Operation Unleashed by Justine Davis

Author:Justine Davis
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-05-11T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Cutter came out of the kitchen, appearing to be headed for the family room and Luke. His appearance reminded Alyssa that Teague was in the kitchen, and she wondered with no little embarrassment if he’d stayed in there this long on purpose, not wanting to get sucked into this never-ending clash.

On that thought, Cutter stopped. He looked over at them, then changed course and headed their way. He stopped beside the coffee table and shifted that intense gaze from Drew to her and then back again. And once more, he let out that oddly disgusted-sounding canine sigh.

“Yeah, we’re at it again,” Drew muttered.

“Are we?” Alyssa asked. “I thought we were calmly discussing it.”

Surprise flickered across his face. They really hadn’t been arguing, not like before, so why was he surprised? Because he’d been about to launch as usual, after she’d in essence agreed with his parents, but Cutter had interrupted? Had the dog somehow sensed the tone was about to change?

Apparently decided now, Cutter walked over to Drew. He sat down in front of him, practically on his feet, and stared up into his face. Drew stared back at him, but she imagined it would be rather hard not to.

A contest of wills?

She wasn’t sure why the phrase popped into her mind, but it seemed to fit. The dog must somehow sense the tension, she thought. And because it apparently had been Drew feeling it—she herself had been remarkably composed given the subject—he had focused on him.

She wondered what Cutter would do if Drew got really angry. Not that he ever did, at least not that he ever let it show. In fact, other than when the subject was his brother, he was calm and level and for the most part kind and thoughtful. And with Luke, he was incredibly patient, sometimes even more than she was.

Luke.

“You know it’s not really about Doug at all,” she said. “It’s about Luke.”

Drew didn’t look away from the dog. Odd, she thought. He didn’t speak, either. Maybe he was still on the edge of snapping back something about Doug and instead chose not to speak at all. She took this as a good sign. And said something she’d wanted to say since the day Luke had run away, when she had called Drew and he had dropped everything to come running. No blame, no accusations, he’d just come, because Luke was the most important thing in the world to him. They shared that, at least.

“Nobody can change the fact that Doug is Luke’s biological father. But you’re the man who’s been there for him, always put him first. The man he looks up to. The man he respects.” Her voice tightened, but she went on. “The man he loves.”

Cutter made a soft, whuffing sound. Drew’s head came up then and he looked at her. And something in his expression was different. She wasn’t sure what it was, just that he seemed...not softer, not Drew, but as if he’d been moved by something.

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