The door opened. Tabby stepped out and Bunny’s tongue nearly hit the floor.

Those jeans looked painted on. “Of course. Legolas can’t do that thing you do with your tongue and a cherry stem.”

Bunny sighed. He’d explore those jeans later. He turned his attention back to Julian. “You need to die now.”

Julian laughed. “Nice to meet you, by the way.”

Bunny stepped forward and shook the hand Julian was holding out. He tried not to frown. The man looked like hammered shit despite the front he was putting on.

“Alexander Bunsun. Call me Bunny.”

The Bear blinked, but didn’t say a word. “Julian Ducharme. Tabby and I are good friends.”

“I owe you for what you did for my cousin.”

Julian grimaced. “I couldn’t leave her like that.” He shrugged. “Her pain pulled me from three blocks away.”

Tabby’s hand rested on his shoulder, calming him even further. “Are you the one who called it in to 9-1-1?” Good question. One that hadn’t been answered yet, at least as far as Bunny knew.

Julian frowned and sat up straight. “No. They arrived just as I got there.”

Tabby and Julian exchanged a worried look. These two obviously had some history, and his mate trusted the other Bear. He decided that was good enough for him. He relaxed, settling into a chair next to Julian’s bed. “So who did call them?”

“That’s a good question.”

Tabby frowned. “I know just the man to answer that.” She pulled out her cell phone and touched a number, then put the phone to her ear. “Hi, it’s Tabby. Can you put me through to Gabe?”

“Good girl. I should have thought of that.”

Bunny frowned when Julian settled back against the head of the bed. “Thought of what?”

Tabby moved to the door and opened it, stepping out into the hallway. “Hey, Gabe. Any news on Chloe’s case?”


Julian folded his hands behind his head and crossed his ankles. “She’s friends with the sheriff. She’ll get an answer out of him faster than anyone but his mate, especially where Chloe’s concerned.” Julian gave him a speculative look. “She may have lost her family in Georgia, but she found a new one here. You understand?”

Bunny studied Julian and slowly nodded. Yeah, he understood. “Thank you again.”

Julian shrugged. “I’m not the only one. There are a number of people who would go to bat for that girl without thinking twice about it. In fact, I think she’d be surprised at how many would.”

“Including the Alpha?”

“Not sure, but I think so. From what I’ve seen, Max is pretty confident and he trusts his hierarchy.”

“And if Gabe says she’s family, he’ll what? Accept that?”

Julian looked mysterious. A streak of palest white flashed through his hair, gone almost as quickly as it appeared. “I think when all is said and done, Tabby’s going to find that she’s got a lot more family than she ever dreamed of.”

Julian and I need to sit down and have a nice, long talk. Soon. “She doesn’t know about the Kermode.” He grinned. “Can I be there for that discussion?”

Julian snorted. “Sure. Can you have it for me?”

Bunny rolled his eyes. “Remind me to introduce you to Ryan. You two should get along really well.” He held out the bear. “Here. From Tabby and me.”

Julian took the white bear and snorted. “Cute. But why the Superman costume?”

Tabby stepped back into the room before he could answer. She looked shaken, wild. Bunny stood, ready to comfort his shaken mate. “I just talked to Gabe.”

Julian sat up slowly, all of his attention suddenly focused on Tabby. Bunny tensed all over. The look on her face was horrible. “What, baby?”

“Chloe.” She gulped. “She wasn’t hit by a car. They’ve confirmed that the marks on her body are consistent with a beating.” She stepped forward and clasped her arms around Bunny, laying her head against his chest with a sigh. “Someone tried to kill your cousin.”


Bunny blinked in the late afternoon light filtering in through the hospital window.

He’d made sure Julian got home safely, following the cab to the small house on the outskirts of town Julian called home. He’d dropped Tabby off at work immediately afterwards and headed right back to the hospital. He’d been sitting there ever since.

“Go home.”

Bunny blinked up at his father. He couldn’t leave Chloe. What if something happened to her? He needed to be there to protect her. It was bad enough he hadn’t been there before.

His father’s hand landed on his shoulder. “I know what you’re thinking. We’re more alike than you know.” Will pulled Bunny out of the chair. “I promise nothing is going to happen to Chloe while I’m here.”

Bunny looked into his father’s shifted eyes and nodded. He and his father were a great deal alike. Will would protect Chloe against anything and everything that came at her. The only difference was William didn’t have the anger issues Bunny faced on a daily basis. The rage in him was much more focused and directed.

He’d taken that anger and turned it on the land itself, creating his business with his own two hands. Just as Bunny used yoga, his father used physical labor, and it worked. “Okay. I’ll go rest. Call me if she wakes up.” He winced. He’d meant to say when.

“Sleep, son. You’re exhausted. You helped heal Chloe. Now it’s time to heal yourself.”

Bunny nodded again and shuffled to the door.

“And leave the bike here. Take a cab.”

He froze. He never left the bike. That Harley was his baby.

“Maybe you could call your mate and get a ride?”

Now there was a thought. Maybe he’d convince her to come back to the hotel room with him. “Good idea.” Maybe he’d do more than nap, too. He pulled out his cell phone and called Living Art.

“Living Art, Glory speaking.”

“Hey, Glory. Can you put Tabby on?”

“Sure thing.” She sounded so sweet and demure, right up until she screeched at the top of her lungs, “TA-BBY! PHO-ONE!” He pulled the phone away from his ear with a wince. Damn, that girl had a healthy set of lungs.

His father chuckled. “Isn’t that the girl Ryan showed some interest in?”

Bunny gaped. Ryan had shown interest in one of the girls?

“Tabby speaking. How can I help y’all?”

