Jaguars' Reward [Impulse 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Zara Chase Page B

over the edge. No question about that.
    Zayd looked up from his heated debate with Vadim, caught her eye, and grimaced. It seemed that even he couldn’t change Vadim’s mind and Zayd obviously held her responsible for his intransigent stance.
    But it wasn’t her fault!
    Except that she felt so guilty she wanted to throw someone over her shoulder, just to show these alphas males that they weren’t the only ones with physical strength. Vadim was the obvious candidate.
    “Okay, Vadim,” Rafe said. “How do you want to play this?”
    “I figure Talia ought to call Wilson and ask for a meeting,” Vadim said, avoiding her eye. “He’ll agree, out of curiosity if nothing else.”
    “Oh no he wouldn’t,” Talia replied. “We didn’t part on the best of terms. He freaked me out and I asked him not to come back to the studio. He’d immediately be suspicious if he got a call from me suddenly wanting to get all up close and personal.”
    “Let’s take a step back and think it through.” Rafe’s voice cut through the brittle silence that ensued when Talia glared triumphantly at Vadim. “Will your mom have missed you yet?”
    “No, probably not. We don’t talk every day.”
    “Okay then.” Rafe’s eyes gleamed and Talia could sense a whole raft of scenarios playing out in what was obviously a sharp brain. “I suggest you call your mom, tell her you’re on St. Pete Beach. That’ll make sense if she tells anyone about the conversation. St. Pete’s right next door to Impulse and is the most likely place for you to end up if you got booted out of here.”
    “I don’t see why we need to involve my mom.”
    “Insurance,” Rafe replied. “Who’s the first person a girl calls when she’s in trouble?”
    “Her lawyer,” Kane quipped.
    “If you’re thinking the mom-and-daughter thing, Rafe, then forget it,” Talia said. “Mom and I aren’t that close.”
    “Even so, if anyone wants to know where you are, your mom is the first person they’ll check in with. That’s probably why the wolves have manipulated Finch into taking up with her.”
    “Perhaps, but I still have no reason to call Wilson.”
    “Then we’ll just have to invent something believable,” Rafe replied. “How do you take bookings for your karate lessons?”
    “Through my cell,” Talia admitted reluctantly. “I rent the studio by the hour at certain times of the week, but they won’t take my inquiries for me. All the flyers I use to advertise give my cell.”
    “So you have all their numbers in your phone?”
    “I did, but I don’t have the phone anymore,” she said, trying to keep the elation out of her voice. “I have no idea where Wilson works, so I have no way of contacting him.”
    “I’m afraid you do,” Kane said, handing her cell phone to her. “It was in your pocket when you went into the ocean. Zayd asked us to see if we could restore it. I’m sorry to say that we dried it out, charged it up, and it’s still in excellent working order.”
    She glowered at Kane. It wasn’t his fault and, in fairness, he didn’t look any happier about Vadim’s crazy plan than she herself felt. Even so, she needed to glower at someone and he just happened to be in her line of vision. She was being railroaded into doing something that would be dangerous for the guys who saved her life. If there was one thing that made Talia crazy, it was being manipulated into actions that she knew were just plain dumb.
    “Call Wilson and tell him you’ve had a bit of a memory lapse. The last few days are a complete blank. You’re on your way back to Venice, can’t remember if you had clients booked and if so whether he was one of them.”
    Talia transferred her glower at Rafe, who absorbed it without a qualm. “He’ll say no and that’ll be the end of it.”
    “I suspect he’ll express concern and say you were due to meet. He’ll know you didn’t succeed in killing Vadim and Zayd and will want to know if you remember what happened. At