They’d come out of his mouth and now she stepped back, her face blushing red and he wasn’t sure if it was because she was embarrassed or angry. His mouth opened to say . . . what? He wasn’t sure but anything would be better than just standing staring at her as the distance between them widened.
“I can deal with anything that needs attention,” Danko interrupted, his voice quiet but firm. “You two should talk. No, you two need to talk and I’m not taking no for an answer.”
Zohar’s head spun to glare at his friend who merely shrugged. “Don’t try your ‘death stare’ on me . . . that stopped working a long time ago. Zohar, you have to listen to me, and your beast, you know what’s going on but you must accept it. If you don’t you know the consequences.”
Zohar opened his mouth to argue but Danko held his hand up halting him. “Stop, don’t bother fighting with me. It’ll be a waste of your breath and my time. I’ve work to do and you two have a conversation that needs to take place. Sooner rather than later.”
Maisy looked at Danko as if he’d suddenly grown another head, then back to Zohar. “What’s he talking about?”
“Nothing,” Zohar ground out, his jaws clenched so tight he wondered why his teeth weren’t shattering to dust.
“Nothing?” Danko shook his head. “You are fucking delusional, my friend, and if you don’t pull your head out of your ass then I’ll be hauling it back to base in that ‘special’ jewelry we use sometimes. You know, for our more extreme cases . . . get my meaning?”
Zohar’s chest heaved as a growl rumbled up, erupting from him in a warning. Danko ignored it, carrying on. “I’m going to the warehouse to find out if Jermaine’s safe is there, and I’ll finish the inventory. After that I’m going to work with Gwenola on some ideas for the Pack’s future and start putting in place some plans. As for you two, I don’t expect to see either of you anytime soon. Got it?”
Maisy’s face was a mixture of emotions, scared and confused vying for first place as her eyes switched between Danko and Zohar. Her scent changing as fear took hold. That was what sent Zohar over the edge.
His arm shot out, snaking around her waist and tugging her close to his side. “You’ve nothing to fear.”
“It doesn’t feel like that.” Maisy’s body trembled against him. “Why are you two arguing? The tone of his voice is angry and, in my experience, violence soon follows.”
Danko stepped back, lowering his voice. “I apologize for scaring you. That wasn’t my intention, Maisy. I’m just trying to get Zohar to realize something very important. Life changing important, but he’s as stubborn as a proverbial mule. Zohar and I have been friends for many years and our conversations can sometimes get heated, but I promise you, I would lay my life down for him any damn day of the week. And I would never, not ever, harm an innocent, especially not you.”
Her eyes squinted up at the Enforcer, questioning. “Why ‘especially not me’?”
“Because of who you are to someone important to me,” Danko replied before turning and striding away quickly.
Zohar exhaled loudly, his friend’s words reverberating around inside him, and the consequences of those words seemed . . . immense. He was still unsure of the truth of them but he knew one thing: he and Maisy had to talk.
“Is there somewhere private we can go?” he asked gruffly, suddenly apprehensive and nervous. Both of which were new to him, his tone reflecting how ill at ease he felt.
Maisy gave a curt nod. “My place.”
Zohar kept his arm around her, securing her against him and started toward her cabin. After a few steps, she looked up, asking. “Why does Danko scare me when he talks in the same tone you just used, but you don’t?”
“I don’t what?” Zohar wasn’t certain what she meant, he was finding it difficult to concentrate when all he wanted to do was lift her into his arms and press his lips against hers. What the living hell was going on?
“I’m not saying you couldn’t scare me. I’m just saying I don’t feel the same way with you as I do about everyone else. Jeez, most everybody else scares me to some extent. Guess it’s due to living under Jermaine and Marlon for so long. But I’m not blind, or stupid, you are obviously the most dangerous man I’ve ever come across, so why the hell am I not terrified?”
Zohar stopped at the door of Maisy’s cabin, gazing down into her upturned face, and wondered the same damn thing. “I’m not sure.”
“Something to add to the list of things we need to discuss,” she said softly as she opened the door. “This is my place, it was mine and Libby’s, she moved in when her parents were killed. I’d been on my own for a while and I’d been struggling, she used to stay over a lot even before her mom and dad . . . well, before her dad stood up to Marlon one day. You can guess how that went, and her mom got in on the fight, so Libby lost them both on the same day. After that she just stayed with me.”
“This was one fucked up Pack,” Zohar growled as he took in the spick and span cabin. It was small, with an open plan living, dining, and kitchen area, but it was clean and tidy with nothing out of place. “If the Council had been aware of just how desperate things were here, then they would have stepped in sooner. I’m sorry we showed up so late.”
“Tell me again, why did you? Danko mentioned it was to do with Marissa, is that true?”
Zohar nodded. “Yes, Shade, her new mate, called me
