Spike shook his head. "Not to the death. We all want to go home afterward. The refs call it when a Shifter can't get up again. But things can get pretty bad." He looked at Sean. "I don't think you should go at all, Sean. A Guardian will make people nervous."

"Marquez also might decide that a fight to the death is what he wants," Sean said. "What if one of them pegs it, and there's no Guardian handy?"

Spike looked uneasy, but Ronan thought he knew why. Not because Sean might be needed, but Sean might tell Liam about Spike doing the fights. And no one wanted to piss off Liam.

"Don't worry," Sean said to him. "I'll be incognito, and I won't tell my brother."

Elizabeth's voice came from the door. "I thought you'd come here to talk him out of it, Sean."

All three of them jumped like guilty teenagers as Elizabeth walked into the room.

She was unhappy, that was obvious, but Ronan took in her jeans and tight red top, her high-heeled half-boots, the streaks in her hair that matched her shirt, and felt his mating frenzy stir. The lines of the butterfly peeping over the top's neckline reminded him of the beautiful little fairy on her breast. For a moment, whatever Sean was saying went fuzzy.

"I'm here to help you in a different way, lass," he thought Sean said. "With me trusty laptop." He'd set it up on Elizabeth's desk. The laptop looked plain, low-end, but Sean's fingers skimmed the keyboard, and screens began to pop up under his touch. "You're going to tell me everything about Rachel Sullivan and her little sister, and they'll go away, forever." He wriggled his fingers a few inches above the keys. "Like magic."

"Forever." Elizabeth stared at the laptop, a strange expression on her face.

"No one will ever connect you with her again," Sean said. "And no one will be able to track you from that name--or that name from your current one. You'll have been Elizabeth Chapman from birth. Is that who you want to be?"

Elizabeth stilled, staring at the laptop as though it would leap from the table and devour her. Her need for touch, for reassurance, screamed itself at Ronan.

But Ronan made himself stay where he was, though he had to clamp his arms across his middle to keep himself from going to her. She had to make this decision on her own, uninfluenced by Ronan, or Sean, or Julio, or Zach Casey.

Elizabeth drew a long breath, gaze flicking from the laptop to Ronan.

"Yes," she said.

*** *** ***

Elizabeth heard Ronan follow her out into the alley, where she'd gone to calm herself, to try to master her sudden dizziness. Inside, Sean was erasing--somehow--all trace of who Elizabeth used to be.

Ronan stopped beside her, leaning broad shoulders back against the wall, resting his booted foot against it. He said nothing and didn't reach for her. The man knew how to comfort simply by standing there.

"How can what Sean's doing help?" Elizabeth asked. "No matter how careful I was, Pablo Marquez's girlfriend found me out. How can Sean stop someone else from putting together the same information?"

"Because no hacker can out-hack a Guardian," Ronan said in a low voice. "Don't ask me how they do it. It's a secret known only to Guardians, and I'm not one, thank the Goddess."

"Why should he do this for me? If he's caught . . ." Elizabeth said the last in a murmur, glancing at the other closed doors in the alley.

"Sean, caught? You'd be amazed at what he and Liam get up to. Not to mention their dad."

"I don't want you going tonight, Ronan. I heard what Spike said." She looked up at him, big as a wrestler, no softness about him. "But you're not going to listen to me, are you?"

"Oh, I'm listening, Lizzie-girl."

"But you'll do it anyway."

"It's a good chance to get Marquez and his threats out of your life. Sean can help you with his laptop, me with my fists." He slanted her a look that made her remember his warmth in the night and the way she'd felt safe in his arms. "I'm pretty damn good at what I do."

He was, though she knew he didn't mean sex. "You're not even supposed to leave Shiftertown," she said, still in the low murmur. "Let alone go to some barn in the middle of nowhere."

"Even more of a challenge."

She let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm grateful for what Sean's doing, but erasing my info won't hide me from Zach. Julio's already contacted him."

"Elizabeth." Ronan faced her, resting his hands on the wall on either side of her. "You never have to worry about the Marquez brothers, or this Zach, or anything they might do to you, again. Whatever they do, it won't touch you. We've got your back."

No one but Ronan had ever said that to her and meant it. Ronan's eyes held nothing but sincerity, his vast strength like a barrier between her and the world.

"Why would you all do this for me? A week and a half ago, you barely knew me."

Ronan leaned closer. She'd never be able to duck away from him before he could close his arms around her, and she didn't particularly want to.

"I mate-claimed you," Ronan said. "That makes you one of us. You might walk away later, and we'll let you, but we won't let anything happen to you. You've become an honorary member of my clan, of Ellison's pack, of Sean and Liam's pride . . . until you become a full member of my clan." He came closer still and nuzzled her. "I'm hoping that happens soon."

"No pressure," she said, but she smiled.

"Nope." He nuzzled her again and kissed her softly. "No pressure at all."

"I'm coming with you tonight," she said.

"Well, yeah, I hope so. Wouldn't be the same without my mate-to-be cheering me on."

"Who says I'll cheer, Bear with Large Ego?"

"You will. And when I win, you'll be all over me."

"In your dreams."

"Oh, yeah," Ronan said. "And sweetie, trust me, I have some great dreams."

Chapter Fourteen

The makeshift arena for the Shifter fights was at the end of a dirt road a long way north and east of the 290. Elizabeth hung onto Ronan as he guided his bike down an FM road, then a county road, and finally an unmarked road where the pavement ended after only a