Page 60 of Savage Hunter

“No.”

The rough-edged bark of an answer feels like a bite against my senses.

Wolfe, quiet until now, pushes off the wall he’s held up for the last ten minutes and comes to stand in front of me. From the way he considers me with his eyes half closed it’s clear he has reservations about my proposal. He better get ready to share them, because I’m not about to take his orders and go sit in a corner.

My brows rise. “Really? Why not?”

“The answer is no.” Solid granite is easier to read than his rock-hard expression.

My vision flashes red but I keep my cool. “That’s not an answer. It’s an order. Take your alpha posturing somewhere else.” I flick the ring in my lips feverishly. Truth be told, the domineering aura shimmering off him is hot. I would fall to my knees in front of him right this second if we were in the bedroom. But we are not and thank God for that. The last thing I need is for my family to see me weak. And am I not fighting to exert my strength here?

Fuck I am a walking contradiction around this man.

I keep flicking my lip ring and the rapid movement draws his eyes. Hunger flashes in those dark pools of arrogance, but instead of reaching out and grabbing me like I sense he wants to do, he crosses his thick arms over the expanse of his barrel chest.

“Okay. And?”

“And thank you. I’m glad we are on the same page now. I suggest we leave now. Persephone, you’ll need to tell us everything we need to know about where to find your sister.”

Rage’s woman looks dumbstruck which could result from the drugs she’s on so I don’t put too much thought into the way her mouth hangs open and her eyes bounce between Wolfe and me. Okay, that’s not the drugs. She’s waiting for me to clobber Wolfe.

“What the fuck just happened?” Rage’s laugh breaks through the tension choking the life from the room.

“Woman. You are not listening.”

Wolfe is hot on my heels when I turn and head for the stairs. “I heard you just fine. You said okay. I said thank you. Now I’m packing.” I stop after making it up three stairs and turn. “Does anyone have clothes and necessities for a little girl and a baby? Nova? Can I take some of your pampers and bottles?”

“Oh, no. This isn’t over yet,” the animal growls and then acts like a beast. Wolfe grabs my arm, spins me around and plucks me off the third step. He drops me to my feet in the middle of the living room where I started.

I ball my fist and pepper his chest with a few blows. That gets me about as far as I thought it would, but it feels good all the same.

A finger is shoved into my face. “You’re not getting within one hundred miles of that fuckinghacienda. Period.”

I bat it away and use one of mine to stab at his chest. “Don’t think you can just lay down laws and rules and push me around like I'm some doll you can play with and position like you want and then walk away. I’m not a toy you can play with and come back to anytime you want. I control what I do. Not you. And that goes for you too, Ares. I see you are about to say something. You all see me as this weakling. I’m not.”

My internal voice chimes in.You’re damaged.

Yes, but not weak. Never weak.Neveragain.

The longer I talk the closer I get to giving Wolfe a loaded knuckle sandwich. Anything to erase the arrogance tugging at the ends of his smile.

“What?” I snap at Wolfe.

“You.” the edge of his lip curls into a side grin painted in arrogance.

He wants to laugh? Okay. I hold up a set of keys I grabbed off the rack on the way into the compound along with a backup set. “I have the keys to Dragon’s Porsche. I mean, unless you wanna drive the beat up old pickup truck. Wait, I have those keys too.” I hold up a set of Chevy keys. “I’ll let you pick. I don’t think you want to ride your bike all the way to Texas.”

“Don’t sass me—”

“Then don’t play me for some pushover,” I cut him off. “That would be a mistake, Wolfe.”

I can feel everyone’s eyes on us. They do not know we have history.

“You don’t know your way around a weapon, you can’t come. I will not put you in harm’s way. I won’t.” He’s at the point of saying my name but I see him backtrack just as the first syllable dares to drop from his tongue. He clamps his lips closed.

I look at Rage and he’s wearing a smirk bigger than the sun. I walk over to him, grab the piece he holds out to me and break it into parts starting with releasing the magazine and opening the slide to check for any loaded rounds.

“Time me.”

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