Текст книги "Wicked Edge"
Автор книги: Rebecca Zanetti
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Текущая страница: 11 (всего у книги 18 страниц)
He peppered kisses along her neck to take one nipple in his mouth. She gasped and slid her fingers into his hair. His body rioted, and his vision wavered even more. “I’m not a hundred percent here, Felicity.”
She reached down and yanked his shirt over his head. “You feel ready to me.”
He grinned and paid homage to the other breast. Her nipples were pink and fully erect, and he could play with them all day. “My vision is fuzzy,” he admitted.
“Then close your eyes,” she whispered, sliding off her pants and helping him to kick his off.
Good plan. He closed his eyes and just let himself feel, sliding inside her with a couple of hard pushes.
Her sex convulsed around his shaft, and he groaned, moving up her so he could stretch out. “No fire this time,” he whispered against the rapidly beating pulse in her neck. He didn’t have the energy.
Smooth and toned, her thighs clapped against his hips. “Don’t need fire. Just need you,” she whispered.
That sexy voice licked right down his spine. One quickie might give them both energy, and when they were done, they could sleep. Getting shot in the chest hurt more than he’d thought. His vision went completely dark, but his body thrummed with hunger. It slaked through him, aimed solely on Felicity Kyllwood.
Her nails bit into his butt.
He licked her jugular and started to pound. She met him thrust for thrust, her fingers digging into his ass, her hot core caressing around his shaft. The sounds she made, hoarse and sexy, whispered through him, straight to his heart. He thrust harder, giving in to his need and hers.
Fine tremors shook her feminine body. Her core gripped him with enough strength to catch his breath. He tilted his pelvis, just a bit, and scraped over her clit.
She stiffened and then cried out his name. Waves ripped through her body and crashed against him. Fire lit his ass, hot and desperate, shooting electricity through his veins. Her teeth lashed on to his pec, and she bit. Deep.
He held her tighter, gripped her hip to lift her, hammering into her with everything he had. His canines lengthened. All instinct, he sliced into the vulnerable flesh at her neck and held on. Sparks burned through him, igniting every nerve, throwing his senses into overdrive. Lava scalded down his spine to land hard in his balls.
His release stole his breath, jerking rapidly through him. His teeth met in the middle, and a sense of contentment filled him. Finally, he went lax.
She panted against him, her palms drawing soothing circles on his aching butt.
Wait a minute. His canines retracted, and he instinctively licked her wound clean. His body flared awake, and he opened his eyes. He could see, but she was blurry. He’d bitten her.
Oh God.
Glancing down at his hand, he slowly slid to the side and pulled her over. His brand, bright and Celtic, was healing on her hip. “I mated you.” His voice was hoarser than hers would ever be.
She blinked, and her mouth formed a perfect O.
He hadn’t been strong enough to fight both biology and fate, and he had known better. He should’ve rested up before having sex.
“Um,” she said.
He winced. “Let’s just keep calm minds and talk this out.”
She twisted her lip and then drew her arm up to glance at her hand. A perfect Z appeared in the center, dark and somehow feminine.
Both of his eyebrows lifted so quickly his head jerked. “What the fuck?”
She winced and then tilted to the side, peering around his body.
Almost in slow motion, he turned his head to see a perfect match on his left buttock.
She bit her lip. “I marked you, too.” Then, crazy woman that she was, she threw back her head and laughed, long and hard.
Chapter 20
Ivan Bychkov threw a paperweight across the home office. The heavy disk smashed into the window showcasing a lovely view of the Seattle skyline and dropped to the antique rug in three perfect shapes. “I can’t believe this.”
Vadim Deeks continued reading a tablet that looked impossibly small in his massive hands. “The consortia is holding a vote tomorrow morning about your leadership. My sources confirm that you’re about to be voted out.” He tapped the tablet with strong fingers, causing a protesting ping from the computer with every stroke. “There’s also rumor of a vote to cut off your head.”
No shit. Once leaders were replaced, they weren’t wanted any longer. If he set foot on his continent, he’d be dead within hours. “Any idea who’s behind this?”
Vadim shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. There’s enough momentum that if you don’t turn the tide and now, you’re out.” He spoke without inflection. “We need to regain the cash, jewels, and gold from the bank accounts, or we’re both finished with the consortia.”
