Love and Payne

by Charlie Cochet

  “This is impressive,” Austen said, his warm breath producing little puffs in the cold winter air. “While I’m here, I expect you to listen and get some rest. You look like you’re going to collapse, and I can’t carry your ass.”

  As much as he hated to admit it, Austen was right. Zach was feeling winded already, and his head was pounding. It was frustrating, but he knew better than to fight it. Even someone as big and strong as him needed recovery time after getting hit by an armored truck. Thank goodness for his tactical gear, or he would have been much worse off.

  The front door had been left unlocked for them, and Zach made sure to lock it once they were inside the mud room. They took off their outerwear and hung up their coats, hats, and scarves. Zach stuck his gloves in the pockets of his coat before removing his boots.

  “You can drop your bags off in your room, and I can show you around,” Zach said, heading for the stairs that led to the second floor.

  “It’s fine. I can do a sweep myself.”

  “Okay.” He tried not to sound disappointed and reminded himself this was nothing more than a tactical op for Austen. He wasn’t here to spend time with Zach. He was here to do a job. Chances were Zach wouldn’t even see Austen around. Damn it, he hated how much the thought hurt, but maybe it was time he started thinking about letting Austen go.

  Normally Zach would be staying the next floor up, but his mother thought it’d be better for him and his recovery if he stayed on the guest floor. Fewer stairs to climb. He’d learned to pick his battles years ago and didn’t argue with her on that one.

  “Here’s your room. Mine’s next door on the left, and Brayden’s most likely to your right, since my mom would have put him close to you.”

  Austen stepped inside and halted, his eyes going huge and his bag dropping to the floor. He ran over to the expansive window, and Zach followed. He stood beside Austen, who stared out at the snowy mountainside. The room was on the second floor, and had an incredible view. Three sets of glass doors led out to a balcony that extended from one side of the room. Beyond that was nothing but snow, trees, mountains, and blue skies. It was breathtaking.

  In front of the window was a cozy armchair and ottoman with plush pillows, which faced the stone fireplace, a large flat-screen TV secured to the wall above it. Across from the window and beside the door was a Therian-sized bed with a nightstand and lamp, and to the right of it a desk with a lamp and chair.

  “My God. Why the hell would you want to leave this place? It’s amazing.”

  “I’ve been tempted not to a few times.”

  Austen looked up at him. “Yeah?”

  “Maybe you haven’t noticed, but I kinda have a big family.”

  Austen let out a snort. “That’s not a family. It’s a Viking horde.”

  Zach chuckled. “Don’t get me wrong. I adore them, and I know they fuss because they love me and just want what’s best for me, but it can be a bit much sometimes.”

  “How do you do it?”

  “Do what?” Zach asked, turning to face him. Austen’s focus remained on the scenery outside the window.

  “Keep yourself from being smothered to death by all the love and good intentions.”

  “I make sure I get enough time to myself. Sometimes, I just ask.”

  Austen cocked his head, looking confused. “What do you mean you ask?”

  “I tell them I need some space, and they give it to me.”

  “Really?” Austen cast him a sideward glance. “Didn’t seem like your brothers were giving you space when you asked them to.”

  “Okay, yeah, it’s different when one of us gets hurt or sick, but most of the time they get it. They’re surrounded by the same number of people I am. Believe me, they get it. What about your family?” Zach saw the exact moment the wall went up, and he silently cursed himself for pushing.

  “Thanks for showing me to my room. I need to unpack and make a few calls. You need to rest. You’ve had enough exertion for one day.”

  “Right. Make yourself at home. I’ve already talked to my family, and they promised to stay out of your hair. If you have any problems at all, just let me know.”

  Austen turned to the window with a nod. “Thanks.”

  Reluctantly, Zach left. He stepped out into the hall, then closed the door behind him. Seconds later he heard the click of the lock. In a fortress in the middle of nowhere surrounded by THIRDS agents, Austen took no chances. Even if Brayden was right and Austen felt something for him, what was the likelihood he’d ever let Zach in? Austen spent most of his life running, hiding, and protecting himself from anyone who could get too close. It was his job to be suspicious, paranoid, and to not let anyone near him. What the hell made Zach think he was different?

