Free Hakan Severin by Alexandra Ivy, Laura Wright Page B

table.
    He stepped into a small reception area that set apart the private offices to discover Xavier standing in the center of the hand-woven carpet.
    The large Pantera Geek had his arms folded over his chest and an expression that said he was itching for a fight.
    Hakan smiled and stepped directly into the male’s grill.
    Xavier wasn’t the only one with a need to release some aggression.
    “Hakan,” the Geek greeted him in cold tones.
    “Xavier.” Hakan glanced over the male’s shoulder at the empty room decorated in shades of pale lemon and ivory. Payton’s favorite colors. “Where’s Payton?”
    “Going through the data we managed to salvage,” Xavier said.
    Hakan narrowed his gaze as the male remained parked between him and the door to Payton’s office.
    “You have something on your mind?”
    “Yep.” Xavier poked a finger into the center of Hakan’s chest. “Hurt her again and I’ll rip off your balls and shove them down your throat.”
    A growl rumbled deep in Hakan’s chest, his cat roaring with fury that another male would dare to try to offer Payton protection.
    That was his right.
    His alone.
    Only the knowledge that Xavier was happily mated kept him from punching the bastard in the face.
    “I realize that you consider Payton a part of your family so I’m going to let that slide, but try to get between us and I’ll go through you,” he snarled. “Got it?”
    Nose to nose, the males were indulging in a good old-fashioned glaring match when the sound of the door opening had them both spinning toward the female who was studying them with a stern expression.
    “You two can measure your dicks later. I have something you need to see.”
    She whirled on her heel, stomping back into her office.
    Hakan exchanged a startled glance with Xavier.
    “I don’t think she needs your protection,” he told the Geek, pride and exasperation laced through his voice.
    Xavier gave a short laugh. “Maybe I should be more worried about you.”
    Hakan nodded. Payton was not only dangerously clever and sexy as hell, but she’d developed a spirited independence that was going to make life with her extremely…interesting.
    “No shit.”
    “Are you coming or not?” Payton called through the open door.
    Hakan and Xavier obediently headed into the inner office that was as neat and organized as Payton, with two delicate oak desks that were covered by a number of computers and precisely stacked papers.
    “What have you got?” Hakan asked, resisting the urge to reach out and brush his finger down her too-pale cheek.
    She looked as weary as he felt, with bruises beneath her beautiful green eyes and her coppery curls tangled. But with an effort, he bit back the urge to tell her she needed to rest.
    Not only were their people depending on her skill to discover the truth of their latest threat, but he currently didn’t have a place in her life to scoop her into his arms and carry her to the nearest bed.
    Leashing his primitive instincts, he moved to stand at her side as she flipped open a file and pulled out the top sheet of paper.
    “I printed out the files we managed to repair,” she said, handing it to him. “The first is a newspaper clipping.”
    “ Unidentified woman discovered bound and gagged in back of delivery truck ,” he read out loud.
    “According to the records, Reny…” Payton wrinkled her nose. “Or rather, Patient Z, as they called her,” she corrected herself, “was being moved to New York when the truck was hit from behind. The driver was killed and the human authorities arrived before she could be retrieved.”
    Hakan nodded. “That’s how she managed to escape. Does it say anything about why she was being taken to New York?”
    “Nothing.”
    “I’ll see if I can do a background check on the dead driver. It might lead us to who hired him.” Xavier leaned against the edge of the desk. “Anything else?”
    She pulled out more paperwork and handed them to the leader of the