Daire chuckled. “That’s what we’ve been doing, I promise you.”
“Good. Put Kell back on,” Adam said.
Something rustled. “It’s Kellach.”
“Hey. A hit team was waiting for me outside the police station this morning. Pierced me with two darts, and I put at least one of them in the hospital. Make sure Alexandra doesn’t go anywhere near the Seattle PD until we figure this mess out. They’re not only looking for you,” Adam said.
Silence ticked over the line. “You got shot with Apollo?” Kell asked, the words sounding like he’d shoved them through jagged teeth.
“Aye. I’m fine. Just stay where you are.” Adam glanced at the rising sun. “I have to go. I’ll call if I get any information from the guy in the hospital.” He clicked off before his brother could answer. Now he wanted to check on pretty Victoria before he had to go torture a witch.
He whistled, heading back toward the cabin. The day was finally looking up.
* * *
Tori finished a bowl of cereal, twisting Adam’s note around with her finger. The guy had a habit of leaving her notes and not waking her up in the morning, now didn’t he? This one told her to relax and have a nice morning. The note rather pointedly said that there were hit men in town, and she wasn’t to consider leaving the cabin. He’d turned into Mr. Bossy Pants again. But he had ended the note with a promise to bring lunch back, and if she was still in bed, he’d join her.
She grinned. That was an offer she’d accept.
But first, she was definitely remiss in checking up on poor Bear. Rinsing her dish, she loped out to her car. For the trip, she’d put on dark jeans and a light red sweater, leaving her hair down around her shoulders. Considering somebody was shooting Apollo darts in the city, she had no intention of going anywhere but Bear’s.
Saying a quick prayer upon starting her car, she gingerly drove away from the cabin. The drive was nice, with the sun shining through the trees and a slight breeze rustling the branches. She kept to the back roads, noting belatedly that the Fire and Grizzly headquarters hadn’t really been that far apart. Their respective territories spread out in opposite directions, but the clubhouses were only thirty minutes away from each other. Perhaps they’d wanted to keep an eye on each other.
Singing along with Dierks Bentley, she turned the corner and drove down the long lane to Grizzly headquarters. The place was quiet, almost peaceful.
She parked and stood in the sun, allowing the meager rays to warm her. Fall scented the air, but for now, the sun was making an effort. Tori straightened her sweater and moved toward Bear’s office.
A Grizzly member in full cut strode out from around the corner, pushing a sparkling Harley. He paused upon seeing her and then moved her way. About thirty years old, he had a full beard and intelligent brown eyes. His boots were scuffed and his cut looked like it had been around awhile. Finally, he reached her. “Hi, Tori. What are you doing here, sweetheart?” His voice was kind but firm.
He knew her name. The guy looked familiar, so she’d probably met him at some point. “Hi. Um, where is everybody?” The place was usually teeming with bikes.
He grinned and pointed to the sun. “Out for a ride. Finally.”
“Oh.” She smiled. “That’s good.”
He sighed. “I’m sorry, but Lucas ain’t gonna change his mind. When he dumps a girl, it’s for good. You know that, right?”
Oh yeah. She bit her lip and nodded. “I do know that, and I’m not here to cause trouble. I actually need to see Bear.”
The guy frowned. “Bear? Why?”
“I, ah, it’s personal.” Maybe not everyone knew Bear had a sister. He seemed like a man who kept his secrets close and probably wouldn’t like Tori spilling the news.
The guy shook his head. “Not a good idea, lady. Bear doesn’t like women.”
Her eyes widened. “Bear is gay?” If so, she had a friend who would probably love Bear. Her friend played the drums, and he had the worst taste in men. Bear was a little rough, but he’d treat Jonny well. “I have a friend—”
“No. Bear isn’t gay,” the guy said.
Tori blinked. “But you said—”
“Bear doesn’t like men, either. In fact, Bear doesn’t like pretty much anybody. That’s normal for him, and lately, he’s even worse.”
