“No.” Crush waved his hands. “No way.”

“Oh, come on!”

“There will be no naked cuddle-bear. You’re recovering, you gotta keep your leg immobile, and you’re high.”

“I am sooooo high.” To illustrate, she brought up both hands, pinkies and forefingers raised, thumbs holding down the others, and rocked her head like she was at a Van Halen concert.

“Are you supposed to be enjoying it this much?”

“Look, I was sixteen the last time I ...” She stopped, looked him over, and sneered, “Cop.”

“I think you’re past the statute of limitations on that, Malone. I must say, though, you are a hell of a mother because clearly your kid is on a different path.”

She shrugged. “A boring path.”

“Maybe, but not pregnant at fifteen either.”

“First off, I was sixteen when I got pregnant and seventeen when I had that demon spawn.” Cella looked off. “She’s going to be a doctor.”

“Were you hoping she’d join KZS?”

“I’d burn the main offices in Switzerland down before I’d let that happen.” She scratched her forehead. “My kid wants to be a doctor, she’s going to be a doctor.”

Crush walked toward the bed. “Did you want to be in KZS?”

“Actually, yeah. I wanted to be a Marine, too. But like I said ... that’s not Meghan, that’s not Josie.”

“And Dr. Davis?”

“It’s Jai. Jesus, just call the woman Jai. I hate this formal name obsession you have.”

“Okay. Jai. Is she in KZS, too?”

“Just part of the medical team. I got shot in the neck once during a firefight. She was the one who fixed me up. But arterial damage is her specialty. Another doctor handled my knee.” She looked down at her leg. “I’m going to miss hockey.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Again with the sorry?”

“I feel like I should say something.”

“No. What you should do is come over here and be my cuddle-bear.”

“You’re whining.”

“You’re making me whine.”

Crush sat on the bed beside Cella, his arm over her shoulder, moving as close as he could to her side so that she wouldn’t try to stretch over.

“Better?” he asked.

“Much,” she sighed out, her head resting against his chest.

“So what happens now?”

“When the brace comes off, we have sex.”

“No.” Crush briefly gritted his teeth and ordered his cock to control itself. “I mean, what happens now with all this?”

Her entire body began to relax, her eyes closing. “I have no idea. But I’ll say one thing,” she murmured beforefalling into a deep sleep, “I’m really glad I’m not Baissier tonight.”

Crush frowned. “Why?” But it was too late. Cella was out cold.

Peg walked into her Brooklyn home with her two-man security team behind her. It was late and she was tired. Things were not going like she wanted them to, but she wasn’t giving up. She’d never give up.

She quickly flipped through her mail. When she saw nothing of consequence, she tossed the envelopes onto the silver tray sitting on top of the end table by her front door. With a sigh, she slipped off her shoes and headed through her hallway and toward her kitchen. She passed her living room, but stopped and walked back, gazing around the room. She felt rage inch up her neck at the sight of it.

“Someone’s playing games,” she muttered to her boys, taking in the carnage that had been left behind. Much of her furniture was antique, all of it was expensive.

“This is disgusting,” one of them complained.

Reaching into her purse, she grabbed her cell phone and continued on toward the kitchen, wondering what had been done in there while the team went upstairs to check the rest of the house.

She walked in and stopped, her cell phone clutched in her hand. “Comfortable?” she asked the She-wolf sitting cross-legged on her kitchen table.

“Much. Thank ya kindly.”

Peg swept her hand back toward her living room. “And was that your work, little puppy?”

“Nope. That was the cats. You know how felines are. And Malone is one of their own.”

“Is all that supposed to bother me?”

“More like annoy. Figure you got homeowner’s insurance. Although, doubt it’ll cover what they did in your shoes and clothes.”

“What did they do in my—”

“I’m sure you can smell what they did by now. You bein’ grizzly and all.”

And this was why she loathed felines. “So what? Is this where you threaten me, maybe slap me around a little?”

“Nah.” The She-wolf shook her head sadly. “Can’t. Momma always told me it was wrong to beat up the elderly.”

Snarling a little, Peg snapped, “I am not elderly.”

“As ya like.”

“Then what do you want? To give me dire warnings?”

“Ain’t much known for my warnings. Don’t see the point.” She slipped off the table. She was tall, but not as tall as Peg. Definitely not as wide. Just some little Group She-bitch. Like that alone would scare Peg?

The wolf headed toward the back door, but now Peg must admit, she didn’t understand. The felines had done their little destroying furniture with their claws and desecration of her shoes thing and left, but the dog ... she was still lingering around. Why?