“That bitch,” Bychkov said, running a shaking hand through his thick hair. He had seriously underestimated Felicity. The bank strikes had been perfectly orchestrated, and combined with the mining incidents, had crippled him financially. More important, it had crippled the consortia, which meant his head was wanted on a stake. “She went right for my weaknesses.” Before the last week, he hadn’t realized he even had weaknesses.
Vadim nodded. “Now we go after hers.”
A computer dinged on the walnut desk, and Bychkov hurried over to read the screen. His stock portfolio. “We’re bleeding money,” he muttered, leaning over to type in several commands. What in the world? As he watched, the stock values plummeted. His gut rolled over, and he swallowed down puke.
How the hell?
Vadim crossed the room to study the numbers. “How would an enemy make that happen?”
He fought to keep his temper at bay, but the effort cost Ivan. “You make a coordinated strike on individual businesses, infuse capital into competitors, and cause rumors that prompt people to dump stock.” Apparently Felicity hadn’t been hiding out cowering from him the last several decades. “When I learned that Zane had killed Suri, I figured it was time to make my move on the woman.”
Turned out she’d been making her move the entire time.
Vadim’s phone buzzed, and he read the text. “The Intel is coming through on Felicity Kyllwood, her allies, and her weaknesses. Also, we’ve upped the security at the Sjenerøse mine in Russia.”
Ivan turned away from the sight of his portfolios bleeding currency. “There’s no way she can get a team to the Sjenerøse mine to take it out. I just sent orders for the planekite mining to continue around the clock.” If the damn Coven Nine enforcers thought they could work with Felicity and harm him, they had another think coming. He’d only worked with Rudger and his brother for money, but now it was personal. “It’s time we wiped the witch nation off the map, anyway. Weak bastards.”
Vadim rubbed his chin. “They’ve always been our most dangerous enemy, and I’m glad we’re finally going to take them out.”
Damn witches could shield against mind attacks with enough training. His computer dinged again, and he turned back to key in the response. Phillipe Sadler took shape. Ivan smiled. “Hello.”
“Where is my brother?” Phillipe said, his eyes a bizarre blue and his hair a wild brown mane.
Ivan frowned and feigned surprise. “How should I know?”
“Last I heard, Rudger was in Seattle meeting with you.”
Which hadn’t gone well, now had it? Vadim had taken care of the body, so Ivan wasn’t even sure where the corpse now rotted. “Your brother got some tip about the Coven Nine and headed off to Dublin. Something about Simone Brightston.”
Phillipe’s eyes blazed.
Yep. Ivan kept his face concerned. His sources reported Phillipe was enamored with the pretty witch. “I don’t know what the tip was, and he wouldn’t share.”
Phillipe’s face darkened. “I’ll check it out, but he never pursues a lead without calling me. If you’ve done anything to my brother, Ivan, you’re going to want to find a guillotine now.”
Ivan tilted his head to the side. “I don’t appreciate the threat, and I assure you, I take our allegiance seriously.” He clicked off.
Vadim leaned back and crossed his arms. “Want me to take care of him?”
“No. Right now we need his distribution channels for planekite, and so far, he hasn’t revealed the manufacturer of the actual drug.” Nor had he revealed the ultimate puppet master. Somebody wanted the Coven Nine destroyed, and for the life of him, he couldn’t narrow down the suspects beyond Phillipe’s family.
Vadim shook his head. “I thought we were staying out of the Apollo trade. The infusion of capital to the mines was all we wanted.”
That was before the witches had teamed up with that bitch Felicity. They’d all pay by the time he’d finished with them. “I hadn’t realized the financial opportunities available when marketing a new drug to humans, and a new weapon to immortals.” If he could get a cut of the profit being made, he could rebuild his portfolio and keep his position as leader. And his head. He could keep his head. “But for now, let’s teach little Felicity a lesson in strategy and weaknesses.”
Vadim glanced at his watch. “It’s about midnight.”
Anticipation lanced through Ivan, and the blood roared through his veins. While he didn’t like losing his fortune, the thrill of the fight sang through his veins. Felicity was much more of a challenge than he’d hoped, and her moves against him, as devastating as they were, only made him want her more. She’d pay for making him hide and fight to keep his life, and oh, how much fun that sweet moment would be.
