Page 15 of Tangled in Red

Santiago and Boone filled the doorway then froze.

“My money’s on the short one,” Boone commented, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe. “Looks like he’s kicking your boy’s ass.”

“That’s because I’m trying not to hurt him,” Tomas grunted. “He’s just slippery as hell.”

Santiago cracked a grin. “Te está pateando el trasero una cría de foca, hermano.”

“I am not getting my ass kicked by a baby seal,” Tomas growled, fighting to hold on to the guy.

Matias, Santiago, and even Boone aimed their weapons when the blond somehow seized Tomas’s gun, waving it frantically around.

“Whoa!” Tomas held his arms out wide. “Hand it over or these guys will blow you away before you can even find the trigger.”

“I’m just trying to protect myself!” he cried, but those shaky hands worried Matias. The Glock 20 seemed like it might snap his wrists, even with both hands gripping it. He was going to either accidently shoot someone or topple over from the weight.

“Nobody is going to hurt you,” Boone reassured, speaking calmly and softly. “We just need you to hand it over, son. I know we seem intimidating, but I promise you’re safe.”

If the human’s finger slipped on the trigger, Matias couldn’t guarantee the guy’s safety. He was making it home to Elijah, no matter what. “Listen to him. We only came out here to check on the lights. Was that you?”

The guy nodded quickly, swallowing nervously. “But it wasn’t a house light. It’s just a small lantern.”

He was using this empty house as a place to sleep.

Boone raised his hand, palm out, and lowered his weapon. “Let’s make you a deal. Hand over the gun, and we’ll put ours away.”

“No puede hacer ese trato. No cuando el humano está perdiendo el control mientras sigue blandiendo el arma de César hacia nosotros,” Santiago said to Matias without looking at him.

The bear shifter slowly turned his head to Santiago. “You trying to provoke him into shooting one of us? The kid’s scared, and he might think you’re plotting against him.”

“I understood him,” the human said. “He’s right. You can’t make that kind of deal while I’m holding Tomas’s gun with a pathetic grip.”

“He never said pathetic, florito,” Tomas interjected, stepping closer. “You’re scared. I get it. But that gun won’t protect you. It’ll only get you killed.”

“Tomas,” Matias warned. He’d already lost two pack members to violence. He wasn’t about to risk Tomas’s life on a slim chance the human wouldn’t shoot him.

“We’re not lying to you,” Tomas said to the guy, holding out his hand. “I swear my protection if you give me the gun.”

This was not a promise a shifter made lightly. If the stranger accepted it, Tomas was bound by his word. Breaking it would mean losing respect forever among shifters.

The human trembled, turning toward Tomas. Matias kept him in his sights. One wrong move…

“I’ve been lied to before,” he said, glancing down at his hands. “You’ll have to take it. I can’t lift it.”

Tomas gently curled his fingers around the weapon and eased it from his hands. “What’s your name?”

The guy glanced around the room, eyeing them. “Noel.”

“We ride.” Matias walked out of the room and left the house. He paused by his motorcycle and looked around. Didn’t see anyone, but he definitely felt eyes on him.

Chapter Four

The first to arrive, Diablo parked at the far end of the lot, right next to some well-kept bushes. He killed the engine but remained seated, one boot on the ground, keeping an eye on both entrances.

He rubbed his face, trying to make sense of what just went down. Somehow, while trapped inside him, his beast had chosen its mate.

But it had gone quiet since that moment on the curb, as if satisfied it’d made its point. Still, Diablo felt its presence, alert and waiting. Hungry in a way that had nothing to do with food.

A flash of headlights cut through his thoughts as a car turned into the lot. He watched as Brett’s maroon hatchback slowly crept along, his mate’s eyes darting around. His pulse quickened at the sight of red hair through the windshield.

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