You suspected, too, didn’t you?“That was ... why ... I had to go ... part of it, anyway. I had to make sure that you didn’t keep asking question... about the bruises, you know. I wanted you to know, but I also feared that if you knew, you’d be out for blood ... and I was right, wasn’t I? You ripped him to shreds and tossed him around like a rag doll, both of you. I was terrified, of course, both of him and of you two.“I knew what you were, sensed it ... I had heard stories of lobos before ... of. He paused at Brock's car window before he went into the budget hotel the team provided for him. He offered a grateful smile and was about to tell his idol how much the past two weeks had meant to him."Thank you, Ryan," Brock said before the man could speak. "You've helped me more than you realize. If this works out – if I don't make an absolute fool of myself – it's because of the work you did. I appreciate it. I know your life is going to head in a different direction. You're going to have to. Feeling some tension in her muscles from the lifting, I probed her lats, giving her a real massage. "So good, Dana. I love it." I was getting down toward her hips when it happened. My nipples rubbed against her back for the first time. It was an electrifying feeling, sending a completely new and thrilling sensation throughout my entire body. I know she felt it too, because she tensed up a bit. I had pulled back after the first contact, but now I deliberately let it happen again. She didn't say. "Amelia Cardelli."As if I had a list of Amelias to choose from."Hello, kiddo," I said cheerfully.Amelia's reply was tearful."We need your help," she said. "Mom and me. Enrico's gone and Mom is really worried. I'm scared, too. I didn't know who else to call. Can you come here? Please?" Let me speak to your mother for a moment, if I may," I said. I wasn't certain that Amelia had a firm grasp on the situation.Seconds later, my long-ago girlfriend was on the line."Who is this?" she asked as if I.