around his neck again. “No you don’t. You can stay here with me and Lucian can talk to the wall. Okay?”
Talon laughed, standing up and putting her on her butt. “We can continue this talk later tonight. I regret having to leave you in such a state –“ Jamie glared –“but I’ll only be a little while. Vladimir can keep you company, or Jessica maybe?”
Her eyes widened and she shot to her feet. “You keep that woman away from me! Do you know how much she makes my head hurt? And how the hell does she talk in one sentence?” she exclaimed, earning another bout of laughter from Talon.
“I’m not sure. But she keeps out appointments and gets things done, so I’m okay with it. Just tolerate her, like the rest of us, and you’ll be fine.” Jamie gave him a dubious look. “And if you’re wondering about Vladimir – he’s worse than just a hospice robber, but I can trust him enough that I’ll leave you alone with him. Despite being the last ‘living’ vampire that just so happens to be gay, he’s also a deadly predator and not to be taken lightly.”
Jamie had a hard time believing that, but she nodded anyways.
She loved it when he came over to her and kissed her cheek, wrapping his arms around her waist to hug her. “I’ll be back soon. Make sure that if you go to the workout room, you wear clothing,” he growled, tightening his arms.
Jamie grinned, giving him a kiss then smacking him on the butt lightly. “Hurry back.”
“Anything for you, my love.”
“Why do I feel like someone’s shoving a stick up my ass?” Lucian complained, baritone voice annoyed.
Talon leaned back into his chair, shrugging. “Maybe because you’re a stuck up bitch?”
“Don’t sweet talk me. You know how that tickles my funny bone,” he growled, glaring. Talon shrugged.
Talon had left Jamie regretfully, hating how appetizing she had looked in just her sports bra and sweat pants. Thinking about it, his body hardened and it felt as if someone had stuck him in a hot-suit.
Lucian set down a pile of papers in front of Talon, grabbing his attention. “Stop thinking about being balls-deep in Jamie and get your mind to the here and now. Devlin came in her several minutes ago and complained her ass off to me. Do you want me to have to file a report on Vladimir?”
Talon gave him a look. “Knowing him, if it came from you, he’d find it kinky.”
His partner glared, slamming his huge self into the chair opposite of Talon. They were sitting in the meeting room, the large space empty besides a box of papers, two men, and a whole lot of tension.
“Can we stop ignoring the pink elephant in the room?” Lucian asked, kicking his feet up on the table. “Devlin is becoming a problem, and as much as I want to keep her in the ranks, I’m debating on whether to drop her a notch. Something about her feels…off.”
Talon gave him a “duh” look. “Finally, you notice it.”
“She’s the best fighter we have, besides myself, you, and Levi.”
“And Vladimir?”
Lucian snorted, drawing a hand through his hair. “Let’s face it. He might be a vampire, but the guy has problems. If he wanted to kill something, it would most likely be the majority of the young population. But that’s beside the point. I haven’t seen Levi all week –“
“You know he’s only seen when he wants to be,” Talon cut in.
“That’s true, but it’s becoming less and less. I think Devlin is pushing him either to hard, or making him feel unwelcome. Either way, something is wrong with her and I don’t like it. She’s stopped trying to seduce me, and she’s not at the compound as much as she used to be.”
“Maybe because she found a different man? Did you ever think it might be because of that?”
Lucian looked at him. “Yeah. Right. Devlin wouldn’t be quiet about a new beu if she had one. She’d be rubbing it in my face and...well, you know her. She has to be on everyone’s bad side.”
Talon nodded. “I get you. Do you think Zyn and her are connected? I mean, he contacted us and even before that, Devlin has been gone more and more often.”
“I don’t see how that would matter. Devlin didn’t even know the guy before he pulled a runner on us. And Zyn is smart. He wouldn’t put himself in Devlin’s way, just because of that look she