Which was exactly why she needed to see him. She took a deep breath and forced her most reassuring smile. “Thank you for the warning, but it really is a personal matter that Bear would like to hear. I wouldn’t bother him if I thought it would just piss him off.”
The guy pursed his lips, obviously thinking it through. “Well, that does make sense. All right. He’s in the office.” He hopped on his bike. “Good luck.” He ignited the engine and roared away, his hair flying in the breeze.
Tori watched him go and then walked over the smooth concrete toward Bear’s office. She knocked, but nobody answered. She knocked again. Finally, she nudged open the door to see Bear behind his desk with a smattering of papers in front of him. A beer in the bottle sat next to his elbow, and a fan rotated with sharp squeaks in the corner. He glared at her.
Her legs wobbled. “Um, hi.”
“Did I say come in?” he asked, his honey-brown eyes narrowing. “Did I?”
“No.” Her chin snapped up, and she walked inside, shutting the door behind her. “Which was incredibly rude, by the way. When somebody knocks, and you’re right inside, then you answer them. Even better, you get off your butt and open the door.” He scared the crap out of her, so she had no choice but to babble. “A nice ‘come in’ would have been acceptable.”
He sighed. “Go away.”
She turned on him, fully prepared to let him have it. Then she looked. Bear’s eyes were bloodshot, and sweat poured down his face, soaking through his shirt. His hand trembled on the desk, and beneath the shaggy hair, his face was stark white. His lips looked blue. “You’re not all right. Oh, Bear. You need a doctor.”
He chuckled, the sound full of pain. “A doctor can’t help me.” Then he frowned again. “Why are you here?”
“Your sister wanted me to check on you. I’ll call her—”
“No.” Bear’s bark came out a full growl. “Call her and I’ll rip off your arm.”
That was a little extreme. Seriously. Tori took a deep breath and circled the desk. “Fine. At the very least, I’m getting you into bed.”
He smiled, flashing a dimple in his pale left cheek. “I’m not up to full speed, but I’ll give it a shot.”
She rolled her eyes and helped him to stand, more than a little surprised when he allowed her to take some of his weight. “Ah, where do you live?”
“There’s a cabin out back,” he said, his eyes closing.
“Okay.” She’d get him to his cabin and then call a doctor. Enough was enough. His sweat rolled down her arm, but she got him out back, and he lifted his face to the sun. “Keep going.”
His left leg gave, and he fell, taking her with him.
She landed flat with a muffled oof. “Bear.” Rolling away, she pushed herself up. She needed help.
He groaned and lifted to all fours before standing and weaving. “Ah, shit.” His eyes opened and seemed to darken. “You need to leave, Victoria. Now.”
“I’m not leaving you,” she said. What a stubborn ass.
“Now!”
She crossed her arms. “No.”
“Damn it.” Bear lowered his chin, and fur sprang up along his arms.
Her breath caught. What the hell? She took a step back. Her lungs stopped working.
He growled again. Razor-sharp fangs slid from his mouth. He lifted his head and let loose with snapping growls. His arms spread out, and his soaking-wet shirt ripped down the middle.
She froze in place, her legs refusing to move.
All of his clothes fell from his body. Fur covered him from head to toe, and his face changed shape, becoming elongated. Then he dropped to all fours as a humongous grizzly bear, fur rippling in
the breeze.
He opened his mouth wide and roared at her, his canines glistening.
Chapter 21
Adam nodded to yet another nurse as he made his way through the hospital and tried to ignore the scent of antiseptic. Oh, he knew it was necessary to protect human life, but the smell had always burned his nose. His instincts had been humming all morning, and it was time to follow them. Finally, he reached room 545. He entered and shut the door, approaching the man in the bed.
The guy was tubed up everywhere, although he breathed on his own. Tingles cascaded from him as he healed himself, but the humans probably didn’t notice the change in the atmosphere.
Adam reached the computer and hacked the system, bringing up the guy’s chart. He read several screens. “They think you got shot close to the heart. A through and through.” Oh, the bullet had gone through, but it had gone through the center of the heart. “I love humans.” He moved closer and casually burned the guy’s wrist.
