Wallace must’ve waited to appear so he could hear Lucky exposit his evil plans. And Lucky had been dumb enough to do what every bad guy did. He spilled the beans.

  The tiger moved slowly down the steps. Lucky yanked his gun free and pressed it against Winnie’s temple. “No-ho-ho-ho,” Lucky said. “It’s not gonna end that way. You’re not gonna kill me. I’m gonna kill this little bastard, and then I’m gonna kill you, dear brother.”

  The tiger paused, a growl rumbling in his chest. Winnie had to think fast. He couldn’t let Lucky put a bullet in him like he’d done to Chapman. He refused to let the prick use him to hurt Wallace.

  Winnie just didn’t know what to do. He was stuck under Lucky’s heavy weight.

  Then he saw movement from the corner of his eye. Fernando! He was staggering but silently making his way toward Gibson and Lucky. If only Winnie could get the gun away from his head, they’d have a fighting chance.

  And Gibson gave them that moment. He shouted when he spotted Fernando coming toward him. Lucky turned his head, the gun slipping slightly. Winnie sank his teeth into Lucky’s hand, making the man scream an obscenity as he dropped the gun.

  The tiger flew down the stairs and crashed into Lucky. Fernando shifted into a wolf and attacked Gibson. Winnie got the fuck out of the way, his mind blown that Fernando was a wolf.

  The scene was chaotic. Lucky had shifted into a tiger, and the two tigers were battling fiercely. Fernando ended Gibson swiftly, crushing his throat in his powerful jaw.

  Winnie scooted up the steps, too afraid to stay but too terrified to run. What if Lucky won? He wasn’t sure the wolf was a match for the muscled cat if Fernando took Lucky on.

  And which tiger was Wallace?

  “Don’t move,” Fernando warned. “It’s best to stay out of their way.”

  Winnie nodded, his gaze transfixed on the cats battling it out. Furniture was knocked out of the way, some breaking, as the two slid across the shiny floor.

  Winnie pressed a hand to his mouth, still unsure this was even real.

  One of the cats clamped his sharp teeth on the other’s throat and ended him. Winnie held his breath, waiting to see who the winner was.

  The tiger shifted, and Winnie cried out, racing toward his very naked mate. He threw himself into Wallace’s arms.

  “I’ve got you.” Wallace picked Winnie up and cradled him against his chest.

  “Fernando, I’ll clean this mess up later. I want to take my mate upstairs, so why don’t you go rest?”

  Fernando looked as though he’d fall over at any second but nodded. “I hope I’ve finally earned your trust.”

  “Thank you,” Winnie said to Fernando. “Thank you so much for not being dead.”

  Fernando gave him a lopsided smile. “We on for another card game?”

  Winnie grinned. “But we’ll play in the kitchen next time.” He looked at Wallace. “I’m not a prisoner any more, am I?”

  Wallace nuzzled his neck, and Winnie sighed. “Not anymore, love.”

  “So I can invite Lenny over?”

  Wallace growled. “I’ll think about it.”

  As Wallace walked up the steps, Winnie said, “I’m sorry about your brother. For a second I thought he was innocent in all this.”

  “He was never an innocent man,” Wallace said. “Lucky chose his path a long time ago. I knew one day I would have to kill him. It was written on the wall.”

  Even so, it had to hurt killing his sibling. But Winnie didn’t press the matter. If Wallace wanted to talk about it, he would, and Winnie would be there to listen.

  After all, he was right where he wanted to be, in Wallace’s arms, in his life, and even though it had started out as a kidnapping, Winnie wouldn’t change one damn thing.

  “I love you,” he said when Wallace finally put him on his feet. It was the first time Winnie had spoken those words to anyone, and he loved how they sounded.

  Wallace cupped his face and graced Winnie with a gorgeous smile. “To the moon and back, babe.” He pressed his forehead against Winnie’s. “To the moon and back.”

  The kiss was soft and slow, warming Winnie’s heart. Now that the drama was over, they could start their lives together. He no longer needed a card game to gain a bit of freedom.

  Winnie now had that in spades with his tiger.

  THE END

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  www.SirenPublishing.com

 

 

  Lynn Hagen, Edge of Winter

 

 

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