Pablo didn't panic. He hadn't gotten this far in life by panicking. He smoothly brought his hand out from under the desk, wrist now wrapped in an ace bandage, an automatic weapon nestled against his palm. He held the gun loosely, not pointing it or threatening with it. Shifters were dangerous, yes, but they weren't immune to bullets.

The one with the terrifying eyes was there, but as he'd done in the alley, he remained silent. The guy with the sword, obviously the Shifter's son, stepped in front of the desk, putting himself directly in front of Pablo's gun. Ballsy of him. The third Shifter, the one with the military-cut black hair, watched the door with seeming negligence. He was chewing gum, a trick for indicating contempt and lack of fear.

Pablo made the opening sally. "I said all I had to say. If you try to force me to leave with you, you'll walk into twenty of my boys with pistols, ready to take you down. You're not like werewolves who die only by silver bullets. Lots of lead will do the trick." He lounged back in his chair, relaxed. No need to chew gum to prove it. "You're in my territory now."

"Not quite." The guy with the sword--Sean Morrissey--Pablo had looked him up--rested big hands on the desk. "You are in our territory. Shifter territory."

"Shifters live in Shiftertowns," Pablo said. "That's all the territory you get."

His father--Dylan, the guy's name was--finally spoke. His voice was a little different from his son's, as cold and hard, yes, but with vast stillness behind it. This was a man who'd seen much, done much, suffered more than Pablo's group of hardened thugs could imagine. What Pablo wouldn't give to have this man as a resource.

"The entire city is Shifter territory," Dylan was saying. "Our lands run from San Marcos to north and west of the lake. Hill Country Shifters take over from there."

Pablo barked a laugh. "In your Shifter dreams. Trust me, I'm not a guy who likes to follow other people's rules. I do what I want and deal with what I have to. I also think the humans who have basically neutered you are amazingly stupid. They could have used you to help them fight wars or to put down people like me, but you know governments. Full of people who can't get real jobs. But they slapped those Collars on you and pretty much broke whatever power you had, although from what I can tell it wasn't very much to begin with. You have no territory, my friends. You have nothing."

None of the Shifters moved during his speech. No scorn, no anger, no conceding that he might be right. Nothing but three pairs of Shifter eyes fixed on him.

To keep them from overwhelming him, Pablo sorted them out. Sean and Dylan were father and son. The big sword Sean wore wasn't for killing, Pablo had learned, but for some sort of death ritual, the blade stuck into the Shifter after he was dead.

The guy with the military haircut Pablo had seen at the very illegal Shifter fight clubs where Shifters fought each other for fun and other people bet on them. The guy's name was Nate, and his friend Spike, the one with all the tattoos, was a very popular fighter.

"What do you want, boys?" Pablo asked. "To bargain? I'm afraid I hold all the bargaining chips."

The one called Sean leaned his fists on the desk. The wood, a nice mahogany, creaked.

"I'm afraid Dad wants you out, lad. The fact that he came down here to ask you nicely is unusual. My advice to you? Move your enterprise to another city. Ronan told you, we'll inform the Shifters around wherever you choose to go to leave you alone--if you behave yourself, that is."

"We've done this dance," Pablo said. "Your threat doesn't have teeth . . . so to speak."

"That's because we don't like to show our hand too soon. You, my good friend--well, you don't know what you're up against. My dad there, he's not such a reasonable man. I am. That's why they always send me to negotiate."

"But I'm not negotiating anything," Pablo said.

Sean gave him a smile. Why did Pablo think of a cat drawing back its lips to show its teeth? "Well, that's fine, because we're not negotiating, either," Sean said. "The truth is, lad, if you don't go now, there'll be nothing left for you."

"Nothing left of what?" Always difficult to guard against vague threats. Vague threats made everyone paranoid and sleepless. Pablo knew that because he often employed the technique himself.

Sean shrugged. "Of anything. You, this nice building, your boys outside, your fine car. All gone." He leaned closer. "In the blink of an eye."

Pablo moved his gun slightly, reminding Sean that it was there. "And if I mow you down before you can leave?"

"Won't matter. My brother, now, he's the vindictive one. My dad's learned to control himself a bit, but we're not so sure about Liam. And we all have family that wouldn't be too happy with you if anything happened to us."

Pablo made sure his finger was obviously off the trigger. "I've been in this game a long time, Shifter. There's always someone out there with a vendetta. I don't let it worry me."

"Son," Sean said, in an almost kind voice. "You wouldn't have time to let it worry you."

Pablo was not blind to the fact that these guys were serious. Somehow, they'd gotten past his guards. He had no doubt that if he killed them, three more Shifters would visit him in the night. Collars or no Collars, laws or no laws, they knew their stuff.

He took his hand all the way off the gun and pushed the pistol it aside, leaving it close enough to grab if he needed to, but showing that he'd be happy to settle this without violence. Which he was. Julio had been stupid, and even Pablo hadn't realized that the bitch had the entire Austin Shiftertown backing her up. Julio so needed to learn to do his research first.

Pablo had been researching Elizabeth Chapman ever since Julio had gotten himself arrested for trying to rob her. He'd run into difficulty trying to discover specifics about her past, but he'd find out. He was very close.

"I don't have time for a war," Pablo said in a reasonable tone. "And I'm thinking neither do you. My brother is an idiot, but I have some good lawyers, and maybe I can get him out of this. But it will be bad for my business if your friends insist on testifying."

"Your business really isn't our concern," Sean said. "Don't you sell drugs and hurt people? Not a business we want in our town."