Beowulf galloped behind him, stumbling. He was trying to be ferocious, but when he tripped over a rock and tumbled, he was just too adorable.
Mark, on the other hand, was furious. I was suddenly very aware that he used to be in the military.
The two Svensson brothers rounded on him.
“I saw her first,” one of them insisted.
“No, I saw her first,” Wilder said, shoving his brother.
“Brea is mine,” Mark snarled.
“Well, technically you can’t own a person,” I said meekly, but Mark put himself between me and the Svensson brothers possessively.
“Leave. Now.”
The Svensson brothers scowled.
“Hey!” Hunter barked, coming up the drive. “We’re leaving. Come on, or you can walk.”
Wilder flashed a grin at me and mouthedCall mewhile his brother locked him in a headlock.
Beowulf barked after the Svenssons as they walked away, all four paws leaving the ground with every yip.
“They’re uncivilized,” Mark said, frowning.
“They’re cute,” I joked.
“Have a thing for blonds?” Mark’s voice was dangerously calm.
“Tall, dark, and handsome is more my type. I’m a traditionalist,” I quipped.
“The Svenssons are bad news,” Mark told me. “They represented my Uncle Walter’s ex-wife in her divorce. Then three of my cousins mysteriously ended up dead in a house fire.”
“Surely they didn’t cause it!” I said, aghast.
“No, Danielle did, but they represented her legally, and that’s enough to have a black mark in my book. I don’t forgive and forget. You wrong me or my family, even tangentially, even the slightest bit, and you’re my enemy for life.”
Gulp. Now I felt really terrible about manipulating him.
It’s for his own good. It’s not like you need to have Mark in your corner after all of this is over. You just have to keep him occupied long enough to get rid of Memphis Eve.
24
Brea
The darkness in Mark’s eyes faded.
“But obviously that doesn’t concern you,” he said. He gestured to the hamper. “Would you like me to buy that?”
“Why does everyone want to buy me stuff?” I huffed.
Mark raised an eyebrow. “I thought you wanted that for the gift baskets. You should buy that as a sample, don’t you think?”
“Oh. Yes. That makes sense.”
Mark picked up the hamper. It had a nice leather strap for easy carrying. I noted that we could stamp it with Liz and Wes’s wedding logo. I played with Beowulf while Mark paid for it.
Brea:Emergency! Emergency!
