He was grateful for that offer as well. As far as he could tell, Evangeline only had a couple of women she reached out to. “Drake, I know Saria is pregnant as well. You don’t have to stay while we figure this out. I wouldn’t want to be away from Evangeline if she was pregnant.”

“I go home often. Jake lets me use his small jet. He’s got a lot of toys, and someone has to use them.”

“Can she fly?” Jake asked. “Emma would like to meet her. She talks to her on the phone, and they text, but mostly I think they laugh at the pair of us.”

“When things settle down, I’ll bring her for a visit,” Drake promised.

That told Alonzo Drake didn’t want his woman anywhere near the explosive situation. He couldn’t blame the man.

“We’ll take care of the shipment,” he said. “And we don’t need help. I’ve given orders to put the house in order so I can bring Evangeline home with me to recover. I can protect her better there.”

Joshua cleared his throat, bringing the attention to him. He was a man of few words, but he wasn’t a man anyone ever wanted to go up against unless it was absolutely necessary. His fighting skills had been honed in the rain forest, both man and leopard, and he was fast and brutal when necessary. Alonzo knew he was like Drake in that he had patience and the kind of mind it took to run a lair. He was fair and just, and when he fought another leopard, he didn’t automatically go for the kill. He wanted to force the other male to submit and, hopefully by winning the battle, keep a member of his lair in line.

Alonzo’s leopard always went for the kill. It was difficult, once the big male cat was set free, to pull him back. Any lair he ruled, the members would have to know that up front before they challenged him, because the likelihood that a challenger would escape death was slim.

“I didn’t grow up with my cousin. I never actually met her, not officially, but she’s family and she had it far worse than I ever did. I grew up without a father, but I had the other leopards in the rain forest and I had my mother. Evangeline had no one. Not really. That bakery appears to mean everything to her. If she closes it for a few weeks, can she sustain that loss? I’m willing to back her financially. I’m also willing to find a baker and help for her, to step in while she’s recouping, if you think that’s the best idea, Alonzo.”