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Bad idea, Qhuinn thought, agreeing with the others
Wrath let theo for a minute, like he&039;d expected this Then he resu "I can&039;t expect support if I don&039;t earn it - and I haven&039;t personally seen some of these people in decades, if not centuries My father met with folks every month, if not every week, to resolve disputes"
"You&039;re the king!" someone bit out "You don&039;t need to do shit - "
"You see that letter? It&039;s the neorld order - if I don&039;t respond proactively, I&039; myself Look, my brothers, if you were out in the field, about to face the enemy, would you fool yourself about the landscape? Would you lie to yourself about the layout of the streets, the buildings, the cars, or whether it was hot or cold, raining or dry? No So why should I bullshitI can take cover behind in a shoot-out? Back in my father&039;s time that shit was a bulletproof vest Now? It&039;s a sheet of paper, people You gotta know that"
There was a long period of silence, and then everyone looked at Tohr Like they were used to turning to hiht," the Brother said gruffly Then he focused on Wrath "But you gotta know you&039;re not doing this alone You need to have two or three of us with you And the ered over a period of ht and you look desperate, but anized to do a hit on you Sites lance around "You need to be aware that we&039;re going to be trigger-happy We will shoot to kill when your life&039;s on the line - whether it&039;s a feen or the head of a family We will not ask permission, or merely wound If you can live with those terms, ill let you do this"
Nobody else could have laid down the rules like that and walked without a liave out orders to the Brotherhood, not the other way around But this was the neorld, as Wrath had said
The runted "Agreed"
As a collective exhale hit the airwaves, Qhuinn found hi over at Blay Aw, hell, talk about a suck zone - this hy he avoided the guy like the plague Just one glance and he was locked on, all kinds of reactions rolling through hiood reason, Blay&039;s eyes flipped up and oosed in the ass with a live wire, his body spashing while he glanced away
About as smooth as a crater Yup Fantastic
" and in the , "I want to find out where these soldiers are staying"
"I can take care of that," Xhex spoke up "Especially if I hit them in the daytime"
All heads turned in her direction Beside her, John stiffened from head to foot, and Qhuinn cursed under his breath
Talk about your shons except hadn&039;t the pair of thelad he didn&039;t do relationships
Not again, John thought to hiotten back on speaking ter side by side with Xhex was trouble, the idea of her trying to infiltrate the Band of Bastards on their hoe of a seizure
As he let his head fall back against the wall, he realized that everyone and their dog was staring at hie&039;s brown eyes were trained in his direction
"Are you kiddingme"
Even after she spoke, nobody looked at her It was all about John: Clearly, as he was her hellren, they were seeking his approval - or not - about what she&039;d put out there
And John couldn&039;t seemire bethat she wanted and where he didn&039;t want them to end up
Wrath cleared his throat "Well, that&039;s a kind offer - "
"Kind offer?" she spat "Like I&039;, he told hi hands up and tell her What? That he was on board with her going to find six males with no consciences? After what Lash had done to her? What if she was captured and
Oh, Jesus, he was cracking up over here Yes, she was tough and strong and capable But she was as mortal as anybody else And without Xhex, he wouldn&039;t want to be on the planet at all
Rehvenge snagged his cane and pushed himself up "Let&039;s you and I talk - "
"Excuse me?" Xhex bit out " &039;Talk&039;? Like I&039;m the one who needs a mental readjustment? No offense, but bite me, Rehv The bunch of you need me to do what I can to help"
As all the otherat their shitkickers and loafers, the sys are different now"
"How"
"Come on, Xhex - "
"Are you people insane? Just because my name&039;s in his back, I&039;m suddenly a prisoner or some shit?"
"Xhex - "
"Oh, no, nope, you can fuck off with that be-reasonable tone" She glared at the males, and then focused on Beth and Payne "I don&039;t kno you two stand it - I really don&039;t"
John was trying to think of what he could say to derail the collision, but what a waste of time Two trains had alreadyengine parts everywhere
Especially as Xhex marched for the door like she was prepared to claw it apart just to prove a point
When he went to follow her, she pegged hi after o after Xcor, you need to stop right where you are Because you belong with this anachronistic group ofhis hands, he signed, It is not wrong to want to keep you safe
"This is not about safety - it&039;s about control"
Bullshit! You were hurt less than twenty-four hours ago -
"Fine I have an idea I want to keep you safe - so how about you stop fighting" She glared over her shoulder at Wrath "You gonna back me up, my lord? How about the rest of you fools? Let&039;s put the skirt and the panty hose on John, shall we? Come on, back my ass up No? You don&039;t think that would be &039;fair&039;?"
John&039;s temper flared, and he just He didn&039;t mean to do what he did It just happened
He sto a thunderous noise, and pointed directly at Tohr
Aard Horrid Silence
Kind of like he and Xhex had not only dragged their dirty laundry out in front of everyone, but he&039;d ed to drape their sweat socks and stained shirts all over Tohr&039;s head
In response? The Brother just crossed his arms over his chest and nodded, once
Xhex shook her head "I gotta get out of here I gotta clear ood for you, you will not follow one
In the after his pal his features
"How &039;bout everybody head off for the night," Wrath said softly "I want to talk to John Tohr, you hang"
No need to ask twice The Brotherhood and the others left like so their cars
Beth stayed behind So did George
As the doors shut, John looked at Tohr I&039;m so sorry -
"Nah, son" The male stepped forward "I don&039;t here I&039;m at for you, either"
The Brother put his ar into the once ed to hold him up
Tohr&039;s voice was steady in his ear: "It&039;s okay I got you It&039;s all right"
John put his head to the side and stared at the door his shellan had walked out of He wanted to go after her with every fiber of his being - but those fibers were also ere ripping the, but his heart and his body were ruled by soer and
It rong Disrespectful Old-fashioned in a way that he never thought he could be He didn&039;t think females should be sequestered, and he believed in his mate, and he wanted her
To be safe
Period
"Give her soo after her, okay? You and I will go together"
"Good plan," Wrath said, "because neither of you is going out in the field tonight" The king held up his pal "Really?"
That shut the asked Tohr
The Brother&039;s shtest "I&039;et any hotter just because he&039;s using me as an example of where he doesn&039;t want to be"
"You sure about that"
"Don&039;t worry about me"
"Easier said than done" Wrath o any further on all that "We done?"
As Tohr nodded and turned for the door, John gave the First Family a bow and then went after the male
He didn&039;t have to rush Tohr aiting for him out in the corridor "Listen to me - it&039;s cool I&039;ned About everything And shit, I miss Wellsie - I really miss her
Tohr blinked for a moment Then in a quiet voice, he said, "I know, son I know you lost her, too"
Do you think she would have liked Xhex?
"Yeah" A shadow of a smile hit that harsh face "She only o, but they were cool, and if there had been tiht like tonight, we could have used the fened, as he tried to iuess where she would go: back to her own place on the Hudson River That was her refuge, her private space And when he showed up on her doorstep, he could only pray she didn&039;t throw him out on his ass
But they had to resolve this soned This is probably going to get ugly
Make that uglier, he thought
"Fair enough Just know that I&039;m here if you need ht as they parted Al each other, instead of uessed that hat happened when you crossed paths with someone you were really compatible with
Felt like you&039;d been with them forever