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I snatched a fistful of her hair and, clawing at her face, smashed her head backward into the wall.
She lashed out, her hands slicing my cheek, my face.
And then I was being pulled off her. Yanked away.
The room spun in a blur, and all I could make out was Lucas, between me and the judge.
“I won’t hit you, Maureen.” He balled his fists, shoulders bunched. “But I am telling you you’re in for a world of fucking hurt.”
“You can’t touch me. If something happens to me, I’ve got actions in place to immediately identify you as my attacker.”
I lunged at her. Lucas held me off. Just. “No you haven’t,” he said, putting me behind him again. “Because that would risk an investigation into why you even know me. And you don’t want that at all, do you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Too smart for your own good, aren’t you, Trip.”
Lucas laughed, the sound cold and menacing. “Seems so, Queen B.”
“Don’t call me that!” she snapped.
“What did you plan to do here?” Lucas loosened his fists. His body seemed to become more fluid. I recognized it—he was preparing to fight. “Kill me? Kill Ronnie? Kill anyone here?”
She jerked her stare to me, and then to Fluffy.
Fluffy was trying to push himself to his feet. I don’t know if he realized she’d killed Francis or not yet. I wanted to go to him, but I wanted to hurt the woman with her back pressed to the wall and murder in her eyes more.
“I need to clean house, Tripwire.” She shook her head again. “And you’re the last of the muck. It would have been better if it was just you, but then, who knows what you’ve told your fiancée here. Or your Marine bodyguard.”
“Ronnie,” Lucas threw over his shoulder. “Check on Fluffy.”
“I’m up, Lucas.” Fluffy slowly straightened to his feet. Blood seeped from the hole in his shoulder, over his fingers, down his chest.
“But not for long,” Maureen shot back, lips curling in a cold smile.
I hurried to Fluffy. I had no idea what I was going to do to help him—it looked like he was losing a lot of blood—but I went to him anyway. Wrapped one arm around his massive back, and pressed my hand on top of his over the bullet wound. I also did my best to keep him turned away from Francis.
The Doberman hadn’t moved. The floor was a sea of red beneath him. Sitting in all the blood, nudging Francis’s belly with his muzzle, was Groot.
I glared at Maureen, an icy hate spreading through me. She had come into my home, she had hurt the people I loved, the animals…
“So what do we do here, Maureen?” Lucas started to inch closer to her, his hands open and to his side. Did she know he could take her out in barely a heartbeat from such a seemingly submissive pose? I suspected she did, given the way she watched him. “I’m not going to let you kill those I love. And I can’t just let you walk away after what you’ve done to Fluffy. To F—”
He stopped before saying Francis.
Fluffy stiffened, twisting in my arm.
“Fluffy,” I murmured. “Fluffy, look at—”
“Francis?” Fluffy groaned.
A split second before throwing himself at Maureen.
Everything went crazy.
Lucas roared, spinning to try to intercept Fluffy charging at Maureen. Maureen squ
ealed, cowering away. Groot started yapping. Wild, feverish barks, Francis’s blood splashing up onto his legs.
And in amongst it all, I saw…
