Elijah’s head came up in a way that didn’t bode well for Drake. He spun around and stalked across the room. Siena watched him the entire way, the fluid glide that made him seem invincible with his muscles rippling subtly beneath his tight shirt and the jeans cupping his butt so lovingly. She could read the dangerous fury in every line of his body as well as feel it filling the room so that the air seemed to vibrate with it. He yanked open the door.

Drake was there, framed in the doorway. Elijah put a hand on his chest and walked him backward, closing the door behind him.

“This couldn’t wait,” Drake said, ignoring the hand on his chest. “We’ve got cops coming up the drive. I informed Jake, and he’s countered with a couple of cops he knows for certain are clean. It will take them a few minutes to get here.”

“I have nothing to hide,” Elijah bit out. “Do you think I would ever have anything in my home that would in any way be illegal?”

“You have Siena Arnotto. Paolo and Alonzo are with the police officers,” Drake said. “Trailing behind in a second vehicle. We tried to stop them at the gate, but the officers claimed it was a well checkup and they had to physically see and talk to Siena.”

Elijah cursed. “That bastard has balls coming here. He knows she can’t point the finger at him. The word was a rogue leopard attacked her, but damn it all, he beat her. I just told her she was safe here. If I knew for certain the cops coming with him were dirty, on his payroll, no one would find their fucking bodies.”

“Elijah, you might want to allow me to handle the cops,” Drake suggested tactfully. “They can’t take Siena against her will. I’ll go in to her and tell her she has to let the officers know she asked to be brought here.”

“She won’t say that. She doesn’t want any part of me or this house,” Elijah admitted, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Damn it. I should have been more careful with her. I should have recognized she was innocent.” He wasn’t going to use the excuse of his leopard turning savage and amorous on him, although that much was the truth. He had control and discipline. He’d learned it in a hard school, and he sure as hell should have had it with the one woman who meant something to him. He should have handled her with care.