sure no one is there.”
Ox hooked his arm around Dasha’s shoulders and pulled him closer. Dasha was tempted to push his mate away because it was too fucking hot to be that close, but instead, he leaned against Ox and tilted his head up so he could look at his mate.
Sometimes it still amazed him that they were together. He would never forget that he’d almost lost his mate because he’d been too stupid and too stubborn to talk to him. He’d thought Ox was a scientist, one of the monsters who’d made the assassins what they were, but he’d been wrong.
Ox was his mate, and he was a good man. Dasha would always be happy to have him in his life.
Ox kissed Dasha, rubbing their noses together, and Dasha felt himself relax. “Come on,” Ox murmured. “Try to forget about that dildo on Armand’s nightstand and help me look around. I don’t know if you’ll find anyone, but I’m sure you’re better equipped to fight them off in case we do. I’m just your mate.”
Dasha wrapped his arms around Ox’s waist and squeezed for a second. “You’re much more than just my mate.”
“I like to think so, but I can’t deny that I wouldn’t hold my own against someone in a fight.”
He was right. Dasha might not be an assassin, but he had the same training they did, and if whoever was in the house was there to hurt one of them, he’d rather find the guy himself than have Ox do it.
He patted Ox’s ass, grinning at him when Ox arched a brow. “Come on. Let’s search the next bedroom. The sooner we’re done here, the sooner we can leave.” Ox nodded and followed Dasha into Lawrence’s bedroom.
Dasha prayed he wasn’t about to find another dildo.
* * * *
When Ox leaned to check under the bed, he had the surprise of his life. He blinked at the small rabbit hiding under there, then turned around to talk to Dasha. “Hey, Lawrence and Griffith don’t happen to have a pet rabbit, do they?”
Dasha frowned. “A pet rabbit? No. No one here has pets.”
Ox had noticed that, and he wondered why that was, but now wasn’t the time to ask. “Are you sure? Because there’s a rabbit under the bed.”
Dasha’s eyes widened. Ox wasn’t sure what was going on, but he reached under the bed to grab the rabbit. He managed to get his hand on one of the paws, but the rabbit wiggled and bit him.
Ox snatched his hand away. “What the fuck? Little asshole.”
“Win!” Dasha was yelling. “Come upstairs! We’re in Lawrence’s bedroom, and there’s a rabbit shifter under the bed.”
Ox blinked. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t realized that this wasn’t just a rabbit. He wasn’t sure how that had happened, since he was a shifter himself, but here he was.
He grinned, then shifted into his otter form. He wiggled his way under the bed, leaving his clothes behind, and faced the rabbit.
The rabbit was cute, or rather, he would have been cute if he’d been a pet. As it was, Ox couldn’t help but wonder if this rabbit was going to try to kill him. He’d already bitten him, so things didn’t bode well.
Ox grinned, exposing his teeth. He wouldn’t let the rabbit run away, but he also didn’t want to grab him in this form. He didn’t want to hurt him. So he waited until a pair of hands appeared at the edge of the bed. The rabbit pushed himself even further away, pressing his body against the wall. He looked around, his eyes wide, and Ox knew he was looking for an escape route.
Ox walked around the rabbit, wrinkling his nose at the dust under the bed, and cut the path on the other side of the bed off.
He grinned again.
“Ox? Do you think you can convince the rabbit to come out?” Win asked.
Ox couldn’t answer, but he arched a brow at the rabbit. He might not have eyebrows right now, but if the rabbit was a shifter, he’d recognize the gesture.
He did. The rabbit rolled his eyes, then looked around again. Ox shook his head, hoping the rabbit understood that no one here was going to allow him to run away. His best bet was to leave his shelter under the bed and face the music. Ox tilted his head toward the edge of the bed, telling the rabbit to come out. The rabbit hesitated, and Ox didn’t doubt that if he had a