Chapter Seventeen
The barbecue joint didn’t smell good, but then it’d been more than a year since anyone had been there.
Flint’s nose twitched at the scent of dust and decay, years of neglect settling into the bones of the building.
Faded signs advertising ribs and pulled pork hung crooked on the walls, and the booths were sticky with residue even after decades of disuse.
Through the grimy windows, he could see the parking lot - Python had parked further down the road as the Maserati wasn’t exactly inconspicuous.
Arrow paced near the counter, his wolf too close to the surface. Flint could see fur rippling along his mate’s neck, disappearing and reappearing as Arrow struggled for control.
“You need to stop,” Flint said quietly.
Arrow paused mid-step. “Stop what?”
“Pacing. You’re going to wear a hole in the floor, and besides, you need to conserve your energy.”
“I can’t just stand here.”
“Take a lesson from an assassin, who’s an old hand at learning to wait for things.
Believe me when I tell you that yes, you can.
” Flint leaned against the far wall, feeling the reassuring weight of his Glock tucked into the small of his back beneath his jacket.
He’d loaded it with silver rounds before they left. Just in case. “Come here.”
Arrow crossed to him immediately, and Flint pulled his mate close, breathing in his scent. The nerves he expected - if Arrow had physically fought anyone in the past five years, Flint would’ve been surprised, but underneath the nerves, he could sense Arrow’s determination.
“You don’t have to do this,” Flint whispered against Arrow’s ear.
“Yes, I do.” Arrow’s arms tightened around him. “He insulted you from the start, and this implication about kidnapping me is stupid shit. But more than that, he’s harassing Cyrus, and the agency won’t back off until someone makes them. I am the best person to do this.”
“Python could fireball him.”
Arrow huffed a quiet laugh. “And then we’d have bigger problems - you already explained all that. No, this is the right way. A legal challenge, witnessed by other shifters. Patterson insulted you, my mate. Shifter law says I have the right to demand satisfaction.”
Flint pulled back enough to meet Arrow’s eyes. “What if you get hurt?”
“Then you’ll patch me up.” Arrow cupped Flint’s face. “Have a little faith, babe. I’m not the same wolf I was three weeks ago, and I would fight a dozen Pattersons to keep you safe.”
“I know.” Flint turned his head to kiss Arrow’s palm. “It doesn’t mean I have to like watching you fight a bear.”
“You won’t be watching alone.” Arrow glanced around the empty restaurant. “Python? You still here?”
“Unfortunately,” Python’s disembodied voice came from somewhere near the kitchen. “I can’t believe how bad this place smells. I’m sure it never used to be like this. Asimov is offended.”
“Tell Asimov I’m sorry,” Arrow said.
“He says you owe him car detailing.”
As if you’d ever let me touch one of your cars. “Deal.”
Flint felt the air shimmer slightly to his left and knew Pax was there too, invisible and ready to throw things if necessary. Outside, Flint also knew all of his friends were there, ready to move at a moment’s notice. His mate had backup. They all did. That was what family meant.
“They’re coming,” Pax’s voice whispered, the voice coming from by the window. “Three trucks just turned onto the access road.”
Flint’s snake went very still inside him. Three trucks. Patterson hadn’t just brought one or two witnesses. He’d brought an army.
“How many people?” Arrow asked, tension locking his shoulders. “Any idea?”
“I can’t tell yet. At least eight, maybe more, or” - Pax’s disembodied voice sounded as if he was having fun - “it could just be three or four people who can’t stand being in the same vehicle with your dick ex-boss.”
“Fuck.” Arrow scrubbed a hand over his face. “That’s not a witness party. That’s a raid.”
“We knew this could happen. Patterson probably thinks he’s rescuing you,” Python said. “From the evil assassin who supposedly kidnapped you.”
Flint’s hand drifted to the small of his back, fingers brushing the Glock’s grip. If Patterson thought he was going to take Arrow, he’d be leaving in a body bag.
“Easy,” Arrow murmured, catching the movement. “Let me talk to him first.”
“And if talking doesn’t work?”
“Then we improvise.” Arrow kissed his forehead. “Get behind the counter. Stay out of sight unless things go bad.”
“I’m not hiding.”
“Flint…”
“I’m. Not. Hiding.” Flint held his mate’s gaze. “You can fight him if you have to, but I’m standing right here where he can see me. He thinks I kidnapped you? Fine. Let him look at me and see how stupid that sounds.”
Arrow’s expression softened. “You’re five-foot-seven and weigh maybe a buck-thirty soaking wet.”
