His eyes darkened even more and he bent his head to brush his mouth gently over hers. "You'll stay with me anyway, Siena, but I appreciate the offer more than you'll ever know. Go with Drake. I'll take care of this and be with you in a few minutes. This is what we do, what you wanted to hire Drake for."
She shook her head. "I wanted to hire him as a bodyguard. Before. Not now when I know Paolo wants war with you. With anyone who is helping me. With my grandfather dead there is going to be a fight for the businesses. Alonzo may be working with Paolo now, but believe me, he's looking to take over. That means he's looking at me."
"Mi corazon, go with Drake." Elijah gently pushed her toward the other man.
Drake immediately took charge as Elijah turned away, shepherding Siena back into the vehicle with its bulletproof glass and heavy armor on the body. Elijah wouldn't have trusted Siena to too many other men. He believed in Drake and knew the man would guard her with his life.
Joshua joined him. He'd done a quick search around the house, looking for scent and tracks. "Someone was here. The front and back doors are rigged to blow the moment you open them. Whoever did this knows what they're doing. They didn't go into the house. The bomb is below the deck itself and wired to the door so that when it swings open, whoever is in the near vicinity scatters to the winds."
Elijah nodded and went to investigate for himself. He'd met both Paolo and Alonzo on several occasions. He knew Paolo had been the male leopard attacking Siena at the Arnotto estate. He said as much to Joshua. "This doesn't smell like either of them."
Joshua had followed him, slipping beneath the deck so they could both examine the device. "He knows what he's doing," Joshua said. "It's going to take some work to remove this safely. Whoever put this here doesn't care if Siena dies as well."
"Not necessarily. I doubt anyone would suspect she would come home with me. I was questioned in her grandfather's murder. It was all over the news," Elijah pointed out. "It was only by coincidence that I had gone to Eli's that night." To talk to him. To get drunk. To tell him how badly he'd fucked up.
Eli Perez's land bordered both his and Jake's properties. Eli was an ex-DEA agent. The cops investigating Antonio Arnotto's murder had to believe him. Eli's wife, Caterina, vouched for him as well. Paolo's plan of implicating him had gone up in smoke thanks to the fact that he'd felt so guilty over his treatment of Siena--and he'd needed help to dispose of Marco's body. Marco had been leopard as well, one of Antonio's oldest friends. The body had to be incinerated so there was no evidence of a leopard.
They'd put a story out about a leopard escaping from one of the upstate hunting properties. Rich men with too much time on their hands wanted to hunt large game. The animals were bred and raised on the large property and then hunted and killed. It was easy enough to claim a leopard had escaped and then attacked Siena. Her wounds certainly bore that out.
"If not Paolo or Alonzo," Joshua said, "then who?"
Elijah inhaled again. He frowned. The scent was definitely male, elusive, but he'd smelled it before. He searched his memory and called up his own leopard. His male was good at identifying other leopards.
He moved positions beneath the deck, looking up at the very neatly made bomb. He'd seen one similar. But where? Partially shifting, just enough to allow his big male access to the smell, Elijah waited patiently. There it was. He shifted back.
"I met him at Rafe Cordeau's home, a few years back when I went there for a dinner. My uncle and Cordeau were cementing a deal. This man was there, but he didn't eat at the table. He prowled around the grounds. I went outside twice. Both times he circled around me, watching closely until I went back inside."
"You weren't introduced?" Joshua asked, as he pulled out a small tool kit.
"No, not formally, but I met him. I wanted him to know I knew he was watching me, so I walked right up to him and introduced myself, forced him to tell me his name. Gaton. Robert Gaton. Cordeau introduced us to four of his top soldiers, all of whom were leopard. They were killed on Eli's ranch," Elijah pointed out. "This was Cordeau's reserve man--the one he held back. His shifters ran his army. Everyone answered to them. Whoever he is, he must be taking over Cordeau's territory and is making some kind of a statement. This attack has nothing to do with Siena."
