He nuzzled her throat. “Come on, baby, let’s get you out of there,” he said, and his voice had gone husky, dropping an octave, a little hoarse around the edges.

Instantly she frowned, one hand lifting to his face, finger tracing the bottom edge of his lip. “What is it, honey?”

Her voice, the look on her face, so loving. Seeing him. Not the monster in the room, not the killer with a victim waiting for him downstairs. Seeing him. The man he had tried so desperately to hang on to. The one no one else saw. So damned small there was almost nothing left of his humanity, in spite of how he’d tried to guard it, yet Siena Arnotto, she could see him.

He reached down and unscrewed the plug and then pulled her to her feet, standing at the same time. He reached for a towel. “Out.”

She stepped out and he wrapped her up, feeling the little shiver.

“Elijah, what’s going on? You’re upset.”

How the hell did she know that? He could guarantee Alonzo Massi didn’t know he was conflicted about killing him. But Siena, just like that, realized he was upset.

“Not upset, mi amorcito,” he lied. “You’re just so far out of my league. I see you and something inside me . . .” Breaks apart. He couldn’t say that. Leopards didn’t lie to each other because they could hear honesty or deceit. She turned her head and looked at him over her shoulder and he knew she’d heard the lie, but judging by the softness in her eyes, she was giving him that.

“We’ve got a situation and I need your help.” His hands moved over her gently, taking the beads of water from her skin as he dried her off.

“Anything, Elijah, you know that.”

She turned straight again, allowing him to dry her body. He didn’t know why it meant so much. The trust she gave him. The intimacy. Standing still for him, not asking, just waiting. He leaned down and brushed a kiss on her shoulder, then into the sweet spot where her neck and shoulder met.

“I need to know why you’re afraid of Alonzo.”

His hands were on her—through the towel—but they were on her and he felt her stiffen. It was subtle, but his leopard reacted with a protective leap toward the surface. That was enough for him. Damn it. Just damn it. He brushed another kiss against her skin, this time behind her ear.

“No worries, baby, get dressed. I’ll meet you in the kitchen in a few minutes.” With blood on his hands. Probably the blood of a good soldier, but one that would keep coming at them.