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Nox stopped the van.
Luca undid his seatbelt. “Aren’t you going to put it in park?”
Nox watched the strangers. His upper lip twitched, flashing the sharp point of a canine.
“Nox.”
He blinked several times and slowly gave Luca his attention.
“You should put the van in park.”
He looked at the steering wheel in his hands. His expression pinched, and again he blinked in that long slow way someone would when waking up from a deep sleep.
Nox pushed the gear shift up, and the red marker on the dash slipped over the P.
“You can turn it off, too.”
He did.
“C’mon.” Luca started to open the door. He glared at the blank spot where the release handle had been, then he glared at Nox.
“I’ll get it.”
“No.” Luca rolled down the window and reached over the edge. “But you’re definitely going to fix it.” He pulled the handle from the outside.
Nox met him at the bumper.
A few people approached. Three of the men were tall and wide like Nox, a fourth one larger than the three by a couple of inches. They hovered around a man with mousey brown hair who was closer to Luca’s height.
The stranger wore a faded shirt and worn-thin jeans that hugged his narrow hips enough to show the slope of his thighs. Broken threads fringed the seams of his tennis shoes.
Everything suggested he lived on the verge of nothing, yet the energy radiating from him beat against Luca’s chest.
The stranger stopped a few yards from the van. “This is a pleasant surprise.” He approached.
Luca started forward.
Nox held out an arm, stopping him.
Luca frowned. “He’s not going to hurt me.”
Green glittered in Nox’s eyes and the four big men tensed.
A growl rolled out of Nox’s chest.
The stranger waved at the men. “Go sit down.”
“Sir—”
“That wasn’t a request, Tanner. Go sit down.” The order came out smooth, almost gentle but the finality rang through.
The four men retreated to the picnic tables.
Luca pushed Nox’s arm. For a moment, he resisted, then lowered it to his side.
“I’ll be fine.” Luca ran his touch over Nox’s jaw. Stubble scraped against his fingertips as he walked away.
Luca met the stranger at the middle point of the space between them.
