“Austen!”
Austen turned in time to see the other wolf Therian aiming a gun at him before Brayden grabbed the guy’s arm and thrust his elbow back, busting the guy’s nose. He dropped to his knee, simultaneously turning, a hiss leaving him as he thrust his claws across the guy’s stomach. Brayden came up, claws digging into the wolf Therian’s jugular. The guy gasped, followed by a hideous gargling sound. Brayden retracted his claws, and the guy dropped to the floor in a bloodied heap.
“Who the fuck are you guys?” Edan asked, his wide eyes on Brayden.
“You okay?” Brayden asked, stepping up to Edan, his expression softening. “Did they hurt you?”
What the hell? “I’m fine, buddy. Thanks for asking,” Austen said dryly, catching his breath.
Brayden gave Austen a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”
“Whatever.” Austen waved a hand in dismissal before dropping onto the couch. Not like he could—or wanted to—compete with eye candy like Edan. The guy was sexy as sin, with bad-boy looks and muscles to spare.
Colin glanced from Austen to Brayden and back before erupting. “What the ever-loving fuck is going on!”
Austen let out a snort. “And he says I curse a lot.”
Bram stood at the foot of Zach’s bed. “Caley said Zach’s boyfriend was in trouble.”
“I’m not his boyfriend,” Austen said with a heavy sigh. Why the hell did everyone think he was Zach’s boyfriend? Wait…. Austen sat up and peered at Edan, who was Zach’s partner in crime. The two were always together. “Did he tell you I was his boyfriend?”
Bram shook his head, and Colin let out a snort, his amber eyes boring into Austen. “If our baby brother had a boyfriend, he would have told us.”
“Well….”
Everyone turned to look at Edan, who cleared his throat, addressing Austen. “He never specifically used the word boyfriend, but the way he talks about you, and how often he talks about you, made me wonder. You’re Austen Payne, right? SSA for Destructive Delta.”
Colin frowned at his brother. “How come this is the first time I’m hearing about this?”
Edan rolled his eyes. “Because you go all Terminator-protector mode on him. You know how much he hates that.”
Colin narrowed his eyes, then moved his wary gaze to Austen. “You and I are going to have a long talk about this.”
“No, we’re not,” Austen said, getting up. “Here’s what’s going to happen.” He pointed at Bram. “You’re going to call Lieutenant Sparks and tell her exactly what happened. She’ll take it from there.” He moved his finger to Edan. “You will relay to your lieutenant whatever Sparks tells you.” He turned to Colin. “And you’re going to make sure no one in your family knows what happened here. Meanwhile, I’m going to find a safe place to hide Zach.”
Colin moved forward. “Are you out of your mind? Who the hell do you think you are?”
Austen stepped up to Colin and poked him in the chest. “I’m the guy who’s going to keep your brother alive. I’m only going to say this once. My priority is keeping Zach safe. Someone sent two trained killers after your brother. They won’t be the last. How do I know that?” He crouched beside the wolf Therian he’d killed, then pulled down the glove to reveal a tattoo of a black heart shredded through with a clawed hand around it. “Because these guys belong to a network of killers for hire.”
“And you think the THIRDS can’t keep him safe?” Colin asked, sounding affronted. “You think you can keep him safe?” He let out a derisive laugh, and Austen bristled.
“You’re not just an SSA,” Edan said, looking from Austen to Brayden and back, “are you?”
Brayden gave nothing away. He came to stand beside Austen, his hands clasped in front of him.
“I’ve never seen SSAs fight like that.” Edan crossed his tree-trunk arms over his wide chest. “Considering your connections, I’m going to go with TIN.”
The air was sucked out of the room, the two remaining Zachary brothers staring at them in stunned silence.
“I can neither confirm nor deny that information. What I can confirm is that your brother is in someone’s crosshairs, and as skilled as you and your brothers are, my security clearance and skill set are above your paygrade. I can keep him safe.”
“And we’re just supposed to take your word for it? If you really are TIN, then for all we know your being here is what put him in danger in the first place,” Colin snarled, his hands curling into fists as he took a step toward Austen. Brayden placed himself between Colin and Austen. He had to lift his chin and stand on his toes, but the growl that followed his hiss was impressive for a guy who looked about as terrifying as a fluffy bunny.
