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"I love you, Joshua," she murmured

That voice Drowsy So sexy it turned his heart over and made his cock as hard as a rock He willed that portion of his anatos to do A woman to protect Above all else, he would ensure Sonia was safe

18

FYODOR A if one didn't know hi when you did know him He rarely smiled Mostly when he was around his wife, but if he did smile, it almost never reached his arctic-cold eyes He was like ice, inside and out He was guarded by Gorya Amurov, a cousin who had been raised with him, and Timur, his brother All three were fierce leopards, experienced, lethal fighters They looked what they were--men shaped into killers

Mitya Amurov was another cousin He was extremely remote, very removed from the others Quiet, he kept to himself, but there was no question when he walked into a room, he commanded it Sevastyan A a s behind it Like the other Aantly formed, the roped muscles that defined the shifters hidden beneath a smoother physique, but there all the same Matvei, another leopard from the Athe Amurovs, much like Fyodor

Joshua had coerous as hell and a force to be reckoned with Each of them had a leopard that had been trained from the time the men were born to kill To need blood To hate Those cats lived for the kill Only Fyodor had found a wo his leopard, and even she was a thin leash on the beast

Both Fyodor and Mitya had brought several of their men with them, all leopards, all proven to keep silent in the face of whatever had to be done These were allto stand with hi Nikita and Sasha Bogomolov

Sasha had chosen a vacation estate, one isolated and easily defensible The swa to take back the property No one lived there permanently and it showed in the way the bushes crept back persistently Great cypress and gues ofto the illusion that the house was surrounded by giant stick figures

Joshua and the others h the swamp They'd left vehicles a few ive the theiven the with s jeans, shoes and weapons The packs were small, so they didn't have much in the way of firepower

They kept doind of the other leopards just in case, circling around to get behind each sentry They had to take them out silently, but not permanently That would come later, if need be Joshua shifted just behind the uard hard, a short, ugly blow to the temple He packed a lot of power and sent up a silent prayer that he hadn't killed the man

He caught the guard and lowered hi and then pulled on his jeans and shoes Slipping over the railing onto the verandah, he knew the othersthe house He heard his heartbeat as he waited for the signal to go It caave the signal to move on the house

Before he could breach the door, Evan was there before hi him a look that told hio first, to take the biggest risk in any operation they ran He was still getting used to the idea that his men protected him It didn't sit ith him, and he was certain it never would Not ever

It took only a fewretaliation He didn't care Sasha was dragged into the great roo the fireplace Sasha stared at him stoically Joshua had been in countless situations with criht their way out of any situation, even a suicide oive out long before his brain would That didn't fit with a man afraid of his father--afraid his father would kill his woman

"I don't believe ere forre"

Sasha inclined his head "I'm well aware of who you are"

The tone was neutral Quiet Joshua had trouble getting a handle on hi at hinized the Russian as his number-one rival for Sonia He'd watched this man with her, and even then, he couldn't tell for certain whether Sasha had his own agenda or he really cared for her and wanted her safe

"Sonia told me the story, why you took her and why you supposedly protected her fro to understand why you didn't put a bullet into that bastard's head Ifto ht he'd really do it"

"Oh, he'd do it I was ten years old when he beat my mother to death in front of ave ain, Sasha stated the facts without e at him with dead eyes

Joshua paced across the rooet his prisoner to tell him what he wanted to know He either had an ally or an enemy He had to knohich "You want me to believe your father beat your mother to death in front of you and you still haven't retaliated? That he put a bomb in your woman's car and you still let him live? You aren't afraid"

Sasha sent hiroith a father like mine, you lose the ability to fear"

"Like yours?"

Sasha shrugged "He beat un into my mouth countless times Mostly, he tortured and killed other men as examples of what he would do to anyone disloyal He killed their fa their children He set his leopard onothers, me included"

He turned his back on Sasha, pacing away No one used their leopard like that Certainly, they didn't turn them on their own child Still, he kneas the truth Fyodor and Mitya both had fathers that did the sa Their lairs were run by cruel shifters

"You're related to Fyodor Amurov" Joshua made it a statement

"If you expect me to help you find him and turn hi Sonia, think again Fyodor is a good man He did what he had to do Wherever he is, I wish hio back on his word to you and he'd kill Sonia anyway You can't trust hi I've seen hihtclub because the ot aith it too"

"Why the hell haven't you killed him?"

"Sonia, of course"

Joshua's heart accelerated and adrenaline hit his system He spun around and faced Sasha fully "What the fuck does that mean? Sonia would be safe if Nikita was dead At least according to you"

"If I et, and I wasn't strong enough I had to wait To get my men in position for a takeover Nikita always expects it He has raphs of Sonia's painting, he thought I'd helped her escape He thought I knew He almost killed me"

"He didn't" Joshua ht Sasha was giving him a line of bullshit

Sasha shrugged again "You are leopard, you can hear truth Nikita didn't kill me because he realized I had no idea she was alive I've worked ave myself away I was so relieved So happy The world needs Sonia She's remarkable"

Joshua inwardly winced He wanted the man

gone He wanted hi up that way

"Why didn't you kill hih now"

"Fyodor has been in hiding for several years I wasn't willing to go that route There are more of them"

"More?" Joshua raised an eyebrow

Sasha nodded slowly "Men who run their lairs cruelly They hters to other lairs knowing the husbands will eventually kill them I refuse to allow it to continue So about it"

Joshua stilled "So your plan was to remain with your father"

Sasha shook his head "My plan is to take over The other vors will accept me Takeovers occur often, and if Nikita is dead, it will be a natural ascension" He shrugged again "Perhaps ork together one day"

"You still think you're going to survive this"

"You will not kill me" It was a statement

"You're pretty daaze over theSonia believe you married her when you didn't"

"I will not apologize to you for saving her life I couldn't marry her, but I could one for that"

Joshua studied theto believe that after all this tiet rid of Nikita?"