Leopard's Prey

it was the one unseen. The golden leopard was there in the house, close. She moved away from Dion, circling the table to reach the block of knives Saria kept on the counter.
    “Robert’s here, Saria. We’ve come for help. We need Drake.”
    “You didn’t call first,” Saria pointed out. “There’s just bein’ polite. You can’t just walk into my house and expect to be welcome.”
    “We didn’t have time for that,” Dion said brusquely. “Where’s Drake?”
    Bijou’s hand closed over the handle of the knife, but didn’t pull it loose. She stood with her body blocking her actions, just waiting, listening for sounds of the other male.
    “Get out of my house, Dion, before I call my brothers.”
    The tension in the room was definitely escalating. Saria was pregnant and she had to be feeling vulnerable. Bijou hadn’t thought of calling for help. She didn’t have brothers or a family. She should have reached for her cell phone, not the knife. Silently cursing her own stupidity, she let out her breath and let go of the knife.
    “I’m Bijou Breaux,” she introduced herself. “I don’ believe we met, unless it was back when we were still in school.”
    Dion turned cool eyes on her. “Oh, we met, but you were too cool to notice my brother or me.”
    “That’s it,” Saria snarled. “Get the hell out of my house, Dion. Right now. You’re not goin’ to break in to my home uninvited and then be rude to my friends. Get. Out.”
    “Saria, we’ve been friends a long time,” Dion said, “I’m tellin’ you, we need help.”
    “Then act like it instead of bein’ a jackass, Dion,” Saria replied, not backing down an inch. “I expect this behavior from Robert, but not you. One of you has to be reasonable, and you know it isn’t goin’ to be your brother. So tell him to either come in here and sit down at my table and explain to me what’s goin’ on, or both of you get out and wait for my husband.”
    There was such hard authority in Saria’s voice that Bijou could have hugged her. She had that same air of command and confidence that Remy and the rest of the Boudreaux exuded. Clearly she wasn’t intimidated by Dion or his brother.
    “His brother came after me last night in the swamp, Saria,” Bijou advised her. “And he fought with Remy.”
    Dion’s eyes took on a slow glow. “Robert’s pretty beat-up,” he agreed. “He was drunk last night and he did things he shouldn’t have. We need to talk to Drake, or Robert’s goin’ to be in real trouble, Saria. He’s a screwup sometimes, but he has a good heart. I’m askin’ you, as our friend, to help us out.”
    Saria glanced at Bijou. “Remy beat him up? Was it a terrible battle? You must have been horribly frightened.”
    “I was terrified,” Bijou admitted frankly. “I’d never seen anythin’ like that in my life. Or even imagined it.”
    “Bijou was already marked,” Saria said. “No other had a claim on her but Remy. You know the rules as well as Robert. Remy was within his rights to kill Robert last night, but he didn’t. If you’re comin’ here to complain . . .”
    Dion shook his head. “Can I get a cup of coffee?”
    “If you make that fool of a brother come in like a normal person,” Saria said. “Bijou won’t bite him, if that’s what he’s afraid of.”
    Dion raised his voice. “Robert come in here, right now. If we’re goin’ to keep your sorry ass out of jail, you’d better try to get Saria on your side.” He dragged a chair from the table and dropped into it, pressing the heel of his hand against his head.
    “Remy isn’t goin’ to throw Robert in jail because he dared to challenge him for Bijou last night. The fight was between leopards, not humans,” Saria pointed out, going to the cupboard and pulling out two more mugs. She handed them to Bijou, who was closest to the coffeepot.
    The kitchen door pushed inward slowly and Robert slunk in, walking carefully, hunched over, his face swollen and black and blue. He kept his arms in close to his sides as if protecting broken ribs. He didn’t look at either woman, but gratefully took the chair his brother toed around for him.
    “Milk? Sugar?” Bijou asked, feeling a little more solicitous now that she could see Robert wasn’t a real threat. Remy’s leopard had really done injury to him.
    Both men shook their heads. Even when she set the coffee in front of him, Robert still didn’t look up, but appeared more miserable than ever.
    “We really