  With a sigh, he headed downstairs to the kitchen, where his sister-in-law, Sheena, his sister Isobel, and his sister Kenna were putting away groceries.

  “Hi, baby brother,” Isobel said, coming over to give him a gentle hug, followed by Kenna. Isobel was the oldest of his sisters, and the second oldest of his siblings. All three of his sisters shared the same sparkling amber eyes, soft fair skin, and their mom’s fiery red hair, while the Zachary boys had inherited their dad’s reddish brown hair and freckles. His sisters were as overprotective of him as his brothers. Isobel put her hands on his shoulders and looked him over, her perfectly shaped brows drawn together in worry. “How are you feeling? Why aren’t you in bed?”

  “Stop fussing at him,” Sheena scolded good-naturedly as she bumped Isobel out of her way with her ample hips, making Isobel laugh. “Come here, honey.” Sheena brought him into a hug, and he squeezed her tight. Sheena might be Human, but she was like an Amazonian queen, standing at almost six feet tall without the three-inch heels of her knee-high boots, leaving her a couple of inches shorter than the rest of the Zachary females.

  The first time Colin brought Sheena home to meet the family, Zach could see why his brother had fallen madly in love with her. Not only was she a stunningly gorgeous woman, she was both fierce and gentle. While Colin had been shitting himself that Sheena would take one look at their huge bear Therian family and run for the hills, Sheena had walked in, head held high, dazzling smile on her face, and made straight for their mom, taking her hand and thanking her for raising such a wonderful son, and not to worry, he was in good hands, even if she had to knock some sense into his stubborn ass on occasion. Everyone had fallen in love with her right then.

  “Yeah, yeah. Stop hogging all the hugs,” Kenna grumbled, playfully shoving Sheena out of the way. She threw her arms around Zach and hugged him, laying her head on his chest as she murmured softly. “You scared us, Ozzy.”

  “I know. I’m sorry,” he replied, returning her embrace. She gave a sniff and pulled back, wiping a tear from her eye. Kenna had always been the more sentimental of his sisters. She was the middle sister, which hadn’t been easy.

  “Ozzy!”

  Zach shushed everyone, whispering loudly, “Everyone be quiet so she won’t know we were talking about her.”

  Una entered the room, flipping them all off and making them laugh, before she wrapped her arms around Zach. “Hey, little brother.”

  Zach found it amusing that Una called him that when he was only a couple of years younger than her, not to mention she was the baby of his sisters. They’d bonded over that when they were kids, each knowing the frustrations of being the youngest. Their high school years had been a pain, and trying to date with six brothers had been a nightmare. At one point, Zach thought he’d never lose his virginity, and Una had had it just as bad with any guy or girl who tried to date her. When she started dating a fellow paramedic, Monroe, and introduced him to her brothers, everyone expected the smaller bear Therian to be intimidated like so many of the others before him. Instead, Monroe asked them if they could teach him some self-defense moves because even though he knew Una could take care of herself, he wanted to be able to back her up should the need ever arise.

  “Hey, Trouble.” Zach
kissed his sister’s cheek, chuckling when she took Isobel’s wineglass from her with a “thanks” and jumped up onto the island counter without spilling a drop. Isobel rolled her eyes and poured herself a new glass.

  “So, you never mentioned this Austen guy was a hottie,” Una said, waggling her eyebrows.

  “Is it true he works for TIN?” Kenna said, eyes wide.

  Zach folded his arms over his chest. “Who’s been blabbing?”

  Sheena laughed before taking a sip of her wine. “Please, you know your brothers are worse than teenage girls. How do you think we find out about everything?”

  Zach blinked at her. “Are you saying you don’t know everything? And all these years I thought the CIA came to you for information?”

  “Shut up,” Sheena grumbled, her blue eyes filled with mirth. “And you know that’s bull. The CIA goes to your mom for information. She’s my source. Always has been.”

  Everyone grunted their agreement. There was nothing Iona Zachary didn’t know.

  “But yeah, our brothers are a bunch of gossips,” Isobel said, swatting at Una’s hip. “Get your Kardashian ass off the counter.”

