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Deven didn’t so much as flinch. “You have brought this hell on yourself, Zeven. Just like every other hell in your life. The only difference here is I will be laying out a choice for you.”
His brother had balls. That much sent a thrill of pride through him. What kind of life had molded Deven into this tough character? “What kind of choice?”
Deven’s hand came back into sight holding a pack of cigarettes. “The kind of choice that might let you walk away from this mess.” He tapped out a cigarette and casually lit it with a match before continuing. “When one of our operatives is sent to eliminate a problem, the problem is removed permanently. The current problem you pose is all the people you kill for money. I only see two ways to make that go away. You either are killed or you change careers. Those are my orders; eliminate the problem and save the girl if possible. But what I found was you here and no threat to her, mated to her and much more stable than I expected a lone wolf to be.”
Harley stood up at the word mate. Her eyes begged him, but of what he wasn’t sure.
He wanted her in his arms when he heard his fate. He took a step toward her then looked to his brother to be sure he wouldn’t be stopped this time. Once he was past Deven, Harley leapt into his arms. The simple contact of having her there was beyond his expectations.
“If you want to live you have to choose one of two paths. The first is to walk away from your killing. Settle down somewhere and raise a family, maybe even revive your clan. The second isn’t so pretty but might be a better fit for the man you’ve become.”
Zeven held Harley close, but he turned so he could hold her and still keep an eye on his brother. “And that would be what?”
“Join our shadow agency and help protect people from killers like you as well as the other nasties that threaten the fragile peace of our world.” Deven never blinked and didn’t offer any more information. “You have one hour to decide.”
“A whole hour. You’re all heart.” Zeven set Harley back a bit from his chest so that she wasn’t between them. “There is only one problem with that. Harley is still being hunted. I can’t take either choice until she is free.”
Deven took a long drag on his smoke. “How do you plan to make that happen?”
“We were about to fake her death.”
“Do you expect that to work?”
Zeven paused. He knew this was a test. “I believe it has a good chance of effectively ending the threat on Harley.” While he spoke, he shook his head slightly. He supposed that if everything went perfectly it might satisfy the Coyote Clan. But he was pretty sure that no matter what the outcome of the contract on Harley, it was still going to get ugly when he returned to collect his fee.
“I understand. If it goes badly your actions may seal your fate.”
He didn’t know if it would work but he needed his brother to understand. He sent his thoughts directly to him.“Even if it costs me my life, she has to be free to live hers. I will expect you to make that happen regardless.”
Deven cocked his head slightly then nodded. “So be it.”
Harley’s fingers slid into his own, offering the kind of support he’d never had before. “Does this still have to be done in one hour? Isn’t that unreasonable?”
“Yes. The time frame is not my choice but SOP.”
Standard operating procedures, my ass.The one-hour limit was just to keep a target from running. But if one hour was all they had then one hour would be what he used. Everything was pretty much in place. The time limit didn’t really change the plan. “Let’s do it then.”
“I will only be a spectator for the next hour. While you do your thing, Harley with stay with me.”
Zeven pushed Harley back behind him. “Fuck you. It’s not happening.”
In the blink of an eye Deven was across the room and had a knife cutting against Zeven’s throat. “This is not under negotiation.”
Harley clung to him. “Please, Zeven. I can’t go with you anyhow.”
Shit. Bro was one fast fucker and the lock down on his gullet was testimony to the muscle behind the speed.
“You will have one hour, beginning now. At that time, we will be face to face and you will tell me your choice.” The knife was gone, smoothly back in its hidden sheath.“For all our sakes, I pray you choose well.”
Harley sagged in relief when Zeven accepted the terms. Her heart couldn’t take much more of this drama. Good grief…They’d been handed a blessing with the brothers reuniting but neither could see that yet.
“You ready for this Harley?” Zeven cupped her jaw. His gaze softened.
“I’m ready, but before you go, I want to tell you how much I love you.”
“I know you do.” He leaned in close until his cheek was pressed against hers.“I love you too, more than it’s possible to show.”
“If they don’t believe you, promise me you will walk away. We don’t need their money and we can leave this area and live our lives somewhere else with new names. I’ve done it before. We can do it together. The only thing that matters is that we both live.” She was rambling, which was a sure sign of how nervous she was.
