Catch a Tiger by the Tail (26 page)

Nina and Rafe sat in a booth by the door kissing.

Ethan could see the exact moment in which Hudson’s heart finished shattering, but Ethan had bigger concerns than Hudson at that moment, and it was in the form of his seven-foot, three-hundred-pound brother launching himself at his even bigger brother, Rafe.

“You son of a bitch!”

Ethan took a step back, shaking his head as Seb landed a punch across Rafe’s face.

“For years you blamed what happened on my being in a relationship with Hudson, giving me shit for it, and you’re with Nina?”

“Get the fuck off me!” Rafe growled, pushing Seb away.

Hudson stood frozen, his wide eyes on Nina. “You and
him
?”

Nina quickly exited the booth and held her hands up. “Hon, please let me explain.”

“Explain?” Hudson’s pale skin flushed a deep crimson, his eyes reddened and glassy. “How could you keep this from me? I confided in you. You knew
everything
. You knew that bloody arsehole tried to get me sacked, and you’re sleeping with him!”

Seb stared at Rafe in disbelief. “You tried to get Hudson fired?”

“He ruined your career,” Rafe spat out heatedly. “He put you and our family through hell. We got death threats!”

“What?” Hudson looked aghast.

“That’s right,” Rafe replied through his teeth. “Seb never told you, but we got threats. Someone jumped him and tried to stab him, and that was after someone tried to run him down. Bet he didn’t tell you that either. You ruined his fucking life!”

“He didn’t do shit except put up with your disgraceful behavior time and time again. You’re such a fucking hypocrite,” Seb growled, shoving Rafe.

Having had enough of getting pushed around by Seb, Rafe pushed back. A fight broke out between them, both ignoring Hudson and Nina’s pleas to stop. Ethan felt his anxiety bubbling up. He’d never liked it when his brothers fought. When he was little he’d cry at the top of his lungs, screaming until he was blue in the face and made himself sick. Soon the crying had become enough for them to stop, but when Ethan turned seven, he stopped crying, yet the horrible sick feeling it gave him remained.

During the really bad fights, he’d run to his room and shut himself in his closet with his headphones and his music so he wouldn’t hear them. Seb would always come find him afterward and apologize. He’d make Ethan hot chocolate and explain why they’d fought. It didn’t mean Ethan could stop feeling the way he did. For all of Rafe’s faults, he was still Ethan’s big brother, and he loved him.

Ethan wanted to shout at them to stop, but his throat closed up. He wished Sloane and Ash were here. Hudson wasn’t big enough to pull two tiger Therians apart, and Ethan didn’t want Calvin getting hurt. A crowd gathered, and Ethan felt his agitation growing. There were so many people, and the noise was hurting his ears. It was getting hard to breathe.

Seb punched Rafe, and Rafe tackled him to the floor. They thrashed around, cursing and shouting at each other, blaming each other, hitting.

Please, stop. Stop. Stop. Stop.

Rafe grabbed Seb and hauled him to his feet. Ethan shook his head. He started to tremble and wheeze. He knew he shouldn’t fight it, that he could tolerate the discomfort. That it couldn’t hurt him and would dissipate soon enough, but he couldn’t stop himself. There was nothing he could do. His brothers needed him, and there was nothing he could do. He was a horrible, useless brother. Everyone probably thought so. They were probably watching him and wondering why he was so useless. Ethan’s heart raced, and his fingers got tingly. Sweat dripped down his face, and he made a strangled sound.

Calvin and Hudson were at Ethan’s side trying to calm him, but Ethan couldn’t breathe. There were so many people. It felt like everyone was watching him, judging him. He was frozen to the spot, his chest tight.

“Seb, it’s Ethan!”

Seb and Rafe pushed away from each other, and Seb hurried over just as Ethan heard a familiar “pop.” On instinct he turned and grabbed Calvin, bringing him down to the floor as Rafe lunged for Nina and shouted to the crowd.

“Get down!”

Everyone hit the floor as a spray of bullets shattered Dekatria’s glass windows and splintered the wooden beams, tearing through everything and anything. Screams and shouts echoed through the room as everyone scrambled and dropped to the floor. Ethan covered Calvin with his body, shielding him from the falling glass and debris. Tires shrieked as a car sped off. Ethan’s adrenaline kicked in, and as soon as the noise stopped, he looked up and out the front. It was clear. He swiftly got to his feet and pulled Calvin up with him. They needed to check on everyone, see if anyone was—

“Oh God, please, no. No.”

