shadowing taut features. Max knew the feeling. Uneasy was the head that wore the crown with all its troubles, and Cale, the strutty little brawler with his scars and tattoos, had worn it surprisingly well up until now.
“The plan was for no one to escape,” their king intoned heavily. “Everyone who did is a gift. Don’t forget that.” Fingers squeezed tight. “We have you to thank, Chris. You and Row, and Sylvia, who surprised the ever-loving shit outta me.” He provided Turow with a faint smile.
After they’d shuttled dozens to the safety of her casino fortress, Turow and his controversial mate had scooped their battered king from the frigid waters of Lake Tahoe in the helicopter she piloted. This, after he had once been prepared to execute her.
“Heroes, like family,” Cale concluded, “come in all shapes, sizes and bloodlines. We owe Savoie. He didn’t have to take us in. He coulda kicked us aside like strays. We’ve got a lot to be grateful for.”
Rico, the hot-headed brother with his flaming hair and temper who’d been training the New Orleans clan to move as a warrior unit, gave a harsh laugh. “Grateful two of our brothers broke our father out of his prison in Reno? That he’s plotting who knows what with who knows who to murder the rest of us? Yeah, I’m just doing a happy dance over our good fortune.”
After finishing the final bite from a once-overflowing plate, Colin, ever the strategist, spoke up. “They weren’t working alone. They got the juice from someone. That’s what makes me nervous. Who else should we be worried about?”
“Everyone,” Max concluded. Silence dropped over his company. “You can’t trust anyone. Not your friends. Not who you’re related to, unless you’re mated to them.”
“That include you, Savoie?” Rico wisecracked.
Max leveled a cool-eyed stare at the smirking redhead. “Yes. Were I you, I’d have me on that list. For your females, your unborn, you can’t afford to overlook anyone’s motives. Do I have one for wanting you dead? No. Not at this minute, but things can change.”
“That’s a pretty damned cynical speech for someone who has our king sleeping across the hall from his mate.”
Max returned Colin’s wry smile. “Keeps me alive. And I’da soon keep all of you that way, too. As for my mate, you’d best be worried about her, not the other way around.”
He finished his coffee in a gulp and surveyed the ragged-edged group. As one who intimately understood loss and despair, he addressed the desperation cloaked by their bravado. “I’ve never had much luck with those who called themselves my family, but I consider you my allies. I trust our shared goals more than I believe blood wins out over self-interest. If I’m a fool to do so, guess I’ll find out soon enough.”
“Guess we both will.” Cale pushed back from the table to stand as Cee Cee entered the room. In unison, his brothers did the same as he said, “Good morning, Detective.”
As the Terriot leader tracked the intimate look his host and hostess exchanged, a sudden melancholy claimed their usually rowdy guest, that emptiness of missing the other half that made him whole.
A cocky smirk masked momentary sadness as Cale announced, “We’ll let you have a meal with your mate. We need to get some fresh air and exercise ’fore we get fat on all this good food.” That said, he led the way out through arch-topped glass doors onto the wrap-around veranda, each brother nodding to Cee Cee who looked after them for a moment before taking a seat beside instead of across from Max.
She arched a brow as he filled her coffee cup half way, his concession to her cutting down from an entire pot. “Aren’t you afraid of being bitten by that dog you tease with questions of trust?”
He smiled at her cynicism. “Maybe. But I like them, Charlotte. I understand the things they want, fear, and stand for. I’ve suffered the kind of losses they have. And I’d rather have wild dogs like them running loose on my property than collared pets looking for a place to sink their teeth.”
As her hand covered his, they watched through the wide vista of glass doors as the five Terriots crossed the porch. Though the morning was damp and cold, they stripped off shirts, shoes, and socks to stretch and limber up.
Cee Cee jumped as Max nudged her in the ribs.
“Might wanna suck up that drool.”
She provided a naughty smile. “I was admiring their impressive .