Chief.” He waited until Damon disappeared through the exit before walking over to Anders. It seemed a group of girls playing at the pool table had caught his eye, as he made a move to stand up.
Krieger placed a heavy hand on his shoulder to stop him. “Fancy meeting you here.”
Anders’s spine stiffened, then he looked up. “Krieger.” His mouth pulled back tight. “Yeah, what a coincidence. Are you stalking me?” He tsked. “People are gonna start to talk.” He brushed off Krieger’s hand. “If you’ll excuse me—”
“That”—he nodded toward the girls at the pool table—“is not going to help.” Something about Anders set off his instincts. For one thing, that was real alcohol in his glass. And for another, none of those girls looked tipsy, nor were they in danger from anyone in the bar.
“Mind your own business, Sarge,” Anders said in a calm tone that held a deadly edge.
“Damon’s concerned about you. You know, he thinks you’re one of the best rangers we have.” Those words had their desired effect—to unnerve and unarm Anders. So, Krieger continued. “But he noticed you’ve been getting sloppy this last week. I said I’d watch out for you.”
“Well, thank you very fucking much, guardian angel. But I don’t need your help.” Anders reached for the glass of whiskey.
“That’s not going to solve anything either. You know that.” He had no idea why Anders didn’t drink, but he knew there had to be a reason. And he would do his best to make sure the tiger shifter didn’t fall off the wagon.
“Yeah, well it sure won’t fucking hurt.”
As he lifted the glass to his lips, Krieger considered swatting it out of his hand, but there was no need. Anders stopped halfway; his attention caught by something by the door.
No, it wasn’t something. It was someone.
A woman.
Of course.
Krieger had seen that look in Anders’s face before. It was the same one he’d observed several times these past months. Damon. Gabriel Russel. Daniel Rogers. Every single one of them had that expression on their faces whenever their mates were around. Like there was no one else in the room—or the entire world.
When the woman spotted Anders and started making a beeline toward them, Krieger decided it was probably better to give them some privacy. “I’m gonna head to the john.”
He strode off toward the men’s bathroom, thankful that it was empty. The din outside wreaked havoc on his senses, making his bear antsy. Still, it was a testament to how far he’d come. How the work he’d put in the last few months was paying off.
Change didn’t happen overnight. And he’d worked his fucking ass off the last couple of months, crawling out of that hole he’d dug himself into for the past five years. Slowly leaving his self-constructed prison up in the peak. Opening up to Damon. Watching over his colleagues. Keeping them safe. All to make himself a better man. To be worthy of his mate.
And maybe soon, he would be.
The door pushed open, knocking him out of his thoughts. His grizzly didn’t even bare its teeth or growl in the direction of the stranger who came in. If it had been a year ago, it would have fought him, clawed at him to lash at anyone who dared come into their space. Hell, a year ago, he wouldn’t have made it this far away from his cabin for this long. Now, he could even look himself in the mirror without feeling anger or disgust.
After washing his hands, he strode back outside. Glancing toward the bar, he saw Anders was alone now. Where was the woman? From the way the tiger shifter was giving the exit the thousand-yard stare, he could only guess.
Anders seemingly shook himself out of his daze as he dashed toward the door.
What the hell? “Anders!” he called.
When he caught up to him, Anders stopped and turned around. “I have to go,” he said. “Er, sorry, man. Tell Damon he can punish me tomorrow. I’ll even do trash duty for a month. But I have to go now.”
From the frantic way he left, Krieger could only guess that Anders fucked things up somehow and needed to make it up to his mate. This would be interesting, to see the boisterous and cocky tiger shifter brought down to his knees by his mate.
However, when he got out of The Den, he did not expect to see Anders facing down a luxury limo head-on.
Fucking idiot!
Krieger sprang into action, his animal reflexes kicking