Ethan turned, a gasp caught in his throat.
No.

“Lobito, what did you do?” Seb cradled Hudson in his arms, his lips pressed together in an attempt to keep himself together as Hudson coughed and sputtered blood. “Why?”

Hudson smiled, tears in his eyes as he placed a bloodstained hand to Seb’s jaw. “We both know why.” His bottom lip trembled, and his face crumpled as the tears fell. “I’m so sorry. For everything.”

Rafe pulled out his phone and called emergency services while Nina knelt beside Hudson, shouting for Bradley, who came running with the Therian First Aid Response kit. He handed it to Nina, the rest of Destructive Delta joining them. Rosa and Sloane rushed to Hudson’s side.

“Shit.” Sloane looked Hudson over, swiftly inspecting him. “I found an exit wound.” He pushed his hand down against Hudson’s side. “Where else is he hit?”

Rosa put her hand on Seb’s shoulder. “Seb, you need to lay him on his stomach. One of the bullets is still in there, and he’s losing a lot of blood.”

Seb ran his hand over Hudson’s head. “Please, don’t leave me. Not like this.”

“Seb!” Sloane ordered in his most authoritative voice, knowing it was the only way to get through to him.

Seb gently laid Hudson on the floor on his stomach. He removed his tux and folded it up, placing it under Hudson’s head before taking hold of Hudson’s hand while Rosa and Nina went to work trying to stop the bleeding. In the distance sirens wailed. Ethan joined Seb on the floor, kneeling beside him. He put his arm around his brother, letting him know he was there. Behind him Dex, Ash, Letty, and Cael were checking up on the rest of the guests to see who else might be injured and how badly.

“You’re going to be okay,” Seb told Hudson, brushing Hudson’s hair away from his brow as Nina and Rosa worked furiously to stop the flow of blood until the EMTs arrived.

Hudson appeared to be having trouble breathing, and he looked as if he were on the verge of passing out. His face had gone pale, his brow beaded with sweat. He looked over at Seb and smiled.

“I know it’s… selfish, but… please stay with me?”

Hudson looked scared, but Seb held on to his hand, his expression determined.

“You know I will. It’ll be okay.”

The EMTs arrived on scene and rushed through the doors. Ethan stood to one side to give them room, but his brother remained at Hudson’s side, though he was forced to step back while the team swiftly got to work preparing him for transport. The moment Hudson was on the gurney, Seb was beside him again holding his hand. He followed them to the ambulance and climbed in after him. Before the doors closed Nina called out to him, telling him they were right behind him. She ran off with Rafe close behind. Ethan wanted nothing more than to go after them. His brother needed him, but so did the people inside Dekatria. He had a job to do, and tonight’s party had become a crime scene. Luckily, the majority of the guests were agents. They knew the drill. Ethan still couldn’t believe this was happening. Had someone found out about the bar full of cops and decided to make a statement? Had it been personal?

Dex rushed over, wiping his bloodied hands on a cloth napkin. “How’s Hudson? How bad is it?”

“I don’t know,” Sloane said, shaking his head. “One of the bullets went straight through, but the other is still in there. He had his back to the front of the bar.”

“He was protecting Seb,” Calvin said quietly. “When Rafe called out, Hudson threw himself at Seb. He knew he wasn’t strong enough to bring Seb down, but he did it anyway, protecting him. Even after telling Seb he wanted him to stay away.”

Everyone went quiet for a moment. Hudson had tried to push Seb away, yet none of what he’d told Seb had been true. Hudson loved Seb as much now as he did then. Ethan hoped Hudson pulled through this okay and realized how much he needed Seb. For all he knew, this incident wouldn’t change anything between them, but Ethan was hopeful. Sloane was the first to break the silence.

“Seb and Hudson will get whatever support they need from us, but right now, we need to contain this situation and track down whoever’s responsible for this. What have we got?” he asked Rosa.

“We’ve got several wounded, but luckily no fatalities or critically injured other than Hudson. The ones who heard the ‘pop’ first hit the ground, the rest the moment Rafe sounded the alarm. We’re lucky we’ve got mostly agents and law enforcement here. EMTs are taking care of it.”

Sloane nodded. “Did anyone see what happened?”

Ethan shook his head. He tapped his ear.

“Ethan heard the first shot. Then we heard the tires,” Calvin replied.

“So this was a targeted attack.”

