“Cleanup in aisle five,” Rule stated with quiet disgust as Liza and Stygian rose slowly to their feet as the lake cruiser eased up to the bank. “Jacobs just took our shooter’s head off.”
“Better his head than yours.” Jumping from the cruiser, Cullen’s glare was dark enough to shred any man’s confidence as he suddenly gripped Liza’s arm and turned her to the cruiser. “Get—”
The words broke as Liza felt his grip jerk before she was released.
Swinging around, she watched, her lips parting in shock at the sight of the normally unconquerable Cullen suddenly thrown against the largest of the boulders, his back nearly bouncing against the stone as an enraged, primal snarl tore from Stygian’s throat. His lips were peeled from his teeth, his incisors flashing in the brilliance of the sunlight as one hand closed brutally around Cullen’s throat.
Cullen stared back at the aberration calmly, as though this were an everyday occurrence.
“When you’ve finished—” Cullen began.
“Touch her again and you’ll lose your f**king throat.” It was like hearing a Wolf attempting to speak, his voice was so savage, so animalistic.
Liza could only watch in shock, seeing the slow flex of Stygian’s fingers around the strong column of Cullen’s throat as the other man simply stared up at him unconcerned, his arms relaxed at his side, his gaze mocking.
The battle of wills was fought silently, neither man dropping his gaze nor blinking as they seemed locked in some weird moment of time as violence thrummed in the air.
“Let him go!” Liza snapped as she watched Stygian’s fingers tighten again.
Cullen wasn’t moving. He wasn’t taking his eyes from Stygian’s, nor was he attempting to defend himself when Liza knew he could. She had seen him do so before.
Stygian’s fingers flexed at the sound of her voice.
“I said let him go!” Jumping forward, her fingers locked around his wrist, jerking back and nearly losing her balance as his arm followed the forceful pull she exerted on it.
Stygian caught her, his arm going around her waist as he caught her against him, ignoring her struggles as he and Cullen continued to stare each other down.
Stygian could sense the power, the promise of violence and the ability to fight as it pulsed beneath the other man’s flesh, but Cullen Maverick hadn’t used that power. He’d instead stood still and silent despite the hold that had tightened around his neck.
“What are you hiding?” Stygian growled at him. “Why would you allow a Breed to all but rip your throat out?”
Cullen’s gaze moved slowly to Liza. “For her.”
Liza stilled.
Stygian could feel her now: watchful, silent, her body tense at the answer the other man gave.
“For me?” Liza snapped. “Why the hell would you do it for me? You should have kicked his f**king ass.”
Rage was spilling from her, the scent of it fiery as she jerked out of his hold.
“Let it go, Liza,” Cullen said then, his voice soft as Stygian allowed him to continue to keep his gaze.
He was damned if he could decipher what the other man was trying to silently tell him though.
He hadn’t quite learned that whole male-to-male silent-messaging bullshit humans seemed to practice.
“Oh, I’ll let it go,” she snapped.
Stygian turned his head, watching as she stalked to the cruiser and in a graceful move gripped the side of the low vessel and vaulted into it. “I’ll let it go, forget it, ignore it, and I’ll even f**king pretend it didn’t happen.”
Stygian knew that one was a lie. She’d be throwing this up to him for years to come, he could feel it.
“Fuck,” Cullen muttered. “She’s going to be bitching at me for years.”
The comment matched his thoughts so completely that Stygian couldn’t help but throw the man another snarl. It was the animal pacing just beneath his skin, it refused to return still and silent to that place within his psyche where it normally watched, silent and content.
It wasn’t content any longer.