A Siren for the Bear (Sarkozy Brothers Book 1) by Meredith Clarke, Pia Milan Page B

wanted to believe him.
    Either way, she was still gone.
    And she wasn't coming back.
    His fist clenched at his side.  
    She wasn't coming back unless he did something about it himself.
    The door opened and Lukas walked in.
    "Hey, brother." Marek's cousin, Lukas Sarkozy, came to sit in the chair beside the bed. "We got the results back from the lab."
    "And?" Marek asked, his voice rumbling with irritation.
    Lukas gave him a hard look. "The formula was the same as what they'd used outside the hotel. But it wasn't a tranquilizer."
    "It wasn't?" Marek echoed, but he'd already known this. No tranquilizer would have him flat on his back for weeks, especially with only a third of the contents in his bloodstream.
    "The dart was just a delivery system, a way to inject you with the poison more efficiently." Lukas' green eyes fairly glowed with anger. At who, wondered Marek. The boy had his own problems to deal with. Ones that Marek still had to get him to reveal. Being the big brother had been a little difficult, what with being unconscious then incapacitated for days.
    But their problems with the Legion took priority over everything else they faced.
    "So they've stepped up their operation." Marek sighed and leaned back against the pillows.
    "They're now out to kill."
    Marek looked at Lukas. "They must have a reason to move from abduction to outright killing within months." Marek frowned, his mind racing through possibilities. "There must be something they know that we don't."
    Lukas nodded. "They haven't cared about wiping us out. They know our line is dying. We're killing ourselves anyway, so why should they bother to do the dirty work?"
    "Unless their research came up with something we don't know." Marek's voice was hard, angry. The Legion always seemed to be one step ahead of them. "They know something. So it's time to step up our game." Lukas met his gaze. "Get word to Delta Ops. We're going to go about things as normal until we figure out what they have on us. In the meantime, tell Delta to apprehend one of them."
    Lukas nodded approvingly. "Retire or capture?"
    "Interrogation."

28. CARSON  

    S HIMMYING THE SILK DOWN HER hips, Carson swore loudly enough to have Kat poke her head into her room.
    "What's cooking?"
    Carson grumbled, scraping her hair from her face with her fingers. "I think I've been pigging out on too much ice cream."
    Kat made a face, folding her arms as she leaned against the threshold. "Heart troubles will do that to a girl."
    Carson had told Kat the bare minimum of her breakup with Marek. Kat had insisted she go back and make up, and had only let up when Carson had threatened to move out.
    Desperate times.
    Carson glared at her. "I need to find something else to wear and you aren't helping."
    "Well, you could use the band outfit I got you?"
    She was already heading for the closet to dig out the leather pants and jacket that Carson had flung into the darkest corner on her return.
    Carson was shaking her head. "That is so not the type of clothing for this gig, and you know it. Adam will throw me off stage."
    "No, he won't. Wear that burgundy peasant blouse over it, that should soften the badass chick look enough for Serendipity."
    Kat had a point. And Carson had no choice. Not really. Other than heading out now and buying new clothes, that was.
    And there was no doing that, not when she preferred to shed the excess pounds first, before spending money on new clothes. The money from Ursus Major was still sitting in her bank account and she refused to use it. Not until the contract stuff was sorted out.
    And if she wanted to sort contract shit, she'd have to make a phone call. One that she was not looking forward to.
    After she changed into the leather skirt and blouse, she had to admit Kat was right. A whistle from the door confirmed her friend's approval.
    "You look gorgeous, woman. Positively glowing. Hard to tell there's a broken heart hidden in there somewhere."
    "Shut up." Carson glared at her, but she was