“Listen here. Austen has been doing this far longer than you have. If he says he’s the best guy for the job, he’s the best guy for the job.”
“I don’t care who you are,” Colin spat, looming over them with a menacing scowl. “We’re his brothers. There’s no way in hell we’re going to stand down.”
Bram nodded his agreement. “We’re involved whether you like it or not. He’s our baby brother, so we’re not going to leave him out there on his own. I don’t care who you work for or how good you guys are.”
Austen knew enough about the Zacharys to know the brothers weren’t going to back down. Bear Therians were almost as stubborn as lion Therians. Almost. Austen let out a heavy sigh.
“Okay. But just Bram and Edan.”
“No way,” Colin ground out. “You’re not keeping me out of this.”
“You got kids. Hell, you have grandkids, Colin.” Austen shook his head. “I’m not having that shit on my conscience.”
“This isn’t up for discussion,” Colin stated firmly.
Goddamn bear Therians and their stubborn asses.
“Fine. But we do things my way, and you do what I say. You got that? Any of you go against my orders, and you’re out.”
Colin’s jaw clenched tight, but he nodded. “Deal.”
Shit. What had he just gotten himself into?
CHAPTER 4
“YOU SURE this is a good idea?”
Zach frowned at the unfamiliar voice. God, his body hurt. Everything hurt. His brain was foggy, and he felt heavy, like he was sinking into molasses.
“Not only is it not a good idea, it’s the worst fucking idea in the history of ideas, but if this is the only way to protect him, then so be it.”
Warmth flooded Zach at the sound of the gravelly, grumpy voice. A voice he would recognize anywhere. His hazy thoughts turned into blurred images, and heat flooded through him. Had he kissed Austen, or had he dreamed it? It seemed so real. As if he could feel Austen’s soft lips against his own, feel their breath mingling, Austen’s fingers in his hair….
A heavy knock filled the room, and a door opened. Austen murmured something quietly before the room went silent again.
“Zach?”
With a groan, Zach forced his eyes open and blinked at the haze. “Edan?” His brother leaned over him, his big amber eyes filled with concern.
“Hey, buddy. How are you feeling?”
“Like I got hit by a truck.”
Edan chuckled. “Sounds about right.” His expression turned somber, and he sank down onto the edge of Zach’s bed. “You scared the hell out of us, Ozzy.”
Zach smiled at his brother’s use of his childhood nickname. His smile faded when he thought about how worried his family must be. “I’m sorry, Edan. How’re Mom and Dad?”
“Home wondering what’s going on.”
That’s when Zach realized he wasn’t at the hospital. The room he was in was smaller, with no windows and a scuffed metal door. The place was bare, with nothing but the inclined hospital bed he was in and loads of medical equipment.
“Where are we?”
“Some safe house. Still in the city.”
“What? Why?” What the hell had he missed?
“Apparently by interfering in Barlow’s assassination attempt, you pissed someone off. They se
nt a couple of hit men after you. Austen and his friend Brayden took care of them. Then your ‘not-boyfriend’ insisted on getting you out of the hospital. He said it was better to keep you away from the family. We agreed that was probably best.”
Not-boyfriend? What the heck was his brother talking about? “Where’s Austen?”
Colin walked into the room just as Zach asked the question. He stopped at the end of Zach’s bed and took a seat, his gaze stern. Anyone else would have been intimidated, but not Zach. He’d always looked up to his big brother, wanted to be strong and brave like him. Colin was a little too serious at times, and sometimes he drove Zach crazy with his overprotectiveness, but Zach loved the hell out of him. He was a good man, and nothing meant more to him than family.
“He had to make a few calls. What’s the deal with you and this guy?”
“Colin,” Bram scolded as he entered the room, closing the door behind him. “Honestly.”
“If we’re supposed to put our baby brother’s life in this guy’s hands, I want to know who we’re dealing with,” Colin replied, his gaze still on Zach.
