Page 3 of Bria and the Tiger

“Jesus, he’s bigger than Judd said,” Porter said. “I mean, I knew polar bear shifters were big, but I’ve never seen one in person, have you?”

“No,” Bria said. “They’re notoriously shy. They never interact with humans and usually avoid shifters too.”

“Fuck, I think he’s even larger than Bishop,” Porter said.

Bishop was a grizzly bear shifter and, until Hudson, the biggest shifter Bria had ever seen.

“Why is he here?” Bria asked.

“Job interview.”

“For a bouncer?” Bria said. “Is Judd leaving?”

“No, I’m interviewing him for a bartender position,” Porter said. “Although Judd said he can double as a bouncer if needed.”

“Yeah, no doubt about that. You fired Arlo, huh?”

Arlo was a weasel shifter who had worked as a bartender at Bud’s bar. To get drug charges dropped against his younger brother, he had fed Vaughn information about Porter that had led to Porter being framed for Bud’s murder.”

“Actually, no. He quit as soon as Vaughn was dead and Maggie was safe. I talked to Maggie and she wanted me to give him a second chance. She said if it was my brother in trouble I would have done what Arlo did, and he didn’t know how dangerous Vaughn was either. Anyway, I agreed, but Arlo quit. I heard he moved out of the city three days later.”

“Sorry, Porter,” Bria said.

“Yeah, me too. Warren agreed - ”

“Warren?”

“He’s a part time bartender. He’s been working for Bud for years and is about ninety-five-years-old. He agreed to cover Arlo’s shifts while I looked for a new bartender, but its been six weeks and he’s threatening to quit.”

“Not many applicants?” Bria asked.

Porter shrugged. “I’m just picky. Judd suggested I meet with Hudson, they’ve been friends for a few years now, and I agreed. I’d better get over there.”

“Before you go…” Bria held out her empty glass and Porter filled it again.

“You’re not driving,” he said. “In fact, why don’t you give me your keys right now.”

She handed them over without protest. “I was planning on taking an Uber, Porter. I’m not stupid.”

“I know. But you’re Kat’s best friend and she’ll scratch my eyes out with her pointy jaguar claws if I let anything happen to you. When your Uber gets here, I’ll give you your keys back. Deal?”

“Deal.” Bria sipped at her whiskey and stared at the shiny surface of the bar in front of her as Porter walked away.

* * *

“Hey, Bria baby.”

“Kit Kat?” Bria stared blearily at her best friend as she sat on the stool next to her. “What are you doing here?”

“Ronin texted me and asked if I wanted to meet him here for drinks when he was done with his shift.”

“On a work night?” The whiskey was muddling her thoughts. “It’s Thursday, right?”

“Yes. How are you doing?”

Bria stared at the tall and lithe jaguar shifter for a moment before turning her gaze to Porter. “Porter, you asshole. You called Kat, didn’t you?”

“No,” Porter poured a beer, “I texted Kat. Big difference.”

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