“No eye rolling?”
“Only in front of Rene. I’m going to search the house for the Ming vase. If I find it, it’s a goner and so is your head.”
That little note of laughter bubbling up when she threatened him made his stomach clench in all kinds of good ways.
“How did the doc take your threats?”
“He pointed out that I needed him. I had to admit he had a point. He told me to calm down and that it was normal for my eyes to begin to see that way. He said it was a good sign overall, I could look at it as an improvement. The cavalry began to arrive.” There was a little snicker in his voice.
She stiffened. “What does that mean? If that doctor called in a bunch of armed men, we can find someone else to treat your eyes. And where was I?”
“Lotus, I might be blind, but I can still defend myself, especially in my own house. In Bouet’s defense, I did threaten him. He must have been given a little panic button and he hit it when I growled at him. You growl back.” He ruffled her hair.
She had a lot of hair. Most of their kind did. Thick and luxurious. She was born leopard whether hers would ever show itself or not. So far, the creature was elusive, in no hurry to wake up. It occurred to Gedeon that Meiling was so opposed to male shifters and she was so strong-willed that she had inadvertently suppressed her female leopard.
Gedeon’s fingers lingered in her hair. She didn’t protest, but then, she rarely did when he touched her. He was tactile, sometimes needing to bury his face in her hair and inhale the fragrance of her.
“Tell me what happened.”
She could be a fierce little thing. He remembered her putting her life on the line in Venezuela, the guns aimed at her when she stood for him against Jules and Louis. She hadn’t backed down for a second. She risked her life to warn him of the bomb, even knowing he couldn’t afford to leave witnesses. Meiling was as tough as nails, and she had a protective streak a mile wide.
“Drake Donovan owns an international security company. His men are well trained and known to be the best at what they do. He sends them to the hottest spots in the world to hone their skills. A little-known fact is they’re mostly shifters. He is also the head of a lair right here in New Orleans. The lair was one of the worst when he took over and it’s thriving now.”
He found he knew the way to Café Du Monde without anyone guiding him. He’d been so many times—straight from his home, or the club after hours, or taking a client. The historic café was open twenty-four hours a day and was right next to the river. It was a place he could be out in the open at the height of tourist season and still enjoy.
“I take it Bouet’s backup was a group from Donovan’s organization.” Meiling made it a statement. “How many did he send?”
“A full team. Five.” Pure satisfaction swamped him. He’d been more than happy when that team of badasses had arrived.
“How did they get in? The house is self-locking. Unless they snuck in when Bouet came in, and they wouldn’t have had time for all of them to come through. Your phone would have alerted you.”
“My phone didn’t alert me. Donovan sent a couple of men to do the security on the house. I always suspected he left a back door. A way in for his men just in case he’s sent to kill me.”
“Why would Drake Donovan want to kill you?”
Now her voice was pitched very low. Scary low. He could well imagine what his partner looked like when she meant business. Achingly beautiful. Hauntingly gorgeous. His perfect mate. He couldn’t think of her that way. She was his partner and off-limits. He would take their friendship over never seeing her again. She made it perfectly clear there wasn’t going to be sex between them. He had a code of honor. She said no. It was no.
“He didn’t want to kill me, Lotus. He didn’t want me killing the doctor. By the time they arrived and managed to get into the house, Bouet was already just fine. He felt a little sheepish pushing his panic button when I wasn’t going to snap his neck.”
Her breath came out in a long rush. “You knew he had the panic button, didn’t you?” Meiling accused. “Why would you want that?” she mused aloud. “I watched you put your clothes on. I put your weapons out for you. You knew you could disappear and get out of there clean by using one of the passages. You deliberately scared that man until he used the panic button. Why?” She wasn’t asking him; she was trying to puzzle out his actions.