended by just shaking his head

"Who put out the hit?" Joshua asked

"The shooters are fro to a biker club from back East," Elijah said "It's known the club has done hits for the Chicago mob"

Alonzo kept his face expressionless He didn'this brother had to be as relieved as he was In the back of his mind, he always had to remember that his uncles would someday track him down If there had been a connection to the Russian mob, they would know that they'd been found He wouldn't run, but he would have taken the fight to theeline

"Any one of the bosses could use the club to carry out the hit," Drake said

"We need to look closely at Ao, dee sense of entitleize and then we turned him down I'd say he would believe he had every reason to order a hit"

"This soon? Doesn't thatdevil's advocate It did seem too soon to hiuards would be there in full force Aruards with him, not two It didn't make sense to him It was ill-conceived Poorly carried out

"Aust in his voice

"Eeline He's certainly been around long enough to have affiliations with the biker club He'd knohom to call on for a hit he didn't want traced back to him Elijah? You would know that as well"

Elijah shrugged "I prefer to dotraced back to ht, before I can have theain"

"Check into Eun shipment Alonzo, can your men still take care of that?" Jake asked "If you can't"

Tirity would be called into doubt He didn't , just looked as expressionless as Alonzo

"We have it under control," Alonzo assured

Eli Perez, a forent, hurried into the room He was s in motion She'd run from Rafe Cordeau and when Rafe had disappeared, his territory had been left open Joshua now ran it, but because the territory had been up for grabs, Siena's grandfather, Antonio Arnotto, had made his try for it That had ended in hisleft by Antonio's death

"Sorry I'? And the bodyguard?"

Alonzo had fought beside the h as nails He hadn't expected the inquiry, especially about Mitya He looked around the table at thethere Jake Bannaconni Drake Donovan Elijah Lospostos Eli Perez Joshua Tregre Thethem All leopards All alpha All in love with their women So different than the way he was raised The lair he'd been born into They were genuine friends, watching one another's backs

"They're both still in surgery," Alonzo said gruffly "And Catarina?"

"She's good She's visiting with Eht now I told her I'd drop her off to see Siena next"

"Thanks, Eli," Elijah said "Triplets are tough to carry She's exhausted a lot, although she pretends she's not" He turned toward Alonzo "The woeline, Alonzo She'll have plenty of friends"

He was grateful for that offer as well As far as he could tell, Evangeline only had a couple of wonant as well You don't have to stay while we figure this out I wouldn't want to be away fronant"

"I go hoot a lot of toys, and someone has to use them"

"Can she fly?" Jake asked "Emma would like to meet her She talks to her on the phone, and they text, but h at the pair of us"

"When things settle down, I'll bring her for a visit," Drake promised

That told Alonzo Drake didn't want his woman anywhere near the explosive situation He couldn't blame the man

"We'll take care of the shipiven orders to put the house in order so I can bring Evangeline home with me to recover I can protect her better there"

Joshua cleared his throat, bringing the attention to him He was a o up against unless it was absolutely necessary His fighting skills had been honed in the rain forest, both man and leopard, and he was fast and brutal when necessary Alonzo kneas like Drake in that he had patience and the kind of mind it took to run a lair He was fair and just, and when he fought another leopard, he didn't autoo for the kill He wanted to force the otherthe battle, keep a member of his lair in line

Alonzo's leopard alent for the kill It was difficult, once the big male cat was set free, to pull him back Any lair he ruled, the ed hier would escape death was slim

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