He straightened. “Baby. Really. It’s just a word.”

“It’s a foul, dirty word.”

He leaned down again and pressed his lips right against her ear. “I love fucking you. The dirtier the better.”

Her eyes went wide, she knew it. Shocked. Hot. She felt her body get damp and her nipples get hard. Seriously. This was so not the time, when she was trying to defuse a bad situation and make a point.

His amusement grew as he watched her face flush with color and the heat hit her eyes. She glanced at the other men and saw they shared his humor. She shared her glare with all of them, including Alonzo.

“Apparently it is a prerequisite to be able to drop the f-bomb to get into the men’s club around here.” She gave them all her haughtiest, nose-in-the-air look. Princess to peasant. “I have no desire to join your club. Alonzo, since you’re my only soldier and I don’t even know what that is, could you tell me exactly who wants me dead?”

Elijah cleared his throat. “Babe. This is my jurisdiction. We talked about this. I keep you safe, and you live free, not having to deal with this crap. Alonzo and I will be civilized and he’ll help me sort it out.”

“You didn’t look civilized,” she accused. “Either one of you. And just this once, because it really is upsetting to me, I would like to know what’s going on. Paolo scares me to death, and earlier, when those shots were fired, I thought maybe it was Paolo trying to kill you and I felt horrible. Emma and Jake and the children were here. Catarina was here and she’s pregnant. That would have been my fault.” She ducked her head, her voice dropping an octave. “Clearly I was right, just not about Paolo.”

“Siena.”

Elijah and Alonzo both said her name simultaneously. Elijah sounded sweet, so sweet her heart melted. Alonzo sounded as if he were reprimanding her.

“Paolo has always wanted the kingdom,” Alonzo said. “As far back as I can remember since signing on he was determined to get in good with Tonio. He knew you didn’t have a clue what your grandfather did other than his legitimate businesses. He knew, and he thought Tonio would just hand the reins over to him when he died. He made certain he was in position to be the natural successor. But Tonio wanted you to have it all. He wanted your husband to run things and keep you out of it, but he was determined that you inherited everything.”

“So he didn’t think Siena was part of the deal?” Drake asked.