Chapter 14

Stan shifted into his grizzly but not before Zagan grazed Stan's torso and shoulder with his horns. Stan let out a few grunts before swiping at Zagan with his sharp claws. Zagan bobbed and weaved from each of Stan's strikes.

They were all arriving at the location just in time to see it all going down. Richard readied himself to shift and help Stan, but Amira was ahead of him and charged in first.

"No!" cried Amira as she shifted into her fluffy snow owl and flew straight at Zagan. She began to claw and rip into Zagan, but Zagan grabbed a hold of Amira by her beak and flung her off of him. She landed on the stage, and a loud crack radiated through the air as her head hit the podium.

"Amira!" Richard shifted into his llama and ran to where Amira's limp body was. He quickly shifted back into human form to check her vitals. She was breathing—thank God! But if Richard had his way, Zagan wouldn't be.

Satisfied that she would be okay, Richard turned from her, turned back to his llama form, and galloped toward Zagan, who almost had gotten the better of Stan as one of Zagan's horns made contact with Stan's upper chest and shoulder. Stan let out a growl and clutched his injured shoulder with his paw before falling to the ground. Richard bucked with his legs, forcing Zagan to turn away from Stan and face him. The llama spat in Zagan's eyes, momentarily blinding him, and Zagan stumbled to the ground. Richard had leaped up, readying himself to give Zagan a final blow, when he heard an angelic voice.

"Richard, stop!"

Richard froze. In all of his years as a FUC agent, he'd never consider handing out justice to a criminal. That was up to the courts to decide. His job was to collar them—not to be the judge, juror, and executioner. Amira was right to stop him because killing people—even the most abhorrent, is wrong. He felt a hand on his furry back, and he instantly lowered his legs and shifted into human form, leaving Zagan for Stan and the others to deal with. He turned to face Amira, but a second figure emerged from behind the stage and took a swing at Richard with a large lead pipe.

Richard's eyes grew heavy as the cracking of his skull pierced his ears.

* * *

Richard opened his eyes and blinked a few times to get used to the brightness in the unfamiliar room he was in. The sterile smell of a hospital assaulted his nose and then images of the fight flashed through his mind.

Shit!

And, no, he wasn't talking about the talks. He was swearing because he fucked up. After all the times that Cherry and Stan told him that women didn't need a white knight, he refused to listen, and it almost cost him everything because he was so blinded by what Zagan had done to Amira. And if Amira hadn't woken up in time to stop him, she'd be cuffing him! He let out a whimper as he tried to get up into a seated position.

"You're awake!" said a familiar voice to his right.

"Amira?"

"Yes, it's me." She palmed his hand.

"Amira, I'm so, so sorry! I saw you hurt, and?—"

She cut him off by pressing an index finger to his lips.

"Don't worry about that. We collared both Zagan and Ash, and the latter has been cooperative. He's admitted to being the one who broke Zagan out of prison. He's also telling us more about the new serum Zagan has. The talks were saved. You did your job."

"But I?—"

She gave his hand a tight squeeze. "You did nothing wrong. Don't worry yourself over nothing. Let me grab the doctor. He'll be happy to see that you awoke so quickly."

Richard would have preferred for Amira to stay with him, especially considering that once she stepped out, she didn't return.

The doctor came in and examined him. Thanks to his speedy shifter healing, he was already on the mend. The doctor informed him that he was officially released, but before he could run out and try to find Amira, Stan entered.

"You okay?" Richard asked, looking the man up and down.

"Right as rain, despite what that asshole tried. Good thing we have quick recoveries thanks to our shifter healing abilities," Stan replied. "But now that he's in custody, you and I can get back to FUCN'A. I'm booking our flights now."

Richard nodded, though his thoughts were dark. I almost killed Zagan! I almost committed murder in cold blood! That just proves I was right from the start. Amira doesn't need me in her life. I'm not good enough for her. She's better off taking that promotion and staying here in Greece.

Stan looked up from his smartphone. "Sorry, wanted to make sure the flights were good to go. Amira should be here in about an hour to take us to the airport."

"She's not coming back with us?"

"She's planning on staying." Stan placed a steady hand on Richard's shoulder. "I'm sorry it didn't work out."

"What didn't work out?" said a familiar voice from the doorway.

Richard gazed at the door frame and saw Amira there with a bright smile. He smiled back, but he knew his smile wasn't reaching his eyes like hers was.

"You, as my assistant," Richard lied, putting on a fake happy face. "Stan knows how pissed I am that I have to go through new applicants, but even so, I'm thrilled for you."

"You are?" she asked.

"Of course." His eyes darted from hers to his hospital bag. "I should probably get out of this gown and into my regular clothes."

He made his way with his bag into the bathroom and closed the door before either of them could say anything more to him. It was for the best that he said nothing more, because he wasn't sure if he could hide the hole in his heart any longer. She'd want him to say goodbye to her, but he wasn't sure how to do that.