Elijah felt relief when he hadn't even known he'd been tense. Siena had been through enough and he didn't want her to have anything more to worry about than she already did. She was very fragile. He knew she hadn't dealt with any of it. Not what had happened between them. Not the beating Paolo had given her. Her grandfather's death. Not the leopard attack and, most of all, not their baby growing inside her. She didn't want to acknowledge anything between them, let alone a child. Elijah could give her all the time she needed, but she was taking the time with him right at her side.
Joshua's forehead beaded with sweat. He wiped at it with his forearm to keep the beads from running into his eyes. "He's a hell of a bomb maker. He's got a couple of false tags on this thing. Why would a man who is taking over a territory deliver a bomb himself? That doesn't make sense, Elijah."
Joshua had a point. A good point. Elijah would never deliver a bomb. He'd send someone he trusted to do it. Antonio hadn't sat in wait for Elijah, he'd sent Marco to do it.
"Someone else, then," Elijah said softly. "Someone with a big enough reputation that Cordeau's shifter will give him allegiance and do his bidding. Or, he was Rafe's bomb man and didn't trust it to anyone else."
"We'd better find out or your lady is in trouble. Her grandfather was murdered. Regardless of who did it, some of the other bosses are going to be looking at his territory with hunger in their eyes. Unlike Paolo, they aren't going to worry about how they acquire it, which means Siena won't be safe." Joshua held his breath for a moment, snipped a wire and allowed his arms to drop to his sides. "One down."
They stayed still for a few minutes, knowing they had to crawl under the back deck and do the same thing.
"She doesn't want any part of me," Elijah said.
Joshua frowned. "I thought you said your male recognized her female."
"Absolutely he did. He's crazy to get at her."
"Then what's the problem?" Joshua asked, wiping at his forehead again with his arm. "Is it hot under here, or is it just me?"
"It's hot," Elijah said. "I totally fucked things up, and now she's pregnant and doesn't want any part of me."
"What did you do?"
Elijah almost didn't say another word. Joshua had sounded a little too amused for his liking, but Elijah had to admit he was out of his depth. He had never had a problem getting a woman he wanted. Not ever. The trouble was, once he had them, he didn't want them again. He didn't have a lot of experience with having to work at keeping one around--in fact, he had zero experience.
"I knew Arnotto was making his move to acquire new territories. He's always been one to take advantage when there was a vacancy. My uncle used to tell me to watch him. He said Arnotto had the brains to keep the Feds from looking too close. He surrounded himself with legit businesses, high-society friends and had valid reasons for keeping an army around at all times. His son's car bombing and his granddaughter's kidnappings. When bodies started falling I knew he was behind it, especially because each death seemed entirely unrelated. He's that intelligent."
Joshua followed him out from under the deck and around toward the back of the house. Elijah turned to face him, folding his arms. "Before I tell you the rest, just know: you laugh and I'm going to knock you out."
Joshua grinned at him. "You can't do that, man. You need me to disarm that bomb and help you make certain there aren't any others."
Elijah shook his head. "We fucked, and then Marco showed up and I shot him. I accused her of being part of a plot to divert attention so the hit man could get in and then I threw her out." It was a watered-down version, but he guessed Joshua would get that.
Joshua looked shocked and then a slow smirk settled over his face. "You did that? You really are a jackass,
aren't you?"
"Shut up. I knew I shouldn't tell you. It was bad enough admitting what I did to Drake. He was pissed, and I mean really pissed. For him it was all about controlling my leopard, and clearly I didn't do that. My temper got the best of me."
"Your temper or your dick?" Joshua sneered, and then burst out laughing. Hastily, he moved around Elijah and dove under the deck.
Elijah stood a moment, staring after his friend. Men had never dared tease him until he became part of Drake's crew. He still felt a little stiff around the others. His upbringing had been serious. Once his parents were dead--murdered by his uncle--he spent his youth protecting his younger sister Rachel from his uncle. That had been very serious business. He'd also spent a number of years cementing his relationship with the men working for his uncle. Plotting against his uncle with two of his childhood friends in the organization. Finally, taking him down.
