Page 40 of Her Wolf

“How am I supposed to get any respect if you three keep treating me like a piece of glass?”

She swung out her hands, but it obviously wasn’t a signal for them to agree with her because she kept talking.

“You know what I realized today? When Neo was here? I could actually hold a conversation with him. We discussed cartel business.” She pointed at them. “Because you three weren’t giving me looks, or interrupting, or—” the finger moved to Lars, quivering, “—cracking jokes all the time.”

Finn half-expected Lars to have a retort, but the man remained silent.

“So…” Cora brushed off her jeans and drew a visible breath that pushed her breasts against the thin fabric of her t-shirt.

Was that what she’d been wearing when Neo had been here? Because then he wasn’t in the least surprised there’d been a conversation. That thin fabric left nothing to the imagination, especially since she hadn’t bothered with a bra.

He’d probably been speechless the entire time. If he remembered anything about their ‘meeting’, it would most likely be the size of Cora’s breasts.

“Who’s with me?” Cora asked.

Lars snorted, and she turned an astonished face toward him.

“You know what’s funny?” he asked, leaning back in the armchair and lounging despite how cramped it was. “The fact that you still think you have to ask.” He touched fingertips to his chest. “And apparently I’m an authority on the matter, so you can take that the bank.”

“I think an off shore account might work better,” Bailey said.

Lars laughed and slapped Bailey’s thigh. “There’s the Bailey I don’t know.”

“If it’s so obvious that you’re here for me, then why don’t you act like it?” Cora said.

And now her voice was unsteady, as if this entire episode had drained her bitch reserves.

“Guess we all have issues with authority,” Lars said. “Some of us, more than others.” And then he pointed at Finn.

“It’s one thing for you to make decisions,” he said, ignoring Lars’s incriminating finger. “But if you’re going to step in front of a moving train, do you really expect us to stand and watch it pulverize you?”

“Ouch,” Lars muttered.

“He’s right, Cora,” Bailey said, lacing his fingers together and dangling his hands between his spread legs. “I get you have to be in charge, but we’re here to protect you. You can’t expect us to stop doing that.”

Her mouth worked, but she looked at a loss for words.

“This thing tomorrow,” Finn said, waving a hand at her. “What were you planning?”

She gave him a grateful smile, and then nodded to herself. “We don’t want to meet them here. This is our sanctuary, after all. Right?”

Lars and Bailey nodded. Finn just watched her, studying her face as she spoke.

“So…I was thinking…we have a party.”

There was silence. And then Lars let out a strangled sound. “A…party.”

She held up a hand. “The way I figure, if there’s a lot of people around, it’ll neutralize the situation. It’s like meeting in a public place, except—”

“You might be on a DEA or FBI hit list, so that’s not an option,” Lars finished for her.

Her mouth tightened, but she gave him a grudging nod. “Exactly. So I turn somewhere else into a public place.”

“Filled with public people,” Finn said, standing. “People we don’t know we can trust.”

She held up a finger and took a hurried step back when he came forward. “No, you see, it’ll all be El Calacas people.” She patted her chest. “Our people.”

Finn paused mid step. “How many?”

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