“Hunters’ didn’t know we were in Tampa,” Roni spoke up when several of her new coworkers glanced her way.
“Alec assured me as much.” Mikael smiled at the small changer who’d recently joined his family. “I don’t think this is anything to do with you and your lovers joining my family.”
Mikael could practically feel the budding suspicion that had been building toward Roni the moment he mentioned Hunters despite the instant he reassured the changer. If the threat to his family was Hunter related, the last thing he needed was for his family to turn on one of their own.
“So, keep an eye on each other and for anything suspicious. I don’t think we are in danger from Hunters, but if we are,” Mikael grinned and his hatred for the organization that was hell bent on destroying anyone who wouldn’t conform to their cultist beliefs made his fangs drop. “We will deal with them. Permanently.”
Multiple nods greeted his proclamation. Mikael knew his family shared the same feelings as he when it came to the Hunters. The organization wasn’t just made up of norms who wanted to destroy those who were different; those who could rule the world and destroy humanity if they chose to do so.
No, the Hunters’ ranks included some of their own. Their own who had drunk the Kool-Aid and believed that the only way to find redemption for what they were was to rid the earth of the other ‘evil’ that consumed all of their kind. It really was actually a cult of sorts and, in reality, made no sense logically. However, cult or not, the Hunters had found a following with both norms and those who hated what they were. That following caused chaos for the rest of the society that just wanted to live unnoticed by the norms that surrounded them.
“Go home and get some rest,” Mikael casually ordered his family.
“What about our norms?” Cat glanced at Chris and Rita.
“We will keep an eye on them and the rest who have become our family,” George answered before Mikael had the chance.
Mikael smiled at his head of security. They were the same words he would have offered. He couldn’t fault Cat for asking, though. Mikael knew her inquiry was derived more from concern than anything else. They all loved each other and even though protecting them was a mantle of responsibility that Mikael chose to wear, they all took part in protecting one another.
The ‘good nights’ were exchanged and before long Mikael was left alone in his office. Once his door finally shut, he sat behind his desk. A few clicks on his computer brought up the club’s internal security feeds. He didn’t fast-forward to the time he was stabbed. Instead, Mikael started at when the club opened. He would review every minute of the night’s security tapes. Mikael would find something. He didn’t need to sleep, after all.
~~~
Adam couldn’t sleep. Visions of blood and the phantom feeling of it covering his hands wouldn’t allow his mind to find the calmness sleep required so he could rest. Repeatedly, he found himself wiping palms that weren’t soaked with another’s blood down his thighs in an effort to clean them off. His PTSD was riding him hard and even knowing that the blood he felt on his hands wasn’t real, didn’t make a damn bit of difference. He still tried to wipe it off on his comforter covered thighs.
Adam didn’t suffer flashbacks or waking hallucinations from his time in the military. He didn’t wake from dreams that made him relive the traumas he’d suffered during the war. No, his PTSD was more conscious and he wasn’t sure if being aware of what he was experiencing was any better than the alternative.
Once more he caught himself wiping phantom blood off his hands onto his thighs. This would pass. He knew it would because it had in the past. It was just a matter of time. He just had to suffer through it because there was nothing else he could do. Reminding himself that what he felt wasn’t real only did so much.
Thinking of something else didn’t work, didn’t stop his hands from feeling slick; slick with warm sticky blood. In the past he had tried to distract himself with a variety of activities. From working out to jerking off. It didn’t matter what he tried. The sensation of blood coating his hands always remained.
The moment he realized that his boss had been stabbed, Adam knew this was how his night would end. Even though the blood on his hands was minimal from tending to Mikael, Adam knew he would be trying to dry his imaginary blood soaked hands for hours to come. Still, that didn’t make him hesitate to take care of his boss.
At the time for all Adam knew, Mikael was dying and a little PTSD wasn’t a high price to pay if he could save the man’s life. However, Mikael’s injury wasn’t nearly as bad as Adam had first suspected. That was a relief even though Adam knew the terror he would live through once he got home. How he finished his shift at the club without rubbing the denim clear off his legs with as many times as he tried to wipe the invisible blood off, was beyond him.
Now, he was home though; home and lying in his bed. Yet, knowing that he was home in bed instead of in some fucked up sandbox didn’t lessen the feeling of blood that coated his hands. Again, he wiped them on his thighs that were hidden under his comforter and waited for the sensation to run its course.
~~~
Mikael watched the internal club security tapes for hours and even after zooming in on himself at the moment he was stabbed, he still could not determine which of his patrons stuck the knife in his side. He met with George and told him as much.
“My sense of smell isn’t as good as a wolf,” George began. “But I’ll try and pick up something metal related to what happened last night.”
George looked like he was beating himself up over Mikael being stabbed. Mikael didn’t blame the bear garoul, but knew George blamed himself. George worked the door to his club, but couldn’t be expected to scent a firearm that hadn’t been fired or the metal of a knife that could be used as a weapon. Mikael may not have the ability to smell as accurately as a garoul, but even he knew determining the scent of a benign metal as opposed to one that wasn’t was impossible.
