He’d be lucky to be with a woman like Willow. She was in touch with her emotions in a way that he never would be. He could imagine their life together. Both of them working on their own projects, taking breaks to swim together in the lake. It could be beautiful.
She could open him to his own heart. He could help her keep her life in order.
But it never could be like that. They were fated mates. The pheromones and their animal bond would destroy that peaceful scene and turn it into something compulsive and ugly.
He couldn’t do that to her. He couldn’t do it to himself. Just because the rest of the guys on the crew had found love and happiness didn’t mean it would happen to him. There had been plenty of problems during his friends’ courtships. There was no guarantee that any of them would live happily ever after.
It was a chance his friends had been willing to take, but it wasn’t one Corey was willing to take. His phone pinged as he sat down on the couch.
“Target cannot be located.”
The text came from one of his contacts in Seattle. Corey decided to contact the police and see what they were doing about the case. When he got on the phone with the detective in charge of Willow’s case, the detective immediately started to interrogate Corey.
“Where did you find this information? Who is your source?”
“I prefer not to reveal my source.”
“How am I supposed to know this is true?”
“I sent you all the information you need to make an arrest.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but there is no reason to arrest this person. You’ve given me some circumstantial evidence. Sending letters to someone isn’t illegal.”
“Those letters are threatening.”
“Indirectly. He never said he’d murder her and cut her up. If he had, maybe we could move on this information.”
“You’re kidding, right? You and I both know these things always escalate.”
“Be that as it may, sir, the suspect still hasn’t done anything illegal.”
“So, you have to wait for him to hurt her before you’ll do anything?”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. I suggest you stay with her to make sure she’s safe, since you are obviously concerned for her safety.”
“Well, thanks for nothing,” Corey said, hanging up the phone.
He felt powerless, a sensation Corey was not used to having. He was a Rescue Bear. An ex-Navy SEAL and a computer genius. There wasn’t much Corey couldn’t do. But when it came to Willow, he was lost.
10
Willow went back to her suite, feeling the tears already rolling down her cheeks. She’d covered it up on the way through the lobby, but the moment the door was closed behind her, she burst into sobs.
Ugly crying, she walked from one room to the next, throwing her things into her suitcase. She didn’t care that she had almost an entire week left at the lodge. She had to get away from here as quickly as possible. She couldn’t risk seeing Corey again.
He’d hurt her. Why? Because he was afraid of hurting her? He’d already done exactly what he was so afraid of doing. He’d let himself get carried away on the beach. He’d licked her until she’d screamed for more.
But she couldn’t blame him. She’d let him kiss her. She’d let herself get swept up in the desire that seemed to take over her body whenever they were together.
Why had she allowed herself to be so stupid? She’d come down here thinking she was going to meet a great guy. Maybe things would work out. She’d been willing to give it a shot.
Then she’d arrived just to find a man who didn’t want her, no matter how good they might be for each other.
It wasn’t fair.
She wanted to storm back over to his house and demand he tell her why he was so opposed to falling in love with his fated mate. She needed to know.
But the last thing she was willing to do was see Corey ever again. She wouldn’t have believed it was possible to break someone’s heart after three pseudo-dates, but somehow Corey Bright had managed to do it.
Now she was stuck with a broken heart, writer’s block, and a stalker who was still at large.
Things couldn’t be worse.
She threw her clothes in her bag indiscriminately, shoved her laptop in her laptop bag, and hurried out the door of her suite. It might be late, but she wasn’t going to stay on Fate Mountain for another single second.
She wasn’t going to let Corey mess with her mind or heart anymore. Screw him. His friends. Their mates. And all the people who ended up living happily ever after on Fate Mountain.
She resented everyone and everything, and couldn’t remember being more upset. She threw the key to her room at the front desk in the lobby, not even stopping to see if anyone was there.
“Is everything okay?” a woman said behind her.
“Checking out,” she said in a cracking voice.
She charged out the front doors of the lodge and into the night air. The summer night sky was clear and full of stars above her. She could get lost in those stars if she was willing to look. Just the way she’d been able to get lost in Corey’s eyes.
Why did she let herself fall like that? But she had to respect her feelings. She’d be damned if she would ever be like Corey, a man who insisted on cutting himself off from his feelings. He cut himself off from love and from her. No matter the reason, she just couldn’t understand that.
Willow believed in her feelings. She believed in love. She believed in fate and happily ever after. As she slid behind the wheel of her car, it all came crashing into her awareness.
She lived for love. She lived for the deep sensations she felt every day. It’s what made her who she was.
She could barely see through the tears as she drove out of the lodge’s parking lot. How she was going to make it home like this, she had no idea. But she didn’t care. She had to get away.
In the middle of her meltdown, she could imagine what she had to do with her character. The heroine who didn’t feel anything when the hero left her. Now she knew what her heroine felt. She felt pissed as hell.
