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“That’s brilliant. He trained them not to take treats from strangers, you know? They must really like you,” she mused.

“Hey, making those treats costs an arm and a leg. But being able to taunt him is worth every cent.”

We talked for a while; the words coming easier now that we had found a way to break the ice. I liked her and I could see why he was fond of her, too.

“They’re coming for me.” I said, unable to hide the tremor in my voice. “Ahren too. He protected me, so he has a target now, too.”

She nodded thoughtfully. “I had a feeling the night we pulled you from that grove that this would end in a full-scale war.”

“And you still saved my life, anyway?” I said, my words coming out more of a question than a statement.

She nodded, a soft smile broke across her face. “Ahren asked me to.”

“Do you regret it?”

“No.”

“For him?”

“For him.” She nodded.

Chapter 14

AHREN

“I can’t even pretend to be surprised you’re calling me.” Henri said, his trademark smirk bleeding through the phone.

“It figures you’d already know.” I sighed heavily before continuing. “I need to call in that favor you owe me. A life for a life.”

He exhaled a long steady breath, “Yeah man. Yeah. We’re good.”

“How bad is it?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me. The only way to face this was head on and for that, I needed all the info I could get.

A loud, boisterous laugh boomed through the speaker, “Three million—each.”

“Shit!”

“What the hell did you think would happen when you decided to protect the hitter crazy enough to go after the broker? There aren’t many rules in our biz man, but that is definitely one.”

“Yeah, well, we don’t go after one of our own either. Not without an order.” I snarled.

“She—”

“They put out an order on her. That shit is supposed to come from the top, but they sent low-level grunts to do it. Makes no fucking sense. The broker was her only clue.”

I exhaled, releasing the frustration that had been coiling ever tighter since I crossed the threshold with her in my arms last night.

“She’s being set up. I know you don’t care; a job is a job. But you care about the rules and she’s being hunted for a rule she didn’t break.”

“You’re right. I don’t care,” he answered in his flat, unreadable tone. “A life for a life. Not a life for two. Rossdale.”

A dry laugh escaped me. “And the real issue finally enters the chat.”

“Last time I checked, you didn’t work for free either.” He mused.

“Fair enough. Fair enough. I’ll pay double.” I said.

He was silent a few beats longer than I expected, my words hanging in the night air.