“Five-eight, and one twenty-five,” Flint corrected. “Your point?”
“My point is you’re one of the least threatening people in this building, and I love you for it.”
“I’m a trained assassin with a Glock and a very protective snake who wants to eat your ex-boss.”
“Somehow that’s not very threatening.” Arrow’s smile was full of affection. “I know you were wearing a sun hat less than two hours ago.”
“I took the hat off before we left.”
“And now you’ve still got a leaf in your hair from the greenhouse.”
Flint reached up and found the offending leaf, flicking it away. “Better?”
“You’re still adorable.”
“I’m a trained killer.”
“An adorable, trained killer.” Arrow kissed him quickly. “Just...stay back. Please. I need to know you’re safe.”
The trucks pulled into the parking lot, engines rumbling. Flint could see them through the window - three large pickups, all bearing official-looking plates. Doors slammed. Voices carried, loud and aggressive.
“Here we go,” Python muttered.
Arrow straightened, rolling his shoulders back.
The nervous wolf disappeared, replaced by the look of cool confidence Flint remembered from the night they met.
Flint had seen that look before on missions.
His mate might have worked in cybercrimes, but the predator underneath knew how to handle threats.
The door crashed open. Patterson filled the entrance, massive and broad-shouldered, his bulk making the doorframe look small. He was dressed in tactical gear, complete with a vest and sidearm. Behind him, three more bears crowded in, equally armed and armored. An extraction team, in other words.
“Arrow.” Patterson’s voice boomed through the space. “Step away from the shifter.”
Arrow didn’t move. “The shifter’s name is Flint, and he’s my mate.”
“You’ve been compromised.” Patterson’s gaze swept the room, lingering on Flint with open contempt. “Coerced into a false bond by an assassin. We’re here to help you.”
“I called you,” Arrow said carefully. “I asked you to meet me here so we could talk. There’s no coercion, no kidnapping. I quit my job and moved to be with my mate. That’s all this is. You’re making a big deal out of nothing.”
“You quit because they blackmailed you.” Patterson took a step forward, and the three bears behind him fanned out, covering the exits. “They’ve made you think you had no choice, but you do, son. The agency takes care of its own.”
Flint watched his mate’s jaw tighten. “I’m not your son. And I wasn’t blackmailed. I made a choice.”
“No wolf walks away from a career like yours for some” - Patterson’s lip curled - “pretty boy assassin. Look at him. He’s half your size. Clearly not suitable as a mate for someone of your standing.”
Flint’s snake hissed inside him, furious at the dismissal. But he kept his face neutral, his hands visible and non-threatening. Let Patterson think he was weak. Underestimation was a weapon Flint knew how to use.
“Watch your mouth,” Arrow said quietly. “That’s my mate you’re insulting.”
“That’s the coercion talking.” Patterson gestured to his team. “We’ll take you back to the city and get you checked out by a proper healer. They’ll find whatever spell or bond manipulation they used on you. Fix it. Then you can come back to work where you belong.”
“I don’t want to be fixed.” Arrow’s hands flexed, claws sliding free.
“Damn it, I want you to leave me and my mate alone. Stop calling the agency brass, stop filing false complaints, and stop pretending you care about my welfare when you just want to maintain your authority. I quit the agency. What I do now is not your concern.”
Patterson’s expression darkened. “I’m trying to help you.”
“You’re trying to control me, the same as you control everyone in your department.” Arrow took a step forward, putting himself between Flint and the bears. “But I’m not in your department anymore. I don’t answer to you. I never have to listen to your bullshit again.”
“You little…” Patterson lunged.
Arrow was ready. He met the bear shifter halfway, both of them partially shifted, claws out and teeth bared. They collided with a sound like thunder, crashing into the counter hard enough to crack the old wood.
The three bears behind Patterson surged forward, and Flint’s hand went to his Glock.
“Hold,” Python’s voice commanded, suddenly visible as he materialized between the charging bears and the fight. Flames danced along his fingers, and his eyes had gone completely crimson. “This is a legal challenge. Witness law applies. Anyone who interferes answers to me.”
The bears pulled up short, staring at the demon in front of them. One reached for his gun.
“I wouldn’t,” Pax said cheerfully, appearing next to the bear and plucking the weapon from his holster before the shifter could blink. “See, we’re all just here to make sure things stay fair. You guys stand over there, Python and I will stand over here, and we’ll let them work it out. Sound good?”
“There’s a damn demon,” one of the bears said stupidly.
“Very observant,” Python replied. “Gold star. Now back up against the wall and shut up.”