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Zeke sat on the couch, playing back everything that was said over and over and wondering if he could have handled this better. They were bonded, so he could feel Tanner's confusion and his desire. They were both present. The story of the boyfriend's betrayal was painful and put Tanner on the defensive, but a shifter bond was strong, and he would come to see that Zeke was in this for the long run.
He would recognize that what Zeke was offering was deeper than anything any ex had presented, but that would take time. Zeke accepted Tanner's need to process even though it was driving him and his tiger crazy being separated from their mate.
He decided to remain on the couch for the night rather than go to his bedroom; he wanted to be close to his mate in case he was needed. Zeke contemplated shifting into his tiger and curling up on the cushions but didn't want to startle Tanner, so he made himself as comfortable as possible. He then turned out the lights, leaned back, and closed his eyes. It was going to be a hellishly long night.
Tanner stripped to his briefs and lay on his bed in the dark. His mind was racing, and sleeping was impossible. Everything Salem had told him went through his mind over and over as he dissected every word. Then he thought about everything Zeke had said to him from the very first word, and the only thing he couldn't figure out was why Zeke answered his ad in the first place.
He knew that Zeke wasn't the type of man to have a roommate. He was established and educated and not new to the city. He didn't need a roommate; there was something other than just being mates going on there. That question haunted him for hours. He could feel Zeke in the outer room; he could sense that he was still there, seated on the couch. Tanner wanted to go out and sit with him to hold him and to be held, but he remained on his bed, running sad scenarios through his mind.
Zeke was offering him so much, and, in his heart, he believed him, but what if he were wrong? Should he give Zeke the ammunition to hurt him so badly? He didn't want to hurt again, and he didn't want to have to move again, but he also didn't want to lose something that felt this right and this good. There seemed to be no figuring it out, so he put the pillow over his head and closed his eyes.
It was just past four in the morning when Tanner was awakened by a loud commotion in the outer room. Tanner jumped to his feet and pulled on his sweatpants before opening the door to a brawl going on in his living room. Zeke was fighting with four men, two of whom were carrying guns, and Tanner began to panic. "Zeke!" He yelled, so worried and not knowing what to do.
"Get back in your room and close the door," Zeke yelled as he tossed one man into the wall by the kitchen. The man was in the wall, not moving and stuck in the wall. What kind of force would it take to put a man through a wall? Zeke was fighting two of them, and one was shifting his attention to Tanner and taking a step toward him. "Get in your room, lock the door," Zeke shouted once more, but he couldn't just leave Zeke to these men. He might get hurt or worse.
"I'll get the kid. You two finish the boyfriend." The thug raised his gun and pointed it at Tanner, and then suddenly, in a flash, the man was flat on his back on the floor with a huge tiger on his chest. The gun was gone, and so was the man's arm. The other two took the opportunity to run away as the tiger mauled the man on the floor. The man shifted into a wolf, but he was too injured and no match for a tiger.
Tanner was frozen to the spot, watching the action before him. The man ultimately lay motionless on the floor, and the tiger turned to look at Tanner. He didn't move toward him; he just stood still and watched him.
Tanner recognized those soulful eyes he'd seen watching him often, and they always made him feel protected and seen. This was Zeke; he had no doubt about that. His tiger was gorgeous, just like the man, large and sleekly muscled with impressive color.
He took a tentative step in Tanner's direction as if testing his resolve, and Tanner did not move, so he took a couple more steps, moving ever closer. "I know it's you, Zeke. Come to me. I'm not afraid." Zeke walked up to him and rubbed his cheek against Tanner's thigh, and Tanner ran his fingers through Zeke's course fur, loving the feel of it between his fingers.
In the blink of an eye, it was Zeke standing there naked and beautiful, and he pulled Tanner into his arms and kissed him. Tanner needed that kiss more than he needed to breathe. He trailed that kiss across his jaw and down his throat to the little scar at the base, and Tanner was made putty in his hands. "We need to get out of here. Those men were after you, my love." That had Tanner's attention.
“Why me?”
"I'll explain later, but now I need you to get dressed as fast as you can. We're going to the Zephyr Club; Cross and the guys are waiting for us. You'll be safe there." Tanner believed him, although he had a million questions. He quickly dressed, grabbed a few personal things, and headed back to the living room.
Zeke was dressed and standing at the door that was hanging askew, obviously having been broken in. Tanner was surprised his neighbors hadn't called the cops, but then most of them were college students and probably not home or had passed out or were sleeping heavily at this time of the morning.
Zeke secured the door, took the backpack Tanner was carrying, and slung it over his own shoulder. "Let's go." He said, and Tanner noticed that Zeke kept him close to him, tucked to his side as they hurried to the car.
Once they were in Zeke's car, he began his barrage of questions. "Who were they, and why were they after me?" Zeke was honest and told him about Griff's death and his fear that the men from the parking lot might be after Tanner.
"They watched you leave the alley after you made the delivery to Parc."
“You answered the ad in order to protect me?” Tanner was touched by his thoughtfulness. “You didn’t know I was your mate until the coffee shop.”
"You were an innocent and needed protection, and I thought you were pretty cute, so I didn't mind." That made Tanner laugh.
“Who are the guys in the parking lot and at my apartment?”
"They're mostly hired muscle, as was Griff. We're not sure why they killed him. The word is that they work for some local property broker. Griff was a bear shifter, so we notified his clan, and they've taken care of the men who killed him and others involved in his death, according to my information. They even killed the shifter who shot out your window. Thankfully, they took him out before he could get another shot off." That terrified Tanner.
"I stuck my head out that window after it was smashed; I thought someone threw a rock or something. I could have been killed."
“That was their plan.”
“I never saw anything in that parking lot.”
"They weren't taking chances, or rather their boss, whoever that might be, was not taking chances." Tanner settled into the seat, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Zeke stayed alert to traffic and pedestrians and the scents present in the air. The four men who broke in were there to harm his mate, and if he hadn't been there, Tanner would have been taken or killed, and that thought had him on a razor-sharp edge of awareness.
The men that were sent were not humans. This time, they were wolf shifters, all four of them. The one with the gun got a couple of shots off and hit Zeke in the thigh and shoulder, but when he shifted, everything healed. They weren't prepared for a tiger shifter, so the surprise was enough to give him the upper hand. He was lucky they weren't better at their jobs.