  “Hey,” Una protested, jumping down and sticking her butt in Isobel’s direction. “The junk in this trunk is au naturel.” She wiggled her butt and smacked it. “Just ask Monroe.”

  “And on that note….” Zach turned to go, but Kenna caught his arm.

  “Oh no you don’t. Not until you tell us something about the sexy bad-boy agent who came all the way out here to the middle of nowhere with your crazy family to protect you.”

  “That pretty much sums it up,” Zach muttered.

  “So, have you two, you know?” Una whistled, making a circle with her left hand and slipping her other index finger in and out of the circle.

  “Oh my God, stop! Please stop.” He put a fist to his lips and closed his eyes. “I think I threw up in my mouth a little.”

  The girls laughed, and Zach shook his head. “No, we have not done whatever that is suggesting.”

  “Why not?” Kenna asked. “I would, and I’m not even into guys.” She let out a dreamy sigh. “He’s so pretty.”

  “I’m sure Davonna would be thrilled to hear that,” Zach teased.

  “You kidding?” Una let out a snort. “Davonna would probably want to jump his bones too. The man is sex on a stick.”

  “Can we please change the subject?”

  “Are you saying you don’t think he’s sexy?”

  “Do I have eyes? That’s a ridiculous question. Of course I think he’s sexy. He’s beautiful, funny, smart, and when he smiles, my God, he steals my breath away. But he’s more than that. He’s complicated, and moody, and I wish I could make him see how beautiful the rest of him is, not just what’s on the outside.”

  The room had gone silent. Shit. He’d been rambling. Why was everyone staring at him wide-eyed? No, not at him, but behind him. Oh crap. No, no, no.

  Zach turned slowly, smiling sheepishly as he waved at Austen. “Hey.”

  Austen arched an eyebrow at him. “Hey.”

  “We weren’t talking about you,” Zach blurted.

  “We were totally talking about you,” Una stage-whispered.

  “Oh my God.” Zach turned to glare at Una and spoke through gritted teeth. “You are so dead.”

  “We were just saying how sexy we all think you are,” Una added before taking a sip of her wine.

  “Why are you still talking?” Zach asked his sister, dumbfounded. “Stop. Talking.”

  Austen hummed, drawing Zach’s attention back to him. “All of you?”

  Zach opened his mouth to reply, then closed it before finding his voice. “What?”

  “You all think I’m sexy?” Austen sauntered over and stopped in front of him. Zach opened his mouth, but talking didn’t happen. A sexy-as-sin rumble of a chuckle came from Austen as he placed his hands on Zach’s chest. He slid them down and around Zach’s torso, then held one hand out, his eyes never leaving Zach’s. “Sheena, darling, can you hand me a corkscrew?”

  Zach heard a drawer open, and then Austen’s hand moved. He pulled away from Zach and winked at him, his grin wicked. “Una, you might want to check your brother’s vitals. He seems a little out of breath.” He walked backward with a salute. “See you around, ladies.” He moved his dark, heat-filled eyes to Zach. “You’re not so bad yourself, Z.” With that, he turned around and left the kitchen.

  Una patted Zach’s arm in sympathy. “Oh, little brother, you are so screwed.”

  Zach let out a sigh. “Yep.”

  CHAPTER 6

  HUGE SEEMED to run rampant in the Zachary clan.

  The more Austen saw of the place, the more he realized the Zacharys did nothing small. It was go big or go home. The lodge was a small village, equipped to sustain ninety-six Zacharys for several years should the zombie apocalypse fall upon them. Several pantries, each bigger than Austen’s apartment, were stocked to the brim, and they had a large spare room in each house set up with a Therian-sized hospital bed and medical equipment. He wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or slightly terrified.

  Once he’d swept the lodge from corner to corner, making sure to remain undetected by the Zacharys, especially the teenagers and little imps, he made his way back to the main house. He still wasn’t happy about this situation. Despite all the security, the lodge had an obscene number of large windows, far too many doors for his liking, and an unlimited number of places to hide. Brayden had left a few minutes ago to do a sweep of the grounds, and in an hour he’d be checking in with Sparks for updates. So far things were quiet, as he’d suspected—not a good thing. It meant whoever was responsible for the attack on Barlow was most likely regrouping. Getting Zach out of the hospital was hardly the end of it. He could feel it. What he couldn’t figure out was why target Zach specifically? He hadn’t been the only THIRDS agent there, and he hadn’t been the one to save Barlow. He’d saved Barlow’s daughter. It didn’t make any sense.

