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“What’s your family’s name? Where are your parents?”

She stared straight through him. “Lelandi. Parents...” She swallowed hard. “Killed, accident.”

“I’m sorry to hear it.” But he hadn’t even known his mate had a family, and he still wasn’t sure Larissa had been telling the truth so he was having a tough time feeling any sympathy. “What did the letter say?”

Lupus blackmailing her.”

Darien’s heart nearly stopped. “What, who—”

She studied the blanket, her fingers twisting the thin fabric.

“Yours or mine?”

Larissa looked up at him, her eyes revealing confusion, “Do you think it was one of my grays or one of your reds?”

She didn’t answer, which made him suspicious.

“Why would anyone blackmail her?” Darien considered Lelandi’s nightmares, her reluctance to discuss her past with him. It fit. When he opened his mouth to question Larissa, she had shut her eyes again. “Larissa?”

She didn’t respond and appeared to be sleeping. He growled under his breath, swore he would not tell anyone to give her any more pain medication if she needed it, and took his seat again.

Two painfully long hours later, Larissa opened her eyes, and immediately Darien launched in with his questioning, determined to get the truth out of her this time. “What about the man who accosted you outside of Hastings?”

“Gunman?”

Being evasive on purpose? Or confused again? “No, the hooded man in the copper coat.”

Instantly, her already pale face turned whiter.

“Larissa?”

She scowled. “No one.”

He clenched his fists. “If he’s from your pack and he followed you here, angered you’d be investigating this, it might be something.”

Closing her eyes, she shook her head.

“Fine, when we catch the bastard, we’ll find out all we want to know.” He paused, waiting for her to give in. When she didn’t, he started in on her again. “He broke into your room, got physical with you—”

“I... I don’t think he broke into my room.”

“How do you know?”

She didn’t respond.

“Got physical with you then.” Darien barely curbed his rage. Wily did she protect the bastard?

“Little angry.”

Darien paced across the floor, “He was a little angry? I’m a little angry. Who the hell is he? And where is that damned letter? In your bag? Did you even have a bag?”

Deputy Peter knocked on the door and poked his face In. “A deputy sheriff’s here who picked up a red lupus garou matching the little lady’s description, hitchhiking. He’s from Green Valley. Want to talk to him?” Peter’s expression said there was lots more, but he didn’t want to say in front of the patient.

Darien cast Larissa a smug smile. “Yeah, I sure do.”

Silva sneaked a peek in the room, waving a bag from Chipper’s Donuts like a white flag, the aroma of glazed icing, chocolate, and pastries filling the air. Silva smiled at Lelandi. “I brought some chocolate iced donuts. Sounds like we need some cheering-up food in here.”

“Ask her who the guy was who accosted her behind Hastings before she came chasing after me at the tavern.” He smiled at Larissa when her face reddened, then stalked toward the door. “Where’s this witness at, Peter?”

“Doc’s office. He said you could question him there.”

“Good. Now maybe we’ll get some answers.” Darien left the room and headed down the ball.

‘You know, sugar, you sure have him wrapped around your little finger. I’ve never seen him so out of control when he’s around you. I’d say he can’t decide whether to strangle you or kiss you.” Silva set a donut on Lelandi’s tray. “Coffee?”

Definitely he wanted to strangle her, and the feeling was mutual, “Milk?” Lelandi asked.

“Sure, darling.’ Be right back.” SIlva walked outside the room, “Want some donuts, Trevor?”

“What’s she done to rile Darien this time?” Trevor grumbled.

Jeez, couldn’t the guy ever say something nice to Sliva?

“You know him when he hasn’t had enough sleep. He’s always a bear.”

When wasn‘t he a bear?

Silva waved at Lelandi. “Off to get your milk.”

Lelandi took a deep breath and allowed herself a self-satisfied smile. Darien could question the deputy sheriff from Green Valley all he wanted, but she didn’t tell him a thing about herself that he could trace back to the pack.

She lifted her donut off the tray when Ritka walked in, her bruised and swollen eye back to normal—too bad.

“You’re supposed to be eating the breakfast Doc ordered for you.” She jerked the donut out of Lelandi’s hand and dumped it in the trash.

Stunned into inaction, Lelandi’s mouth gaped, and she stared at the wastepaper basket.

Ritka took her temperature. “Ninety-nine, point nine. Heard you had a break-in at your room last night. No suitcase. Just a gun—with silver bullets. But the most interesting news? That deputy sheriff who picked you up and gave you a ride here? He took your picture on his cell phone and scanned it through his database. Seems one pissed-off pack leader is looking for you and has offered a reward for your immediate return. A big reward.” Ritka sneered at her. “Guess you won’t be staying here long.”

Lelandi’s heart skipped several beats. If that bastard Crassus got hold of her, she’d have to kill him because he wasn’t beating on her again. Ever.

Ritka got into her face. “What do you think about that?”

She straightened and plastered a faux sympathetic expression on her face. “You look a little pale. Don’t want to go back? Too bad. Now you can’t have Darien, bitch.”

Silva walked into the room with a glass of milk, her face scowling. “Finished with nursing business, Ritka?”

“You’re a visitor, so stuff it. I can have your butt kicked out of here just like that.” Ritka snapped her fingers.

“Larissa, you okay, honey? You don’t look too well.” Silva hurried over to the bed.

Tears rolled down Lelandi’s cheeks. She couldn’t help It. Probably was the pain medication. Maybe it was the fact she didn’t have the strength to fight or flee. This was so not like her!

“What did you say to upset Larlssa?” SIlva accused Ritka, her voice angry.

“Lelandi,” she sobbed. At least they could get her name right!

“You’re just a dumb barmaid who reads literary books to try to make yourself feel smarter. Probably don’t understand most of what you read. But you’re a—”

Lelandi yanked the IV out of her arm and gritted her teeth against the pain. The medication had to go. It was making her say things she was sure she shouldn’t. It was making her lethargic, dopey, and now weepy. It was keeping her in bed when she had to run. But most of all she wanted her damned chocolate donut back.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Ritka screamed, grabbing Lelandi’s arm.

Pain stabbed through Lelandi’s arm and chest. She swung her free arm and poked her fist into Ritka’s other eye, then everything faded to black.

Darien walked into Doc’s office and found Deputy Sheriff Smith, a tall, lean, uniformed man, sitting on the leather love seat, reshaping the brim of his Stetson. He quickly rose and crossed the floor to shake Darien’s hand.

He motioned for the deputy to take a seat, although Darien remained standing. “Tell me what you know.”

Smith explained how he’d run a trace on her, worried she might be in trouble. Being that she was a pretty red loner lupus garou, he was afraid someone might grab her. “Before I knew it, here comes this frantic request for any information on the missing girl. The pack leader said his name was Leidolf.”