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have permission to be here. As such, you are
involving yourself in matters that will only
complicate your life.
She snorted. You really came all the way over
here to deliver that little message? She knows my
number. She s called me enough times to let me
know how disappointing I am as a potential mate
for her son. I hope you charge her extra for
mileage.
Look, tell her highness that she can kiss my
ass. I m not in your little tribe system and as such,
I couldn t give two fucks about it. The boy who is
staying here is twelve years old and still human. If
she complicates my life, she should know that
Xander will complicate hers right back. Perhaps she
ought to not issue threats and try to harm children
because her husband was a faithless asshole. Alex
Sleight of Hand
bears no fault in that.
She told me you d be difficult.
Look, she has no power here. I am human. I
live by the laws which govern my race. I m not
even a shadow of difficult yet. Let me get another
cup of coffee in me, then you can see difficult.
She made a shooing motion with her hand. You ve
said your piece, now take yourself back to wait at
her coffin-side to tell on me like a good little pet.
If you attempt to harm Alex while he s in my care, I
will personally see you pay for that and her, too.
You can tell her that from me. She has to sleep
sometime, and I used to carve wood when I was
younger. Catch my drift? Now, go on. I m sick of
her threats and, my soup is getting cold.
She s prepared to file a complaint to the
leader of the tribe.
This is me shaking. But let me make it easy for
you. He s sleeping in my bed right now. I ll give
him the message. In any case, he s the one who
brought Alex here to begin with. Why don t you ask
her to be reasonable with all of this? She knows her
son would never turn his back on Alex. Alex is his
brother, his responsibility, Xander loves him. She s
only going to push Xander away with this.
Suit boy looked uncomfortable but kept the
stern glare going, impressing her. You really
shouldn t involve yourself in something that could
end in a lot of pain and trouble for you.
Dominic stood forward then, pushing the other
55
Lauren Dane
man back a step. You will not threaten the
concubine of the leader. She is under his
protection, as is his brother. The same rules apply
to Graciella as everyone else in this matter. If she
continues to make threats and plans to harm either
Lissette or Alex, she will be the one with pain and
trouble, he threatened in a low bass voice that
made the hairs on the back of her arms stand up.
She let the issue of being referred to as a
concubine pass, for the moment.
He brushed invisible lint from his jacket, and
got off the porch, turning to walk down the
sidewalk without another word or a backwards
glance.
She won t stop until someone is killed,
Lissette said in an undertone so that the boys
couldn t hear. She s totally insane about this.
Normally, she s just a bitch. I mean, she s hated
me from day one. Tried to break us up. Called me
to threaten, all that jazz. But this? Jeez. I get the
sense she s hurtling down the mountain with no
brakes. Someone needs to slap her or toss water in
her face or something.
I ve told Xander this many times. He still
thinks he can reason with her. I agree she needs a
shock of reality and that she s out of control. But
she s old and powerful in the tribe, and some feel
sorry for her. And, he shrugged, she s his
mother. He loves her. Regardless, she s dangerous,
and I m going to send some of my personal team to
the bar with you tonight. I don t trust her. And the
Sleight of Hand
bar is a public space, she s not dependent on an
invitation.
Despite her tough talk, a shiver of fear slid
through her at the idea of meeting up with the
Loony Queen of Homicide Attempts in her bar after
closing. She squeezed his arm. Thanks.
I m sorry you re involved in this. For what it s
worth, I told him you should have remained outside
of this situation.
Yes well. I m in it now, and I ll be damned if I
let that bitch get her hands on that boy. Lissie
was determined to protect Alex. He was totally
blameless. An innocent, and Graciella, as a mother,
should understand that. The boy had no mother, no
father. He had no one in the world but Stryker and
now her. He was hers now, just as Xander was. And
that meant she d do anything in her power to keep
him safe.
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Lauren Dane
Chapter Four
Stryker awoke as twilight fell. Winter in Seattle
meant that he was awake from three thirty or so in
the afternoon until nearly seven in the morning. It
was glorious to be able to have so many hours of
consciousness.
Even better, he opened his eyes to see Lissie s
deep blue ones staring back at him. He froze for a
moment, struck by her beauty, the sensual curve of
the soft upturn of the corner of her mouth. That
smile. Those lips. The dimple in her chin.
Live with me, he said before he could stop
himself. I want to be with you every day.
Your mother sent a toady to tell me I was
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