He chuckled. Midnight was the perfect time to go hunting in Seattle.
Felicity settled onto the sofa in the bumpy plane, her heart beating hard enough to rattle her ribs. She’d just mated the enforcer. In fact, she’d mated him before he’d mated her. Only one of them needed to transfer a brand, but they’d both done so.
Doubly mated.
Sleep threatened to drag her under, but she had to focus.
Daire stretched out next to her and curled her into his side, yanking a blanket to cover them. “Get some sleep and heal your shoulder,” he whispered.
She coughed. “We should talk.”
“We should heal and then talk.” His tone held a touch of whip sharpness this time. “I can feel vibrations of your pain.”
“Are you worried about the public relations issue with us?” she asked, her eyes closing of their own accord.
“No.” He ran a gentle hand down her hair.
She cuddled closer and fought the need to purr. “Are you worried about my sons?”
“No.” He continued to stroke her.
She sighed. “What are you worried about?”
“You’ve never had much of a choice in life, and you’re just starting to learn how to live.” He shifted his weight and tucked her closer. “What happened tonight happened fast and without much choice.”
Did he regret it? She winced, and the sharp pang to her heart surprised her. Being mated to Daire would be exciting, and she couldn’t deny she had feelings for him. There hadn’t been two seconds to sit down and figure it all out, but if he didn’t want to be mated, she wasn’t going to keep him. “I loved my husband and mate, Daire.”
He stiffened. “That’s good.”
“He was older, and we were good friends. It’s different with you.” She placed a hand over his chest. “You’re young and exciting, and you see me as an equal.” And not weak. Not once, even when he was being all enforcer-esque with her, had he treated her differently than he would any other woman. Of course, he was an overprotective enforcer with any woman he cared about.
He reached under her hair to knead her nape.
Pleasure relaxed her muscles.
“Go to sleep, Felicity,” he whispered. Then he smiled against her forehead. “I’m not young. In fact, considering how young you are, I just robbed the cradle.”
She chuckled. Everything in her wanted to ask if his feelings for her were strong enough to explore, but for the first time, she hesitated to speak her mind. What if he didn’t know? What if he said no? What if, and this was the worst one, he lied to spare her feelings? It wasn’t as if she’d dated anyone . . . ever. She had no clue how to read the signs. If there were signs. Maybe there weren’t any signs.
His grip tightened. “The pain rolling off you is increasing in intensity. I promise we have tons of time to talk before we reach Seattle. Right now, I need you to fall asleep and let your body finish the healing process.”
Bossy. Her new mate was a bit bossy. And handsome, exhilarating, and sexy. A part of her, one she would never admit to, wondered if she would’ve stopped herself from marking him if she hadn’t been so caught up in the moment. Daire Dunne was everything she had ever wanted in a man, and he was strong enough to handle her boys and any problems they might have with him. She could handle them as well.
Her body tingled as the mating brand took effect, and it was different from when she’d mated a vampire. The tingles held a pop of fire, and her limbs loosened naturally. Daire Dunne’s energy was dark and strong, and it flowed through her as her body adapted to the mating. She wasn’t a big believer in destiny, especially considering her past, but ever since Daire had first kissed her, she’d tasted him on her lips. His scent surrounded her, and when she closed her eyes, his face filled her mind.
Was it love, or was this her first real crush?
Either way, the queen had assured her that the mutated virus that had negated her earlier mating bond would fade from her system and not affect any future bond. If she wanted to stay mated to Daire, she could.
Her mind was mushy and her body exhausted, so even though she didn’t care for his bossiness, he was correct that she needed to rest. Even so, it took a while for her to drop into dreamland. Life had always been difficult, and she’d learned young that if any happiness stormed her way, she should grab on to it with both hands.
Daire made her happy when he wasn’t driving her crazy. If she could just get a handle on his overprotectiveness, and if she could just get him to see her as an equal, even in battle, then they stood a chance.
If he wanted a chance.
Maybe he didn’t.
That thought made her heart hurt again, almost competing with the pain pounding in her shoulder. She’d never force him to stay with her, and she should probably get some sleep before trying to figure everything out.
She tried to open her eyes, but they remained shut. “When we awaken, we really need to talk,” she mumbled.
His hand tightened on her nape and then quickly released. “Oh, baby, you can count on it.”
