Kai wasn’t surprised that it was locked. He pulled a small tool from his wallet, something he kept on him at all times, just in case. The two small pins slid into the lock, and he wiggled them around expertly until he could turn the lock and open the door.
The fragrant odor of bread and pastries filled his nostrils as he crept into the empty bakery. To the right was the storefront. To the left was a narrow hallway that led down to a basement. He could hear voices coming from there. The old door was probably a creaking mess, but Kai eased it open inch by painful inch. Ember was definitely down there. Not only could he smell her, but he could hear her. And good lord, the woman needed to sheath her tongue before she got herself killed.
“Ciro,” he heard his mate say. “Right now, I’m really scared for your emotional well-being. You’re not making any sense. Are you listening to yourself?”
Kai held his breath. Ember was being dangerously sassy with the man who held her prisoner. From his vantage point on the stairs, he couldn’t see if Ciro had a gun or knife on her.
In fact, he had no way of knowing what kind of situation he was walking into.
The only information he had was that Ciro reeked of bear. The man who was holding his mate captive was a shifter. How big was the basement? Would it accommodate his lion shape enough to fight?
“The only bakery that is doing well is this one, because of you,” Ciro whined. “I had to shut three storefronts last month. Three. I can’t lose any others. Do you understand?”
“No,” his mate snapped with way too much attitude for the situation she was in. “I obviously don’t understand. You’re not making any sort of sense. You want to kill me, but you want me to keep working for you? Ciro, seriously. Did you ingest some sort of drug? Maybe hit your head?”
The sound of ripping clothes was indication enough.
Ciro was shifting into his bear.
Two shifters could play that game.
Kai launched himself down the steep, narrow stairs. By the time he landed on all four paws, he’d shifted into his lion. The beast roared loudly, jowl opened wide in a warning growl that made the shelves shake. It made his red mane tremble. Ciro, the bear, wasn’t as large as Kai had expected, but it didn’t matter.
He was going to kick the man’s ass.
With a massive golden paw, he swiped at Ciro. The bear staggered back, bumping into the shelves. Sugar, flour, and a whole other bunch of powders blanketed the air and floor. Kai’s hit only grazed the bear’s stomach. He pounced, pinning the animal onto the broken shelves, ramming the bear’s head into the wood and spilled ingredients.
He was going to make bear pie out of this mother fucker.
Ciro’s hind legs scratched at his belly, momentarily making him lose his grip. But it wouldn’t stop him. Kai was pissed as hell. Ember’s fear scented the air. This wasn’t how he wanted her to see his lion for the first time.
Kai slashed at the bear’s face, leaving deep gouges in the furry flesh. He wanted to go in for the kill, but not in front of Ember. Not like this. Kai pressed down on the bear, suffocating him, but Ciro flipped him off his body, using the strength of the injured and dying animal. Ciro tried to attack from the left, but Kai rebuked him with a swipe of claws. He tried for the right, but Kai was ready for him. The flesh of Kai’s underbelly bled, but he didn’t care. He would incapacitate Ciro somehow.
Using the stone wall as a spring board, Kai pounced on Ciro again, knocking him into a broken piece of wood. The sharp shard struck and pierced the bear’s paw, pinning him to the floor like a butterfly in a trap.
Kai had him.
But Ciro was a coward.
He shifted back into his human shape. “Don’t. You can’t kill me. What would the cops say?”
Kai growled low at him, keeping his lion’s shape. With the strength of his beast, he slammed Ciro’s head against the floor, leaving the man unconscious and bleeding from several wounds, including the wooden skewer.
He shifted back into his human form and rushed toward Ember, who had somehow managed to untie herself.
“I did it while you were fighting him off. I had to do something to keep my head busy. That was not something