“George.” Mikael rested his hand on the larger man’s shoulder. “None of this shit is your fault.” George wouldn’t look at him. “It’s not.” Mikael gave the strong shoulder under his hand a squeeze. “Keep doing what you do, George. We will figure all this out.”
George gave him a weak smile, but didn’t say anything before he took up his post at the entrance of the club. Mikael turned around and almost ran straight into Adam. The man was frowning and looking him over critically. He appeared the same as his new employee had seen him every day since Mikael hired him: a healthy, well-dressed man. The concern in Adam’s gaze was unmistakable, but unwarranted even if the norm didn’t know it.
“Adam,” Mikael greeted with a smile.
“How are you feeling?”
“I am good.” Mikael continued to smile. “The wound wasn’t nearly as bad as it first appeared.”
Adam frowned and Mikael tried not to think about how sexy the crinkles that suddenly appeared between his eyebrows were. He wanted to smooth those concerned lines away and barely aborted his movement to do so by running his hand over his hair.
Adam studied his boss. He was dressed in a pale blue button-down that made him think of the towels he’d used the night before to wipe the blood away from Mikael’s side. Mikael wore black slacks which seem to be what the man always wore. His long blonde hair was pulled back and secured at the nape of his neck by what Adam was sure was one of the silver clips he had seen in the past.
He had observed Mikael approaching George before speaking to the man. His boss moved as fluidly as he always had and had Adam not known any better, he never would have suspected Mikael was stabbed the night before. However, he did know better. So, when his boss claimed he was ‘good,’ Adam raised a questioning brow and didn’t hide his expression of doubt.
Mikael felt Adam’s scrutiny as if it were a physical caress. Of course, that made his mind turn to what it might actually feel like if Adam caressed him. Those were thoughts he shouldn’t, fuck, couldn’t, allow himself to have.
“Okay,” Adam agreed reluctantly even though he wasn’t sure if he believed his boss.
Actually, it wasn’t so much that he didn’t believe Mikael about how the man felt, but rather, he was more confused as to how the man could be feeling fine at all. Adam had been stabbed before on multiple occasions. The wounds were serious, but even the ones that weren’t still hurt like hell and made him move gingerly for a few days. Mikael wasn’t moving awkwardly at all.
“Have a good night.” Mikael smiled at Adam. “You know where I’ll be if you need me.”
Why he added that last bit, Mikael wasn’t sure. All of his staff knew he spent ninety-nine percent of his time in his office so there was no need to say as much to Adam. He tried to dismiss the thought as he walked away from his newest employee, but his mind just wouldn’t let him.
Adam watched his boss walk past him and tracked the man’s movement through the club until he ascended the stairs. Not for a single moment did Mikael move gingerly as would warrant from being stabbed the previous night. Adam didn’t know what to make of his boss’ sudden recovery, but he did know that it was somehow strange.
Adam’s thoughts regarding Mikael disappeared when he heard George in his ear assigning their zones for the night.
~~~
Three weeks passed without another violent incident happening in his club. Mikael was starting to believe that the asshole who fired the shots and the person who stabbed him were just random acts of violence and not even related. The fact that he was the one to be stabbed was the only thing that kept him from writing both incidents off.
He had plenty of time to think over the last three weeks, but it only took him two days to determine the stabbing wasn’t random. No, he was targeted. Targeted by an amateur, but targeted none the less.
Mikael had fully expected another personal attack and had purposely spent more time down in the club then he would normally. If he was the target, he wanted to be the target. He could survive practically anything even though it would hurt. The members of his family, especially the norms, would not.
Currently, Mikael stood in his habitual place in front of the one-way glass that would allow him to gaze down into his club. The activity below was what he had witnessed for the last three years. Patrons danced to the music or ordered drinks at his bars. His staff expertly performed their jobs.
So, there was no reason beyond the attraction he felt tugging in his gut that he watched Adam. The norm was the epitome of a great security employee. Adam watched not only the crowd, but his fellow coworkers as well. Not for the first time did Mikael find himself getting aroused from watching Adam work. Not for the first time since he’d hired the norm did he curse his rule, either.
~~~
Adam watched Cat and Marci weave through the club-goers. They deftly dodged hands that tried to grope them as they delivered drinks or took new orders. Occasionally, he would glance along Barb’s bar to ensure there wasn’t a problem. His job seemed to be falling back into the routine that started when he was first employed. The routine before gunshots sounded through the club and his boss was randomly stabbed.
He resisted looking up at the mirrored wall that hid Mikael’s office. Adam had yet to see his boss since he’d come in, so he was pretty sure the man was looking down on them like some sort of God would look down upon their earthly creations.
Once more he checked on Cat and Marci. He spotted Marci immediately, but didn’t see Cat. His height gave him an advantage to peer over almost every head in the club. Still, that didn’t mean he didn’t lose track of his coworkers from time to time. So, he let his eyes roam the crowd in order to spot the blonde between the masses.
“Cat’s on the floor,” Rita’s voice whispered in his ear.
