Vixen (Dark Protectors #11.5) - Rebecca Zanetti Page 0,25

was forced into it to help that Ivar dude who’s gone, and then I think he stayed because of an interest in Abby. Raine was there to maybe kill that Ivar guy, and I’m not sure why he’s still around. He must have a reason. And I was there because you got me on video and wouldn’t give it to me until I’d successfully completed the course.”

Evan shook his head. “Immortals are crazy. Batshit nuts.”

“That’s just not nice,” she countered.

He looked at her—really looked at her. Sexy, beautiful, and something else. Yeah. He could see it. A heat spiraled through him, landing hard in his chest and expanding out. His. “Before I was sick, when I was me, I was a possessive and way over-protective jackass,” he rumbled.

Her eyebrows rose. “Why tell me that?”

“Fair warning,” he said, a newfound power filling his body. He didn’t have time to figure this new reality out right now, but whatever was going on, it started and ended with the miniature blonde looking warily at him right now.

“Hmm. Well, bottom line is that I saved your life.” She tugged her wrinkled shirt into place. “We can be friends, we can be sometimes lovers, but I’m a free spirit. Don’t ever forget that.”

She was cute, too. He let his teeth show. “Don’t think for a second that I’ve forgotten about Richard. Is he a demon, too?”

“Yes. You can tell by the light hair and really dark eyes. And mangled vocal cords.” Her eyes flared. “I can take care of myself, Evan.” A stubbornness tightened her jaw, and an impressive power flowed from her, easy to discern now that he knew more about her.

“Well now, I wasn’t going to let you deal with him by yourself before I knew he was a demon.” Evan strode through the living room, reclaiming his gun to tuck at the back of his waist. “You should’ve gotten to know me a little bit better before mating us together for eternity.” The whole idea was blowing his mind, but the more he settled into it, the more he felt like himself again.

He would’ve never let the woman take on a powerful adversary on her own. Immortality or not.

Chapter 10

Tabi didn’t mind hiding from enemies, and she enjoyed having a good fight once in a while. However, what she hated was feeling off balance. Evan had made her feel that way from the beginning, and now that she’d mated him, that sensation increased tenfold. “I really think we should talk about us and what we expect from each other,” she said as he drove through town. The man had insisted on driving, and damn if she hadn’t let him.

“That’s fine, but right now I want to know who Richard Goncharov and the Popovs are.” He turned a corner, his gaze scouting both sides of the car.

She’d forgotten he’d heard the threat from Richard. “You don’t need to worry about them.”

“Tabitha.” One word, steel in the sound.

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. I was business partners with the Popov brothers for a while, and we didn’t get along. We amicably split up our business interests. Then my developers created the spray that’s going to make me billions, and the Popov brothers are pissed and out for blood.”

Evan pulled into the lot of the police station. “And Richard?”

“He’s very wealthy and owns a few islands. He’s offered to mate me and protect me from the Popovs.” Not that she needed protection, as soon as she made her own billions from the masking spray. “I’m a purebred demon, without any family, and that matters to him.”

Evan frowned. “Does it matter to you?”

“No. I’m not going to mate him, and I’ll handle the Popovs.” She released her seatbelt.

“Oh, I don’t think so.” Evan cut the engine. “As I see it, you’ve made all the decisions so far. It’s my turn.”

She didn’t like that at all. Her chin rose. “Now wait a—”

He was already out of the car and striding toward Noah, who waited near the front stairs of the station, looking for all the world as if he was about to storm the building.

Tabi scrambled out of the car and ran behind him, catching up just as the two males stared at each other. Why hadn’t she realized how broad Evan was before?

Noah cocked his head and took them both in. “You did not.”

Tabi kicked a pebble out of her way. “I did.”

Evan watched him. “How can you tell?”

Noah, his eyes a blazing black, shook his head.