Chapter 19

Zarina pressed her hands firmly against Tanner’s muscular chest as she rode slowly up and down on him. Little electric shocks rippled through her every time she came down on his thighs, making her moan. Tanner lay on his back on the big hotel bed, blankets and pillows shoved aside to make room for their latest lovemaking marathon. His eyes glowed a soft shade of red, a sure sign he was getting close to orgasm even though he tried to act like he was fully in control of himself. But after being locked up in this room for three days making love, she was getting extremely good at reading his body language. And right now, he was on the edge.

Zarina moved her hands from his chest and rested them on the bed on either side of his shoulders, then leaned forward and pressed her breasts against his chest. She trailed teasing kisses along his jaw, moving her hips a little faster. Tanner grabbed her hips, trying to slow her movements even as his eyes blazed brighter.

“You keep wiggling like that, and I won’t be responsible for the noise I end up making,” he warned.

She laughed softly. “We can’t have you making any noise, can we? Not if we want to keep a low profile. Fortunately, I have a way to help you stay quiet.”

Before he could say anything, she kissed him hard, reveling in the sensation of his sharp fangs scraping against her tongue.

Tanner growled against her mouth, his whole chest vibrating. He must have decided he’d held out long enough, because he squeezed her bottom tighter and yanked her down harder on his cock.

She willingly let him control her hips, sighing as those electric shocks joined together to become one continuous tingle. It didn’t take long after that for her climax to start, building up fast and cresting in a wave of ecstasy.

Tanner thought he’d be noisy, but it turned out she was the one who screamed as her orgasm hit. He kept his hands firmly on her hips, pushing her pleasure higher and higher before coming himself. She dragged her mouth away from his and buried her face in his neck, muffling her cries against his warm skin.

Her breathing had barely returned to normal when Tanner scooped her up and carried her off to the shower, where he washed all those hard to reach places for her. That led to more kissing, which led to other, more intense pleasures. Fortunately, they didn’t have to pay the hot water bill for this place, because they were in there well over an hour.

She stayed in the shower a bit after Tanner stepped out, luxuriating in the feel of the warm water running down her skin. She only wished they could stay here in this little sanctuary forever and forget the outside world.

Zarina heard the TV the moment she stepped out of the shower. Sighing, she dried off quickly, then pulled on jeans and a sweater. She’d planned to run out and get something for them to eat, but she wasn’t sure it was a good idea leaving Tanner alone with the television. She hated running out even for a few minutes, but they couldn’t take the chance of using room service too often. Tanner ate as much as four men, and she didn’t want the hotel getting suspicious, since she’d said there were only the two of them when she’d checked in. One thing they definitely couldn’t do right now was draw unwanted attention. While she might have gotten out of the club without getting her face plastered all over the TV and internet, the same couldn’t be said of Tanner. Now that the media had figured out who he was, his name was getting more clicks on the internet than the Kardashian clan.

She walked out of the bathroom to see Tanner sitting on the couch, flipping through the channels. His hair was still damp from the shower, and he was dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt.

“Why do you keep watching that stuff?” she asked. “You know it’s only going to make you mad.”

“I’m hoping to hear something about Cam.”

He continued flipping through channels, ignoring the ones that were talking about him, Spencer, Diaz, or Clayne. There’d been more than enough news coverage on them, and Zarina could understand why Tanner didn’t want to hear any more of it. Most of the media outlets were making him and the others out to be monsters, even after the details of what Ryan and the Asian gang had done with their fighting cage had come out. Few seemed to care that Ryan had been the real monster. They only wanted to talk about the guys with the claws and fangs.

That was why they were hiding out in this hotel an hour north of Seattle. Right after the raid, they’d talked about crossing the border into Canada, but they’d decided to stay where they were for the time being so she could be close to help Bryce and Spencer, and Tanner could keep up with what was going on with Cam. Both of them had been hoping all this would blow over, but it looked like things were getting worse.

