Free Dom Wars Round Five by Lucian Bane Page B

tent to the sound of arguing at the back of the Hummer where Steve poked through one of the black duffels with the Gladiator logo on the side.
    " Figure it out?" Steve shrilled facing Lucian? "I don't want to wing this, we need a direct…plan." He karate chopped his palm.
    " Fine," Lucian threw up his hands with a shrug. "What you got?"
    Steve sighed and scratched his wrist with a rabid fury, then brightened with wide eyes when he saw me. "Tara, tell him we need a plan, a real one." He waved me toward them. "I mean we don't even know how we're going to get a meeting with these girls much less convince them they need to buy dildos from us." He snapped his head to Lucian. "Did you think of that? How will we even get an audience with those girls?"
    Lucian looked at me like I had that answer. "Ummm," How to establish a meeting with these girls, these…odd looking girls. "Can we… call and ask to present a business proposal? Maybe?"
    Steve raised his brows. "To sell a line of dildos at their toy company?"
    " Or open a separate business for adult toys," Lucian said, widening his stance and crossing his arms with a stubborn stance. "Still toys."
    Steve gasped once, then again while raking his nails along his neck. "And what do you think is going to happen when the media gets a hold of this business venture?" He dusted his hands together. "Bye bye family trusted name brand, hello Bo-bo the dildo blow up clown."
    I bit my lip and looked at Lucian who lowered his head in erupted snickers.
    "Ah see?" Steve said. "You can't even think about it without laughing at the stupidity of it. It's absurd, comically—ab-surd. And that is what we will face with these ladies if we don't have a very clear and miraculous plan of action."
    " Well, I got the miraculous taken care of," Preacher said from behind us at the campfire. "My most dire prayers go before you."
    " Aha!" Steve wheeled and pointed at him. "Even you know this is hopeless, I can hear it in your voice."
    The preacher grinned from his spot on the log. "With man this may be impossible. But with God…" he blew at the tip of a freshly sharpened arrow, "all things are possible."
    Lucian turned to Steve and shrugged. "I agree. We'll figure it out."
    I held back a snort, shocked to hear the words out of his mouth. I knew Lucian was leery of the preacher but after seeing how he treated his wife, yes, his wife, I knew he was fine. All bark. No bite. Especially seeing that he'd saved Lucian's life. I was willing to forget for the moment he'd also been the one to put it in danger. But I didn't want to knock Lucian's protective instincts either. They were too funny. And sexy. And adorable. And since the Preacher seemed to fare no better than Lucian in injuries, it made it even more okay. He even seemed to glue his own wounds shut too. I was sure that was moronic.
    " What about financial angles?" I put my hands on my hips. "These girls may be money driven."
    Lucian grinned and Steve nodded with vigor, pointing at me. "Finally, somebody with a lick of sense. And unlike some of you people," he pointed at Lucian, "I was up all night figuring out just such an angle."
    " Really," Lucian said. "And how'd you manage that without internet?"
    He gave him one of the weirdest smirky grins ever. "I thought a-head that is how. I downloaded off -line materials to study for la-ter. " He clipped all his words with a sass that had me grinning and loving Steve more than ever.
    Lucian nodded and slapped him on the arm. "Good job man. That was fucking smart."
    " Damn right it was," Steve said, pulling out a square of paper and working it open.
    " Hold that thought, Mr. Steve," the preacher said standing, "time to saddle up."
    Steve looked at all of us, back to panic. "But what about the products, we haven't even selected which to present."
    " Bring the entire box. Select on the way." Preacher kissed Becca with a traffic-stopping dominance that left her looking like a flower after sustaining hurricane force winds