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Dawg was obviously lying through his teeth, and Natches knew it. He turned to Rowdy then, forcing his fingers not to curl into fists as Chaya kept her hold on his arm.
Her grip had actually tightened in response to the flexing of the muscles beneath her hand.
“Right, Rowdy?” Dawg hissed again. Under other circumstances it might have been comical. Dawg was bigger, heavier, and his fist was a damned sight harder than Natches’s. Sometimes. But it was obvious he didn’t want to return to his wife bruised.
Natches turned to Rowdy.
And Rowdy grinned, because he knew. Natches saw in his eyes the knowledge that Chaya held him back, that Chaya could always hold him back.
“Nah, we were freezing our butts off outside because we thought Agent Dane might have a little more up her sleeve than a few questions. ” Rowdy’s grin was cocky, which only pissed Natches off further.
Dawg winced. “Dumb ass,” he muttered to Rowdy.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, guys,” Chaya laughed, and Natches felt her move.
“If you try leaving this apartment, then I’m kicking their asses the minute you walk out the door,” he warned her.
She paused, and when he glanced at her, he could see the caution in her eyes again. “There are two of them, Natches. ”
“And I have pure mad on my side. Want to take bets who will win?” He made damned sure she saw nothing but determination in his gaze.
“Looks like you’re going to have to head to the Dreams tonight anyway. ” Dawg cleared his throat, and it might have placated Natches, seeing a hint of nerves in his cousin, if the amusement hadn’t been so bright in his green eyes. Dawg was clearly enjoying the fact that he had interrupted something here.
“I need to get back to my hotel. ” Chaya stepped back, and Natches let her.
He was careful to keep his expression bland as he glanced at her. She might try to run, but she wasn’t going far. Hell, she was going to finish what she started before the damned interruption, and he was going to make sure of it.
“We’ll, umm, fix the door. ” Dawg smiled, clearly enjoying the fact that, for the moment, Natches was leashed. “You go ahead and take Miss Dane back to her hotel, Natch. We’ll have that beer at the boat. ”
“If I see you on my boat tonight, I’m going to shoot you, Dawg,” Natches warned him, and he was afraid he just might be serious. “You can try the beer tomorrow afternoon, not a moment before. ”
Natches moved too fast for Chaya to avoid him this time, his fingers curling around her upper arm before pulling her with him to the door. “And make sure you nail the door tight. Some bastard walks in and steals my beer, and I’ll kill you for sure. ”
“Natches, I’m not going to that damned boat,” Chaya protested as they neared the door. “I have a job to do. You’re taking me back to my hotel. Period. ”
“Sure I am,” he agreed.
She almost paused, would have if he hadn’t tugged her after him. “You are?”
Had he agreed too easily? He almost smirked.
“Sure I am. Sometime. I’m sure you’ll need more clothes in a few days. ” He hardened his voice, firmed his grip, and ignored her curse.
She could bitch until hell froze over, but they weren’t finished. Talking, fucking, he’d take either one he could get, or both, but tonight, he wasn’t letting her go.
Dawg rubbed at the back of his neck as he heard Natches’s jeep drive off, and he turned to Rowdy slowly. His cousin had a thoughtful expression on his face.
Rowdy was a thinker. He always had been. He rarely jumped into anything impulsively, unlike his two cousins. He always weighed the evidence, the pros and the cons, and sometimes he could be damned scary in his predictions.
“You could have backed me there, cuz,” he finally sighed when Rowdy stayed silent.
When his cousin turned to him, it was with a smirk that almost had Dawg bursting out in laughter.
“Why bother?” Rowdy grinned. “She has a chain around his neck thicker than a junkyard dog’s. He wasn’t about to jump into a fight. That boy doesn’t want a bruised body right now either, Dawg. We both know that one well. ”
Damned if they didn’t.
Dawg remembered a time when a good fight and a good drunk was almost as good as sex. Now, since Crista, a fight, with the bruises, busted ribs, and/or swollen lips, was something he avoided at all costs. He liked the feel of Crista’s hands on his body, demanding and wild as she moved against him. The thought of losing so much as an ounce of that pleasure to pain was intolerable.
