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CHAPTER ONE
"Do you think he saw us?" The large man with the beard came up behind the slender man with the gun. His tone was clipped, and he kept his eyes on the baby blue coupe as it drove away.
The slender man looked up at him, resigned with the fact they would do what they had to do. "We can't take any chances. Find him and kill him and make it look like an accident." The large man nodded and pulled out his phone as he walked back to where he had parked his car.
It was two-thirty in the morning, and Tanner had just gotten off work and was heading home. It had been a long and tension-filled night, and he was ready to relax with a snack and a movie. He worked for a beverage distributor, and usually, deliveries were made during the day or early evening while he spent the late evenings checking stock, organizing orders for the next day, and doing basic data entry.
But not tonight; tonight, he had to do a special delivery, and he hated special deliveries. The client was important, and the requested stock was available, so his boss sent him on the midnight run to downtown Cincinnati. He hated going downtown so late and parking in back alleys to make his deliveries, but the boss always paid him a bonus for trips like these, and he needed the money.
It wasn’t a large order; it was just two cases of some rare Hennessy Cognac. It was some of their most expensive stock, so the purchase was not insignificant, even if the order was not large. His boss treated some clients with kid gloves, giving them all the service they requested and more in order to keep expensive orders like this coming in.
Tanner understood the business side of it, but he didn’t like delivering orders in the middle of the night, especially orders of expensive cognac. He felt like a sitting duck when he pulled into the back alley of that posh nightclub and waited for someone to open the door. There he sat with two cases of expensive booze in a car that could be easily broken into.
The alley was deserted and rather dark, and it seemed the lights were dimmer than usual. He was starting to get a little uneasy when, finally, a man in slick black leather appeared and motioned for him to come inside. He completed the transaction as quickly as possible and hurriedly jumped back into his blue coupe. His boss preferred him to use his personal vehicle when making late-night expensive deliveries; he said it was less obvious. He returned to work and finished his shift, hoping that no more night deliveries would be needed that night.
The Zephyr Club was one of their largest customers, and night deliveries there happened at least once a week. It was an exclusive club of which Tanner had never been inside. He wasn't the sexy leather type. He was more the flannel and jeans, so a delivery of the upscale booze was his only ticket inside, and even then, it was just the back door and the stock room. He and his roommate Salem had tried to get in one evening many months ago, but Tanner was turned away at the door while Salem had been eagerly welcomed.
He didn't live far from the warehouse where he worked, so the drive home was quick. He shared his apartment with a roommate for financial reasons. They weren't close friends but got along okay. Salem could be odd at times, but nothing too crazy. He worked normal hours at an exclusive jewelry store downtown. He was probably tucked in bed, sleeping soundly at the moment. Tanner was looking forward to a snack and a movie and relaxing in the comfort of his bed.
Zeke sat at the monitor scanning the back alley, concerned by the fact that the lights in the parking lot adjacent to the alley had suddenly dimmed. He immediately began to record the area, suspecting the act had been purposeful. He noticed a small car drive up to the back door and park but kept its motor running. It was a delivery that was made clear when Parc came to the back door and helped the guy carry in two cases of liquor.
The driver was dark-haired and slight in build and finished the job in record time. He jumped into his car and took off as if fearful, which made Zeke study the parking lot even closer. The lights came back on full power, and he noticed two men talking; one pulled out his phone and walked off, and the other stood staring down at something on the ground. Upon closer scrutiny, Zeke could see that he had a gun in his hand, which he stowed in his coat pocket before turning and walking away in the same direction as the other man.
Zeke noticed a shadow on the pavement, partially hidden by the shrubbery. He zoomed the camera in for a better view and recognized the shape as being a body. He notified Cross and Parc, and the three of them met at the back door and then proceeded to the parking lot.
"Did you get a clear video of who did this?" Cross questioned Zeke as he bent and checked for signs of life. It was obvious the guy was dead. No one could survive two rounds to the back of his head. "He's a bear shifter," Cross announced and stood up.
“Who did he piss off?” Parc commented.
"Someone deadly," Cross responded and then turned to Zeke. "We need to dispose of this before it ends up in a medical facility. Whoever killed him didn't know he was a bear shifter, and he obviously didn't know they planned to kill him. They're human and would not have gotten the drop on a bear shifter unless he trusted them. Very messy."
“And they had the gall to leave it in our backyard.” Zeke sounded disgusted and offended.
"We need to find who did this. Leaving him here might be some sort of message," Cross said as he checked the pockets of the dead bear, looking for ID.
"I have them on video, and I'll get their names," Zeke told him as he pulled out his phone. "I'll have Noa help me, and we'll take care of this guy before anyone happens back here." Cross nodded in agreement. Dead shifters in his territory was not a good look and they needed to handle this swiftly and cleanly.
Tanner entered his apartment, and something was wrong. He felt it immediately. He switched on the lights in the living room, and Salem was seated across from him on the small couch. He was just sitting there staring at him as he entered. It gave him a creepy, uncomfortable feeling.
“What’s up?” He croaked, feeling all kinds of awkward with Salem’s stare and the fact he was sitting in the dark waiting for him. Tanner hung his jacket on one of the hooks by the door and took a few steps in the direction of his bedroom.
“We need to talk.” Salem’s tone was flat and a bit accusatory, but Tanner had no idea what his problem could be. They rarely spent time together since they worked opposite shifts, and Tanner made a point of being respectful of Salem's space and possessions.
"Okay." He said but did not move from his position between the door and his bedroom. Salem didn't like it when he stood too close; he demanded his personal space be respected, and that included being over six feet away. At times, he considered that to be too close, and Tanner feared this would be one of those times. The man could be unsettling, but he always paid his rent on time and cleaned up after himself, which were both important to Tanner.
"I've met someone, and I will be moving into their High Street condo. I will be leaving in the morning." He gave a suffering, put-upon sigh and rolled his eyes. "Please stay out of the way while his hired people pack my things. He's quite rich." The words poured out like syrup. Salem was very pleased with himself, and honestly, Tanner would not be unhappy to see him go. Apart from the financial aspect, he really added nothing to Tanner's existence.
"Okay," Tanner stated and moved quickly to his room, closing and locking the door behind him. He usually slept late, so it was unlikely he would get in the way of anyone, but he would be extra careful tomorrow. He didn't want to upset Salem or his boyfriend.
Salem was into BDSM and based on some of their phone conversation that Tanner overheard the boyfriend was a serious dominant and daddy. He had Salem bending over backward literally to please him.
Tanner had nothing against the lifestyle, but it seemed a bit one-sided in Salem's case. His understanding was that both parties held a measure of power and that control was a gift, not an obligation, but the boyfriend seemed to hold all the power and control in Salem's case.
It was Salem's life, and he seemed satisfied, so it was none of Tanner's business. Salem liked money and the status that it afforded, so his rich boyfriend, Blake, whom Tanner had never met, was a perfect match for his desires. Tanner pushed Salem, and his weirdness from his mind stripped down to his briefs and pulled on his pajama pants before stretching out on his bed. He grabbed his phone and put in his earbuds. It was time to watch a few videos and unwind.
Zeke and Noa finished cleaning the back lot, and Noa let him know that he was familiar with the deceased bear shifter. "His name was Griff, and he ran with a group of humans who worked for a local real estate broker. He functioned as muscle for the main man, and as far as I knew, he was doing his job. Not sure why they would want to end him."
"Could be anything humans are known for, such as their hair-triggering anger and paranoia. He should have been able to smell their intent unless he was preoccupied." Zeke commented.