Zarina sat down on the couch beside Tanner, praying they wouldn’t see anything about Cam but knowing they almost certainly would. Cam’s part in the raid, as well as Tate’s and Chase’s, had already come out. They hadn’t received the same attention as Tanner and the others, but the press kept poking around and found out that Cam was Tanner’s brother. Then the digging had really started.

She tensed as Tanner stopped on a local channel showing a photo of his brother in his Seattle PD uniform. A moment later, they showed a video clip from earlier that morning of Cam walking out of the police station as cameras flashed in his face, reporters shoving and jostling to get a word from him.

“Damn,” Tanner muttered, sinking back on the couch, his shoulders slouching like the weight of the world was on them. “I knew it was going to be bad, but I’d hoped he could somehow avoid being suspended.”

She rested her arm on the back of the couch and ran her fingers through his thick hair. “Cam knew what he was getting into when he decided to help us. I can guarantee he doesn’t regret his decision for a second.”

Tanner looked at her doubtfully. “Maybe. But what about Chase? It’s one thing for my brother to destroy his career for me, but a cop from Maine who I’d never even met before? You don’t think he regrets his decision to come out here to Washington and get involved in this crap?”

Zarina sighed. Tanner had blamed himself for everything that had happened at The Cage since they’d gotten to the hotel, which was stupid. None of it was his fault.

“Give Chase some credit, Tanner. He came to help because Tate asked him to. Once a person learns about shifters and hybrids and how the world really works, it’s difficult for them to go back to their old lives. When he and Tate left a few days ago, he didn’t seem the least bit upset. In fact, I get the feeling he’d been looking for a change anyway. I have no doubt we’ll be seeing him working at the DCO soon.”

“Okay, maybe so. How about Diaz then? Do you think the DCO is going to be able to hide him now that the army knows he’s a shifter?”

Zarina winced. That one was going to be tougher. While Spencer and the preppers had slipped back into their mountain camp, and Clayne, Danica, Tate, and Chase had all disappeared to some safe house in the middle of nowhere, Diaz had gone back to Fort Campbell to accept whatever the army was going to throw at him. She liked to think the DCO would be able to cover it up, but she didn’t know for sure. The knowledge that there were shifters like Diaz in the world was already bringing out a lot of ugliness in people. Zarina had no idea where it was going to end.

“Somehow, Diaz is going to be okay,” she told Tanner. “Landon and Ivy aren’t going to abandon him, even if they have to go break the guy out of a military prison. And if Landon decides he needs our help to do it, that’s what we’ll do. Because that’s what they did for us.”

Tanner wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, pressing a kiss to her hair. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

She laughed. “No, but feel free to keep telling me. I’m sure it will sink in at some point.”

He grinned, but his amusement quickly faded. “Okay, let’s assume you’re right and that Cam and everyone else will make it out of this okay. What about us? I know you want to stay close to Wenatchee in case Bryce or Spencer have a setback, but we can’t stay here forever.”

He was right. The longer they stayed at the hotel, the greater the odds were that someone would figure out Tanner was here. Bryce and Spencer were both doing fine, so there was really no need to stay. Bryce was currently in a nearby hospital under a fake name, recovering from the gunshot wounds he’d sustained, while Spencer had awakened this morning. Zarina wouldn’t be sure until she got a sample of his DNA into a lab, but from everything Lillie told her when she’d called, the antiserum had done exactly what it was designed to do. Spencer was no longer a hybrid. Even better, the side effects weren’t nearly as severe as Zarina had feared. There were some memory gaps to be sure, but most importantly, Spencer remembered Lillie and that he loved her.

“You’re right,” Zarina said. “Bryce and Spencer are out of danger now, so there’s no reason we can’t leave. But where do we go?”

Tanner tipped her face up and kissed her. “What about Russia? We could see your family. If the place you grew up in is still as rural as you said, I doubt anyone would recognize me. What do you think?”

