Obviously, she’d been broadcasting her distress, and poor him – she was upsetting him. This was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done and you’re supposed to have my back. You don’t. Not. At. All.

Damn it, let’s get through this and we’ll talk at home.

She didn’t deign to look at him. She decided if he could show no emotion toward her, or anything else, she could do the same. She was very polite with Mrs. March, mainly because the woman was the consummate professional and made shopping easy. Unlike Alain, she didn’t get any perverted vibes off of her at all. Mrs. March liked doing her job. She enjoyed helping others and she knew clothes. She had confidence in her ability to see what would look good on others and she took satisfaction in making others look good.

Mrs. March insisted on her trying on a short dress with a clingy skirt, emphasizing her curves. She felt a little ridiculous coming out of the dressing room, barefoot, no panties, the dress backless so that she felt the swish of her long hair slithering down her back and pooling in the curve of her buttocks. The material and the silk of her hair felt – decadent. Her heart actually pounded when she stepped in front of Trap. Waiting. In spite of everything, hoping, maybe even needing a reaction.

She got none. No heat flaring in his eyes. No warmth pouring into his mind. He was completely removed from her. From the dress that had felt sexy but now fell flat. She wanted it off. She would have turned to rush back to the dressing room, but he stirred, held up a finger and moved it in a circle, indicating she turn around.

“Beautiful.” Mrs. March breathed the word. “Truly beautiful. That dress is definitely made for you, Cayenne.”

A little bell over the door tinkled, and Gino stepped in front of her before she could see who had walked in. The air in the room thickened. Became almost too dense to breathe. Mrs. March coughed. Trap slid in between Gino and Cayenne, a smooth move, one she barely comprehended. She saw Draden, out of the corner of her eye, move into position on the other side of Trap.

Cayenne didn’t like being boxed in. She really didn’t like having her sight cut off. She felt the danger in the room. She smelled the man who had entered. Heard his footfalls. Light. A soldier, from his precise, measured steps. She shifted to the right, outside the pocket Trap and Gino had created.

Don’t you fucking move. Trap snapped the command.

She ignored him. She wasn’t a woman to be bossed around and she didn’t accept his authority or his protection. She didn’t accept any of this. She was in a stupid dress, hoping to make Trap notice her like some little kid looking for attention. The sight of her hadn’t changed that glacier in his eyes, hadn’t aroused the least bit of interest, so she’d be damned if she was going to have him look after her.

She ignored his warning and took another step away from him, letting the newcomer see his target. She spotted him instantly because she knew by the vibrations in the room exactly where he was. He was built like a boxer. His face was scarred, his eyes showing nerves, but they locked on her instantly. Flared with excitement. For a moment, she thought he’d draw his weapon. He looked as if he might.

Mrs. March moved, walking right up to him, looking classy in her high heels and her welcoming smile. “May I help you?”

Trap’s fingers settled like a shackle around Cayenne’s wrist. He jerked her to him so hard she actually stumbled. Already in fight mode, she nearly sank her teeth into his wrist, but she was off balance and his other hand caught her hair in a tight fist, yanking her head back and away from his arm.

Are you fucking nuts? You’re going to paralyze me with our enemy a few feet away? He nearly shook her, but instead, he walked her backward, using her hair and his body along with his vise-like grip on her wrist to take her to the dressing room. Change fast. He’s the scout for his team. We aren’t going to war in a dress shop, or even here in the city where someone else can get hurt.

She complied, mostly because she was angry with herself that her first instinct was to bite, to take him down because she was in unfamiliar territory with an enemy who clearly had come to terminate her. She had to get away from Trap and the others. If she did, she could lead the man and his team away from them. Trap would be furious, but she really didn’t care. He had set this entire day in motion and clearly knew ahead of time that the threat to her was viable. He hadn’t told her.

Trap stepped into the dressing room as she slid the dress off her shoulders and allowed it to slither to the floor. She wore nothing under it but her skin. Shocked that he walked in on her, she stepped back because he gave her no choice. His gaze moved over her, and this time she caught a hint of possession, or arousal, she wasn’t certain which or both before it was gone and his eyes were ice again.

He caught up her camisole and thrust it into her hands. Don’t you even think about ditching the team.

You knew they were waiting for me to show up in town, didn’t you? She pulled on her jeans and the camisole without looking at him again. Furious. Spider furious. The venom was close. She actually thought about injecting him, rolling him in silk and leaving him there in the fitting room. His team would never leave him unprotected.

It was logical. They knew you didn’t have clothes or food. Sooner or later, they figured you would have to come for supplies. I sent a couple of the boys in earlier to scout around. They spotted John Butler. We all know him. He flunked out of the program right before we all were approved. So yeah, I knew. I also knew you’d want to go after them yourself, and that just isn’t going to happen.

She sank down onto the beautifully appointed chair and put on her socks and then her shoes, grateful they weren’t the boots that had been too big for her. You didn’t think I had the right to know?

I don’t give a damn whether or not you had the right, Cayenne. You aren’t alone in this anymore. You’re with me. That means you stay safe and you become part of the team.

She stood up, close to him. Deliberately close. He didn’t move back like she expected. Like he should have. The venom was there. So ready. One motion was all it would take, lean into him and bite. She forced air through her lungs, trying to tamp down the hurt that was far more dangerous than the anger.

“But I wasn’t made part of the team, was I, Trap? I’m the bait, not a member of your team. You don’t accept me, so why would your friends? Move aside. I want to leave, and you don’t have the right to stop me.”