What Winnie wouldn’t do for a guy like Moose. He was big, strong, yet gentle and kind. A true teddy bear.

  Winnie looked toward the front door when a big, cocky guy entered. The man looked faintly familiar. Where had Winnie seen him before? The stranger didn’t have an animal with him, so Winnie assumed he was there to get one of the critters housed in the back.

  “Can I help you?”

  “I need you to come with me,” the guy said.

  Well that wasn’t the least bit suspicious. “Who are you, and why do I need to go with you?”

  The guy opened his jacket to grab something from an inside pocket, and Winnie saw the butt of a gun in his waistband. “I work for Wallace Winter, and he’s requested your presence.”

  “I don’t even know who that is.” Winnie rose and took a step toward the hallway that led to the back of the clinic. “I’d appreciate it if you left.”

  The guy shook his head. “Sorry, but I can’t do that. When Mr. Winter wants to see you, you don’t argue.”

  “You can tell Mr. Winter to kiss my ass.” Winnie spun, ready to bolt, but the guy clamped a hand over his mouth and hauled him out the front door.

  Chapter Two

  The goon had Winnie’s arm in a tight hold as he was taken into a luxurious home located in Falls Bend. If Winnie hadn’t been forced there by the gorilla next to him, he would’ve given a low whistle and complimented the joint. Instead he was trying his best to keep pace because Gorilla was walking way too fast.

  The prick could’ve at least apologized for kidnapping him. That might have set Winnie’s nerves at ease. He had no idea why he was there or who Mr. Winter was. In truth, Winnie was ready to pee his pants. This was some kind of mistake. Gorilla had the wrong person. Winnie hadn’t done anything wrong to warrant what had just happened.

  “Are you sure you have the right person?” he asked as Gorilla hauled him deeper into the spider’s lair. “Winfred Rickman, lowly vet gofer, cage cleaner, piss-poor paycheck?”

  Winnie really did need to get another job, but with his lack of skills, working at the vet clinic had been his only option at the time. He dreaded going into work every day and felt as if his life was wasting away. There had to be more out there than punching a clock and working with a woman who completely despised him.

  The only bright spot in Winnie’s life was Lenny. His cousin made him laugh, and he loved hanging around Lenny. Too bad Winnie might never see him again. Thugs didn’t snatch a person from work to have tea with them.

  “Why am I here?” Winnie insisted as he tried to dig his feet in, but Gorilla was too strong and kept him moving.

  “You’ll soon find out.” Gorilla opened a door at the end of the long hallway. Winnie was unceremoniously dropped into a chair and told to stay put. “The wait will be worth your while.”

  He never understood that saying. Shouldn’t it be “worth your wild”? Winnie thought so. “Just tell me I’m gonna make it out of this alive.”

  Gorilla shrugged and left the room, closing the door behind him. Winnie glanced around, wondering if he could crawl through a window to get free. No doubt Gorilla was on the other side of the door to stop him from leaving, so that option was out.

  A door toward the back left of the room opened. Winnie hadn’t even noticed it was there. His breath caught when he recognized the man who strode in.

  Gorgeous Eyes!

  “Is there a reason you dragged me here?” Winnie jumped from his seat and curled his hands into fists. “I demand to know what’s going on.”

  Now he knew why Gorilla had looked familiar. He’d been there when Winnie had tried to save that man’s life.

  “Take a seat.”

  For reasons he couldn’t understand, Winnie sat. He just dropped down into the chair as if the guy’s voice controlled his body. Winnie also didn’t like the ice in Mr. Winter’s tone. Now that he had a better look at Gorgeous Eyes, Winnie realized just how frightening his scowl was.

  He hadn’t seen that last night. It had been dark out, and everything had happened so fast. Mr. Winter’s eyes were the only thing that had stuck in his memory.

  “Fine, I’m sitting.” Winnie crossed his arms, trying to seem braver than he felt. There was an air of danger about this guy that had Winnie on the edge of his seat, ready to beg for his life.

  He noticed the wince of pain on Mr. Winter’s face when he sat down, although the guy tried hard to hide it. Even though Winnie saw Gorgeous Eyes had a chink in his armor, he was still afraid. His limbs were slightly shaking as he waited for Gorgeous Eyes to tell him why he was here.

