The silence on the other line lasted long seconds. “Okay. I don’t understand the reason for secrecy but I’ll respect it. You know you can discuss anything with me.”

He was tempted and hesitated. “Maybe later. I want to work this out on my own.”

“Understood. Our females can be complicated. Do you need more males there? We’re spread thin here but you have more territory to protect.”

“I’ve just sent my team to recruit the help of the males from the Wild Zone. They won’t be real stable but they love to hunt. I don’t think they’ll kill anyone if they find a human. Harley and Moon will assign them in teams to even out the calmer ones with the more feral. It’s now standard procedure here in case of emergency. I’d qualify this as one. How are you holding up?”

“I’m furious. I knew it would cause problems when we released a statement about me taking a human mate but we hoped for the best with her father at our side.”

“Why did you do this now?”

Justice hesitated. “Jessie’s brother was shot. He’ll live but she flew to be at his side. The press saw some of our males on her security team. They contacted us to ask why. We had him transferred to Homeland to recover. It’s safer for her to be with her brother here than at a hospital. Jake agreed and our doctors are caring for him. The reporters weren’t going to let it go.”

“You had no choice.”

“That’s how we felt.” Justice sighed. “I apologize for the difficulty but she’s worth it.”

“I know you love your mate.”

“Love is an understatement. She’s my life. Her brother however is a thorn in my side. I hadn’t met him until they flew him in. He’s difficult.”

“Anti-Species?”

“No. Just an ass**le. Think of a younger version of Tim Oberto without the leash since he works for us. Jake quit the military to work for a private security firm. He’s already demanding to see our entire security protocols to fix them. He’s a very protective older brother. I admire his love for my mate but the male is annoying.”

“Humans come with family,” Tiger teased. “He is yours now.”

“Bite your tongue. I know I’d enjoy punching him in that loud mouth of his.”

“Resist. Your mate wouldn’t approve.”

“Jessie wants to punch him too. She threatened to shoot him in his other leg so the scar on his thigh will have a matching one if he doesn’t back down. They have this strange sibling relationship where they argue a lot and make dire threats against each other.”

“My day doesn’t seem quite as stressful now,” Tiger teased. “Enjoy getting to know Jessie’s brother.”

“Take care.”

Tiger hung up and entered the main room of Security. The cameras were filled with scenes of protesters. “Are they behaving?”

“No one is throwing anything since we hosed down the first twenty feet in front of the gate,” Zest answered with a grin. “They didn’t enjoy getting icy water baths.”

“Good.” He brushed his fingers through his hair. “How about the town? Has the sheriff returned our call?”

“He isn’t reporting any trouble. Most of the protesters are avoiding it and instead hanging out here.”

“That’s a relief. I don’t want the town to grow to hate us.”

At least something was going right. Tiger knew it was going to be a long day. He’d had hopes of calling Zandy to arrange a meeting with her after work but she’d be sleeping by the time his shift ended.

* * * * *

“That was fun.” Zandy shot a glance at Richard. “Thanks for buying me lunch in town.”

“My pleasure. You have great taste. I think my wife is going to love that locket with the rose design. It’s beautiful.”

“Just remember to take those pictures in tomorrow when you pick it up after they inscribe it for you. One of you and one of your kids. Every woman would love that. It was actually fun to shop for someone else.”

“Hey, I’m glad you think so. At Christmas, may I borrow you for a few hours? I really need help then.” Richard grinned. “Not only do I have to buy for my wife but my mother too.”

“Ah,” she teased. “You don’t want me as a friend. You want me as a shopping assistant.”

“Damn straight!”

The van had to slow when a large crowd blocked the road ahead of them in front of the Reservation gates. Richard tooted his horn to get some of them to move out of the way. Three off-road, full-sized pickup trucks were in line ahead of them to be searched.

Richard sighed. “We might be a little late.”

“It’s not our fault. The NSO officers can see us up there on the wall.” Zandy peered up at the well-armed security officers patrolling the catwalk along the top of the thick barrier. “I don’t remember there being so many of them up there the day I came for my interview.”

“That’s because there usually aren’t.” Richard paused. “Are you feeling as nervous as I am? Notice the way some of these jerks are eyeing us.” He hit the locks on the door but they were already down. “I don’t like this.”

Her gaze darted around to find a lot of strangers glaring at them. “I don’t like this either. Maybe you should back up and drive to the other gate that I use.”

“That’s miles away and we’d really be late. We’re safe. No one would be stupid enough to try anything with all those guns up along that wall. We’re technically on NSO land here on this side of the gate. It’s posted everywhere and those officers can open fire if need be.”