Free Beyond Possession (Beyond #5.5) by Kit Rocha Page A

couldn't afford to alienate the only people who might feel loyalty to her. So she'd only stabbed Buzz a little.
    That was a mistake she wouldn't be repeating.
    "That's it," he breathed. "A nice chat never hurt anybody."
    Icy calm flooded her veins. She had her knife in her boot and plenty of makeshift weapons within reach, but he was bigger than her and stronger than her. Timing mattered. So she went still and resisted the temptation to bite off a few of those fingers covering her mouth.
    For now.
    "You gonna scream?" He didn't sound entirely displeased by the possibility.
    Fucking pervert. He'd like having an excuse to gag her, one that fit whatever story he was already telling himself to make him into the hero of this scenario. Punishing Stone's disloyal daughter, putting her in her place. Funny how the only way they could ever come up with to do either usually involved their dicks.
    Or maybe he didn't give a shit about being a hero. Maybe he just wanted to hurt her.
    She shook her head, slow and careful, and he dropped his hand from her mouth, grazing her collarbone and the upper curve of her breast as she jerked away. "Talk, Buzz."
    He leaned against her worktable, his casual stance belied by the tension in his shoulders. "Got a message for you, princess."
    "Then let's hear it."
    "Wallace wants you to play nice with your sister." Buzz's eyes gleamed. "The fighting makes her sad ."
    It made Tatiana sad, too. What it didn't make her was stupid. "Wallace doesn't give a shit about my sister."
    Buzz snorted out a laugh. "See, that's what he means, I guess. Not very nice."
    She took a step to the right, putting a little space between them. "Fine. I'll go see her tomorrow. I'll play nice."
    He followed her. "That's good to hear."
    The position put him between her and the gun—another mistake she wouldn't make again—but another step brought her within reach of her worktable. "You don't want to do this, Buzz."
    His expression hardened. "Relax, princess. This isn't that kind of visit."
    "So leave. I got the message."
    "Don't be so fucking rude." Buzz picked up a stirring stick and turned it over in his hands. "There's more to the message. Well, it's more like an offer."
    She didn't want to hear anything Wallace had to offer, but she knew she had to listen. She had to know how bad it was—and how much worse it could be. "And that is?"
    "You could take her place," he answered casually.
    Wallace was an idiot. A cruel, sadistic idiot. And still, for one moment, she was tempted. It would solve plenty of her problems. Catalina would see him for the opportunistic fool he was—and once she was safely away, Tatiana could cut his throat in his sleep.
    Except Catalina would never forgive her. And there was just as good a chance of Wallace trying to stick a knife—or something else—in her.
    Buzz was watching her with anticipatory glee, like he knew her answer and couldn't wait to hear it. That wasn't good. "And if I turn him down?"
    "Now, why would you want to do something stupid like that?"
    She shifted her weight, letting her fingers brush the soap mold. "Tell Wallace that if he wants to offer me something, he should do it himself."
    "Like Dallas O'Kane, you mean?"
    Ice crept through her veins, with fear hard on its heels. But she hid it. She was good at hiding it. "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about."
    Buzz's creepy veneer of fake, good-natured cheer melted away. "You think you're so much smarter than everyone else, but guess what, princess? We all know."
    She thought about Zan coming around, always coming around. Checking on her. Watching her. Maybe she'd been a fool to try to hide an affair. Maybe they all assumed she'd been fucking him for years.
    She still denied it, even though her lips had gone numb. "You don't know shit. And you need to leave. Now."
    He leaned closer, his breath hot and fetid. "Make me, bitch."
    She could wait for him to take the first swing. A softer woman might have. A woman like that fantasy