  Mr. Winter turned those gray-green eyes on Winnie. They were flat and cold, and Winnie was getting frostbite just staring at the guy. Winnie was trying to act brave. It was a façade he’d become very good at. In reality, he didn’t have a brave bone in his body.

  He just talked a good game and always prayed no one slugged him for it.

  “Tell me about last night.”

  Winnie cocked his head. “Weren’t you there?”

  Mr. Winter sat forward, resting his right arm on the desk while the left arm remained in his lap. “Why did you try and save Vance’s life? What was in it for you?”

  The question threw Winnie. “There wasn’t anything in it for me. I saw a guy in trouble and tried to help.”

  Was this prick gonna sue him for trying, and failing, to save Vance?

  “Just like that?” Gorgeous Eyes turned into Suspicious Eyes. Winnie didn’t like the way they narrowed or the way Mr. Winter’s jaw clenched.

  “Just like that.” Winnie gave an exasperated sigh. “It’s called having humanity, compassion, whatever word you want to use.” He shrugged. “I saw the guy go down and…I don’t know. I couldn’t stand there and do nothing.”

  Suspicious Eyes strummed his fingers on the desk. “You didn’t know Vance or Viper?”

  Winnie stood and splayed his hands, tired of the riddle in front of him. “Look, I don’t know who those people are. If you’re trying to sue me for sticking my nose in where it didn’t belong, the joke is on you. I’m so broke I can’t even pay my jaywalking ticket and I have only half my rent for next month, which is due in a week if you’ve forgotten today’s date. So you’re barking up the wrong tree if you’re thinking about trying to cash in on me.”

  One look from Mr. Winter had Winnie dropping back down into his seat. He really hated that the guy had that kind of control over him. Winnie also hated that he was insanely attracted to the thug. Bad men shouldn’t look so damn good.

  “What makes you think I want to sue you?” Now Suspicious Eyes turned into Curious Eyes. His gorgeous head of black hair was tilted to the side, and one of his brows was raised. His sole focus was on Winnie.

  “Why else am I here?” Dr. Westbrook was going to fire Winnie for leaving work, although it hadn’t been Winnie’s choice. He’d skated the line too many times with his boss. In truth, Winnie sucked at his job. He was surprised the doctor hadn’t fired him before now.

  Then Winnie’s mind took a different course. What if he was about to die for witnessing what happened last night? Mr. Winter had wrestled the knife from the attacker and turned the tables. The stab-ee had become the stabber.

  Winnie felt himself pale as he broke eye contact and looked toward the beautiful red and gold carpet. He’d accomplished nothing in life—just like his father had predicted before he walked out on Winnie and his mom—and now he was gonna die.

  Don’t think about that asshole right now. He doesn’t deserve to be in your final thoughts. Winnie wiped at a stray tear. He tried hard to forget he even had a father. He’d walked out when Winnie was twelve, and then Winnie’s mom had killed herself because of that worthless, abusive bastard. It was Aunt Cloe who’d taken Winnie in, Lenny’s mother.

  “You’re here because I wanted to know what kind of man would jump into a bloody fight without concern for himself.”

  Winnie’s shoulders lifted then fell. He’d already answered that. He wasn’t going to play this man’s sick games. “If you’re gonna kill me, can you get it over with?”

  “Why would I kill you?”

  “Because I stuck my nose into your business. Because I saw you stab that guy,” he said with a little too much bitterness in his voice. Winnie didn’t want to actually die, but he didn’t see a way out of this. He was trapped in this guy’s house with Gorilla guarding the door.

  And Mr. Winter looked as though he could bring a world of pain down on Winnie.

  His horoscope had said he should avoid altercations. Winnie should’ve listened to it. He should’ve stayed by the club door and waited for Lenny to come out without interfering with what had been going on.

  “That’s not why you’re here.” Mr. Winter got up and moved to the front of his desk. He sat on the corner, unbuttoning his suit jacket. “I wanted to pay you for your attempt at saving Vance’s life.”

  Winnie’s head snapped up. His jaw dropped. His heart thundered. “Come again? Did you just say you wanted to pay me?”

  Winnie stuck his fingers in his ears and wiggled them.