Chapter 21
The plane turned and then leveled off again. Daire read through the many manila files he’d stolen from the vault, his mind spinning and his gut churning. Felicity slept on the fold-out couch running the length of one side of the airplane, and he sat at a table working across from her. He’d slept a few hours and had awakened in Miami, where they refueled.
He’d mated her.
Shit. She’d mated him.
They both could’ve probably healed the markings, although the mating would’ve stayed. But, without any discussion, apparently they’d both decided to leave the markings in place.
Now the woman, his woman, slept like the dead on the sofa.
She was disorderly, disobedient, and disorganized. The woman loved to rob banks and blow stuff up, for goodness’ sake. But suddenly, a peaceful, calm woman sounded, well, boring. Even unappealing.
A mating needed to be planned out, though. What had he done? He had tortured Kellach with the fact that he’d mated a human without any planning or discussion, and now he’d done the same thing. Even though he’d been weak from healing himself, he hadn’t fought the instinct for a second. The moment her marking scorched his flesh, any fight or discussion had been over.
He’d been drawn to her from first sight at the Fire bar. Not once had he considered the role of fate in his life. He was an enforcer, and he chose his own path. If there wasn’t a path, he bulldozed one.
But looking at her now, her face so young and relaxed in sleep, he allowed himself to wonder. Did fate play a part? Was there a reason he’d been so drawn to her? He’d always seen a snapshot of his future mate in his head, and the picture sure as hell didn’t include a bank-robbing insane demonness. Maybe he’d dodged a bullet by avoiding the boring life he’d assumed would be his.
Felicity Kyllwood was anything but boring.
His phone buzzed, and Adam took shape on the screen. “We had an attack against two members of the Coven Nine,” his brother said without preamble.
Daire stiffened. “Who?”
“Aunt Viv and Brenna Dunne Kayrs, who was in Dublin on business,” Adam said. “Viv’s guard took care of the threat, but one of them got caught with a dart. He’s recuperating.”
Daire glanced at the clock. “How’s Brenna?”
“Fine. Jase was with her and put the assassin through a wall.” Adam shrugged. “Jase took several darts to the neck, and nothing happened. So now we have definite confirmation that Apollo doesn’t harm vampires.”
Daire exhaled a ragged breath. Vampire soldier Jase Kayrs was a good friend as well as being his cousin Brenna’s mate. Thank goodness the darts hadn’t hurt him. They also now had confirmation that the drug had reached Dublin as a weapon, so things were about to get dangerous for the leaders of the witch world. Well, more dangerous than usual. “I’ll have the pilots chart a new course.”
Adam shook his head. “I’ve got things covered at home. As soon as I reach Dublin, I’m sending Kellach and Alexandra back to Seattle to find the distributor and manufacturer of Apollo. We need information more than we need bodyguards right now, and you have to take down the Titans of Fire and get the facts, Daire. Enough is enough.” He glanced to the side. “I’m several hours from reaching Ireland.”
How odd they could talk from airplanes going in different directions. “Remember when we had to send letters to communicate?” Daire rumbled.
Adam nodded, his eyes tired. “Aye. The modern way is easier, but it has led to all sorts of new problems.”
Like the creation of Apollo. Daire shuffled the papers. “So long as we have a connection right now, let’s talk. I’ve gone through the papers we found, and Simone is all over them.”
Adam frowned. “You don’t think she’s involved with the manufacture of Apollo, do you?”
“Of course not.” While Simone came off tough and bitchy, she was the most loyal person Daire had ever met. Plus, if she wanted to take out the other members of the Coven Nine, she’d use missiles and not subterfuge. She completely lacked any sense of subtlety. “But somebody has taken great pains to set her up.”
Adam sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes. “Okay. When you get to Seattle, send me copies of all the documents. We’ll have to start tracing all of the evidence.”
Before it showed up publicly? “We need to warn Simone. Things are going to get dicey before we figure it out.” Being removed from the Coven Nine would hurt her, so he had to make sure it didn’t happen. “When I find whoever is behind this, I’m ripping off his head.”
Adam nodded. “That’s a plan I support.”
Yeah. Daire grinned. One could always count on Adam to go for the quick kill and not screw around with it. He cleared his throat. “Ah, one more thing.”
“What?” Adam said, focusing in.