Willow sped down the road and turned onto the highway that would lead her back to Portland. The sooner she got back to Seattle to write, the better.
Even through the tears and the pain, Willow could feel her writer’s block chipping away like a brick wall crushed by a wrecking ball.
All the pieces of resistance were smashed away, and her creative spark grew bright inside her. She had to smile, even through the pain. This was what was important. Her imagination. Corey might have hurt her, but it had broken away what was holding her back.
She sniffled as she took a curve on the dark road. She felt hurt and pissed and out of control, and she relished it. This was what love did. This was what it was all about. These crazy, out of control feelings where what Corey was so afraid of. But Willow said, “Bring it on.”
Love was messy.
It could crush you and inspire you at the same time. It was worth it all in the end.
She was in the middle of this breakthrough when she spotted movement in the backseat of her car. She gasped under her breath. Her heart jumped and her limbs felt numb. Without thinking, she picked up her phone and typed out a text to the last person she’d texted.
“Help.”
That’s all she had a chance to do before the man in the back of the car jumped over the seat and grabbed the steering wheel.
Willow screamed.
“If I can’t have you, no one will!” the stalker yelled, driving the speeding car off the road.
They drove off the embankment, flying down a hillside so fast Willow didn’t have time to scream. She slammed on the breaks and pulled the wheel away from the man behind her. The car swerved. Turning, it smashed sideways into a tree. Willow was thrown against the window, and her air bags deployed.
The stalker groaned. The passenger seat window was shattered. Her laptop had flown up in the air and smashed against the side of the car, broken.
br /> She stared at her computer, thinking of her lost work. Her head throbbed, and she touched her temple. She could see blood come away on her fingertips in the dim light of the cab.
“What the hell are you doing?” she demanded, smacking at the stalker.
“You’re coming with me,” he said.
He pulled her out of her seat and started to drag her through the dark forest.
“Why are you doing this?” she demanded.
Her head ached so badly she thought maybe she had a concussion. It was hard to walk on her wobbling legs, but Charles Shaw dragged her on anyway.
“Hurry up,” he grumbled, holding on to her shirt and arm.
“What do you want?” she whimpered.
“You. Of course.”
“But why?” she said, trying to keep up with his fast pace.
Tree boughs smacked into her face as he forced her through the woods. She had no idea where they were, and she didn’t think he knew either.
“You’re Sandra Collins,” he stated.
“So what?” she said, trying to pull away from him.
His grip was too tight and he was too strong. He turned to her and stopped. She saw his eyes spark in the moonlight.
“Sandra Collins has the most sensitive, erotic characters I’ve ever read. You wrote all that. Why wouldn’t I want you?”
“You’re insane,” she growled.
“No. I’m perfectly sane. What man in his right mind wouldn’t want the woman who wrote those words? Ever since I was the assistant editor on your first book, I knew I had to have you. I was fired just for trying to find out who you are. Did you know that? But I found you anyway. And I’m never letting you go.”
He yanked her forward, forcing her on. They walked through the night until he finally decided to rest.
“Sit there,” he said, pointing at a dark thicket.
The sun was starting to rise, but they must be miles from the car crash by now. No one would ever find her. God only knew what Charles Shaw wanted to do with her.
“Just let me go,” she whispered, her voice hoarse.
“Not a chance. Now that I have you, you’re mine.”
“What do you intend to do with me?”
“Make you mine. Keep you. Love you. Worship you. I intend to give you everything you deserve. That shifter couldn’t do it. He might have made you feel good for a minute on that beach, but I’ll make you feel good forever.”
“You saw us?” she asked, disgusted.
“I should have killed him when I saw him touching you. But I wasn’t ready to make myself known to you.”
“He’s an ex-military grizzly bear shifter. I doubt you could have taken him,” Willow said, taunting the asshole.
“He’s nothing special. I could do anything for love.”
Willow groaned and rolled her eyes. This guy was totally cracked.
“So you really like my writing, huh? Tell me more,” she teased.
“You’re brilliant. Your characters are so real. It’s like I know them.”
“Go on,” she said.
She might as well get an ego boost out of this. That way, when he killed her, at least she’d feel good about herself. That train of thought made her panic. Her heart raced, and she felt sweat drip down her brow.
She’d sent Corey a text. Right? As smart as he was, maybe he’d be able to figure out what happened. Maybe he’d come save her. Her only hope was the man who’d broken her heart. The man she’d vowed never to speak to again.
11
Corey’s phone pinged with a text from Willow. He stared at the screen.
“Help.”
That’s all it said.
Help?
He called her phone, but it went straight to voicemail. That was odd. Something must be wrong. His heart sped up until it was pounding as he had a realization. The stalker hadn’t been in Seattle.
Why had he been so blind?
Corey called the lodge, and the evening receptionist answered.
“Could you call Willow Rhine’s suite?” he asked.
