All's Were That Ends Were - Krystal Shannan Page 0,2

in fiery salt-water streaks. Sobs shook her body while her brain tried to process the last couple of minutes.

“Miss?” A different male voice called from beside her. There wasn’t any malice in this voice, only concern.

“Ma’am?” A second male.

Great. Now human rescuers were coming to her aid…after an oversized tiger and wolf already did that job. Bentley, the lawyer, had been right about the wildlife being dangerous…just not right about the type of animals. Moose my ass.

“Touch her and I’ll pull your arm off your body,” the second of the men said.

“Just refrain from licking her and we should be good,” the first man said, amusement lightening his tone.

Licking me? Had they seen the animals? Why weren’t they more concerned? Had she imagined it? Maybe it’d all been in her head.

“I’m going to help you off the ground, ma’am,” the second voice spoke again.

She peered up into the kindest deepest bluest eyes she’d ever seen. She couldn’t remember a man ever looking at her with such concern. His hair was bright reddish orange, kinda like the tiger. It made her smile just a little.

He smiled back in a response—a grin that would make even the frostiest of women melt in their tracks. He was beautiful. All dimples and blue eyes and shaggy red hair with just enough scruff of a beard to make a person want to touch it. He was in a t-shirt that showed off his muscled arms and chest. Jeans and work boots completed his look.

“I’m Tor,” he said, sliding his arms beneath hers and lifting. She thought he was just going to help her stand, but the man scooped her up completely and hugged her close to his chest. “That’s Ryder.” He tipped his chin toward the other man who met her gaze for a moment.

“Who was the male attacking you? Do you know him?”

A shiver ran through her body and she took a couple of small slow breaths to calm herself. “He wants the bar. He wants me to sell it.”

Tor’s eyes widened. “You’re the new owner?”

She nodded.

“Maybe Liam will finally hire us since the new owner is here,” the other man, the one he’d called Ryder spoke.

Ryder grabbed the big trash bag from the middle of the lot and carried it to the bin like it weighed nothing.

“Next time let one of us take out the trash. Liam should’ve known better than to let you go out the back by yourself,” Tor said, his voice slightly scolding. But in a way that wasn’t abusive. It didn’t remind her of her husband. This guy genuinely cared. He wasn’t scolding her because he liked it. He was worried about her well-being. And rightly so.

That guy was probably one of the ones Liam had sent away earlier in the evening. She had been stupid to go out by herself.

“I don’t think he knew,” she said, admitting finally. “I was just trying to pull my weight.”

“You’re very small. It shouldn’t take much effort,” Tor said, shaking his head, a sparkle of amusement in his eyes.

She opened her mouth to reply and then snapped it shut with a chuckle.

“Dawn!” A familiar foghorn voice called from the back door a second before Liam burst outside. “Fucking hell, woman. What are you doing outside?”

Tor’s grip on her tightened and she could’ve sworn the man growled—straight up, rumble in the chest vibrations.

“We’ve got her. A bit bruised, but all in one piece,” Ryder said, attempting to calm the giant bartender.

Liam wasn’t so large up next to these two guys. They were both several inches taller and just as formidable as the cranky bartender, if not more so. They really grew them big in Alaska.

The bartender walked straight up to Tor and reached for Dawn’s chin.

Tor turned his shoulder to the guy, blocking him from touching her.

“Kid, you better let me check on her right this second. She was my responsibility and now she’s hurt.”

“She’s not your responsibility any longer, Liam.”

The bartender crossed his arms and stared. “Oh, really.”

“Guys, I’m right here.” She swung her legs a little. “Put me down. I can walk just fine. I’ve got air back in my lungs. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of my—”

All three of the men were silent and glared straight at her, their gazes were like lasers cutting her words to shreds.

“Okay fine, the asshole who assaulted me was a little bigger of an asshole than I’m used to dealing with.” She put a palm on Tor’s chest and held back the urge