The patient awoke with a start, half sitting up in bed.
Adam grinned. “How’s the heart?”
The witch blinked several times, and the beeper connected to his pulse went wild.
Adam sighed. “I don’t want to hurt you. Believe me, I understand orders. I do.”
The guy’s pulse slowed.
“But I need answers.” Adam leaned in.
Slowly, the guy nodded, his fear smelling like sulfur.
“Good.” Adam patted his arm, and the guy flinched. “You were staking out the police station to watch for my brother or his mate, right?”
“Aye,” the witch admitted, color flooding into his face.
Adam tried to show approval. “Good. That’s good. You had a kill order?”
The color fled.
“It’s okay. I’m a soldier and I’ve had my share of such orders. Kill order?” Adam asked calmly.
The guy gave one short nod.
“For Kellach and his mate? Or just Kell?” Adam asked.
“B-both,” the guy said.
Well now, that would send Kellach around the bend in about two seconds flat. “All right. Where did you get the Apollo darts?” Adam was leading up to the big question, the only one that mattered, and hopefully by then the guy would just keep talking. “Here in Seattle?”
“Yes. We were given directions to a locker near the train station.”
Adam patted the guy’s arm again. “Do you hate us, or was this just a job?” The answer to that one would determine if the guy lived or died. Well, probably.
“Just a job.” Tears filled the guy’s eyes.
Adam nodded. “I get it. Really do. And I know the pain you’re in. Years ago, I had a heart wound. Hurt like a bitch.” True story, that.
The guy eagerly nodded this time.
Adam leaned in. “Who hired you?”
The guy blinked. His monitor went crazy again. He snapped his lips shut.
Adam sighed. “Listen. I don’t want to hurt you any more than I already have.” He let the truth show in his eyes. “It’s not like you shot at one of our mates. If you had, then you’d be dead, right?”
The guy nodded.
“Good. So we get each other. However, the guy who hired you is going to hire somebody else, and I have to find him, you know?” Adam allowed blue fire to flow on his hands for a very brief second. “Have you heard all the rumors about me?”
The guy’s eyes widened at the site of the fire. “Are they true?”
“Yep.” Adam flattened his hand, and the fire morphed into a disk with razor-sharp edges. “I can cut with fire. It’s a nice gift, it is.” He only used it to kill, really. Otherwise it didn’t make sense. Why just cut off somebody’s limb? “Do you have any idea what one of these can do to a neck?”
The guy shook his head on the pillow, his greasy hair sticking to it.
“It can slice a head right off.” Adam pushed up gently, and the disk rose in the air by itself. “Want to see?”
“N-no,” the guy burst out, trying to push himself back on the pillow.
Adam rotated his finger, and the disk whirled around. “It can also cut off a dick. I’ve seen it. Fuck, it’s grotesque.”
The witch in the bed whimpered.
“Now is the time you tell me who hired you to kill my brother,” Adam said, narrowing his gaze to daggers. “Or I’m going to cut off your dick and feed it to you.”
“Peter Gallagher,” the guy burst out. “He hired us. Paid us.”
Adam sat back, fury lashing down his back. Even though he’d suspected the truth, to have it confirmed made his blood turn to ice. A killing ice. “How did he pay you?”
“Half up front in cash and then half when the job was done. Double if we got both your brother and his mate.” Now that the guy was sharing, he couldn’t seem to stop. “I don’t know where the money came from, but it was all nicely wrapped with those cool paper holder things.”
Adam blew out air, and the disk disappeared. “Were Sal or Nessa involved?” The entire Council wouldn’t have done such a thing, would they?
“No. I mean, I don’t think so.”
“Where’s the money?” Adam asked.
“My partner has it. Lars Jensen. I have no clue where he is.”
The guy had probably gone way underground after Adam had thrown him off the roof. He did have an eye to heal, after all. They’d have to track him down.