“What kind of a disaster are we facing, PR-wise, if I mated Felicity Kyllwood?” he asked, keeping his voice low.
Adam’s jaw went slack and his chin dropped. “Are you joking?”
“No.”
“Planning ahead?”
“No.”
Adam blew out air, disbelief darkening his eyes. “Have you lost your fucking mind?”
Daire glanced over at the pale features of the goddess sleeping so peacefully on the sofa. “Aye.”
Adam coughed. “Well, let’s see. If Zane Kyllwood found out you touched his mother, he’d probably put out a hit on you. When he finds out you mated his mommy, he’s going to come for you himself and rip off your head.”
“She’s way too young to have a grown son, much less three of them,” Daire mused. “She could have kids well into her nine hundredth year.” As a demon, she was barely an adult, really. Compared to a human, she’d be around twenty-five years old.
“So what?” Adam exploded.
Daire frowned and turned down the volume on his phone speaker. “I’m just saying. Sure, she’s Zane Kyllwood’s mother, but she has an entire life to live still. And the woman is fuckin’ crazy, Adam. No way would she just sit quietly and, I don’t know, knit sweaters or anything.” She was meant to live a full life, and something in him, deep down and insanely possessive, wanted to live it with her. “She’s meant to blaze trails, not sit on the sidelines.”
“You have it bad,” Adam muttered. “Assuming Kyllwood doesn’t slice off your dick and feed it to alligators, your response in the witch nation will be split. Strategists like Aunt Viv will love the idea of a permanent alliance with the demon nation, but right now, especially with Simone’s alliance with the demons being used to hurt her, you could face some opposition.”
So the hell what? He’d never given one whit about public opinion, and he sure as shit wasn’t going to start caring about it now.
“Not for nothin’, but Zane Kyllwood is barely more than thirty years old, is now happily mated, and recently had his baby girl turn one year old.” Daire stretched his neck.
“So?”
“So, Zane couldn’t take me in a fight, thus I’m not worried he’s coming after me. Plus, I’ll deal with any opposition in the witch nation.”
Adam snorted. “Forget the witch nation and worry about Zane Kyllwood. He may be younger and lack your centuries of experience, but geez. You mated his mother.”
Well now, that was a good point. Did that make him a stepdad to Logan? His head pounded.
Adam shook his head. “With the mutated virus, you know you could negate the mating bond, right?”
Fury roared through Daire’s blood, and he tamped it down, swallowing several times.
“I guess not,” Adam said slowly, his gaze widening. “All righty then. Congrats on your mating, bro.” The screen crackled and the picture morphed. “I’m about to lose the connection. Good luck, and let me know if I can do anything.” The screen went black.
Daire shook his head.
“Do you want to stay mated?” Felicity asked, scooting up to sit.
He eyed her. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. My shoulder is all healed and my arm doesn’t hurt any longer.” She scrubbed both hands down her delicate face. Her blond hair was mussed, and her eyes sleepy, giving her a sexy let’s go back to bed look. Or perhaps that was just his interpretation.
He nodded. “I want to stay mated.”
She blinked. “I like that we have a choice these days.”
Yet how much easier would it be if they didn’t? The mutated virus could negate matings, and he wasn’t sure he liked the new ways. “I’m kinda’ all in or all out, baby.” He didn’t know how else to put it to her. If they were going to make a go of it, there was no out clause.
Her eyes widened, sparkling like onyx jewels. “You want a decision on forever right now and this quickly?”
Aye. If he was going to give it a shot, he wanted to know she was, too. “It’s how I work.”
She snorted. “You’re going to have to learn how I work, Enforcer.”
“I do know.” He needed to learn some finesse, and he might as well start now. “I don’t mean to pressure you.”
“I’m not feeling pressured.” She stretched her neck and rolled out her healed shoulder. “I just, ah, need time to think.”
He smiled. The woman who seemed perfectly comfortable jumping right into any dangerous situation needed time to think about being mated to him.
The plane started its decline, and he motioned for her to take a seat and buckle in. She did so and added an impressive eye roll. The rainy Seattle weather jostled the plane around, but finally, they touched the ground. The pilots hit the brakes, and within minutes had driven inside a private hangar.
Daire unbuckled and reached the door first, pushing the button to open it and unfold the stairs. He loped down them and held out a hand to help Felicity.
