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“What? Everyone knows you were a baby.”
“And sometimes still are,” Oz said.
Angel threw a lazy punch toward Oz, who easily side-stepped it. “If you weren’t alpha…”
“I am, at least for the next few days, so watch your ps and qs.”
Teresa stood and took China’s hand. “Let’s go to the kitchen.”
China looked at Oz as she walked away, and he smiled at her. She looked totally in heaven. He was thankful that Teresa was so welcoming. She and his mom had been best friends, which was why he and Angel were so close—they’d practically been raised as brothers.
“After I left, did you find anything new?” Angel asked when it was just the two of them.
Oz ran a hand through his hair. “Nope. I can’t find a single law that lets me off the hook.”
“And you can’t change or add to the laws to get yourself out of it either.”
“No.”
“That sucks. At least you know that they’re not expecting you to go for blood and will let you out of the battle early.”
“True.” Although he hadn’t told China, he was definitely still a little worried that something might happen to him during the battle. “If something happens to me, you’ll get China back to her people, right?”
Angel’s eyes went wide. “Shit, of course. You don’t even have to ask.”
“I know. I just want to be sure.”
“Do you think something’s going to happen?”
“No clue. It’s just a feeling.” He rubbed at the back of his neck and sighed. “A fucking bad feeling.”
“I’ll ask Mom. Maybe she knows something. She used to fuck around with Craig.”
“Really?” Craig had been an elder, but he’d lost his rank when Benecio had taken over. There had been some bad blood between them, but no one knew what it was. “That would be great, thanks. I’m sure it’s just me being paranoid, but better safe than sorry.”
“Fact.”
Teresa called for them and they hurried to the kitchen, where she’d set out a grand spread. The table was laid out with platters of roast beef and pork, huge bowls of mashed potatoes and honey-glazed carrots, and a basket of still steaming rolls.
He kissed Teresa’s cheek. “It looks amazing. Thank you for having us.”
“My pleasure. It’s a great day to celebrate you two finding each other, with the bonus of you getting that old asshole Benecio out of the pride.”
“And off the face of the earth,” Angel said.
“Hear, hear,” Oz said.
They sat around the butcher block table, with China on his left and Angel on his right. Teresa took the empty chair. Oz held the heavy platters for China so she could fill her plate first, then filled his with both meats and all the sides.
“I think you need a bigger plate,” China quipped.
“Fortunately, Mom makes enough to feed an army,” Angel said.
“Make no mistake, there won’t be any leftovers,” Oz said.
“I would’ve liked to have you over the first day you were here, but I know the drive was long and you had loving to get to,” Teresa said.
“Ew, what? Gross, Ma,” Angel said.