He wasn't good at the softer things in life. He'd cared for one person--his sister--and he'd had to protect that relationship by acting as if she didn't matter that much to him so his uncle wouldn't know he had as much leverage. He was a hard man, and he got the job done however it needed doing. He'd done things out of necessity he wasn't proud of. He'd done other things--illegal and dangerous--and never looked back.
He had been an enforcer. He was good with his fists. Fast. His leopard was savage and strong. He'd always wielded power, and he'd learned from his grandfather, father and uncle how to command a room just by walking into it. Silence worked for him. He didn't explain himself. He didn't apologize. He had a tendency to take what he wanted. More than anything he was always, always in control. Until Siena.
He followed Joshua under the deck. The device was the same as it had been on the front door. Robert Gaton had covered his bets by rigging either door to blow. He considered what would have happened had he opened the front door with Siena in his arms. They both would have died.
A cold rage snaked through him. He was familiar with that feeling. He had waited years to avenge his parents. He'd played his part and developed his strength right under his uncle's nose. He had patience for revenge. The man who had struck Siena, leaving bruises and fractured ribs, the leopard that had torn her flesh open, and now this man, they would all go down, just as his uncle had.
He didn't believe in the justice system. He'd seen it bought and paid for too many times. He wasn't going to trust anyone with Siena's safety, not completely, not even Drake. He would oversee everything.
Siena didn't have a chance, and he recognized that. Owned it. He was a man with a passionate nature and a savage but cold-as-ice temper, but he'd learned a few things about himself he hadn't known since he'd been with Siena. He could be possessive and jealous, two traits he had never considered would ever be in his nature. Being dominating and controlling was inherent, bred deep, but it was really solidified with his upbringing.
Siena was his. His. He was rough and mean and expected those around him to obey him without question. Siena wasn't going to do that. He could tell her nature would rebel if he came at her wrong. Still, she was his.
He had never been moved by a woman's tears. He considered tears a manipulative weapon. Until Siena. Her tears had undone him. He'd ordered her to stop, not because he thought she was trying to control or sway him in some way, but because her weeping was truly heartbreaking. In the end he'd needed to hold her more than she needed to be held.
Siena brought out things in him he didn't know were there, and truthfully, it was a little frightening. She stripped him bare, exposing raw emotion. He kept his emotions under tight control at all times, but with her, he couldn't do it. He'd lost control when he'd taken her innocence and when she'd cried . . .
"Got it," Joshua said. "What are you going to do about this, Elijah?"
Elijah kept his features carefully blank. "I don't know what you're talking about. The bomb? Hand it over to Drake."
"About Robert Gaton," Joshua said patiently, his cool gaze drilling into Elijah's. "And don't give me crap that you're not going to do anything. You're going to hunt him down, just as you're going to hunt Paolo and Alonzo."
Elijah didn't reply. What was there to say? Hell yeah, he was going to hunt them, but not now, not when they'd be expecting it. He was going to wait them out. Paolo didn't have the patience for chess. He would make a move soon to get Siena back. He wasn't the type of man to let his dream go. He wanted the power of the Arnotto family, and he saw Siena as his way to get it.
Alonzo was different. Hard to read. He had a reputation, a bad one. No one ever messed with Alonzo, and if he showed up on your doorstep, chances were good you weren't going to live through his punishment. No one knew much about him or his family. Unlike Paolo, he wasn't from any of the leopard families in the United States or South America. He didn't say where he came from. He'd met Antonio by chance and for some reason, best known to him, had stayed.
Elijah always sized up his enemies, and one thing he was very good at was reading them, knowing them, learning everything about them, but Alonzo was an enigma. He'd have to get Drake to use his sources to find out about the man because he was definitely a wild card.
Elijah had learned in a hard school not to show anyone who mattered to him. He protected those he loved by acting completely emotionless around others. He wasn't going to make the mistake of showing the rest of the world that Siena Arnotto had suddenly become as necessary to him as the air he breathed.
