Every night after Elizabeth closed the store, she went with him to Liam's bar. There she'd talk and joke with Andrea, Glory, Ellison, and other Shifters she was coming to know. Whenever Ronan took a break, he'd sit down with Elizabeth, and at the end of the night, they rode home on Ronan's bike, Elizabeth's arms around his waist.

And they'd talk. Morning, noon, and night, she and Ronan seemed to never run out of conversation, or jokes about anything they could think of. Even silences with him were companionable, Elizabeth never feeling pressured to come up with something brilliant to say.

She'd never had a relationship like this, where she could actually talk to a guy. What's more, Ronan listened. It was a new sensation. In Elizabeth's previous relationships, the man in question had expected her to talk when he wanted her to, shut up when he wanted her to, and have sex with him whenever he wanted her to. Whenever he wanted, never mind Elizabeth's needs. His pleasure counted, not hers.

Ronan, on the other hand, was perfectly happy to steal kisses with her, as though they were wayward teenagers, whenever and wherever she liked. They made a game of it, coming up with unlikely and unusual places to duck away for kissing: her office bathroom, the broom closet at the bar, behind the back shelves in her store, in the root cellar of Ronan's house, in the back of Ellison's pickup. The Shifters--especially Rebecca and Ellison--made fun of them, but Ronan lapped up their teasing with enjoyment.

Elizabeth liked the turn her life had taken, which at the same time seemed fragile and new, like a seedling lifting a first tender shoot above the soil. There was hope and warmth, but also fear of impending storms.

The next storm came in the form of Julio Marquez, who was waiting for them in the shadows of the Shifter bar's parking lot when Ronan and Elizabeth emerged the next Friday night. The bar had closed an hour before, Ronan shutting down for Liam so he could go home to his family.

Ronan stepped fully in front of Elizabeth. Nate and Spike came out of the darkness to flank Julio, Nate in his human form, Spike as a jaguar.

Julio opened his hands then carefully lifted his jacket to show that he carried no weapon. His face sported healing cuts from his fight with Ronan, reminders of Ronan's strength, but also reminders that Ronan could temper his strength.

"I came alone," Julio said. "I just want to talk to you."

One week ago, Elizabeth had grown dizzy with terror when she'd looked into Julio's cold eyes over his gun. Now she tasted pure anger. A spark from Ronan's Collar flashed white in the night, and he growled.

Julio raised his hands. "I swear to God, I only want to talk. You made a fool out of me, chica, but I'm not crazy enough to go one-on-one with a Shifter."

Elizabeth stood in silence. Anything she said--even agreeing to let Julio speak his piece--might allow his lawyer to claim that her testimony against him was compromised. She was willing to bet that any lawyer hired by the Marquez brothers would be slippery enough to do so.

"You have three seconds to leave," Ronan said to Julio. "Or I go through you."

"No, no." Julio took a step back. "I'm here to apologize. My brother was right--I was stupid."

Elizabeth remained silent, and Ronan followed her lead.

Julio went on. "I know you think I've come here to ask you not to testify against me. And you're right. I really don't want to go to prison. I'm sorry for what I did, but I was just having fun. You know, showing off for my friends."

He was a cool little liar. He might dupe a person more naive than Elizabeth, but she'd seen many performances like his, most of them better. Julio had been ready to kill her last Friday night, not caring who she was or who in the world depended on her. She'd been a means to get to the money, something to be disposed afterward. That was all.

"I know you're pissed off at me," Julio said. "So I'll make a deal with you. You know the Shifter fight clubs?"

Ronan waited. He was a frightening sight out here in the dark, looming like a giant, his Collar gleaming in the moonlight.

"Here's my deal," Julio said. "You, Shifter, come out to the fight club out east of here tomorrow night and fight my champion. Spike knows where it is. My champion's a good fighter, but I've seen you, and I think you'd have a chance against him. You win, I leave you and your lady alone forever. You testify at my trial, do whatever you want. If my champion wins then you agree to not to testify, get out of town, and leave me the hell alone. Got it?"

Elizabeth longed to shout at him, to lambaste him for coming here and expecting her to cut a deal, when he'd been the one who'd shoved a pistol into her face and tried to take away everything she had. What should she do, apologize for not being a helpless victim? She clamped her lips closed, struggling against the words.

Ronan's Collar sparked again. "Not interested," he said.

He started walking, directly at Julio. Julio sidestepped, and Ronan pulled Elizabeth along past him. Nate and Spike closed in.

"You're going to want to take my deal," Julio called, voice edged with desperation. "Don't walk away from me so fast . . . Rachel."

Elizabeth knew she shouldn't stop, shouldn't react. She should ignore him, have every inch of her body language say, Who's Rachel?

But she froze, one foot in the act of striding, while fear hit her so hard she wanted to be sick. She sensed Ronan slow beside her, felt his curiosity, his caution.

"Rachel Sullivan," Julio went on, glee in his voice. "You have a juvey record longer than mine. Yeah, I can see what's in old files. My brother got into bed with a hacker--literally, she's screwing him. Mouthy bitch, but she knows her stuff. You got mixed up with a very, very bad dude, didn't you? I bet he'd love to have Pablo call him and tell him he knows where Rachel Sullivan is."

Ronan's growls rose as he spun around, his Collar throwing out sparks like lightning. Nate and Spike flanked him.

Julio backed away, but he didn't run. "Kill me now, and an email gets sent to his phone in the morning. If you agree, and I make it home before the message is timed to send, I'll erase it. You say no, or you kill me . . . well, there will be no one to push the delete key. Then you have to deal with him."

Elizabeth finally spoke. "I take it your brother doesn't know about this little deal?"

"Pablo told me to take care of my problems on my own. So I'm taking care of them. But my brother and his hacker chick know all about you and your sister. The foster homes, your arrests for pick-pocketing and shoplifting and your little scams, you avoiding jail by the skin of your teeth."