"Maybe he can take some good-natured ribbing, but doesn't like having his head bitten off."
"Is that what I did?"
Jasper arched an eyebrow. "What would you call it?"
He didn't have an answer for that--not an honest one he wanted to give. Dallas drained his drink and slammed it down. "Fuck, Jas. She's got me turned inside out, and I can't afford that right now. None of us can."
"That's not Bren's fault. It's not mine, or even hers." Jasper rose and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Get it as right as you can before you leave, because if you lose your shit in Two, you make Lex a bigger target than she already is. Truth."
"I hear you." But hearing wasn't enough. Somehow, he had to get a chokehold on his own base reactions, along with the fucking temper that ran too close to the surface where Lex was concerned. "I'll make things right, too. With Bren, with you and your girl."
Jas shook his head. "First order of business--stay alive. Everything else can wait."
Dallas almost laughed. "That's the one thing you don't have to tell me, man. I always stay alive."
"You've never done this before. Watch your back."
"I'll do you one better. I'll let Lex watch it." Dallas smiled wryly. "You don't think she'd let anyone else sink a knife in it, do you?"
But Jasper didn't smile. "No, I don't. I wonder if you do, though."
No, that was one thing Dallas had always been certain of, whether Jasper believed it or not. Lex was fully capable of trying to tear out his heart with her bare hands if she thought he deserved it, but she reserved that right for herself.
And if he didn't get his temper under control, she'd be trying sooner rather than later. "I'll see you after dinner. We can walk the warehouse and check the next shipment."
"I'll take care of it." Jasper turned the knob with a grin. "Bren and Mad aren't the only ones who have to pack." He slipped out and closed the door behind him.
No, they weren't, and they had the easier task. Bodyguards faded into the background. Dallas would be front and center, and he had to look the part. Deadly and uncivilized, the living embodiment of why no one should fuck with Sector Four. Truth in advertising--the only political game he actually liked to play.
He'd done it before, always with Lex's advice. Now he'd have more than that. He'd have her at his side, his dangerous, beautiful queen, and together they could present a united front of strength that should keep anyone from stepping so much as a toe in Sector Four.
Lex juggled the bags in her hands as she opened the door to Dallas's suite. He usually asked for her help with his wardrobe when he had to visit another sector, and this time was no different. It was damn hard to walk the fine line between dangerous criminal and civilized businessman--especially when, by his very nature, he tended to veer toward the rough-and-tumble side of the equation. So he relied on her to put the finer touches on his image, little things that screamed money and class without also screaming, I give two shits what you think.
A noise drew Lex's gaze, and she stopped short just inside the room. The bags slipped from her fingers and hit the floor with a thump.
He usually had her help him pack. What he didn't usually have was a naked woman in his bed.
Six rolled from between the sheets before the door clicked shut, the wide, wild look in her eyes betraying her panic. Her gaze darted from her clothes to Lex and back as she shifted self-consciously, like she was trying to figure out if she could reach the tangle of fabric before Lex reached her.
She looked tensed for a fight. A beatdown.
The spot right behind Lex's eyes had already started to ache, and she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Put your panties on, honey. We've got to have a little talk."
Six lunged for her clothes and held them against her chest as she straightened, her gaze locked on Lex. "Is that code for sticking a knife between my ribs?"
"I don't speak in code. If I wanted you to hurt, you'd know it."
After a moment, Six nodded and wiggled into her underwear and pants. She pulled the shirt over her head last, tugging it down to hide her scarred torso. "You've always been pretty upfront about what