"Even if I have nothing to do with it."
I smiled, like I would believe that. "Even if, no matter who does it, or why, it'll be your ass on the line."
She nodded her head, almost a bow. "So be it, Anita Blake. But know this, you have challenged me in front of my pack. I cannot let that stand unanswered. If you were another shapeshifter, we would duel, but your being human poses a problem."
"You know this, bitch. I am human, so if you expect me to drop my gun and fight you one on one, you're crazy."
"That would hardly be fair, would it?"
"I didn't think you worried much about being fair, after what I saw in the back room."
"Oh, that," she said, "Stephen will never rise in the pack. There is no more challenge to him. He is anyone's meat that is higher in the pack."
"Not anymore," I said.
"You offer him your protection?" she asked.
I'd been asked this question once before and knew it meant more than it sounded like it did, but I didn't care. I wanted Stephen safe, and I'd do what it took, killing or making myself a target. Hell, the assassin would probably finish me soon, anyway. "Yeah, he's under my protection."
"He's already under my protection, Anita," Richard said.
"Until you're willing to kill to back it up, it doesn't mean a whole lot to these people."
"You will kill to support Richard's claims of protection?" Raina asked.
"She doesn't understand what you're asking," Richard said. "It isn't a fair question unless she understands it."
"Then explain it to her, Richard, but not tonight. It grows late, and if we are to get any filming done, we must hurry. Take your little human and explain the rules to her. Explain how deep a hole she's dug herself tonight. When she understands the rules, call me. And I will think of a way to make a duel between us as fair as possible. Perhaps I could blindfold myself or tie one arm behind my back."
I started to say something, but Richard said, "Come on, Anita. We have to go now." He was right. I could kill a lot of them, but not all. I hadn't brought a spare clip for the machine gun. I hadn't thought I'd need it. Silly me.
We got out the door with me walking backwards, ready to shoot anyone who stuck a head out. No one followed us. Richard carried Stephen through the late spring night and didn't look back, as if he knew they wouldn't follow.
I opened the door, and he laid Stephen in the backseat. "Can you drive home?" he asked.
"Yeah, how bad are you hurt?"
"Not bad, but I'd like to ride back here with Stephen in case he wakes up." I couldn't argue with that. I drove. We were safe. We were all actually still alive. But if they'd rushed us, we wouldn't be. Now that we were safe, I could be mad. "Well, we survived. No thanks to your little plan," I said.
"And no one died, thanks to my little plan," Richard said.
"Only because I was better armed than usual."
"You were right," he said, "it was a trap. Happy?"
"Yeah, I'm happy," I said.
"Glad to hear it." Underneath the sarcasm he was tired. I could hear it in his voice.
"What are you supposed to explain to me, Richard?" I glanced in the rearview mirror but couldn't see his face in the dark.
"Raina backs up Marcus's orders. She's his lupa. He uses her to do things he doesn't approve of, like torture."
"So I set myself up as your lupa."
"Yes, I'm the Fenrir. Normally, I'd already have a lupa picked out. The pack is divided, Anita. I've given my protection to my followers so that if Marcus tries to hurt them, I come after him, or my followers will act to protect each other with my blessing. Without a Fenrir or a pack leader to back you up, it's a sort of mutiny to go against the pack leader's orders."
"What's the penalty for mutiny?"