The tension in the room went up until Bijou felt as if she was choking on it. Saria was very still, but her hands were curled, almost like claws and her dark brown eyes were now flecked with glittering gold.

Bijou realized Dion wasn’t the threat, it was the one unseen. The golden leopard was there in the house, close. She moved away from Dion, circling the table to reach the block of knives Saria kept on the counter.

“Robert’s here, Saria. We’ve come for help. We need Drake.”

“You didn’t call first,” Saria pointed out. “There’s just bein’ polite. You can’t just walk into my house and expect to be welcome.”

“We didn’t have time for that,” Dion said brusquely. “Where’s Drake?”

Bijou’s hand closed over the handle of the knife, but didn’t pull it loose. She stood with her body blocking her actions, just waiting, listening for sounds of the other male.

“Get out of my house, Dion, before I call my brothers.”

The tension in the room was definitely escalating. Saria was pregnant and she had to be feeling vulnerable. Bijou hadn’t thought of calling for help. She didn’t have brothers or a family. She should have reached for her cell phone, not the knife. Silently cursing her own stupidity, she let out her breath and let go of the knife.

“I’m Bijou Breaux,” she introduced herself. “I don’ believe we met, unless it was back when we were still in school.”

Dion turned cool eyes on her. “Oh, we met, but you were too cool to notice my brother or me.”

“That’s it,” Saria snarled. “Get the hell out of my house, Dion. Right now. You’re not goin’ to break in to my home uninvited and then be rude to my friends. Get. Out.”

“Saria, we’ve been friends a long time,” Dion said, “I’m tellin’ you, we need help.”

“Then act like it instead of bein’ a jackass, Dion,” Saria replied, not backing down an inch. “I expect this behavior from Robert, but not you. One of you has to be reasonable, and you know it isn’t goin’ to be your brother. So tell him to either come in here and sit down at my table and explain to me what’s goin’ on, or both of you get out and wait for my husband.”

There was such hard authority in Saria’s voice that Bijou could have hugged her. She had that same air of command and confidence that Remy and the rest of the Boudreaux exuded. Clearly she wasn’t intimidated by Dion or his brother.

“His brother came after me last night in the swamp, Saria,” Bijou advised her. “And he fought with Remy.”