“So basically you’re going to tattoo ‘kick me’ on his ass.”

“What does that mean?”

“You name a kid Bartholomew and you’re condemning him to a life of torture. You remember those days, don’t ya Mik?”

“You sound like Conall.”

“Well at least one of you has some goddamn sense.”

Angie let out a breath. The tension and ice she’d felt after the call from her mother had been argued out.

“So, what made you call?”

“I didn’t. Tigger the Hillbilly called me.”

Angie swung her legs off the table and sat up. “What? Why?” Christ, her nipples hardened at the mere mention of the man. Was that sort of thing even normal?

“I’m guessing he was worried about you. You can get pretty scary after one of those out-of-the-blue calls from your parents. Me and Sara used to call those your ‘episodes.’ Of course, if he’s worried that means only one thing…”

“Shut up, Kendrick.”

“Someone’s in love.”

“Shut. up.”

“I haven’t had a chance to add shifters to the List. You could get him in under the wire.”

“Would you let it go?”

“I could… but where’s the fun in that?”

Angie sighed and ran her hand through her hair.

“So, Santiago…”

“What?”

“You like him?”

She shrugged, “I don’t dislike him.”

“Well, for you that’s almost marriage.”

“Very funny.” She wanted this conversation to stop. Now. “Look, could you put Zach on?”

A long pause followed that request. “Why?”

Angie let out an annoyed sniff. “Just put the man on, would you please?” Good a time as any to let someone at least remotely sane know about the proposed truce and the truth about Sara’s mother. Especially the truth about her mother. Sara never knew her mother and her father worshipped his mate. So all Sara ever heard were the good things about her. Finding out the woman and her lioness buddy went after hyena territory like Donald Trump with a little Gambino Mob family thrown in for color wouldn’t be easy to get across to her friend. They’d murdered her, at least that was how it seemed. They weren’t human when they did it, but they’d hunted down and murdered the Matriarch of the Leucrotta Clan…and Dianne Leucrotta’s mother. Who killed the lion and who killed the wolf afterward, no one really knew. But Kylie Redwolf’s hunger for territory put her on that path and everything fell apart from there.

So Angie needed Zach’s perspective, his calm demeanor…

And his ability to physically hold Sara down when shesnapped.

***

Angie found Nik’s note tacked to the inside of the front door. “Had to go into town for business. Try and stay out of trouble. My brothers are around somewhere, so you’re not alone. And please feel free to put on another pair of shorts for when I get home. –Nik.”

She smiled as she thought about Nik’s eyes on her last night at the party. He did seem to like her legs, especially when she wrapped them around his neck.

The knock at the front door caused her to jump back three feet. She took a deep breath. When did she become such a jumpy mess?

“Yeah?”

“It’s us, Angie.”

Well, now she had a Carolina “us” and a Texas and California “us.” How cool am I?

She opened the door to find Kisa there. “Hey. What’s up?”

“Nothin’.”

Angie stared at the woman. “You wanna go shoppin’, don’t ya?”

Kisa crinkled up her nose in an adorable way, “Yes, please.” She stepped back and motioned to Reena. “We brought daddy’s pickup. The real big one.”

“Why?”

“For all the clothes!”

Angie grinned, “Of course.”

***

Nik never understood why his father insisted on doing business like this. Sitting in a restaurant and signing important contracts between orders of chitlins and pigs feet. What made this time worse…his father seemed to have an agenda.

“So, boy, are you taking care of your little house pet?”

“Don’t call her that, she’s completely safe at my house, and I’m not having this conversation with you.”

“You can’t play with this one, ya know. She’s special. There’s something about her that says she’ll happily kill you in your sleep.”

Nik smiled, even while he kept his head over the paperwork in front of him. “You like her.”

“Don’t you?”

“I don’t dislike her.”

“Hell, boy, for you that’s marriage.”

“I thought we were here to work?”

“Don’t blow this by being a chump. A woman like that comes along once in a lifetime.”

He sure hoped so. He didn’t think he could handle more than one Angelina Santiago. Face like an angel. Body like a demon. Mouth like a Bronx trucker.

But he never planned on keeping her. He wasn’t his father. At least, he kept reminding himself of that over and over again. But still… a woman who practically snaps your neck when she’s coming, was not a woman you tossed aside easily.

“Look, old man, I refuse to discuss my life with you. Now or ever. So let it go.”