He kissed her deeply, and she moaned into his mouth as his finger rubbed tight little circles against her swollen nub.
The heat of her moisture gushed for Cody. She couldn't believe that all it took was a kiss and a touch and she would come undone like this. She threw back her head, gasping as she looked at the starry night sky.
As the orgasm grew within her and burst forth with the intensity of an exploding star, the points of light overhead spun and burst like a billion fireworks in the night sky. She groaned loudly, and Cody kissed her to absorb the sound. He slid his hand away and held her gently in his strong arms.
She leaned her head against his shoulder, feeling as if she were protected for the very first time in her life. She stayed in that space, not wanting to speak and break the spell.
All she wanted was to stay a little longer and believe that this man was here to save her. She wanted to believe that he wanted more than her body. That he really was here to help her and that the all-encompassing strength of his power would always be there to support her.
Could Cody really want to free her from this life? Could it all really be true? Lola would give anything just to believe she could have something else, anything else than the horror she lived every day.
"I'm sorry I got so carried away," he whispered into her ear. "But I need to take you away from here now.”
"I can't leave without my mother's cameo," she said, feeling stupid for not having packed her things.
He really did want to take her away from here. She was ready to go, but she couldn't leave the last vestiges of her mother's memory. No way.
Her mother was the one person who had always been there for her. She’d been the solid rock of the family before she'd been killed. Lola knew that her mother loved her. She wouldn't leave her cameo that had been handed down from her grandmother, and her mother before.
"I have to go back to my tent to get my mother's cameo. I'll meet you back here in a few minutes."
"I can’t let you go. I already alerted the Bear Patrol. We have to get away from here. I'm not going to let anything happen to you ever again, Lola." Cody said.
"I’ll be fine. You can’t be seen walking with me. You have to let me go by myself."
"I won't let you go," he demanded. “The Bear Patrol will be here any minute.”
"The Bear Patrol?" she asked.
He sighed heavily. "I am a bear shifter and my real name is Gauge Stockwell. I’m an undercover detective from the Fate Mountain Police Department. I'm here to take down your stepbrother and his gang."
“You’re ‘Redacted’, aren’t you!”
“Yes. You are my fated mate. I won’t let you out of my sight again.”
"I’ll be right back, Cody. I mean Gauge. I promise you. And if I’m not back. I want you to save yourself,” she said, letting go of his hand as she ran off into the night.
“Lola, no,” he whispered, grabbing for her hand.
But she slipped away, leaving him standing alone in the forest. As she ran through the darkness and skirted under the watchtowers, her heart beat violently in her chest with excitement. Her true love had come to save her from all of this mess.
She had trusted in her heart, and it had all been true. She ran into her tent to grab her mother's cameo and was immediately reminded of all the lies.
Chapter 11
Gauge stood in the darkness, feeling completely dumbstruck. It was the second time today that he had felt more impotent than he had in his entire life. He wanted to run after her, but he didn’t. He knew that if he caught up with her it would only cause a commotion that neither of them could afford right now. He had to let her go and trust that she knew what she was doing.
Lola now knew that he was a bear shifter and her fated mate. She was just as connected to him as he was to her. Being mates meant trusting each other and trusting each other’s choices. Lola would not leave without her mother’s cameo, and Gauge had a tremendous amount of respect for his mate’s love of her mother.
The Bear Patrol was coming and he had to creative a diversion. His plan had been to take her and get away as quickly as possible. He hadn’t expected her to want to go back to her tent.
He crept silently through the forest, and came out behind the munitions tent. He slid through the tent flap and looked around. There was enough fire power in here to start a small war. If he took it out, the gang would only have the weapons on them.
He lit a match that he’d pulled out of his pocket, and lit a fire in the straw inside a pallet of bullets. The fire quickly grew, licking at the wooden boxes holding the weapons. Gauge ran out of the tent, the first blast booming behind him as he dove into the forest.
When he turned to look behind him, the tent exploded in a massive blast. Screams echoed throughout the camp.
The sound of helicopter blade sliced through the air in the distance, and Gauge knew exactly what it was. The Bear Patrol was here.
Gauge hurried through the darkness and skirted around the watchtowers until he came to the edge of the camp where the tents were.
He stood in the darkness, watching Lola’s tent flap. There was the glow of light from within and shadows moving inside. She wasn’t alone.
Gauge’s polar bear reared up within him, threatening to overtake the man and charge wildly through the camp to save his mate.
The helicopter moved in closer and was met with gunfire from the watchtowers. A smoke grenade fell into the center of the compound and filled the air with heavy smoke. Gauge gasped and growled, but his bear was unaffected. His shifter strength allowed him to breathe through the smoke and see through the haze. He charged into the tent, but it was too late. Lola was gone.
The gunfire shot through the hazy darkness as the Bear Patrol reppeled into the compound in full military gear. Gauge had on a bulletproof vest and his rifle, equipped like the rest of Lockheart’s gang. This was going to be a violent shoot out and a lot of people were going to die. There was no peaceful way to settle this thing, and he knew it. He had to get Lola out of danger.