  Making his way to the kitchen, he figured he’d grab something to eat. He’d gotten up before dawn, checked on Zach, and then made his rounds. It wasn’t even eight o’clock yet, and he was starving. In the kitchen he found Iona Zachary, and she gave him a wide, knowing smile before opening the oven and removing a plate covered in tinfoil.

  “Hey, Mama Bear,” Austen greeted, adding a wink.

  Iona chuckled and motioned to the counter. “Sit and have some breakfast,” she ordered gently, placing the plate on the counter in front of one of the chairs.

  Austen shrugged. Why not? He was hardly about to turn down a home-cooked meal. He’d seen the way the Zachary men attacked their food. It was the only time they were too overwhelmed to speak. He hopped up onto one of the chairs and leaned on the counter as she placed cutlery and napkins beside his plate before grabbing a mug and filling it with piping-hot coffee.

  “Here you go, honey.”

  “Thanks.” He took the mug from her and sipped, letting out a happy sigh. Removing the tinfoil, he let out a groan. The large plate was heaped full of perfectly scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage links, rustic potatoes, and hotcakes. She placed a small jar of maple syrup on the counter and a plate with a stack of buttered toast. Good thing he was a cheetah Therian and burned calories just by breathing. He dove in, moaning and groaning with almost every bite, as if he’d never had scrambled eggs before, but they were exactly how he liked them, and everything else tasted so damn good. He’d stuffed a huge forkful of hotcakes in his mouth when he noticed Iona was leaning against the counter across from him studying him.

  “What?” he managed through a mouthful of food.

  Iona shook her head, her eyes twinkling with amusement… and something else. Then Caley appeared in the doorway. As he spotted Austen, a huge smile broke across his face, and he hurried over to climb up in the chair beside him. He leaned toward Austen and whispered loud enough to be heard the next room over, “Do you really work for the THIRDS?”

  Among ot
her things. For a second he feared even the kids knew he worked for TIN. Austen eyed the little bear Therian, his legs swinging on the chair and his big amber eyes on Austen. He was an anomaly of a Zachary, the smallest in his clan, especially for his age. Why was that? Before he could reply, Caley spoke up.

  “Ramsey said there was no way. That you couldn’t be a THIRDS agent because you’re too little.”

  Ramsey. Which one was that again? Austen scrolled through his mental files. Ah, right. Boyd’s youngest. Little troublemaker.

  Austen shrugged. “Ramsey’s right. I’m not a THIRDS agent.”

  “Oh.” Caley’s little face fell, and his shoulders slumped. “He said you have to be big and strong to be a THIRDS agent. He says I can’t ever be a THIRDS agent like Daddy because I’m too little.”

  Austen let out a snort. “Well, that’s a load of baloney right there.”

  Caley’s head shot up, his eyes going wide. “Really?”

  “Of course it is. I’m not a THIRDS agent, but I do work for the THIRDS. I’m what’s called an SSA, a Squadron Specialist Agent.”

  Caley’s eyes went huge. “What’s that?”

  “Guys like me, we go out there into the streets, facing danger and getting close to the bad guys so your daddy and his team can find them and catch them.”

  “Like an informant?”

  Austen smiled at Caley’s cleverness. “Yeah, like an informant, but kickass. No one knows who we are except for our teams. We only work for the THIRDS, and we don’t only gather intel, we’re….” He leaned forward, whispering loudly. “We’re kind of like spies.”

  Caley gasped, his little hands waving with excitement. “Oh my gosh! Really?”

  “Yep.” Austen sat up with a smile. “Besides, it doesn’t matter how big you are. The THIRDS have Human agents and Therian agents of various classifications. I know a guy who’s a cheetah Therian like me, and he’s a Recon agent for one of the best teams in Unit Alpha, Destructive Delta.