Page 6 of Softer Than Stone
Brax swallowed hard, sweat gleaming on his forehead. “I… I?—”
“Make up your mind,” I snapped. “You’re out of time, Brax. Kole’s on her way right now. Looks like she’s heard about your side hustle.” He paled further at my words.
I was aware of every detail around me: the tiger shifter’s shallow breaths, Jenna’s trembling hands as she edged away from the table, and Waru.
God, Waru.
Even now, as chaos brewed around him, he was a rock. His voice carried low and soothing as he guided patrons out of the restaurant through the kitchen, ushering them towards safety with calm authority. He didn’t bark orders or panic; he exuded a quiet command that made people trust him, follow him without question.
I shouldn’t have been watching him. My attention should’ve been fully on Brax and the tiger. But I couldn’t help it. The way he moved, the way he handled the situation with unshakable poise—it was magnetic.
I scented Michaels and Shaw before I spotted them. I didn’t glance over, knowing they were in the kitchen, ushering out the last of the civilians.
“Fine!” Brax’s voice cracked, pulling me back to the moment. “I’ll take the deal! Just get me out of here!”
I gave him a sharp nod. “Good choice.”
Behind me, I heard the click of the rear door as the last patron exited. Waru was back, moving closer.
I stood, dragging the tiger up with me. He groaned but didn’t resist as I twisted his arm behind his back and pushed him towards the kitchen just as Michaels entered, Shaw on his six.
Shaw immediately put the tiger in cuffs, giving me the chance to reach out for Brax while Michaels focussed on Jenna and Waru. The man in my grip continued to tremble, his gaze darting this way and that.
Time was running?—
“Incoming.” Smythe’s voice filtered through comms, causing all agents’ muscles to pull taut.
“Fuck,” Michaels groaned. “Smythe, is the rear exit still clear? Copy.”
If it wasn’t, we’d be royally screwed. My gaze darted to Waru, the only civilian not in custody. He’d paused at Michaels’s outburst, a mask of worry forming on his expression. When he flicked his attention to me, an unspoken question filled his gaze.
Just how screwed are we?
Pretty sure the panther was having a whole lot of regrets at the moment, with him welcoming us into his restaurant no doubt being at the top of the list.
“That’s an affirmative. Kitchen exit is clear. Eclipse is thirty seconds out. Copy.”
“Let’s move,” I instructed as soon as Smythe gave us the all clear. We raced for the exit, Shaw in front with the tiger, Michaels with Brax ahead of me, while I took up the rear, hot on the heels of Jenna and Waru.
He didn’t say a word, even as we made it through the exit. I didn’t think I’d seen stoic look so hot. But again, so not the time.
As we emptied the kitchen, the cooling spring afternoon air greeted us. Movement to my right caught my attention. I reached for my gun, tugging it out of my holster with speed.
“Eclipse vehicles are approaching round back,” Smythe said, just as the screech of tyres and brakes reached us from the front of the building. “SUV has split from Kole’s formation. They’ll be on you in ten seconds.”
Shaw was already tugging his SUV door open and shoving Brax’s bodyguard inside before there was fully room. The tiger cursed as his head smacked against the frame, but that didn’t stop Shaw from manhandling him inside. What was it about panthers that made them such feisty fuckers? I’d have to ask Michaels another time—ideally when we weren’t about to be shot at—what it was like dating Shaw, a panther shifter.
Michaels reached the open door, forcing Brax inside while Shaw got behind the wheel and started the engine.
“You take Jenna and Waru. Go with Eclipse.” Michaels jumped into the SUV beside Shaw. “Meet you at Stilton,” he shouted before slamming the door shut. Not even a split second later, Shaw gunned it, leaving me to reach for Jenna and all but drag her towards Jimmy, who’d stepped out of the lead Eclipse vehicle armed and waiting for us.
Jimmy met us with a cocky grin that didn’t quite mask the sharp readiness in his eyes. His rifle—yes, rifle… like who the fuck used a rifle these days unless they were on a range?—was slung casually over his shoulder, but his stance screamed alertness. He gave me a once-over as I pushed Jenna towards him.
“Nice of you to join us, Chris. Thought you might’ve been too busy playing house in there,” he quipped.
“Can it, Jimmy,” I shot back, my voice clipped, not even surprised he’d been pulled into gossip. “You’ve got orders to get them to Stilton. You clear on that?”
“Crystal.” He nodded, his grin widening. “Hop in, princess. Let the professionals handle this.”
