“I take it you’re still mad about how we ended things?”<br/><br/><br/>Dig, dig, dig that grave further. Sometimes James wondered if he could even help himself when he opened his mouth, let the words fly, no matter what they were. This time, the question was dipped in sarcasm. His body language suggested something else, however. While Lane gave him a piece of her body, his spine went rigid and his shoulders hunched. The only movement was the haggard breath he pulled into his lungs.<br/><br/><br/>Then he straightened. When he turned himself back around to look at her, the worn look on his face had disappeared, replaced by a firm jawed expression of pure stubbornness. Something that wasn’t quite anger burned in his eyes and his feet fell heavy as he paced forward until he was invading the blonde’s personal space. Boundaries aside, he eased his fingers under her chin and cocked her head up to look him in the eye, but very quickly dropped the offending hand down to his side.<br/><br/><br/>“What did you say?” The quip was out of his voice, replaced by a clear, sharp edge in his voice. “The Syndicate what?” Pitched just a little louder, but the tonality was in the precision rather than the volume. He had heard her when she said it. The Syndicate has your daughter. And that was about all. His ears rang with the words until he shook his head and stepped back quick, his eyes lifting to the dark haired woman for the second time.<br/><br/><br/>“You. Do you work for them? Are you the one who dragged Lane into this? You say you’re her friend, right?” He barked out a harsh laugh, head shaking, then paced away from the both of them, his palms lifting to dig into his sockets as he rubbed his eyes. “For everything that is holy, what the fuck are you doing working for them, Lane?”<br/><br/><br/>Finally, he stopped his pacing, and turned his glower back on the two women. “Both of you, sit down. This is going to be a longer talk than either of you anticipated. That isn’t a request either. Sit down. I’m going to tell you both a story about how the Syndicate fucks with people. And, Lane, if there is one thing you take away from this experience, it’s this: no matter how bad I might hurt your feelings, it is nothing compared to what they will actually do -- and it won’t be your feelings that get hurt. It will be your loved ones, your own self, and everything that you decide to touch if you don’t play exactly by their rules, exactly the way they want it, and once you’re involved -- they own you.”<br/><br/><br/>He shot a challenging stare directly at the dark haired woman. “I just have -- let’s call it a feeling -- that you aren’t going to challenge me on this point.”