Adam stood, his mind calculating. He walked over and took the guy’s wallet out of his pants, memorizing all the identification. “All right. I promised I wouldn’t kill you today, and I won’t. But if you even think of taking another job to harm any member of my family, I’ll disembowel you.”
“Okay. I won’t. I promise.” A tear leaked out the guy’s eye.
“Good. But I am going to tell Kellach about your plan to harm his mate, and well, he’ll probably hunt you down and make you beg before he kills you,” Adam said matter-of-factly.
Another tear slid down the guy’s face.
“I know who you are, and now you need to stay where I can find you. Guess what, Walter? You’re going to help me nail Peter Gallagher. How much fun will that be?” Adam took out his phone and held up the camera. “Okay. Once more for the camera.”
* * *
Tori backed away from the massive bear. She frowned, her central nervous system firing like there was a threat near. But the creature didn’t seem to want to hurt her. His paws were bigger than platters, and the sharp tips of his claws showed through his fur. Bear was a bear. “Talk about ironic. Or obvious,” she murmured.
The bear snorted. He held up a monstrous paw as if to reassure her. The sharp and horribly long claws didn’t exactly provide reassurance. But the thing hadn’t charged her.
“This is crazy. This is so fucking crazy.” Shifters. Oh yeah. She hadn’t really figured it out. He was a freakin’ bear shifter. She crouched down, her face toward his. If he wanted her dead, it wasn’t as if she could outrun him. Maybe Bear was in there somewhere. That was all she could hope for at this point. “Can you understand me?”
The bear nodded its massive head. Then he moved toward her, very slowly, as if trying to keep from spooking her. He moved one paw in front of the other in a primitively graceful lumber. He nudged her hand with his wet snout.
She reared back and frowned. Her heart beat so rapidly her chest hurt. “Seriously?”
He nudged her again.
Her hand shook like crazy, but she held it out and gently scratched between his ears. His fur was thick and surprisingly soft.
His eyes closed and he made a sound like a loud purr. She giggled and scratched harder. This was crazy. Beyond crazy. Had her brain just exploded and left her in a make-believe universe? His eyes opened and he licked her from chin to forehead, leaving her nose sticky. She swatted him away. “Knock it off, Bear. Geez.”
This was real. He was real. Man. She needed a drink.
He looked at her, yearning in his big brown eyes. She rolled hers and then petted him
again, relief flowing through her. He didn’t want to eat her. That had to be good. “You look better. Are you feeling better in this, ah, this form?” she asked.
He nodded again and sniffed her neck, knocking her onto her butt. She yelped and pushed his head. “Stop smelling me. You’re even crazier in this form.” Probably not true. Bear seemed nuts in human form. At least this way he couldn’t yell at her and be mean. She scratched his ears again. “Does your sister know you’re a bear?”
He nodded again.
Her eyes widened. The world was so much bigger than she’d imagined. How had she missed all of this? “Is Simone a bear?”
He snorted and shook his head, sending her sprawling back.
She dusted off her hands and just sat on the grass, figuring it was safer that way. So Simone was not a bear. That was good to know. Then it all came clear. “Wait a minute. The Grizzlies. Are you all bears?”
He nodded. The whole time she’d been hanging out with Lucas, he’d been a bear? A real bear? So their name was ironic. Kind of a screw you to humans. Yeah, she could see that. And Bear calling himself Bear? What a smart-ass. “Is your real name Bear?”
His shoulders rolled in a bearlike shrug.
“What about Titans of Fire? Were they some sort of tiger shifters or something?” The world was so different than she’d thought.
If a bear could roll his eyes, he did. Then he shook his massive head.
“Just dumb humans?” she guessed.
One nod this time.
“Wow. This is just crazy. I mean, wow.”
He lay down and flopped his head in her lap. The force of his heavy head kicked her legs out. She frowned but obediently petted him between the ears, hoping he kept those sharp canines right where they belonged. “Is your illness something to do with being a bear shifter?” she asked.
He huffed out in pleasure, shutting his eyes as she continued to scratch his ears.
“Bear, I’m talking to you.”