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"Griff was strong and morally ambiguous, which made him a perfect hire for men like these, but he also wasn't the smartest tool in the shed. He probably saw them as humans and no danger to him as a shifter and didn't take them seriously as any sort of threat." Noa's theory was sound.
"You're probably right, which just goes to show you don't take anyone or any situation for granted. Death could be waiting around the corner." Zeke offered, and Noa agreed.
Zeke went back to his office to review the tapes of the evening, and Noa headed back out front. Zephyr was closing up soon, and Cross would be stopping in to see the tapes, and he wanted them ready. He felt bad for Griff; the bear shifter having been taken out by humans was embarrassing. If they'd shot him anywhere except the head, he would have shifted and ended them instead, but unfortunately for Griff, that was not the case.
He isolated the video shots of the two men, bringing them up close and clear, and he also focused on the guy making the liquor delivery. The hit went down when the lights dimmed, but Zeke was still able to isolate clear images of the men. It looked like the man with the gun hung around and was watching the delivery guy get into his car and leave. He said something to the man next to him, who then took out his phone and walked away.
Zeke had a bad feeling about the situation and what it meant for the man who made the delivery. He called Cross and asked him to bring Parc along after they finished closing. He wanted more information on the guy making the deliveries and any impressions Parc may have gotten. If the delivery man witnessed anything, he would not be long for this world. They took out a bear shifter, so they certainly wouldn't hesitate to make a delivery man disappear.
“Cross arrived with Parc a few minutes after Zeke’s call. “What do you have?” He asked as he and Parc took seats on opposite sides of Zeke.
"I scrubbed the video of the hit and the follow-up." He pulled up the footage and played it for them, and they noticed the same thing he had.
"The delivery guy heard something or saw something," Cross stated. "He looked in the direction of the parking lot before hurrying away."
“Something startled him, and those two watched him leave, so they have his plate number." Parc agreed.
“Do you know him?” Zeke asked, hoping Parc knew his name.
“He works for Eastland Beverage Distributors, and I've met him a few times. His name is Tanner. He's just a young guy; I'm not sure of his last name. He works afternoon and evening." That was enough Zeke could find the man if it became necessary.
"If the innocent human wasn't involved, I'd say fuck it and let the thugs work it out amongst themselves." Cross didn't like to get involved in local bullshit, but he wouldn't turn his back on an innocent, either. There was also the possibility that the body had been left in his territory on purpose.
"Calling the cops is out of the question, considering we wiped the scene clean of any evidence." Zeke reminded everyone.
"I'll have Danny look into it and see if anything can be done on that front," Parc stated. His mate Danny Atwater was an officer in the Cincinnati Police Department, a fact that often came in handy.
"I have a better idea," Zeke announced, and everyone gave him their attention. "Noa knew the dead shifter. His name is Griff, and he has a clan, father, brothers, cousins, and uncles. If they received a copy of this video, I believe all problems would be solved. Bear shifters are very much an eye for an eye and protective of their own. They won't let this insult go unrequited.” Zeke gave them a wicked smile.
“Do it.” Cross gave him permission to hand the video over to Noa. "Also, run a background check on Tanner, the delivery guy, and on the two men who killed the shifter. Get me what you can." He then turned to Parc. "Once we have some names, I'd like for you to run them past your mate and see if there is anything we should know." Parc gave a quick nod, and then Cross added his reasoning for digging a little further.
"They killed that man on the edges of our property. What were they doing here, and why did they choose to kill him there?" That point was steadily becoming a growing concern in Cross's mind.
"Noa said that Griff worked as muscle for a local real estate broker, so I'll start there," Zeke commented.
“Get me some names, Zeke.” Cross reiterated as he and Parc left the room.
“Will do.”
CHAPTER TWO
The sounds of furniture moving and people stomping around had Tanner awake at just after nine in the morning, which was way too early for him to consider getting up. He worked late and stayed up watching videos, so nine was like the crack of dawn. He tried to ignore the ruckus that was going on outside his door, but after about twenty minutes, it became obvious that he was not going back to sleep.
“Some people have no consideration for others.” He said and pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt before walking to his door and opening it just enough to peek out but not enough to be noticed. Most of the furniture in the apartment was Salem’s except for the blue lawn chair that Tanner owned. He noticed it was shoved into a corner as a group of men systematically cleared the apartment of all Salem’s things.
He closed the door, went over to his small desk, and started on an advertisement for a new roommate. Salem hadn't been ideal, and the boyfriend was a bit troubling, but it could have been worse. He heard co-workers talking of nightmare roommates and how prevalent they were. It didn't take long to have his advert roughed out and ready to post. He half hoped that it might be a good-looking gay man who answered his post. It was unlikely, but a man could hope.
Things started to wind down around eleven, and at eleven-twenty, Salem opened his door and stepped inside. No knock, no warning, just walked in, which was unusual. "I'm leaving now." He announced. Tanner noticed a tall, dark man standing behind him.
The aura of this man was odd. Tanner felt suddenly tense and suspicious in his presence. He knew instantly that this was Salem’s boyfriend by the way he held Salem loosely with a hand on the back of his neck. The look was very controlling, and Salem seemed into it yet a little scared.
He didn't introduce himself, and the guy did not speak, making the scene even more uncomfortable. Finally, Salem took a step back and, without a word, turned with this guy still holding his neck, and they left Tanner's room. Tanner stood and walked to his open doorway and watched them leave, and there was a part of him that worried for Salem. The menacing stare that guy had perfected was not something Tanner would want to deal with on a regular basis, so he wondered how Salem coped.
At the door, as Salem stepped out into the hall, the boyfriend turned and looked back at Tanner, and his gaze was assessing, making Tanner feel sullied by the act. "If you have trouble finding a roommate, contact me, and I will take care of it for you." His tone was deep and dictatorial. Tanner nodded but did not speak; the tenor of the room was too on edge, and silence seemed the best option. The guy stepped out and closed the door.
Tanner held his breath for a few minutes before letting out a deep, cleansing breath and bending slightly with the weight of what had just exited. That guy was too much, and Tanner was so glad he was gone and glad Salem was gone. He felt sorry for Salem for what he was obviously putting up with, but it was his choice, and money was more important to Salem more important than his dignity.
Tanner had the next two days off, so he planned to try and get the apartment back into shape with the limited furnishings he now had. Looking around, he found it a bit of a shock to realize how much of the apartment had belonged to Salem. He had a blue lawn chair and a couple of throw pillows, and that was the extent of the living room furnishings. It was so absurd that he chuckled as he flopped down on his lawn chair and noticed even the throw rugs were gone.
