by Aja Foxx
There wasn't a trace of anger in Butch's voice when he replied, "He's not going to die."
"Not die?" I sputtered, bristling with anger. "Do you actually know anything about leukemia?"
"Harry doesn't have leukemia, Henry."
"Doesn't have..." I choked on my own words. "Are you insane or just stupid?"
I was leaning toward both.
"Do you have a medical degree?"
"No, I do not." Butch's voice was cold when he replied. "I have something better."
"Better than a medical degree?" I countered icily. "Let me guess. You discovered Harry's cure at the bottom of your beer glass?"
I was so furious, I could hardly speak. I knew bringing Harry here was a bad idea. I'd been against it from the very beginning. I knew from the moment I'd seen Harry sitting on the side of his bed that he was signing his death warrant, and I'd been stupid enough to go along with it.
I was such an idiot.
I'd held onto a small hope that Butch had found some way to save my twin brother. I was at my wit's end when it came to modern medicine. In all the years I'd researched his disease, there had been no cure. There hadn't even been a hint of a cure. Butch had given me a glimmer of hope, and now it was all gone.
I felt like crying.
"I can't believe I allowed myself to be convinced you could save my brother," I whispered.
"I can save Harry," Butch said with such conviction, for a moment I almost believed him. Then the reality of the situation hit me and I knew Butch might believe he could save Harry, but he couldn't.
"How?" I asked simply because I wanted to know what kind of story he was going to feed me. "How are you going to save my brother?"
"Remember when you said you'd seen too much to ever dismiss anything?"
My brow flickered with confusion. "Yes."
"I need you to remember that." Butch tossed back the remains of his whiskey then set his glass down on the desk. "What I'm about to tell you cannot leave this room under any circumstances. People's very lives are at stake here, Henry. Understand?"
I swallowed tightly as I nodded. "It isn't anything illegal, is it?"
I wanted to know, but there were lines I would not cross.
"No," Butch said firmly. "It's nothing illegal, but it may test your belief in modern medicine. That's why I need your promise that what is said here is never repeated anywhere else."
I glanced at Gunner.
Gunner smiled as he reached over and took my hand. "It's okay, Henry. It's not bad."
I wasn't sure I believed him.
I turned back to Butch, but kept a hold of Gunner's hand. I think I needed the connection and reassurance right then. "Okay, you have my promise. I'm listening."
"As a medical doctor, would you agree that a child created between two people tends to take on their genetics?" Butch asked.
"Yes." I could agree to that. We received twenty-three chromosomes from each parent. Even people without a medical degree knew that.
"As parents," Butch continued, "we don't get to choose what genetics we pass on."
That one was a little more up in the air.
"Go on," I said.
"Some of the genetics Harry received from me is why he's sick."
I shook my head. "No, people can inherit genetic abnormalities that increase their risk of developing leukemia, but the disease itself is not inherited."
"Harry doesn't have leukemia, Henry."
I stared, expecting someone to tell me he was joking. When no one said anything, I licked my lips, unsure of how to explain to Butch that he was wrong. "Butch—"
"I can prove it."
My jaw slackened. "You can...prove it?"
How?
"When someone with my genetics reaches puberty, their muscles start to ache, their bones ache, and they have an increase in appetite even though they seem to get skinnier with each passing day. It's like going through a painful growth spurt without the growth." Butch arched an eyebrow. "Sound familiar?"
"Well, yes, but—"
"The drugs that they pumped Harry full of kept him from reaching his full potential and masked his true condition. I imagine the doctors thought he had leukemia because they had never encountered what was really going on with him."
"But you have?"
"Yes, every man in this room has with the exception of Bug."
I glanced across the room at Bug, who waved at me. "So." I looked back to Butch. "What do you think is wrong with Harry?"
"I don't think," Butch corrected. "I know. I can smell it on him."
"You can smell it?" I'd heard of dogs who could sniff out cancer cells, of course, but I'd never heard of a human being able to do that.
Butch slowly drew in a deep breath.
I was suddenly anxious to escape his unsettling presence. I tightened my grip on Gunner's hand. "Just say it." My voice had drifted into a hushed whisper. I wanted to know, but I was also afraid to know. It was as if I stood on the precipice of a cliff with one foot dangling over the edge.
"I'm a shifter," Butch finally said. "A bear shifter to be exact."
I let out a nervous chuckle. "This is a joke, right?"
Butch had to be joking with me.
"It's not a joke, Henry," Butch said firmly. "I was born a shifter as was every man in this room, except like I said, Bug. He was born human."
Riigght.
"Is he a shifter now?"
Butch frowned. "I just told you he was human."
He also just told me that he was a shifter.
I didn't believe a word that came out of his mouth. I was a medical doctor with over ten years working an emergency room under my belt. I might believe in the unknown because of the things I'd seen, but I did not believe in bear shifters.
"Harry is a shifter, too," Butch continued. "That's why he's sick. The doctors stuffed him so full of drugs that he couldn't shift."
Of course.
I plastered a smile on my face even as I released Gunner's hand and stood putting my chair between me and every other man—or shifter if I believed what I was being told, and I didn't—in the room. "Well, thank you for explaining it to me. I think that—"
Butch sighed. "Show him, Gunner."