  Mr. Winter’s brows furrowed. He leaned in a little closer and sniffed. It was the oddest thing. Winnie had no idea why he had done that.

  Gorgeous Eyes shot from his desk and glared at Winnie.

  “So how much are we talking?” Winnie ignored the man’s weird behavior. The sooner he got out of there, the better. If Mr. Winter wanted to pay him, who was Winnie to argue? But he wasn’t greedy, and he hadn’t tried to save that guy in hopes of getting paid. There was just one thing Winnie really needed. “Can you at least pay my ticket?”

  Gorgeous Eyes cocked his head again, only he was looking at Winnie with a mixture of curiosity and disbelief. Maybe Winnie was imagining that, but it was better than the guy looking at him like he wanted to kill him.

  He got up from the desk and went to the door, opened it, and spoke in a whispered voice to whoever was on the other side. Winnie guessed it was Gorilla.

  What in the blue blazes was going on now?

  The beefy bastard walked in and grabbed Winnie by his arm, hauling him out of his seat.

  “Wait!” Winnie struggled to get his arm free. “I thought you said you weren’t going to kill me!”

  “Change of plans,” Mr. Winter said.

  “Why?” Nothing in their conversation made Winnie think he’d said anything wrong.

  “Call it witness protection.” Mr. Winter walked out the door he’d used to enter the office.

  Winnie looked up at Gorilla. “What does that mean?”

  “It means get comfortable. You’ll be staying for a while.”

  Before Winnie was escorted to what he assumed would be the dungeons, Gorilla patted him down, taking away Winnie’s phone. Now he was not only trapped but had no way of calling for help.

  * * * *

  When Wallace was back in his bedroom, he wiped a hand down his face. “Fuck!”

  Maybe he’d been mistaken. It was possible, although he couldn’t deny the strong odor of cinnamon and spice, which reminded him of his youth when he’d sat in front of the fire with his grandmother and sipped hot apple cider.

  Wallace rubbed his chest, his Bengal tiger snarling to get free.

  “No, I’m mistaken,” he murmured. “There’s no way that human is my mate.”

  As much as Wallace wanted to deny the truth, he couldn’t. Not when it was gnawing at his gut. But he wanted to because he didn’t want to pull Winfred into his already-twisted life.

  And god. Could the guy be any more adorable? Wallace sat on the side of his bed and cradled his arm, thinking about those crystal-blue eyes and light brown hair. The way Winfred tried his best to seem so brave, yet Wallace had seen the fear in his eyes.

  His mate.

  Fuck.

  Wallace rubbed his temples. His migraines always seemed worse in the morning then eased during the day, only to return at night. He rubbed his disfigured arm, wishing he hadn’t inherited this empire.

  The fucking twitch in Wallace’s chest. He would end up caring about the human whether he wanted to or not.

  Then he thought of Lucky, the brother who completely despised Wallace for being given the business instead of him. It wasn’t as if Lucky lacked for anything. The guy spent money even faster than he made it and even faster when Wallace gave it to him.

  Wallace also needed to consider his bodyguards. If they knew what Winfred was to him, the human would become a pawn. Maybe. Wallace still straddled the fence when it came to them.

  His enemies would chomp at the bit to get their hands on him. Wallace should pay Winfred and send him on his way.

  Lucky flung the bedroom door open and walked in without knocking. “What’s this about you getting stabbed?”

  He might as well have stated that it was a beautiful day. That was how much Lucky’s voice lacked concern, and it held a bit too much enthusiasm.

  Knowing Lucky, he was happy someone was after Wallace. They were like Mufasa and Scar, only they were Bengal tigers and Wallace wasn’t that kind and noble. But Lucky was definitely Scar, treacherous, ruthless, and cunning. He just hid those traits under his fake-as-fuck smile, just like Scar had done.

  Whereas Wallace had a blend of gray and green in his eyes, Lucky’s were an oddity. One was gray, and the other was green. Some genetic mutation that didn’t help his brother’s sunny disposition.

  “Have you ever heard of knocking?” Wallace slid off the bed and hid his pain as he faced Lucky.

  “I was worried.” Lucky looked him over. “You don’t look any worse for wear.”