Adam’s gut clenched, but he didn’t see the crowd separate as if someone had collapsed. So, instead he scanned Rita’s section for some indication of where Cat and Rita were. He saw neither woman, but restrained himself from rushing to Rita’s zone.
“I’ve got her,” Rita’s voice informed. “I’m taking her to the back.”
“Is she hurt?” Chris asked.
“I don’t think so.”
There was a hesitation and a tone of uncertainty in Rita’s voice that made the hairs on the back of Adam’s neck stand up. He wanted to rush to their side so he could help, but his military training prevented him from doing so. Rita was taking care of Cat, so he needed to do his job.
“I’ll cover Rita’s zone,” Adam told the others through his communication device.
He was moving to a more central location before he’d even finished informing his coworkers. Adam wasn’t sure what had happened to Cat, but whatever it was, he would find out and deal with it later. Right now he needed to cover Rita’s zone while she took care of Cat.
***
Chapter Seven
Mikael stormed into the employee lounge and with a glance, took in Rita and Cat. Cat was lying on the couch with Rita kneeling next to her. He saw that Rita was holding a wet cloth against Cat’s forehead.
“What happened?” Mikael asked and strode over to Cat’s side.
Cat’s eyes were open and her pupils were dilated. Not only dilated, but in her leopard form. She appeared to be staring at the ceiling, but her fists were clenched at her sides. Cat’s tank top was soaked with sweat and she appeared to be fighting against shifting.
“I have no idea,” Rita informed and wiped more sweat from Cat’s face. “One minute, she was moving through the crowd and heading toward the bar. The next, she was on the floor with assholes’ stepping over and around her.”
Mikael kneeled down next to Rita and watched as Cat’s fisted hands began to bleed. Her facial features were also starting to shift.
“Rita, step away from Cat slowly and leave. Close and lock the door behind you,” Mikael ordered softly.
He sensed Rita looking at him and he was sure if he looked at her that her eyes would be wide. Rita and Chris might be aware of the supernatural world they now worked in, but they had never witnessed their garoul coworkers in their animal forms. Now wasn’t the time for Rita to do so, either.
Whatever happened to Cat out in the club was bad enough that her leopard was trying to take over in order to defend itself. If Cat was unresponsive in her human form, Mikael didn’t know how aware she would be in her animal one. He could survive Cat’s leopard if she attacked, but Rita wouldn’t.
Once Mikael heard the soft click of the employee lounge lock engage, he stood and backed away from his employee. Usually, garouls’ shifted instantaneously. A heat wave like blur that could be missed if one blinked. So, Mikael had never witnessed this slow type of shift before and he somehow knew it didn’t bode well for either of them.
“Cat, let go,” Mikael said softly.
He wasn’t sure if she’d hear him, but the low threatening growl that rumbled from her chest made him think she didn’t. Her leopard was coming out and there wasn’t anything he could do about it except be prepared if she attacked.
Another growl escaped Cat’s throat and made the hairs on the back of Mikael’s neck stand on end. Cat’s back arched and she twisted off the couch to land on her stomach on the floor. More growls that sounded pain filled to Mikael’s ears echoed around him as Cat’s shift became more rapid. Her head bowed and her arms and legs morphed only a moment before she blurred and fully shifted.
Mikael now stood across the room from a five foot long snow leopard. Cat’s head lifted and she sniffed the air before her stunning blue eyes turned their gaze on Mikael. Another low growl rumbled out of Cat’s chest before she bared her fangs and hissed. She didn’t turn her body toward Mikael, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t attack. Cat’s body was low toward the floor and her leg muscles were tense. She appeared ready to pounce. Mikael had no doubt she could attack from her current position.
“Cat,” Mikael tried to reach his frie
nd, family member, and employee.
It was as if calling her name triggered her beast into action. In the blink of an eye, Cat leapt. She twisted in midair and Mikael barely had time to brace himself for her seventy-five-pound impact. It didn’t matter that he weighed more than two of her because it wasn’t Cat’s size that made her such a threat. No, it was her claws that could rend him to shreds and her deadly fangs that could do just as much damage.
Mikael wasn’t a norm, but that didn’t mean he would escape this encounter unscathed. The ten foot space between them was barely more than a step compared to how far Cat could jump. But, that was the furthest thought from Mikael’s mind when he threw his arm up to protect his neck. Cat’s powerful jaws clamped down on his arm and he felt his bones crunch.
His other hand rose to land on the center of her chest, but that didn’t stop Cat’s claws from puncturing into his shoulder and side. With strength that no norm could ever achieve, Mikael shoved against her chest. Her claws dragged down his shoulder and along his ribs to his hip before they disengaged.
Cat was tossed back across the room toward the couch, but she easily landed on her feet, as all felines were prone to do. Getting Cat away from him wasn’t even a temporary reprieve. She leapt back at him and Mikael had no other choice but to throw his uninjured arm up to protect his throat once more.
Bones crunched again and the scream of pain Mikael barely withheld when she attacked the first time tore from his throat. Her claws didn’t land in the same place on his body this time. Instead, she dug them into his thighs to get leverage in order to reach the top of his head.
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