My eyes popped wide when Gunner stood and started pulling his clothes off. "What are you doing?"
"Just watch," Gunner replied.
Like I could do anything else.
"Remember that he will not hurt you," Butch said. "Not in this form or his shifted form. We are perfectly cognizant in either form. He'll know who you are and can understand you. Don't be afraid."
Not likely.
I was pretty much terrified.
As scared as I was, I still nearly swallowed my tongue when Gunner pulled his shirt off over his head and then started stripping off his boots and pants.
God, the man was chiseled. I'd felt his muscles when I'd been pressed against him back at my mother's house, but it was nothing like actually seeing those muscles.
The desire to reach out and stroke my hand over those rigid peaks and valleys was overwhelming. So much smooth skin covered by a blanket of dark hair.
It was glorious.
Until the hair started to thicken right before my eyes.
I gasped and stumbled back when Gunner's face elongated and became a muzzle complete with black nose and furry face. His bones crackled and shifted as he dropped down onto all fours. Thick brown hair sprouted up and covered every inch of his body until I couldn't see any skin.
"Holy shit!"
"We are bear shifters, Henry," Butch said in a calm tone, as if a fully grown bear wasn't standing right there in the middle of the room. "We were born this way. So was Harry. That's why he's so sick. He doesn't have leukemia. He is sick because he's never shifted."
I desperately wanted to look at Butch to determine if the man was telling the truth or not, but I couldn't take my eyes off the bear in front of me, standing where the man I'd kissed had been mere moments before.
Butch chuckled, finally drawing my attention. "He's very real, Henry."
"If Harry is a shifter like you said, then why am I not sick? We are twins after all."
"You, apparently, didn't get that gene from me."
Oh.
I wasn't sure if I was disappointed or relieved.
Gunner bear chuffed and took a step toward me. I squeaked and stumbled back until I hit the door.
Full grown bear, remember?
"He will not hurt you, Henry."
Yeah, I wasn't buying that one.
Luckily, a loud crash from outside the office, followed by a lot of yelling, kept me from having to put that thought to words.
"Gunner!" Butch snapped as he jumped to his feet and raced around his desk.
I had just enough time to jump out of the way before Butch and Bear—the human looking one—raced past me. When I turned back, Gunner was back in his human form and pulling on his clothes just as fast as he could.
As soon as he got everything all tucked in and his boots on, he hurried across the room. He paused in front of me. When he reached a hand out to me, I shied back out of reach. Gunner grimaced, but there was a sadness in his eyes that made me wish I'd had a different reaction.
Gunner dropped his hand back to his side. "Stay here with Bug."
He was gone before I could reply.
I slowly turned to look at Bug. "Wha..." I frowned as I tried to put my chaotic thoughts into words. "Bear is a...bear?"
Bug nodded.
"And you're okay with that?"
"Not bad bear. Good bear."
Right.
"Bear love Bug. Protect Bug. Care for Bug." Bug shrugged. "Good Bear."
"But he...he..." I couldn't even say it.
"Yep." Bug nodded. "Bear be bear."
"How can you be so calm about that?" I was freaking the fuck out.
Bug shrugged again. "Bear love Bug."
The door behind me crashed open.
I jumped and screamed, pressing a hand to my chest as I spun around. A man dressed as a police officer stood in the doorway, complete with a gun held in his hands.
He lowered the gun and pointed it at me and then Bug and then back to me. "Who are you?"
"Dr. Henry Nash."
The officer blinked at me and then slowly started to lower his weapon. "You're Dr. Nash?"
"Yes." I didn't like the cold fear slithering up my spine. "What's going on?"
The officer nudged his chin toward Bug. "Who's he? Is he one of them bikers?"
Something told me to be careful how I answered that question.
"He's a friend."
"Oh." The officer straightened and the placed his gun back in the holster on his hip. "We're here to rescue you."
Wait...what?
I squinted at the officer. "Rescue me from what?"
"The biker gang that kidnapped you." The man held up his hand. "But don't worry, we have them all in custody. They can't hurt you ever again."
I didn't understand the rage that flashed through me like a wildfire, but I had no problem letting it burn into an inferno. "What makes you think I was kidnapped?"
"We received a report that you and your brother were kidnapped by the Soldiers of Fortune Motorcycle Club."
This was my chance to get me and Harry out of this crazy animal house. All I had to do was go along with what the officer was saying and Gunner and his biker buddies would never be a problem again. I could leave all this craziness behind.
"No." I shook my head as I crossed my arms. "I don't know who told you that, but they were wrong. My brother and I were not kidnapped."
The officer's eyes widened. "You're here willingly?"
"Of course I am," I snapped. When the officer's hand went to the butt of his gun, I knew I needed to try another tactic. "Do you know anything about leukemia, officer?"
"Leukemia?"
"Yes, my brother has leukemia. He's actually dying of it and doesn't have much time left. One of his dying wishes was to take a ride through the country with a motorcycle club. I asked around and this club was recommended to me as one who might be willing to fulfill my brother's dying wish."
