Page 160 of Allegiance

“Now that Tommy has spoken, the rest of us will be going to the bar, minus Boone, who will keep his ass here and think about what he’s done by using Voodoo on people.”

“Can I make that bracelet for Eve, or will that be considered a bad idea?”

Maura just stared at him.

“I’ll stay here with the ladies and not touch any beads,” he said.

Zayn laughed.

Only, Boone wasn’t getting his ass busted without handing it back.

“Unless it’s okay to give Stella better gun skills with some pretty pink beads so Zayn has to let her be armed. She can tuck a piece against the baby bump.”

Immediately, the man stopped laughing.

“That’s not funny. No one is to give her a gun or a spell that helps her get a gun. That’s a calamity.”

She stepped on his foot, trying to squish his toes.

“You’re mean, my sweet Stella, but these are steel-toed boots.”

She smiled.

“Ever hear of the phrase, fuck around and find out, Marine?” she asked.

He nodded.

Oh, he had, and the last person he wanted to make angry was his pregnant wife.

“I’ll stop laughing now.”

“Good plan,” she said.

Maura was done playing games when it came to beads. Instead, she walked over to Dakota, took them from his wrist, and tucked them into her pocket.

“Well, now, no one will have to worry,” she said, focused on Boone. “Do you understand? Because we aren’t going to have a wayward Voodoo practitioner making dolls or pouches of shit, right?”

He nodded.

“Has anyone ever told you that you were mean, Major?” he asked.

Jagger laughed.

“You should see her in her brass. She makes mean look like fun. That’s why I fell in love with her.”

She pointed at him.

“You better believe it.”

He winked.

“Okay, team. We’re going to get our shit together, and we’re dividing up. We can’t head out until nightfall,” she said, looking at her watch. “So everyone is to be in their gear and here in two hours. We’ll each go our way and handle this.”

That worked for them.

They worked best when the sun began going down, and thankfully, that was early.

“We meet up at nineteen hundred hours. Then, we’ll head out.”