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She nodded, finding great comfort in just being held by Bodie. “Yes, and I used him to verify information I got that didn’t come from him and vice versa. The problem is, if I go after Gutierrez, and it comes out that the son of one of his victims was my primary source, then I’m screwed, and Gutierrez might slip out from any kind of indictment.”
“But if he does that, he is finished in the Gulf. He’ll be too hot for anyone to want to deal with, and his own people or those in other cartels may well end him for you and Alvaro.”
“My guess is that Alvaro doesn’t want Gutierrez dead; he wants to see him brought to justice for his father’s death.”
“Justice and revenge are often flip sides of the same coin. I can tell you for a fact, while justice may be sweet, revenge is often a whole lot easier to get.”
“That’s pretty jaded for a romantic gangster such as yourself,” she teased.
“Perhaps, but that doesn’t make it any less true. I’m not saying you can’t trust Alvaro or his information—after all, everything in the past has been legit. The problem becomes if you were to try to take on Gutierrez, he may get wind of it and come after you.”
“Isn’t that where you come in?” she quipped.
Nipping her ear he said, “True, but it doesn’t mean I will allow you to put yourself at risk. But the information Alvaro has might make it possible for me to step in and take the bastard down.”
“You mean kill him.”
“Not necessarily. At the very least I can run him out of New Orleans and make sure he stays there. But I will tell you this, if he tries to harm you in any way, I will end him. There will be no mercy. He will die.”
“Okay, this is really sick, but I find that intoxicating and arousing.”
Bodie laughed. “And so, my mate’s predatory nature comes to the fore.” He sobered for a moment. “You do realize that no one can know about your tigress. But saying that, if you are in grave jeopardy, you call for her.”
“How does that work? Last time she just came and went as she pleased. I was a little worried about that happening when I wasn’t expecting it.”
“Both situations were extreme and she acted to protect you. When she came forward, she believed me to be a threat. When she receded, it was because she recognized me as your mate and knew she would not win a battle with me.”
“Of course we would win.”
“You would not.”
“Would, too,” she said, marveling at the fact that he wasn’t picking up on the one thing she now knew to be absolutely true.
“I am bigger and stronger than you. You might be a tad bit faster, but not by that much. I have been a tiger-shifter my entire life. This afternoon you shifted for the first time and were not in control of that.”
“Yes, but I have one great advantage over you that others do not.”
“What might that be?” he asked, sounding like he was becoming irritated with her.
“You would never hurt me. Never. You might tattoo your displeasure all over my ass or fuck me with less than gentle means, but you would never, ever truly hurt me.”
“You are sure of that?”
“More sure of that than anything else in my life.”
“Your point is well taken, and you are correct, but never forget in tiger society, men are dominant, and we have no trouble keeping our tigresses in line with the help of a hand or belt applied to a shapely backside.”
“Again, I’m not sure that’s the threat you think it is,” she laughed.
“You laugh all you want, my mate, but I would bet serious money on the fact that you will come to know the difference between a spanking done for fun or erotic reasons and one that is meant to express my anger at something you’ve done and to correct the behavior so I don’t have to do it again.”
“That’s the whole ‘stay where I put you’ thing, isn’t it?”
It was Bodie’s turn to smile. “It is, indeed.”
“This thing with Alvaro is important to me and not just me, but the paper. The paper is bleeding red ink, and Levi needs a sensational story to boost subscriptions, as well as attract more advertisers. This story might not win a Pulitzer, but there are other prestigious awards, and if I can write it right, and help bring down the cartel and stop Gutierrez’s new drug from entering the U.S., then it might be considered for the big P.”
“Is that important to you?”