“Did you know he’s TIN?” Bram asked Zach.
“I had my suspicions.” Zach had known Austen just over three years now, and maybe he wasn’t as close to Austen as Sloane or Dex, who were like family to him—no matter how much Austen tried to deny it—but Zach managed to glean enough to know Austen’s position as a Squadron Specialist Agent for Destructive Delta was a cover. Something was going on with the elite team and its members, some odd changes that didn’t make sense to Zach. All he knew was TIN was some sort of Therian intelligence agency. That seemed to fit. Destructive Delta had some of Unit Alpha’s toughest, most resilient agents, with one hell of a track record for results. They were also secretive and attracted chaos the way cheesy doodles attracted Sloane’s husband, Dex. It was those cheesy snacks that had brought them all together. Sort of.
Zach smiled at the memory of Dex and cheesy doodles. When Dex first joined the THIRDS, just over four years ago, he’d made off with Zach’s favorite snack. A chase had led them into Destructive Delta’s training bay, where Dex slammed right into his Team Leader, Sloane Brodie. It had not been pretty. From then, Zach continued to run into the snack-thieving menace, and somewhere along the way, they’d become friends.
“Man, he took on two hired killers at the same time,” Edan said, shaking his head as if he still couldn’t believe it. Zach could. Austen might be a small Therian, but he was fearless.
“He also snapped one of their necks without so much as blinking,” Colin added, his brows furrowed.
Bram frowned at him. “The guy was going to kill Zach.”
Zach stifled a groan as Colin rounded on Bram. “If THIRDS agents went around killing everyone who tried to kill them, a good percentage of this city would be empty. What happened to making arrests?”
“We’re not talking about your average citizens. We’re talking about trained killers for hire,” Bram shot back. “They make a living killing people.” He thrust a finger in Zach’s direction. “Killing people like our brother, who saved someone’s life while doing his job. It’s not the same, and you know it.”
“Guys.” Edan released a heavy sigh. “Can we not do this right now? Please?”
Colin and Bram turned to Edan, and Zach groaned. It was always the same.
“Why don’t you start thinking with your other head?” Colin growled, thrusting a finger in Edan’s direction.
Edan jumped to his feet. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
The three of them argued, and Zach’s head pounded. He opened his mouth to tell them to shut up, but the door slammed open, and Austen marched in dragging two chairs. He slid them across the room, then took the one Brayden had and slid that one beside the others before he moved his hard gaze to Zach’s brothers.
“You three have five seconds to sit your asses down and shut the fuck up.”
Bram opened his mouth, and Austen narrowed his eyes. “If you haven’t noticed, your brother is recovering from surgery and being hit by an armored truck. Sit your asses down, or I will make you sit.”
Colin took a menacing step toward Austen, and Austen’s smile sent an icy chill through Zach. “Come on, tough guy. Give me a reason to lay you out.”
Brayden hurried into the center of the room, his hands held up, his voice soft and coaxing when he spoke. “Okay, everyone, just breathe. None of this is helping Zach, and that’s why we’re here, right? To help Zach? He’s what matters right now.”
Colin pressed his lips together in a thin line before sighing and heading over to one of the chairs. He took a seat, and Bram followed suit. Edan hesitated until Brayden smiled sweetly at him, his bright blue eyes pleading.
Edan nodded once, then joined the others. None of them looked particularly happy, but Zach’s brothers would do anything for him. They were worried about him and unsure, and he couldn’t fault them that.
“Hey.”
Zach couldn’t help his wide smile when Austen stepped up to his bed. “Hi. Thank you for saving my life.”
Austen shrugged like it was no big deal. He loved to play aloof, as if he didn’t care about anything or anyone, but Zach knew the truth. Most of the time Austen acted indifferent, and he did whatever he could to show Zach he wasn’t interested or that Zach was nothing more to him than an annoyance, but sometimes the mask slipped, exposing a hint of vulnerability. He’d let his guard down for just a moment. The first time he’d smiled at Zach, it had stolen Zach’s breath away. The way Austen’s beautiful lips stretched across his gorgeous face, lighting up his dark eyes to molten amber, creases forming at the corners—it transformed him.