“One moment,” she said. Corey waited. “That guest checked out.”
“When?”
“About an hour ago,” she said.
“Did she say why?”
“I wasn’t on duty then, sir. I wouldn’t know. But Kelly did mention a guest had thrown her keycard at her.”
“Willow wouldn’t throw anything at anyone,” Corey stated.
“I don’t think it was intentional. Kelly said the woman was really upset.”
“She fell right into his hands. It’s all my fault.”
“Excuse me, sir?”
“Thanks for your help.”
He started to dial. Levi didn’t answer. Damn. Levi always answered. He started out of the cabin, hurrying out into the night. His phone rang as he opened the door.
“What is it?” Levi asked.
“Willow’s been taken. We need to assemble the crew.”
“Taken? How? Why?”
“She’s been kidnapped by a stalker. We need to find her.”
“I’ll alert the crew and call the chief of police. We’ll get your mate back safely. Don’t worry.”
“I’ll find out what I can from here,” Corey said.
Corey dug further into Charles Shaw’s past. The man had worked in New York at Willow’s publishing company. But what the people at her company probably didn’t know was that he’d been arrested for stalking another woman almost ten years ago. Corey was able to crack into sealed files from a case in Pennsylvania. No ordinary person would be able to access those files.
Shaw had been a minor at the time and had the case removed from his record after he served some time in juvenile detention.
He hadn’t had to mention it when he got a job as an editor for Willow’s company. No one knew.
Who had he been stalking? A poet who’d graduated high school two years before him.
After he’d gotten out of juvy, he’d gone on to college to study English. Big surprise. And after he’d graduated, he got a job as an editor at a publishing company in New York.
Few people knew the identity of the ghostwriters who worked for the company. But somehow, he’d been able to find out that Willow wrote most of Sandra Collins’ books. Corey had to put a stop to whatever evil plan he had for Willow.
The stalking case in Pennsylvania had ended with a minor assault, but the girl’s roommate had walked in on Charles Shaw holding the young poet captive. The roommate had called the police and had probably saved the girl from a much worse fate.
Corey gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. That psycho would not hurt his mate. He slammed his fist on his computer desk.
“Damn it!”
He would never let anyone hurt his mate. His beautiful Willow. The realization bowled him over.
Why had he been so stupid? No matter what he believed about fated mates, Corey knew he was in love with Willow.
That’s why he’d broken it off. His bear growled inside his mind, reminding him that his mate was still out there. He had to find her. He had to save her and bring her home.
They’d figure everything once she was out of danger. He vowed that he would never take her for granted again. The thought of that crazy man laying a hand on her drove him to the brink.
He opened up the files on his computer and started to analyze the GPS location of Willow’s phone, using the data from her last text.
When she’d texted him the word “help”, her phone had been on the highway headed back to Portland about fifteen miles out of Fate Mountain Village.
He quickly texted the location to Levi. His phone rang right after he sent it.
“I’ve spoken with the chief of police,” Levi started. “A kidnapping is a dangerous police matter, and they want to take over the case. However, he does want to interface with you on the rescue since you have access to information they don’t. And he’s invited the crew out to help search the woods.”
“Sounds g
ood, Levi.”
Corey got on the phone with the police chief and relayed his information from Willow’s GPS.
“I’ve got a squad car in that location,” the chief said. “It looks like a car skidded off the road there and tore down a steep hill. That was probably them.”
Corey gasped, thinking of Willow in a car accident. He could feel her fear in his chest. He knew that man had her.
The chief was a shifter like his crew, and so was much of the police department. The Rescue Bears had worked with the Fate Mountain Police on rescues before.
“The area around there is dense and hard to get through. We’re glad the Rescue Bears are assisting on this one. Is there any more information you can give me on where to look?”
“I’m inputting the data for my system to analyze now.”
There was a knock at the door, and Corey hung up the phone with the police chief. When he opened the door, he found his crew all standing outside.
“We’re setting up Alpha Station here,” Levi said, walking through the front door.
The crew were dressed and ready for a rescue. He also noticed that Shane, Angus, Drew, and Zach were all packing heat.
It gave Corey confidence to know that his crew were going out to find Willow. His mate. His love. Corey’s heart clenched when he thought of how foolish he’d been. To her and to his crew.
But he didn’t have time for self-recrimination now. He had to find her.
Levi began to direct the crew, interfacing with the chief of police via walkie-talkie. Levi was a good leader and kept things organized and on track in a way Corey never could. He admired his alpha for his leadership, and he would always be loyal to Levi for that and for so many other reasons.
Two teams went out from Corey’s cabin. Drew and Zach would take one route, and Angus and Shane took the second.
His system was still parsing data, trying to figure out Charles Shaw’s motives and movements in those woods.
It would take time to analyze all the data, and until he had some clue, all he could do was sit there and watch the files load on his screen.