Page 18 of Revenge of the Blood Pack

I'm still thinking about what to do when I hear movement around me. I turn in time to see a man drop from the building above me, almost pouncing on me, but I manage to leap back at the last possible second. As he stands to his massive height, I breathe him in, instantly recognizing him as another garbage-scented shifter. There's no doubt these two are working together.

Which means more trouble.

I move back instinctively and let my gaze slip from him to the first man. My heart is hammering. My hands are curled into fists. I might be able to take these two on in my wolf form, but hand-to-hand combat would be better. Big guys like this tend to be all muscles, no skill. Still, it won’t be easy.

Suddenly, a chill rolls up my spine, and it's like a face full of cold water. Behind me, another shifter managed to slip too close to me, with my attention fixed on the other two.

Whatever this is, it spells serious danger for me.

SIX

Braxton

Max paysfor our beers and food while I head outside. My chest aches in the strangest way, and I rub at it, trying to rub away the pressure. This was the right move. I know it was, so why does my body seem to disagree? Becoming an Enforcer, working with Max, was one of the only things I could do to try to find myself again. Because since being discharged from the military, I’d continued down a path that scared me.

So why does this path scare me too?

Probably because of the damn file. The pictures of shifter kids slaughtered in the streets. Of the buildings burned to the ground. Of whole families killed for no goddamn reason.

Fuck, I’m shaking. On the edge of losing control. I dig my nails into my palms, drawing blood, and, luckily, the pain brings me back from the edge. Away from the images in that file. Away from the images in my mind of what I’d seen while in the army.

Not just seen. Done.

Max comes out of the bar. “Ready to meet her?”

I nod, my stomach turning, and we cross the street, but even before we reach the diner Trouble comes limping toward me, and I kneel down. He licks my face, his stub of a tail going a million miles an hour. “You miss me, boy?” I ask.

In response, he licks me again.

Grinning, I look at the kid. “Thanks, Brian.”

Brian smiles back at me. “No problem, sir. He’s a good boy.”

“That he is,” I tell him with a smile.

The kid scampers back inside and takes his stool at the counter. His mom had been a waitress at the diner when I’d come in earlier to get my head in the game and grab a cup of coffee. Her son, Brian, had volunteered to walk Trouble for me, and after his mom had told me just how much he wanted a dog I’d agreed. A walk with a kid would be better than just sitting outside waiting for me. So, I’d paid him to watch the little guy while I waited for my brother.

I couldn’t, after all, be at the bar early. Not when my brother expected me to be late. What fun would that be?

As I stand to my full height, Trouble takes his place faithfully at my side. That’s one thing about him: he’s well-trained. I don’t know how, but he is.

My gaze meets my brother’s and I swear the temperature drops.

“What isthat?”

I flash him a smile. “Trouble.”

“Clearly,” he says dryly. “But why is he with you?”

“He’s my partner,” I tell him with a shrug.

“You can’t have a pet.” And, man, he seems mad.

“No problem, because Trouble isn’t a pet. Like I said, he’s my partner.”

My brother squares off with me, lowering his voice. “Braxton, Enforcers have to give up a lot. Most of us can’t have kids, orfamilies, or pets. It’s just the nature of the job. Having that dog with us will only slow us down.”

My stomach flips and something snaps inside of me at just the thought of Trouble no longer being at my side. “You don’t know a goddamn thing. Trouble was there for me when no one else was. He was there when buildings were crumbling around me, and bullets were slamming into my chest. He curled around me, not aware that as a shifter I’d be better off than him. He didn’t even seem to care about anything but me when he got stuck under some rubble. He didn’t know me for shit, but he stayed. And I stayed with him afterward. I got him fixed up. I got him flown over with me. And he’s been by my side ever since. This isn’t a goddamn pet. He’s not a creature that will slow us down. He’s my partner. And if you don’t want him, you don’t get me.”

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