Page 66 of Devil in Her Details

Dagger wanted to throttle his brother. “Don’t call her that.”

Lilly simply smiled and returned, “Of course, petite tortue. Will brandy do? I have some somewhere.”

Bloody hell. “Don’t call him that, either,” he ordered, even though he had no right, before muttering, “Whatever that means.”

Reaper’s face turned ugly. “Did you just call me a turtle, little cat? I’m no bloody turtle.”

Dagger almost snorted a laugh but managed to catch it in time.

“No?” Lilly asked. “You seemed like a turtle to me. Hard shell on the outside, soft and tender flesh on the inside.”

That wiped any good humor from his brother’s face.

“There’s nothing—”

“Let’s get to the point, turtle and company,” Dagger cut him off.

His brothers reluctantly all found a seat. Like big, ill-tempered bears, they one by one plopped down. During all this, Lilly had sent Hewitt on a mission to find brandy. After they each had one in their hand, the atmosphere eased exactly one damn notch.

His brothers’ dark looks swung between Lilly and him, wearing various versions of a pained, tight-lipped expression. Like they’d swallowed something nasty.

Very good.

Dagger loved his brothers, and most of them hadn’t done anything wrong, but they had crossed the line with him this time, and they bloody knew it.

For Lilly’s sake, he pointed to each of them and rattled out their names. “Maxen, Drake, Saint, Knight,” the corner of his lip twitched, “them you know. That’s Serpent, and the turtle is Reaper.”

The turtle turned a full glare on him. “We need you to come home, frère.”

Dagger scowled. “You speak like I’ve been gone for a decade. It’s been a damn night.”

“A night is long enough,” Maxen said.

That sparked Dagger’s temper. “You don’t even bloody live at Fury’s anymore. You have your own mansion with your own wife. What are you harping on me for?”

“This is different, and you know it.”

“I don’t see how it is.”

Maxen’s eyes flashed. “You were all invited to move with us, but you all declined.”

Did he damn well think any one of them would want to interrupt a pair of lovebirds? Dagger didn’t dignify that statement with an answer. Maxen knew them better than everyone else. “Neverthe-damn-less, I’m surprised you and Drake came along and didn’t just send the others with your commands.”

Drake’s face turned thunderous. “Stop being stubborn.”

“Why?” Dagger settled back and regarded the six, his knee brushing Lilly beside him. “Since you’ve all taken offense at the job I’ve taken on, it’s best that I remove myself from your sight until it’s over.”

“Will it ever be over?” Drake questioned, eyes sharp, his meaning clear. “Moving in seems rather permanent to me.”

“I’m not the same as you and Maxen. My job has an end date.”

“Ours did, too,” Drake pointed out.

Dagger could feel Lilly’s curious gaze on him, and he bit down on his jaw. “Funny you should say that, brother. I had your back that time. Even saved your wife. And yet I’m being told to cut ties and end my mission.”

“That’s different,” Drake said pointedly.

“You arses keep saying that, and I keep not seeing it.”