Leopard 05 - Savage Nature

but it worked. He let loose to catch me around the waist so I wouldn’t fall. He was all worried, so much so that it never occurred to him that I managed to pull my knife and lock it where it counted until I said somethin’ to him.”
    “Poor man,” Gage muttered. “He shoulda been expectin’ you to pull somethin’ on him. I’m a little disappointed in him.”
    “Take a look at my head before you go and feel sorry for that ass,” Lojos suggested indignantly. “He nearly killed me.”
    “It’s a bump,” Mahieu corrected, but he once again checked his brother’s head.
    “Pour a little of Saria’s disinfectant over it,” Drake suggested. “It’ll fix him right up.”
    “Go to hell,” Lojos grumped.
    “This disinfectant is good stuff,” Saria said. “In any case, I need to take a look at your back, Drake. Roll over.”
    He groaned. “I don’t want to move.”
    “You should have thought about that before you got in the fight.”
    Drake opened one eye and looked at her. Her eyes had gone liquid as she looked at the injuries. His heart began to pound. “Baby,” he said softly, uncaring that her brothers—or anyone else heard him. “You can’t cry. Not now. You’ll break my heart.”
    “You did this because of me.”
    “I did this for me,” he corrected. “My leopard and I are one and the same. Fuckin’ idiots think they can intimidate the world. They shoved and I shoved back harder. That’s all. It will happen again.” He studied her slightly averted face. “Did I scare you?”
    She shook her head, but Saria didn’t want to lie to him. She lifted her chin and looked him directly in the eyes. “Maybe. A little. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
    He wrapped his palm around the nape of her neck. “I was careful for the most part. I didn’t want to really hurt anyone, just more like teach them a lesson.” He pressed his forehead against hers. “I’m not a violent man.”
    Joshua, Jerico and Evan choked dramatically and began coughing.
    Remy snorted. “And if you believe that, Saria, I’ve got a sinkhole I can sell you for farmland.”
    “You’re not helping my cause,” Drake complained.
    “Ignore them. I always do,” Saria advised. She swallowed, leaned closer and brushed her lips over his. The lightest of touches, but his body stirred—and damn it all—it hurt.
    He swore there was a snicker coming from somewhere, but when he glared around the room, everyone was looking away. He rolled over very carefully, his breath hissing out of his lungs, his body on fire. “Fucking jackasses. I should have done a lot more damage.”
    “Oh, I think they got the point,” Remy said. “When you stop fussin’ over that man, Saria, you can tell me where the photographs are. This time, I’ll get them.”
    “I put them in the left top drawer in a case and hid the negatives away from here, just in case somethin’ happened.”
    “Like someone killed you?” Remy demanded.
    “Yeah. Like that,” Saria admitted, shrugging.
    He swore under his breath, something about stubborn women who needed a man to take them in hand, as he stalked out. Drake turned his head and flicked a look at Joshua, who immediately trailed after him. Drake wasn’t about to take the chance that someone from the lair—or a killer—might try another sneak attack, not when his body needed time to recover.
    Gage and Mahieu exchanged a long look. “No one would try to jump Remy,” Gage said. “He’s got a rep around here.”
    “Maybe, but a bullet doesn’t care much about reputation and I’ve seen several of your neighbors all too ready to use a gun.” Drake didn’t bother to lift his head up again. His belly burned with every movement. He was getting too old to fight three or four challengers. Foolish males feeling their leopard’s drive did that sort of thing—or someone insane enough to crave leadership—which was not him.
    He had to smile when he heard Remy’s voice. “What the hell are you doin’ tailin’ after me? You think I need a damn babysitter?”
    Remy stalked back into the house, Joshua trailing behind him. Joshua hadn’t replied, nor would he, Drake knew. He’d been given an order to keep Remy safe and he wasn’t about to be intimidated by the Cajun snarling at him. Joshua simply sent the affronted homicide detective one level look from eyes that said it all. He moved on past the man and stood to the side of the window facing into the swamp.
    “Your men are downright