Chapter Eight
Skylar
“She came in looking for you, boss,” a voice called.
I turned to see the bartender emerging from behind the bar.
“Seriously? You hid back there the whole time while four dudes beat the shit out of me?” I shook my head. “You belong in this pile with the rest of them.”
Xander walked over to me and stopped inches from me. My whole body reacted to his presence as if he was the sun and I was feeling his heat. I knew shifters put off more heat but this was ridiculous. Maybe it was an alpha thing? I wasn’t sure I’d ever been around an alpha before.
“They did this to you?” He gently touched my cheek before scowling at the passed out shifters. He shook his head. “Four shifters against one isn’t what we’re about.”
I should have batted his hand away. I should have punched him. I’d have done that if any other stranger touched me without permission. Instead, I stood there breathless and staring at him as if he were a prized work of art. Because let me tell you, up close he was even better.
“Skylar,” Elias’s voice broke me from the trance.
I shook my head and took a step back, reclaiming some of my personal bubble. “Look, I came here looking for you and they attacked me.”
“She’s a hunter,” bartender said.
“So?” I snapped. “What of it? I didn’t come here for anyone in this bar. Though, now I wish I would have.”
“They dead?” Xander asked, lifting his chin toward the pile of broken shifters.
“They’ll live but they won’t be able to work for a while,” Elias said.
“Who the fuck are you?” Xander asked. He moved closer to me again but was focused on Elias.
“Enforcer,” he said. “On a case that directly involves you.”
“I don’t want anything to do with the enforcers.” He glanced at me. “Or the hunters.”
“I need five minutes,” I said. “Then we’re gone.”
“Fine. Clock’s ticking.”
“You want me to air family business in the open like this?” I asked.
“They’re out for the count.” Xander looked at the pile of shifters.
I looked over at the bartender. “Him?”
“My office,” Xander said as he walked away from me. He stepped over several of the unconscious shifters and then stopped. “Only you. Enforcer stays out here.”
“No way, I’m not leaving her alone with you,” Elias said.
“I’m fine,” I said. “I got this.”
“That’s what you said before,” Elias said.
“And who’s fault is it that I’m hurt at all?” I asked.
“If he touches you, I won’t hold back,” he said.
“That was you holding back?” I gestured to the destruction around us.
“You’ve seen what I can do,” he said.