That strange thing was, he didn't know how it had happened. It wasn't something that had come on suddenly. He'd been acutely aware of her for years. So much so that he'd deliberately dated the complete opposite of her, but that hadn't gotten her off his mind--or his radar. He fantasized about her. He dreamt about her. He had been obsessed with her.
He hadn't let anyone in on that secret until he spoke to Jake about her, there in the office when he'd confessed he'd totally fucked up, because he wasn't a man to put a woman in jeopardy. Any woman who became his would be living a shadow life. He'd be asking her to allow everyone to think she lived just as dirty as the world believed he did. She would be in danger and would have to walk a very fine line.
"Elijah?" Joshua pushed.
Elijah shrugged casually, his only answer to Joshua's question, and sauntered back to the car where Siena waited with Drake. She had offered to go away with him right then, to protect him. No one had ever made such an offer, giving herself to him so he would be safe. He liked that. Something deep inside had shifted at her plea.
Drake was out of the car and around to the passenger side before Elijah was there. His eyes asked a question. Elijah answered with a nod.
"Your woman is fragile, Elijah," Drake warned softly. "She's in some pain, and she's been worried but tried not to show it." He opened the door.
"I'll handle her with care." He didn't know if he knew how, but he did acknowledge that he should.
Before Drake could reach inside and get Siena, Elijah did. He drew her into his arms. "You're safe, sweetheart," he promised. "We'll get you inside and settled."
She stiffened, but this time she didn't protest. She settled her face in his neck and held on as he carried her back up the stairs to the verandah. He'd given Joshua his keys and Joshua was already inside, disarming the alarm system.
He carried her through the house, straight back to the master bedroom. It was very spacious. The bed was large, on a platform with two steps leading up to it. The rest of the room was space. He liked space. He liked to see what was coming at him. The bed was positioned in such a way to hide two escape routes. One route was beneath the platform through a disguised trapdoor leading to a tunnel that wound underground beneath the house to exit just to the west.
In the underground chamber just beneath them was a room filled with weapons, with a go bag, passport and money at the ready. He could leave in an instant and start again with no problem. He had vehicles stashed on the property and a route mapped out for his leopard should he need it.
The second e
scape route had been cleverly incorporated into the design of the wall at the headboard of the bed itself. One simply stepped from the bed, through the hidden door and into the narrow hallway that led throughout the house. There were other openings in various rooms, and small, tucked-in chambers to hide in should there be need. He had stashed weapons and a second go-bag there as well. Elijah was a man who believed in being prepared.
Very gently, he eased Siena down onto the bed. He stayed bent, his fists on the mattress on either side of her hips, caging her in as he leaned close. "I'm having your things brought here. Jake arranged for a police escort to remove your clothing from your room. My people will get whatever else you want out of the house. Make a list, Siena, before you take a nap."
She shook her head, her gaze downcast, refusing to meet his. "I'm not staying here. I mean it, Elijah. I know you don't want to hear me, but I'm not."
"Babe." He brushed back her hair with gentle fingers, inhaling her scent. He loved how she smelled, that faint scent of honeysuckle that clung to her skin and hair. "Look at me."
He waited, allowing the silence to add to the tension in the room. He was patient. He had all the patience in the world, especially with her. Her fingers twisted together in her lap. He felt the knots in his stomach unravel. Even with the bandage on her face, she was gorgeous. His stomach went from knots to mush. His cock stirred. Yeah. She was his, all right. Her thick black lashes lifted, leaving him staring into her brilliant green eyes.
"You are," he stated firmly, uncaring that he sounded bossy and arrogant. He used the tone that brooked no argument--from anyone. "Staying here. You aren't in any condition to fight me on this. We can protect you here. In a hotel or somewhere else, it would be much more difficult."
"Why? I don't understand any of this."
"You burned hot for me the moment I touched you. I burned just as hot for you. You're the only woman in my life I've ever been out of control with." He gave her that because he'd been brutal in taking her self-esteem. She deserved the truth, even though he was opening himself up further than he'd ever done. "You can't give me that, baby, and then think you're going to walk away from me."
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