  The guy was probably disappointed that Wallace wasn’t dying from another attack of silver poisoning. He still didn’t know who had attacked him five years ago, and Wallace wasn’t sure he’d ever find out.

  “So why aren’t your bodyguards scouring the streets for that punk?” Lucky dropped into the seat at the table and crossed his legs. “I would’ve thought you’d want Viper’s head on a pike.”

  Wallace had Chapman looking for Viper. If the ex-militant couldn’t find the prick, then no one could. Besides, Wallace wasn’t idiot enough to send all his guards away, leaving him vulnerable.

  He also wasn’t foolish enough to tell Lucky about Winfred. No matter how Wallace decided to handle the issue with his mate, under no circumstances could he let Lucky know the guy even existed.

  “Out. I’m late for a meeting.” Wallace didn’t have a meeting until later that afternoon. He wanted to check on Winfred, but he couldn’t do that until Lucky was gone.

  “You and your meetings,” Lucky scoffed. “You have enough money to last you ten lifetimes. You should cut all business ties and enjoy life a little.”

  If Wallace enjoyed his life the way his brother did, he’d be broke in less than ten years, maybe sooner.

  “Until then I have appointments to keep.” Wallace waved Lucky toward the door. Thankfully his brother didn’t live with him.

  “Fine. I’ve got things of my own I need to handle. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t dead. Sue me for caring.”

  Wallace forced the bark of sardonic laughter to stay in his throat. Lucky cared about him about as much as a wolf cared for a gazelle. Wait, had he just made himself the gazelle?

  Wallace closed the door as soon as Lucky was in the hallway. He pressed his head against the wood and closed his eyes. If shit weren’t complicated, then it wouldn’t be his life.

  Chapter Three

  The mansion might’ve been luxurious, but from what Winnie could tell, it was also old. He slid his hands along the paneled wall hoping to find some secret passageway. There probably wasn’t one, but you couldn’t blame a guy for trying. Winnie couldn’t just sit on his ass and wait for Gorgeous Eyes to kill him.

  Too bad he didn’t have his phone.

  Knowing it was futile, Winnie cracked the door open. Some tall, muscled guy stood across the hall, staring directly at the door. Winnie shut it. What happened to Gorilla? Why wasn’t he babysitting him? Not that Winnie wanted Gorilla to return. The guy didn’t say much, and he was scary as hell.

  Not as scary as Mr. Winter.

  Winnie had already checked the windows. He was on the third floor, and a jump would surely kill him. Still, there had to be a way out of this room.

  His breath caught when the door opened. Gorgeous Eyes walked in and looked around. “Chapman chose an excellent room for you.”

  Winnie stalked toward the door, determined to leave, but Mr. Winter beat him to it. He slammed it closed. “You’ll be well taken care of. The only rule is that you don’t leave this room.”

  Winnie’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious? Now I’m your prisoner? I thought you were going to pay me and let me leave!”

  This was unreal, a nightmare that Winnie wasn’t sure he could escape from. He’d been hijacked from his job and forced to this place. Now he might not make it out?

  “You can’t do that!” Winnie glared at him. “I have rights!”

  “Stop shouting.” Mr. Winter rubbed his temples. “I can hear you just fine even if you whisper, which I would prefer.”

  “I don’t care what you’d prefer. Let me out of this damn house.” Winnie wanted to rush to the door again, but the asshole was standing in his way.

  Mr. Winter shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.”

  “But why?” Tears stung Winnie’s eyes. “I-I promise not to tell anyone what I saw. I swear. You don’t even have to pay me. I just wanna go home.”

  Mr. Winter narrowed his eyes, but Winnie could once again see the pain in them. “You have every comfort here you need. You don’t have to worry about paying your bills or eating. Stop whining.”

  Winnie had had it. He saw now that reasoning with this prick wasn’t going to work. The guy probably didn’t have a sympathetic bone in his body. “Fuck you. Why are you keeping me here anyway? If you’re not gonna kill me, then let me go.”

  He jumped when Mr. Winter snarled. The sound was too animalistic, too real. Winnie backed up, swallowing around the dry lump in his throat. Something inside Winnie said Gorgeous Eyes wasn’t human, but…but that was impossible.

 

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