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"She's an innocent woun "You also knew she was mine" He shot him between the eyes and then turned and shot the dispatcher "You left leopard DNA in his chest, Timur," he snapped at his brother "What the hell were you thinking?"

Timur ducked his head Shook it Took a deep breath to breathe away his leopard "I was thinking he was no different than Patva Aain "Sometimes I can't take it, Fyodor Not one more second"

Alonzo went very still Ti The same father Patva was a cruel man who beat his sons daily, hu machines before they were in their teens He fed their leopards pure rage Now Alonzo was putting him in that same position

"Don't," Timur warned him in a low, hostile voice "You're my brother I choose to follow you To protect you You protected me My leopard won't accept any other way of life, any er It's under control now"

Alonzo knew he couldn't apologize or his brother would explode into violence He was that close He merely nodded, but deep inside, he felt the burden of another sin So many He shook his head "We can't leave his body here It has to go out with the guns, down to Louisiana and the swamp"

"I'll take care of it," Timur snarled "It's my mistake"

Alonzo turned his cold eyes on his brother "I need you with me We have a cleanup crew for a reason They can handle it We're visiting Aht"

"He's going to be armed to the teeth Guards everywhere," Gorya cautioned "He'll be expecting retaliation since they et No one can miss the fact that you were at the hospital every day until they released her and that she's in your home under your protection Not to mention, Mitya was hurt and is still in the hospital Aive a damn if someone shoots one of his soldiers, but most vors would retaliate immediately"

"Leopards can get through his guards," Alonzo decreed mercilessly He wanted to be like Elijah Lospostos and Drake Donovan He'd thought he could be different, leave his past behind andup a little for his past, but no as he going to let Patrizio Amodeo live Not for another day Not when he knew the bastard had put out a contract on Evangeline

"Let's do it then," Ti the burner phone to call in the cleanup crew He snapped the phone shut and followed his brother and cousin out

Alonzo waited to call Sevastyan until he was in the car He used the same phone Timur had, rather than his personal one They'd learned, over the years, to be meticulous about their work They couldn't afford one mistake

"She okay?" he asked abruptly

"She's a pain in the ass," Sevastyan said, although Alonzo could hear the affection in his voice "She's got a list as long as o to the store for her She's insisting to for everyone"

"She's supposed to be in bed"

"Yeah, well, letunless I put her ass in bed"

Alonzo remained silent

Sevastyan blew out air in the way a leopard ht "Really? She'll take my head off"

"Better your head than your dick," Alonzo snapped

Sevastyan sighed "Consider it done, but I' to make certain she knohere the order caer"

"Lock that place down She's got a price on her head If anything happens, you can protect her froe in the wall just to the left of the door Find it in case you need it before we get back You have any inkling of trouble, get her out of there and into the safe rooeway leads to one"

"Price on her head?" Sevastyan repeated

"That's right" Alonzo snapped the phone closed and handed it back to his brother Sevastyan would get rid of his burner the moment they returned No one ever used their personal phone for business Not Ever

Alonzo re ride to Ae of San Antonio, in a quiet neighborhood reserved for the wealthy His house was a one-story, lengthy sprawling brickpool and a garden, with inviting decks and cool shade trees The entire estate was surrounded by a high wrought-iron fence, very decorative looking, but perfectly functional

To get to the house, one had to uardhouse sat, preventing entry Two guards, both heavily ars patrolled with their handlers on the grounds No one stood around whispering and laughing No one sarettes and looked bored This was a camp prepared to do battle

"Just the way I like it," Alonzo murmured as he, Timur and Gorya leapt from the car three blocks fro down to allow thehborhood, staying close to the bushes and trees lining the streets that led to the larger estates Each wore a s clothes

It wasn't difficult for the leopards to ht of the caed the the drive They barely disturbed plants as they made their way to the fence

All three cats were up and over the fence as if it didn't exist It wasn't that difficult Leopards could run up to forty miles per hour in a short burst They could cover twenty feet with one leap The fence was eight feet high Leopards could easily jue, facing the house

A dog whined close by and they went to the ground, flattening their ears as they crouched low As the dog passed around the side of the house, they h the brush and the landscaping to gain the shadow of the porch Alonzo took the lead He'd spotted a curtain fluttering in thejust off the wing of the house on the left side Positioning his and peered through theThe room was empty

He went in, the slide of fur ht and the house was dark, with only a faint light co from under the door of one room Patrizio Amodeo wasn't married, but as, he always had a woman before he went to bed He kicked her out the moment he was finished with her

The big Amur leopards could hear the murmur of voices, a feri, ears flat, ready for combat

A door slaht and they heard the heavy tread of footsteps All three leopards slipped behind furniture and waited as a man strode into the room, all purpose He knocked on the door where the voices and light ca the bedroom door

A else He thrust a wouard Her clothes were in her arood, but enjoy her if you want before you send her on her way"

The bodyguard grasped the woled for a hed He slauard slapped the wo

"Shut up and be still or you're going to have a really bad night, honey," he snapped He dragged her out of the room and back down the hall

Timur's leopard followed silently Alonzo indicated to Gorya to follow his cousin He didn't need help killing Amodeo He didn't want help and he wanted Timur protected

Silence settled on the house Behind the door drifted the scent of a cigar Whiskey The creak of the bed sounded Aht slid under the door Alonzo padded to the door, shifted just one paw and turned the doorknob stealthily He'd noticed when the bodyguard had opened the door there was no sound, no telltale squeak of the hinges