Page 3 of Softer Than Stone (Fangs & Felons)

CHRIS

Fuck. Fuck. Fuccckkkk.

This was spiralling out of control faster than I could think. My grip tightened on the edge of the hatch lip as Smythe’s voice appeared in my ear.

“Brax’s boss is on her way, Flint. Prue Kole herself.

She’s just found out about Brax’s little side hustle with that off-the-books lab in Queensland.

Apparently, extorting patients and skimming from her operations was a bad call.

Who knew?” Smythe’s usual sardonic tone couldn’t hide the tension beneath it.

I swore under my breath. Prue Kole was infamous for a reason.

Ruthless didn’t begin to describe her. If Brax had crossed her, there’d be hell to pay—and not just for him.

The fallout could engulf Jenna, Waru, his staff, his patrons, and anyone unlucky enough to be in Kole’s crosshairs when she arrived.

“They’re en route now,” Smythe added, his voice grim. “You’ve got minutes, Chris, if we’re lucky. This is a clusterfuck.”

Clusterfuck didn’t even cover it.

I scanned the dining room again. Jenna sat stiffly, her body language screaming discomfort. Brax leaned back in his chair, looking too smug for a man whose death warrant had likely just been signed.

And then there was Waru.

I glanced back into the kitchen to find him herding his staff towards the back exit. Relief flickered for half a second before my gut clenched. Waru’s sharp gaze locked on me, and I knew with a sinking certainty he wasn’t planning to make a clean getaway.

He had people on the floor, both staff and patrons. I’d seen his type before—stubborn, protective, and unwilling to abandon anyone under his care. I didn’t know whether to admire him or throttle him for it.

“Smythe,” I said through gritted teeth, keeping my voice low as I moved towards the side door, “I need orders. Now.”

“Lucas is coming on,” Smythe replied. A moment later, my boss’s calm, authoritative voice filled my ear.

“Chris, listen up. Shaw, Michaels, and Smythe are already staged a block away. Eclipse Security is inbound with three vehicles. They’ll be there in under five.”

Five minutes. We didn’t have five minutes.

“I’m pulling Brax and Jenna out,” I said quickly, my gaze flicking back to the dining room. “Brax might take the deal. He’s got enough brains to know it’s his only shot at survival. But if Kole gets here before I move them?—”

“She won’t,” Lucas cut in firmly. “Your priority is keeping civilians safe. Get Brax and Jenna out if you can, but don’t risk the restaurant.”

Easy for him to say. He wasn’t here, staring at a dining room full of unsuspecting people about to be caught in the crossfire.

“Understood,” I said tightly, though the words tasted like ash.

And then I caught Waru’s movement again. He was back on the floor, weaving through the tables and speaking in low tones to his staff. Quietly, efficiently, he was clearing out as many people as he could without raising alarm.

My fear spiked as I realized what that meant. Waru wasn’t running. He was staying, likely to deal with whatever fallout hit his restaurant.

“Damn it,” I muttered, reaching for the hatch door.

“Chris?” Lucas asked sharply.

“Waru’s not leaving,” I said.

There was a beat of silence.

“Keep him alive,” Lucas ordered finally. “Team’s almost there. Don’t engage unless you have no choice.”

A burst of static followed as Michaels’s voice chimed in. “For the record, Waru staying behind doesn’t surprise me. Stubborn chef. Hot chef. Kind of fits his whole vibe, doesn’t it?”

“Not the time, Michaels,” I snapped.

“Oh, but it is. You’re making that face again, Chris.”

I ignored him and the fact he must be staring at me through the camera feed and pushed through the hatch, my focus narrowing on Waru. He turned as I approached, his jaw set and his eyes blazing with that fierce determination that looked far too hot on him.

“We’re clearing out the staff,” he said before I could open my mouth. “But I’ve got patrons still on the floor. I’m not leaving until everyone’s safe.”

I stepped closer, lowering my voice. “Waru, this isn’t your fight. Kole’s not someone you want to cross. If she gets here?—”

“If she gets here, I’ll deal with it,” he interrupted, his tone clipped.

“No, you won’t,” I said sharply. “You don’t know what you’re dealing with. Kole’s not just dangerous—she’s lethal. If you stay, you’re putting everyone here in even more danger.”

His gaze hardened, but I didn’t miss the flicker of fear beneath the defiance.

“I’m not leaving them,” he said firmly.

And damn it, I knew he meant it.

Fuck. I had to move. I leaned in close to Waru, close enough that I could feel his warmth, smell the faint, clean scent of him that made my chest tighten.

Steel hardened my voice. “You stay safe. You stay away from the front windows. And so fucking help me, if you die before I get the chance to finally kiss you, I’m going to kick your arse. ”

His breath hitched, red touching his cheeks, but I spun around quickly, unable to make good on the desire pulsing through me to capture his lips with mine.

The tiger was my target. Incapacitate but not maim, plus I needed him to walk out of here. Me carrying the man out wasn’t on my bingo card tonight.

I moved fast, crossing the space between the kitchen and the restaurant floor in measured, deliberate strides.

My focus zeroed in on the tiger shifter now standing at Brax’s side.

He was tall, broad, and looked like he bench-pressed small cars for fun—but big didn’t mean fast. I’d dealt with his type before.

“Agent Flint,” Waru hissed behind me, but I didn’t slow. “Chris” followed, but there was no turning back.

The tiger shifter didn’t catch my movement until I was already on him.

My elbow slammed into his solar plexus, driving the air from his lungs with a wheezing grunt.

Before he could recover, I pivoted behind him, locking his arms in a vice grip and sweeping his legs out from under him.

He went down hard, the crack of the floorboards echoing as his head smacked against them.

Jenna screamed, the sharp sound cutting through the restaurant like a blade. Brax flinched, paling so rapidly, I thought he might pass out on the spot.

The tiger writhed beneath me, his growls of anger quickly turning to pained snarls as I pressed a knee into his spine, keeping him pinned. “Don’t move,” I ordered, voice flat and uncompromising.

The tiger froze. Smart move.

I glanced up, locking eyes with Brax. The man was trembling so badly, I could see his hands shaking where they gripped the edge of the table.

“Here’s how this works, Brax,” I said coldly. “You’re coming with me. You’re going to spill every goddamn piece of intel you have on Prue Kole and her network. Every name, every location, every transaction. You give us what we need, and you might just walk out of this alive.”

“Might?” His voice cracked.

I bared my teeth in a humourless grin. “Might. If you don’t take the deal, here’s what happens: I arrest you, drag your sorry ass in, and you get to watch Kole’s people take you apart piece by piece once you’re sent down. Or option three—you end up dead right here. Your call.”

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.