She jogged down and shivered. “Seattle is always chillier than I think it’s going to be.”
Daire nodded. “We’ll get you a jacket.” Their car must be right outside the door.
His nape tickled. A scent wafted on the breeze. He turned and set Felicity back on the stairs. “Get back into the plane. Now.”
She turned, confusion crossing her face.
Men in black poured in the large open door of the terminal, guns out, wearing masks. Daire planted his body between the stairs and the soldiers. “Get back inside,” he ordered under his breath, his hands up.
The soldiers secured the area, taking posts all around. The nearest one stalked up and ripped off his mask.
Ah, hell.
“Zane!” Felicity pushed past Daire and barreled into her eldest’s arms. “What in the world are you doing here with guns?”
The leader of the demon nation smoothly set his mother behind him. Zane Kyllwood was six and a half feet of muscled killing machine. His eyes were green, his hair black, and his face scarred down the jaw.
“Give me one good reason not to cut off your head right now,” Zane said.
Daire bit back a sharp retort.
Zane leaned in, and the men around them tensed. Make that the demons around them. “You take my mother to the Caymans to rob a fucking bank?”
Daire kept silent.
Felicity slid to the side and shoved her son in the ribs. “You mind your manners.”
Zane blinked.
Daire fought a chuckle.
“Mom, please let me handle this,” Zane said.
Felicity shook her head. “The bank robbery was my idea. Daire just came along and wouldn’t leave.”
Zane glanced down at her. “Don’t try to cover for him.”
“Nobody has to cover for me,” Daire said, more than a little curious. Felicity barely reached Zane’s shoulder. How in the world had the petite woman birthed three such hulking sons? “The bank robbery was my fault.” He should’ve put the brakes on the entire affair and not allowed Felicity to join in. “But I have to admit, your mom can create a hell of a good plan.”
Zane’s eyes flashed black through the green. “She was injured.”
Man, the kid had great Intel. He must’ve already gotten the videos of the robberies. “How did you know it was her?”
Zane cut him a hard look. “Once I figured out she wasn’t on a cruise, thanks to Nicholai, it wasn’t that hard to track her down . . . and watch her get shot.”
“Aye. Her injury is on me.”
Felicity scoffed. “Don’t be silly. It was one little bullet.”
Zane paled. “One bullet is all it might take.”
Daire winced. “Again, my fault.”
Felicity shook her head. “No, it wasn’t. For goodness’ sake. Daire was shot three times in the chest.”
“Good,” Zane spit.
Felicity grabbed his arm. “Now you knock it off. My getting shot was no more Daire’s fault than was the polar bear mauling. And I assure you, I healed from both.”
Zane stilled. His gaze slowly moved from Daire to Felicity. “Mauling?”
She nodded, her cheeks rosy. “Yes. Before the helicopter accident but after I fought with a witch on the ice.”
Zane rocked back on his heels.
Daire could almost feel sorry for the guy. “As you can see, your mother is fine.”
Felicity lifted a shoulder. “You should also probably know that we mated.”
Tension roared through the hangar. Daire braced himself just in time to take the impact from Zane’s fist. Pain ripped through his skull. He stepped back and accepted the ringing in his ears. The demon hit hard. “That was one, demon, and it’s all you get.”
Zane smiled then. “The fuck it is.” He moved forward, and Daire settled his stance, more than prepared to go to the ground. He couldn’t really beat the crap out of Felicity’s kid, could he? And he sure as shit couldn’t lose the fight. So he’d have to contain Zane, and that wasn’t going to be fun and would probably put the demon and witch nations on another path to war.
“Stop it right now.” The crack of command in Felicity’s voice echoed throughout the entire building. “I mean it, Zane.”
Zane lowered his chin. “Mom? I’d like to speak with you alone. Outside.”
She clasped her hands together. “Excellent idea. Daire, I’ll be right back.”
“Absolutely not.” He stepped forward. Enough people in her life had forced her into boxes, and son or not, Daire wasn’t going to allow Zane to do the same thing.
Felicity smiled, winking an adorable dimple. “It’ll be okay. I promise. Please give me a moment with my son.” Turning, she led the way toward the opening outside.
Zane glared. “We’re not done here.”
Daire kept his expression blank. “It’s cold outside, and she doesn’t have a jacket. Find her one.”