The officer's eyebrows lifted. "You're here for a motorcycle ride?"
"My brother is upstairs resting right now. Once the sun comes up and it gets a little warmer, we're supposed to head out."
The officer glanced up, almost as if he could see my brother. "Your brother is here, sleeping."
"Yes, he's upstairs with my butler."
The man's eyes snapped back to me. "You have a butler?"
I let out a heavy sigh. "Of course I have a butler. I don't have time to grocery shop, cook meals, or clean. I am an emergency room doctor. I research my brother's cancer in my spare time, which there is not a lot of."
"But you have time to take your brother on a motorcycle ride?"
I narrowed my eyes. "My twin brother is dying, officer. I have time for anything he needs. If you have a problem with that, we can take it up with your supervising officer."
"I think you'll need to speak to my supervisor anyway."
"Fine." I waved my hand toward the open doorway. "Let's go speak to your supervisor."
When the officer turned to walk out of the room, I glanced over my shoulder and mouthed for Bug to stay here. I wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but I didn't want Bug involved. I knew without even thinking about it that that would be a very bad idea.
My jaw dropped as I walked into the main room. It was swarming with cops, and they had every member of the Soldiers of Fortune MC that I'd met on their knees on the floor, and even a few I hadn't met yet. Two officers were walking behind them, handcuffing their arms behind their backs.
It was insane.
"What is going on in here?" I shouted. "Why are you handcuffing these men?"
"Who are you?" someone shouted from behind me.
I turned and then frowned when I found myself faced with an older man in a police uniform. "Are you in charge of this mess?"
"I'm Sergeant Pierce." The man's lip curled back in disdain as he looked me up and down. "Who are you?"
I could instantly tell this man was trying to intimidate me with his uniform and his rank. I'd faced armed thugs in the middle of a bloodbath of gunshot wounds. This guy did not frighten me.
"My name is Dr. Henry Nash, and apparently I'm your kidnap victim, except I haven't been kidnapped."
The officer's eyes widened for a brief second before he scowled again. "We received a report—"
"That I had been kidnapped. I know. Your officer explained it, but that doesn't make it true. As I tried to explain to him, I am here willingly. Mr. Cassidy and his friends are simply helping me fulfill my brother's dying wish to go on a group motorcycle ride in the countryside."
"Your brother?"
I rolled my eyes, making sure to go slow enough so the officer could see the gesture, and then I pointed to the ceiling. "My twin brother is dying of leukemia. He is currently upstairs resting in one of the guestrooms. My butler is watching over him."
"What are you doing here?"
"We are waiting for the sun to come up and the weather to get a little nicer before Mr. Cassidy and his buddies take us on a ride through the countryside. As my brother doesn't have much time left, I felt it was better to do it now rather than when he was on his deathbed."
"You weren't kidnapped?"
"No."
The officer huffed. "Then who the fuck called in a kidnapping?"
"I believe that would be your department, Sergeant, but be sure to come see me if you get shot. I work the emergency room on day shift."
Sergeant Pierce rolled his eyes as he glanced at the two officers cuffing the bikers. "Release them."
"But, Sergeant—"
"You heard me!" he snapped. "Release them."
The officer started mumbling to himself as he released everyone.
The sergeant pulled a pad of paper out of
his pocket along with a pen before looking at me. "I'm going to need a statement from you."
I figured.
I crossed my arms and gave the man the same look I gave idiots in my emergency room. It was the one that clearly said they were wasting my time and they better hurry the hell up before I simply walked away.
"What do you need to know?"
Chapter Fifteen
~ Gunner ~
I rubbed my wrists where the zip ties had cut into my skin. My wrists hurt, but not as much as my heart did. Henry was standing across the room giving his statement to the police, but his whole demeanor—from the crossed arms to the scowl on his face—screamed that he wanted to be left alone.
I was pretty sure that his anger was aimed at me. He wouldn't even look in my direction. He ignored me as if I wasn't even there. He was ignoring all of us.
It had to be the shifter thing. He had seen me shift into my bear right before everything went to shit and now he wanted nothing to do with me, and I hadn't even gotten the chance to tell him that we were mates.
If his disdainful appearance was anything to go by, I doubted I ever would.
"Give him some time," Bear said as he stepped up beside me. "It was easier with Bug because he'd already seen me shift. Henry hadn't. He needs time to process that and come to terms with everything. His world just turned upside down."
"Yeah." I knew Bear was right, but I was terrified that learning about shifters was going to be too much for Henry, and then I would lose him.
Not that I'd actually had him in the first place. I'd basically gotten him to realize I was interested and that was about it. He had no idea he had become the most important person in my life.
Even if he never spoke another word to me, he would still be the most important person in my life. Now that I'd smelled him and tasted him, no one else would ever do. No one would smell as sweet or taste as delicious. No one would bring out my softer side while making me fiercely protective all at the same time. He had my total devotion, whether he wanted it or not.
I suspected he did not.
"Who do you think called in the kidnapping?" I asked to get my mind onto something else.
Bear shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe it was that guy who was watching the place when we arrived. Or maybe it was Nurse Ratchet."