“I heard you were pretty amazing,” Zach said, wishing he’d been able to see Austen in action. Austen wasn’t the kind of guy who went charging in, guns blazing. He was stealthy, blending into the shadows, silently stalking before pouncing. They never knew what hit them. Even if they saw him coming, they’d never catch him. Zach had seen him run. Nothing could catch Austen unless he got careless, or wanted to be caught.
Austen worried his bottom lip with his teeth, and heat flooded through Zach. He touched his lips, his brain conjuring up a hazy image of Austen. It was more like a feeling that swept through his body.
“Did we—”
“No,” Austen said, startled, his eyes darting to Zach’s brothers before moving back to Zach. “No. We didn’t anything.”
Zach cocked his head, studying Austen. “Are you sure? I feel like maybe we—”
“Nope.” Austen shook his head with a frown. “And I don’t want to know what you were dreaming about while you were under the influence.”
Zach let out a sigh. He had to have dreamed it. No way Austen would have kissed him. Wait….
“You came to see me.”
Austen’s face flushed, and Zach couldn’t help the way his heart skipped a beat. Austen couldn’t deny it. How else would he have been there to stop those Therians from killing him? He’d somehow learned Zach was in the hospital, and he’d come to see him.
“Wipe that sappy smile off your face. I was just doing my job.”
Zach’s smile faded. “Oh. Because of Barlow?”
“That’s right. I was sent to check on you after the attempt on Barlow. Whoever wanted the guy dead didn’t care who got in the way, and for some reason, they’ve set their sights on you. This is clearly someone who isn’t going to let you get away. I happened to be in town and in between assignments, and since we’ve worked together before, I was tasked to keep an eye on you while my superiors investigate.”
Zach swallowed hard and nodded, unable to bring himself to speak. Why did he keep getting his hopes up? Normally if a guy said he wasn’t interested, Zach would walk away without a second thought. He wasn’t about to stick around where he wasn’t wanted. Why couldn’t he do the same with Austen? Maybe because a tiny part of him knew Austen did want him around.
Despite Austen telling him time and ti
me again that he wanted nothing to do with Zach, there were those brief instances when Austen opened up just enough to let him know he wasn’t crazy, that there was something between them. But as soon as Zach thought this is it, he’s finally letting me in, that’s when Austen pushed him away. How long could they keep this up? Should he even be trying to keep it up? Maybe it was time to give Austen what he said he wanted.
“Right. Sorry I misunderstood.” Zach was taken aback when Austen let out a frustrated grunt and ran his fingers through his hair.
“Why do you have to make this so fucking difficult?”
Zach studied him. “What do you mean?”
“Just…. Stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like everything that comes out of my mouth breaks your fucking heart. Can we concentrate on making sure you walk out of this alive? Can we do that?”
“I’m sorry,” Zach said, and he meant it. “I don’t want to make your job harder. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
Austen blinked at him. He shook his head and opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but seemed to change his mind. He stood silently. Austen could never be still. In all the time Zach had known him, he never saw Austen not moving. Even now as he stood, he tapped his fingers against his legs.
The THIRDS was filled with cheetah Therians. They mostly worked Recon and Intel. They were a jittery, excitable bunch, always moving, chatting, darting from one place to another until they found their touchstone, something or someone who grounded them, brought calm to them. He’d seen it happen firsthand with Dex’s adopted brother, Cael. A sweet, feisty cheetah Therian who fell in love with Sloane’s best friend. If a cheetah Therian like Cael could find love and happiness with an agent as rough and fierce as Ash Keeler, why couldn’t Austen find the same with Zach? He wanted to be Austen’s touchstone, but unlike Cael, who wore his heart on his sleeve for anyone to see and touch, Austen built a huge impenetrable wall with barbed wire around his. Hell, unless it was related to work, or they were both forced into the same space, Zach rarely saw Austen. The only way of knowing if Austen was okay was through Sloane. It seemed as if his friends were finding their mates while Zach was left trying not to let his heart get shredded to pieces by a Felid Therian with sharp claws and a sharper tongue.
Love and Payne Page 4