He cursed himself repeatedly as he ran around the forest to where they had met before. She wasn’t there. He heard a woman’s scream in the distance and squinted his eyes into the hazy darkness of the compound. He could make out the figure of a woman being dragged into the cave mouth by a taller, stronger male figure.
It had to be Justin.
The anger and fury erupted from within Gauge. His bear barreled out from within. He shifted with a roar that shook the ground. He charged through the smoky compound, growling and snapping his jaws as the confused gang members tried to defend their compound.
Gauge galloped toward the cave mouth and found himself face to face with the rest of the Bear Patrol.
Chief Commander Rollo Morris, his alpha, looked at him with steely gray eyes and frowned.
“What the hell are you doing, Gauge?” Rollo demanded.
Gauge growled and drew up on his hind legs, pounding his polar bear chest. Justin had taken Lola into the cave and he had to give chase.
“Shift right now,” Rollo demanded.
The rest of the Bear Patrol were defending the cave mouth. He could see Damien taking pictures of the lab. The gang was shooting. Knox, Rollo, and Heath were all returning fire.
Gauge moved further into the cave and shifted into his human form. He was naked and vulnerable, but Knox threw some clothing at him.
“The state police are on the way,” Rollo said.
Gauge pulled on his clothes, taking in the situation. Damien had plenty of evidence already gathered to convict each and every one of Lockheart’s gang members. But Gauge had let Lola be taken by the ring leader.
“Justin Lockheart has escaped further into the cave,” Gauge said.
“We saw them right as we landed,” Rollo said, firing his AK-47 into the yard of the compound.
Shrieks and shouts of the gang members filled the air as the bullets riddled the cave. The Bear Patrol had set up a barricade using the lab tables a
nd other equipment.
“I have to save my mate,” Gauge said.
“Your mate?” Rollo asked, between bursts of rifle fire.
“She was here all along,” Gauge tried to explain.
“We have to get this situation under control,” Rollo demanded as a bullet sped by Gauge’s face.
Gauge dropped to his knees and joined the rest of the team behind the barricade.
“I have to go after her.”
“Go,” Rollo said. “Get your mate.”
Rollo handed him a glock and Gauge shoved an extra clip in his pocket.
“Thank you, Commander,” Gauge said, before he crawled off through the cave. Damien was huddled in a corner, taking photographs of the scene.
“Take this flashlight,” Damien said, handing him a Maglite.
“Thank you for everything, Damien,” Gauge said, crawling further through the cave.
There was tons of crystal gas in the air, and he could feel himself becoming infused with the toxic fumes. But that only meant that Lola was getting a double dose of it. His shifter healing ability wouldn’t allow for the toxins to enter too deeply into his blood, but his mate would definitely be susceptible to it. This was going to end now.
As he came to the end of the laboratory area of the cave, he saw that it diverged into several different caves. The ventilation pipes from the laboratory blew off the toxins further into the cave, filling it with their fumes.
Gauge had to choose which trail to take. He sniffed the air, only smelling the toxic fumes of the laboratory. He couldn’t make out Lola’s scent.
He sniffed again, trying to pick up anything that would give him an indication of which direction she’d gone. They were running out of time, and no one could predict what a lunatic like Justin Lockheart would do to his sweet little mate.
Gauge picked up the subtle scent of her body. It was a scent he knew well from the kisses they had shared only minutes ago.
He squeezed his eyes closed, focusing on the scent. He had been so stupid to let her go. He would never forgive himself for this. But he had to respect her love for her mother. He had to admire her courage and her strength. But once he found her, he intended to never let her go again.
He followed the subtle scent of Lola’s skin, deep into the cave. The toxins were heavy in the air, and he felt them sinking into his blood. His heart raced faster and his muscles tensed. He had to find her soon or they would both be lost.
Chapter 12
"How could you do this to me, Lola?" Justin screamed as he tugged Lola further into the narrowing cavern. Justin’s head lamp was the only light in the pitch black darkness.
Lola struggled against his grasp, but he was so much stronger. All she could do was follow him or he would drag her.
"It's over, Justin. The police are here, and they're going to arrest everyone.”
"Stop talking," Justin said.
“You’ve been a horrible brother,” she screamed, not knowing where her courage came from. “When I was just a little girl, you started touching me. You forced me to come up here and live in this place. I will never forgive you for what you've done."
"I've taken care of you all your life, Lola. You are an ungrateful bitch."
He held fast to her arm and slapped her smartly across the face. Her cheek stung, and she screamed. A tear rolled down her face, but she didn't weep.
Justin's face was a mask of horrified glee as the sound of bullets grew louder at the mouth of the cave. The blast echoed continuously through the long cavern and it pricked her senses with each pop. Justin grabbed her other shoulder and shook her.
"Don't you understand what we were trying to do here?" he screamed. "We were trying to save the world, for people like you, Lola!”
"No, not for me," Lola insisted. "You were doing it for yourself, and your own twisted sense of justice. Grow up and be a man, Justin. Stop blaming everyone else for your problems. The shifters never did anything to you.”
