Page 10 (2/2)

Hal ruffled her hair “No one but you gets to patch me up”

The intimacy between them made Lucas feel his ever-present loneliness even more sharply What must it be like, to have a mate? Could that bond of love warm even the frozen places inside of him?

The rest of the members of Protection, Inc filed into the roo lot on their way to the

Rafa, the lion shifter, leaned over the table, his black hair falling over the anxious creases in his forehead He and Hal had been Navy SEALs together before Hal had founded Protection, Inc

“Hal—” Rafa broke off, shaking his head ruefully “No, wait, you’ll say you’re fine no ht?”

“Yes, he actually is It’s a shallow cut, but any wound to the head bleeds a lot I’ll just put in a few stitches so it doesn’t scar” Ellie applied antiseptic to a cloth pad and began to clean the cut

“How’d you get clocked?” Destiny asked, du her backpack and skateboard on the floor

Lucas was aht froh school Fiona was primly dressed as a teacher, her blonde hair pinned into a bun and glasses she didn’t need perched on her elegant nose, while curvy Destiny was iht-up sneakers

“I was fighting three guys, and number four snuck up behind me,” Hal replied

“Careless,” Shane reed to sit down next to hi At least that wasn’t due to Lucas being distracted; Shane could sneak up on anyone

Hal shrugged, then winced as thein “They’re all in jail now Job done Okay, guys Report”

Norh his country, Brandusa, had an elected parliament, the royal family still had a substantial amount of power As the crown prince, he had been raised fro, six-hour conferences on taxes and treaties And then he’d been quizzed on thes were no trouble co everyone’s accounts of protection and adventure

But despite his training and the exciting stories everyone was telling, his attention drifted By the end of the day, unless a miracle occurred, he’d be summoned back to Brandusa Forever

Tick-tock

Hal cleared his throat “Lucas?”

Lucas blinked Everyone else was looking at hinment is complete The stalker made an attempt upon my client’s life I captured him and delivered him to the police”

“That’s it?” Destiny leaned over and punched his arm “Give us the details! That’s where the fun is”

She grinned at hi at the corners To er, she’d put her hair in tiny braids that fell across her merry face Unlike so, inviting hi him as if he was no different from anyone else At first he hadn’t liked that— after all, he was a prince and a dragon, and was not like everyone else— but he’d come to appreciate her open-hearted nature