He shivered. That deep drawl washed over him again, his cock perking up with insistent interest. Damn, he’d left her only six hours ago and already he was jonesing for the sight of her. “Can you do me a favor, baby?”

“Sure, sugar. What do you need?”

“Can you come pick me up? I’m exhausted and I’ve been ordered to leave the bike here.”

There was a pause. “I can’t. I’m expecting a customer in about ten minutes.”

He hated to ask, but damn it he was starting to see double he was so exhausted.

He hadn’t slept a wink in that damn hotel room, pacing and worrying about Tabby and Chloe. His mother had taken one look at him and shaken her head, exasperated. “Can one of the other girls give me a lift?”

“I’ll do one better. Wait there, someone will pick you up shortly. And don’t even think about sneaking off on the bike. If you’re tired enough to call me, you’re too tired to ride.”

He could feel himself blushing. “I wasn’t.”


“Good.” She paused. A bell jingled in the background. It sounded a lot like the one attached to Living Art’s front door. “I have to go.”

Bunny frowned. Her voice had sounded tight. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I—” Something crashed. “Shit. I will be. Gotta go.” She hung up, leaving him standing there, a red haze of anger rising inside him.

“Something’s happening at Living Art.” Bunny headed to the door. “Where’s Ryan?”

“Trouble?” Will followed him.

“Yeah. Dad, you need to stay here or get Ryan to stay here. I need to head to the tattoo parlor and check up on Tabby.”

“Not in your condition.”

Bunny turned and growled at his father. He’d never challenged the older man, but he’d never had a mate before, either.

Will threw his hands up in the air. “I’ll call Ryan, have him meet you there.”

Bunny nodded and stalked toward the elevator, the possible threat to his mate thrumming through his veins. Suddenly he wasn’t so tired anymore.

God help anyone who laid their hands on what was his.


Tabby called 9-1-1, but the damage was done. Someone had thrown something through the window and she had let Bunny know something was wrong. Fuck.

Ten to one he was already on his way over here.

“What the fuck?”

She turned to look at the patron who’d entered the store just before the thing came through the window. What the hell was that anyway? It looked like some kind of metal tube. A pipe, maybe? “Ryan?”

He looked over at her, his pale blue eyes turning brown as she watched. “Where’s Glory?”

“Here.” Glory stepped out from behind the curtain, followed closely by Cyn.

He went right to Glory’s side, his gaze roaming over her, his hands twitching at his sides. “What happened?”

“That came through the window.” Tabby pointed toward the metal object. It lay less than a foot from her.

“Oh no! Are you all right?” Cyn was suddenly right there, checking Tabby over for damage.

“I’m fine. I called 9-1-1.”

Ryan’s gaze was glued to Glory. He sniffed and his nose wrinkled in disgust.

“What’s that smell?”

Tabby looked down at the tube, only then noticing the stench beginning to drift up from it. “Oh, hell. Grab your stuff. Everyone out.”

They hurried out of the store, careful of the broken glass. Ryan scooped Glory up and carried her out, his eyes hard. He barely seemed to notice her weight, but as a Bear, he was much stronger than most men. She probably did feel like a feather in his arms.

Glory, on the other hand, was freaked. She was stiff as a board in his arms. Ryan set her down on her feet, his expression a mix of confusion and concern. “Did you get hurt?”

She backed away rapidly. “I’m fine.”

He looked puzzled, the brown fading away, leaving behind the blue. “Glory?”

Tabby shook her head and moved away. It seemed Glory wasn’t going to take to mating as easily as she’d thought she would. She saw Cyn snarl and pull out her cell phone, gesturing for people to get back, move away from the store.

Then the back of Tabby’s head exploded and the world went black.


Bunny roared to a stop outside Living Art. He turned off the bike and ran toward the huddle of people. “What happened?”

The deputy speaking to Cyn and Glory pointed to the store. “Someone threw a pipe through the window with some kind of stink bomb attached to it. Oh, and that lady over there got attacked. Sheriff’s dealing with her.”

Bunny caught sight of Tabby’s green hair on the concrete and lunged toward the sheriff. His heart pounded with fear. Visions of Chloe lying in a pool of blood haunted him.

Ryan grabbed hold of his arm, trying to stop him. “Tabby’s hurt, but she’s okay.”

He ripped free of his cousin’s grasp and lunged to the center of the crowd. He didn’t care who he shoved out of his way. He had to get to his injured mate.

“Tabby?”

She pulled her hand away from the back of her head with a wince. “Ow. I got hit.”

That Georgia drawl was slurred by pain.

The sheriff and a deputy stood aside and let Bunny get close to his mate. He knelt down, probing the back of her head with his fingers. Sure enough, there was a small, bloody wound forming into a lump. He reached for his Bear, grateful for the strength he gave him. He healed the wound, the exhausting drain worth it when she sighed in relief and sagged against him. He stroked her hair, grateful beyond belief when she smiled up at him. He muttered a silent thanks to Bear for healing his mate and looked up at the sheriff. “She’ll be all right.”

“Did you see who hit you?”

Bunny turned and glared up at the deputy standing next to the sheriff. The man had spoken in a bored tone, rasping across Bunny’s protective instincts. How dare this man take the attack on his mate so lightly? Hell, even Gabe looked briefly disgusted before he once more controlled his expression. Bunny wondered if the deputy was the type of cop who figured anything that happened to a tattoo artist had to be linked to something illegal and was therefore deserved.

Tabby shook her head, wincing a little. “Nope. It was pretty much bam, then lights out.” Bunny stroked her forehead, brushing away the last vestiges of the headache her attacker had caused.