Ethan frowned and put his hand on Calvin’s shoulder.
Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

Calvin sighed. “This is about me. I’m sure of it.”

Sloane shook his head. “This is about all of us. We’re a team, Cal. If someone decided to take matters into their own hands and express their opinion on what happened with Ruiz, then it’s on all of us. Whoever did this has to answer for it.”

Ethan put his hand to Sloane’s shoulder and motioned out the door. He put his hand to his heart.
I need to check on Seb.

“Yeah, of course. We’ll meet you guys at the hospital. I’m going to call the sarge.”

Ethan nodded his thanks and hurried out the door with Calvin at his side. If things had been tough for Seb before, they were about to get a whole lot tougher. Ethan had no idea how his big brother was going to handle this. He’d been struggling with it for months now. Not that he’d had it easy back when Hudson had ended things, but like Seb stated, things had been getting worse for him.

Calvin climbed in behind the wheel of his Jeep, and Ethan joined him in the passenger side. He buckled up and tried to wrap his head around everything as Calvin drove them to the hospital.

“Hector Ruiz.”

Ethan glanced over at Calvin. “You think he did this?”

“Do you remember what he said to me the day of the protest? He said this wasn’t over.”

Ethan nodded. Calvin was right. Hector had motive. Just because his aunt had accepted Calvin’s word didn’t mean Hector felt the same. He’d been pissed. Ethan pulled out his smartphone and sent off a text to Sloane, letting him know about Hector Ruiz and his threat to Calvin that day. If Hector was responsible for this, the THIRDS needed to pick him up before he disappeared, if he hadn’t gone into hiding already. The guy had opened fire on a room full of law enforcement. It also meant Hector hadn’t been alone. Ethan put away his phone, noticing how Calvin’s knuckles were tight over the steering wheel.

“This isn’t your fault,” Ethan said firmly. It was written all over Calvin’s face. “You were doing your job. If it was Hector who did this, then he’ll have to face the consequences of his actions, along with anyone else who was with him.”

“What if Hudson—”

“Stop,” Ethan ordered gently. “Hudson’s going to be okay.” He held his hand out, relieved when Calvin took it and gave it a gentle squeeze. They’d get through this, the same way they did everything else. Together.

HERE THEY
were again.

Ethan and Calvin joined Seb, Nina, and Rafe in the emergency room at NYC Presbyterian Hospital. At least when they walked into a waiting room Rafe and Seb weren’t fighting. Rafe was holding Nina’s hand and comforting her while Seb stood at the far end of the room by the doors, staring off into the distance like he was lost. His eyes were red, and Ethan could all but feel his brother’s heart breaking. Ethan walked over and gently put a hand on Seb’s shoulder, making him flinch. He hadn’t even realized Ethan was there. His brother let out a heart-wrenching sigh.

“Hey, little brother. He’s still in surgery.”

Seb shook his head, and Ethan could see his brother fighting to keep his emotions at bay. Ethan brought Seb into his embrace and held him.

“What if I lose him for good this time? Having him away from me was hard, but it was better than this. Anything is better than this.” Seb pulled back and wiped at his eyes. “I can’t believe he did that.”

Ethan put his hand to Seb’s chest over his heart.
He loves you.

“Yeah.” Seb gave him a small smile when the rest of the team showed up. Sloane and Dex came over, their expressions filled with concern.

“How is he?” Dex asked worriedly. “Any news?”

“He’s in surgery,” Seb replied. “It’s too soon to tell, but the outlook is promising.”

Sloane nodded. He looked around the waiting room. “We’ve been seeing the inside of this place a little too often lately.”

“Tell me about it,” Dex huffed. He patted Seb’s shoulder. “How about we bring you some coffee?”

“Thanks. That would be great.”

Dex and Sloane headed off toward the café. Cael and Ash were huddled together talking quietly, while Rosa and Letty joined Nina. Ethan’s mom wasn’t able to come, but she called Seb every few minutes to check up on him and Hudson. Darla was putting an overnight bag together for Seb and would be there soon. Hudson was still considered family to them, even if he’d distanced himself some time ago. Ethan’s mom refused to abandon Hudson the way his own family had. Seb had tried to get through to Hudson’s parents in England, but they ignored his calls. When he tried calling from a hospital line, they hung up on him. Ethan had no idea why Hudson had been cast out of his wolf Therian family, but it was heartbreaking knowing his family didn’t care that their son was fighting for his life.