"Never did anything to me? Have you seen what happened to the humans of this town since the shifters started moving in?"
"That's mostly because of you, Justin," Lola said. "You've been poisoning that entire human population of Fate Mountain with your sick drugs and your empty promises."
"You are blind and small minded," he said, yanking her further into the cave. They marched on and the sound of bullets grew fainter in the distance. It was narrow and damp at this point in the cavern. Drips of water slid down the sides of the cave and dropped into her hair.
"Where are you taking me?"
"I’m taking you where no one will find you," he said.
"You have to stop, Justin. You can't keep doing this."
"There's only one way that this ends, little sister," Justin sneered. "And that's with both of us dead."
Lola started to scream for help at the top of her lungs. Her voice reverberated through the caverns, but Justin grabbed her and covered her mouth. She tried to bite him, but he only held her tighter. She was forced to walk backwards and be drug across the uneven surface of the cave floor.
She knew that he had a pistol. He was going to kill them both. Fear coursed through her body, pulsing through her veins. She lost all her strength and began to weep. Justin just dragged her more roughly through the jagged spikes on the floor of the cave.
She could barely breathe under his hand and she was violently sobbing. She jammed her arm backwards and punched her elbow into his crotch. He groaned and doubled over. Lola skidded away, trying to run in the direction they'd come. But Justin righted himself and grabbed her before she could run three steps. She screamed out for help again, but this time he punched her and darkness fell. The last thing she remembered was praying that Gauge would find her.
Chapter 13
Gauge hurried through the cavern, trying to pick up Lola’s scent. The gunfire popped behind him and echoed through the cavern. He heard a shrill scream up ahead and knew that it was Lola.
He hurried on, trying to catch up with them. If Justin Lockheart did anything to his mate, he wouldn't be responsible for what he did to the man. His inner bear was pushing to come out, but Gauge knew that he was better off in human form. Justin was armed and the best defense against an armed assailant was being armed himself.
He carried his glock in one hand and the Maglite in the other, carefully sliding along the cavern wall. Lola’s scent grew stronger, and he could make out the faint sound of voices ahead of him in the distance. He heard another scream and then the crack of a fist on the flesh. That psycho had just hit his mate!
Gauge roared, barely able to stay in human form. He jumped into a sprint, barreling down the length of the cavern until he came to a sharp turn. He glanced around the corner, seeing Justin standing over Lola's limp form that lay sprawled across the rocky floor.
Justin held his gun pointed at Lola's head. Gauge shot around the corner and pulled the trigger on his Glock, the bullet flying through the air and shooting the gun out of Justin Lockheart's hand.
Justin's gun went flying and Gauge barreled toward him, knocking him on the ground. Gauge pulled the handcuffs out of his back pocket and fastened them around Justin’s wrists.
"You are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent…" Gauge said, reading Justin his rights.
He didn't believe the man should be given any rights, but Gauge believed in the law. He was a police officer. He was doing his duty just like he had when he was in the military.
His mission was to protect innocent people who could not protect themselves. That meant upholding the social contracts that society had agreed upon. That meant all criminals had a right to a trial and to understand why they were under arrest in the first place.
"Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law."
As soon as Gauge had handcuffed Justin and read him his rights he turned him over and punched him in the face, knocking him out cold.
Then he stood and hurried to Lola, turning her over to face him.
Her thick black hair was smashed over her face, and it looked as if she had a black eye.
He put his fingers to her throat, feeling her pulse. It was strong, just like her. He carefully picked her up, grabbed the headlamp off of Justin's head, and carried Lola out of the cavern. The gunfire at the cave mouth had ceased. As he approached the lab, the rest of the Bear Patrol were reading rights to the gang members who had finally surrendered.
"Justin Lockheart is cuffed and unconscious at the back of the cavern," Gauge told Rollo.
"Good job, Gauge," Rollo said. "Now get your mate out of here and take her somewhere safe.”
Gauge hurried out into the yard where the helicopter had landed. He quickly lifted Lola inside, and the pilot agreed to take him back to town before coming back for the rest of the criminals who'd been arrested at the compound.
It was still dark outside but the moon was high and bright as the chopper lifted into the air. He held Lola in his arms, praying that she would be all right. The chopper landed in the police hanger of the small airport in Fate Mountain Village and there was an ambulance waiting for them as soon as they arrived.
The EMTs helped Gauge get Lola out of the helicopter and into the ambulance. He rode with her all the way to the hospital and sat beside her gurney as the doctors examined her. They told him she had a concussion but was otherwise okay.
When she finally came to, an hour later. She gasped at the sight of herself in the dimly lit hospital room. She looked down at her arm, seeing an IV, and then put her hand to her face where she had been hit.
"What happened?" she asked groggily.
"It's over. We've taken down your brother and his men."
"Where is my mother's cameo?" she asked, looking down at her hospital gown.
"I found it in your jacket pocket when the nurses changed you into the hospital gown.
"What's going to happen to Justin?" Lola asked.
"He will probably rot in jail."
"That's what he deserves," Lola said, her voice hoarse.