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“Go out without a weapon again.” Liza rolled her eyes despite the concern she could feel edging into the adrenaline-laced excitement pounding through her.
“Yeah, why don’t you just do that?” he retorted back.
“Alas, the trusty knife is tucked in my boot.” She sighed as she reached up and activated the earbud at her ear. She knew she’d picked it up for a reason. “I left the trusty sidearm at home though. You promised to protect me, remember?”
“Yeah, I remember.” He sighed. But it was becoming clearer by the moment that his mate could do a fine job of protecting herself.
“We’re on our way, Munchkin.” Cullen stated. “We’re heading from the east dock. ETA is two minutes or less. Reever has an eye on your location and taking bead.”
She watched as Stygian’s head turned slowly, his acute Breed hearing no doubt catching the sound of Cullen’s voice at her ear.
“Watch out for the Breeds,” she stated softly as she turned her head to speak, hoping to keep Rule from hearing her. “I don’t have a good feeling about this, Cullen.”
They were being drawn out. Reever was in the trees somewhere, his handy-dandy sniper rifle poised and ready while Cullen raced toward them. Steven would be somewhere close by, and Claire and Chelsea each would have been alerted to Liza’s situation while God only knew what position Klah was taking.
There were times Klah scared even her.
“They take out a Bureau Breed and we’re going to have problems, sweetheart,” Stygian warned her.
“If Cullen finds out the Bureau was behind this little show-and-tell, then there will be even more problems,” she warned him in turn. “What the hell is going on here, Stygian?”
Was it a calculated move designed by Jonas Wyatt to draw members of the Breed Underground Network out into the open? Or was it Council soldiers determined to find the research projects the underground had hidden over the years?
“When I find out, I promise you, whoever’s behind this will pay hell for it,” he swore.
Whatever it was, he wasn’t involved.
“They have him,” Rule announced quietly. “Sights are on your shooter. He’s searching for your location. Mother—” She had a feeling the curse that cut off was due to the shot that was likely heard around the lake.
At least, they heard it.
The explosive retort was muted, coming from the East as the sound of the Navajo Lake Patrol water cruiser could be heard racing for the bank.
“The cavalry is here,” she murmured.
“Cleanup in aisle five,” Rule stated with quiet disgust as Liza and Stygian rose slowly to their feet as the lake cruiser eased up to the bank. “Jacobs just took our shooter’s head off.”
“Better his head than yours.” Jumping from the cruiser, Cullen’s glare was dark enough to shred any man’s confidence as he suddenly gripped Liza’s arm and turned her to the cruiser. “Get—”
The words broke as Liza felt his grip jerk before she was released.
Swinging around, she watched, her lips parting in shock at the sight of the normally unconquerable Cullen suddenly thrown against the largest of the boulders, his back nearly bouncing against the stone as an enraged, primal snarl tore from Stygian’s throat. His lips were peeled from his teeth, his incisors flashing in the brilliance of the sunlight as one hand closed brutally around Cullen’s throat.
Cullen stared back at the aberration calmly, as though this were an everyday occurrence.
“When you’ve finished—” Cullen began.
“Touch her again and you’ll lose your fucking throat.” It was like hearing a Wolf attempting to speak, his voice was so savage, so animalistic.
Liza could only watch in shock, seeing the slow flex of Stygian’s fingers around the strong column of Cullen’s throat as the other man simply stared up at him unconcerned, his arms relaxed at his side, his gaze mocking.
r /> The battle of wills was fought silently, neither man dropping his gaze nor blinking as they seemed locked in some weird moment of time as violence thrummed in the air.
“Let him go!” Liza snapped as she watched Stygian’s fingers tighten again.
Cullen wasn’t moving. He wasn’t taking his eyes from Stygian’s, nor was he attempting to defend himself when Liza knew he could. She had seen him do so before.
Stygian’s fingers flexed at the sound of her voice.
