Page 117 of Blood and Bonbons

He shook his head. “Nothing to worry about.”

“Are you sure? I have a stocked first aid kit.”

“Why am I not surprised?”

I grinned at his teasing and pulled out chips to pile on the plate next to the sandwich.

“What do you want to drink?”

“Water is fine.”

“I have beer.”

“No. I’m on duty.”

“Are you ever off duty?” I asked as I poured him a glass of water.

“Not when you have Shepard as a boss.”

“You don’t sound upset about it.”

“I’m not. We stick together.”

I took the plate and water and set them on the coffee table for him. He eased down onto the couch, and I caught a slight wince.

“Youarehurt,” I said.

“I’ll be fine by tomorrow. The sandwich will help.” He gave me a small smile that made me feel guiltier.

“I’m sorry, Anchor. Everything that happened tonight was because of Vena and me. If we hadn’t been at Juicy, there wouldn’t have been any retaliation on Blur.”

“Don’t feel guilty. You brought a vampire’s den to our attention. We might never have found it without you, and countless people like you and Vena would have been hurt because of it.”

“Shepard said you took care of the den at Juicy. What happened there?”

“We wrecked it so there’s no easy way to reopen. Since it’s in our territory, they’d be stupid to come back.”

“Do you think there will be more retaliation?” I asked.

He looked thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe. Shepard will put the heat on the vampires. They’ll either move on or—”

“Or?” I prompted.

“Or they’ll get the war they’ve been itching for.” He frowned. “Don’t tell Shepard I told you that. He’s protective when it comes to his employees. He’s going to tell you everything will be okay. And it will be. The next move is ours.” A wolfish grin followed. “They’ll be hurting far worse than us.”

I took a breath. “I’d prefer you don’t get hurt at all.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t go down easy. That’s why Shepard assigned me to you.”

“Because you’re the best?”

He grinned. “You know it.”

I gave a small laugh. “Then I’m glad you’re here.” I was about to say goodnight, but I paused.

“Got something else on your mind?” he asked as he took a large bite of the sandwich and groaned. “So good.”

“I was just wondering…if we get the best, who does Sierra get?”

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