She smiled. He was the amazing one in this relationship. “Haven’t you figured it out yet? I don’t care where we go as long as we’re together. If you want, I’ll happily go live in the Wenatchee Mountains with you again. I’m sure Chad wouldn’t mind us staying with them.”

He chuckled. “I appreciate the offer, but I’ve seen how much you enjoy hot water. I’m not taking you anywhere without indoor plumbing.”

She was about to insist that wasn’t necessary—even though it really was—but just then, he jerked his head around to look at the door. He sniffed the air, a sure sign that someone unexpected was approaching their room. A moment later, there was a knock at the door.

Zarina tensed as Tanner stood and walked over to the door. She followed, her stomach clenched into a knot. What if it was a reporter? Or the cops?

Tanner opened the door without looking through the peephole. Cam stood there, a petite girl with a colorful pixie hairstyle beside him. An older couple stood behind them, as well as a blond woman about Tanner’s age. Between the stunned look on Tanner’s face and the obvious family resemblance, it was easy figuring out who their visitors were.

No one said anything, not even Cam. Everyone simply stood there staring at each other. Clearly, Zarina was going to have to make the first move. Reaching out, she took Tanner’s hand in hers as she motioned his family forward.

“Come in,” she said, giving them a smile.

When they hesitated, Cam stepped back and herded them into the room. He peeked down the hallway, like he was worried someone might have followed them, then closed the door.

“We’re clear,” he said, as if reading her mind. “I still have a few friends on the force, and they made sure we weren’t followed.”

Zarina thought after they had come inside that someone would say something, but no one made a peep. She was just about to speak when Tanner’s youngest sister closed the distance between them and enveloped Tanner in a big hug, burying her face against his chest with a sob. Tanner wrapped his arms around her, his eyes filling with tears.

“Hey there, Jelly Bean,” he said softly. “I see you’re still coloring your hair to match your socks.”

The girl laughed, and just like that, the tension in the room disappeared. Eyes misting with tears, each family member hugged Tanner one by one.

“These are my sisters, Kellie and Raquel,” Tanner said to Zarina when they were done. “And this is my mother, Madeline, and my father, Cedric.”

Madeline seemed to be one of those women who never showed her age. While she had to be in her fifties, her hair was still dark blond and her face had few lines. Cedric was a big man and still carried a lot of muscle on his broad frame even though he was probably at least sixty. His hair was mostly gray, but there were still stray strands of blond showing up here and there.

“Everyone,” Tanner continued, “this is Zarina Sokolov, the woman I love and the reason I’m alive today.”

Madeline’s smile broadened as she gave Zarina a warm hug. “Cam has told us a lot about you. I have to admit, at first it sounded like he was describing Wonder Woman, but after he told us what you’ve done for Tanner, I’m starting to think he’s right.”

Blushing, Zarina motioned everyone to the couch and chairs around the TV. “I was about to go out and get something to eat, but since you’re here now, why don’t I order takeout instead? That way, we can sit around, and you can ask all the questions I’m sure you have.”

“Takeout would be fine,” Cedric said before offering Tanner a small smile. “And while we do have a lot of questions, we don’t want to push. If you’re not ready to talk about it, Son, we’re okay with that. The only thing that matters to us is that you’re safe.”

Tanner glanced at Zarina, then gave his father a nod. “I’m ready to talk, but I’m warning you in advance, it’s a long story.”

“Long stories are the very best kind,” his mother said, taking a seat in one of the chairs across from the couch. “Take all the time you need. We’re not going anywhere.”

Tanner caught Zarina’s hand and squeezed it, then moved over to sit on the couch while she grabbed the menu from the pizza place they’d ordered from a couple of times already.

“You probably think the story started in that compound in the Kunduz Province of Afghanistan during my last tour in the Rangers, but the real beginning was in a ski lodge in the Wenatchee Mountains,” Tanner said. “That’s where I met Zarina and where everything changed.”

His gaze drifted to hers, his mouth curving into a smile that made her heart sing, then he turned back to his family and started from the beginning.