by Kim Fox
“You coming, Sloth?” Logan asked the plump cat who was stretching on the pool chair as they walked by. He opened his eyes for half a second and then shut them, snoring almost immediately.
“I guess that answers that,” Ryder said with a laugh.
“We have more than enough men,” Bryce said, nodding confidently.
They all silently agreed.
Although in a few hours, they’d be changing their minds.
Chapter Two
Ryder
“He should be in there,” Grant said as they pulled up to the abandoned factory. It had been an hour drive and Ryder was thrilled to get out of the pickup truck. Being squished between two amped up lion shifters wasn’t the best way to spend an hour.
They poured out of the truck and gathered by the front door. “Shouldn’t we have some guns or something?” Bryce asked. The confidence that he exuded by the pool was suddenly replaced with a shaking fearfulness.
“We have our weapons in here,” Mack said, tapping the kid’s chest. “Guns are for pussies.”
Ryder felt his own weapon stirring within. His lion was ready to go. The poor cat hadn’t been out in a long time—Ryder hadn’t had anyone to unleash him on in a while.
“You’ll get a turn,” he whispered to him as he cracked his tattooed knuckles. “But I’m going first.”
Grant raised his nose and sniffed the air long and hard. His amber eyes lit up when he caught a whiff of something.
“Follow me,” he whispered and then snuck inside.
The dank smell of rust and stale urine hit Ryder’s nose as he crept inside the old factory. His eyes took a second to adjust to the darkness and when they did, he could see that it was a vast, empty space. He looked up at the high metal beams on the ceiling that were coated in decade-old bird shit and then at the faded graffiti along the crumbling brick walls. There was some old rusted equipment on the right, but it didn’t look like it could make anything except dust.
It was silent inside, except for the steady drip, drip, drip of some water dripping in from the hole in the roof. And of course, for Bryce’s sloppy walking. He was shuffling his feet like an amateur.
Ryder lifted his nose and inhaled, trying to get a whiff of the bear. Instead, he got a faint whiff of something else… vanilla and lavender maybe? He looked around, trying to find the source of it when Grant dropped a hand on his shoulder.
“He’s behind there,” he said, motioning to a big piece of machinery with his eyes. Ryder didn’t know how the alpha knew that. Grant always seemed to have the best senses. He always heard and saw things a few seconds before everyone else.
Ryder narrowed his eyes on the spot and they all spread out as they quietly walked forward. The tension was thick. There was a lot laying on this.
Bryce didn’t have to be told to stay near Mack. He was practically up the big shifter’s ass, he was walking so close as he watched with a fearful look in his eye.
They walked around the machine and Ryder spotted him immediately. The polar bear shifter was sitting on the ground crosslegged in his human form. His big head was lowered as he stared at the picture of a young girl that he had cradled in his hands.
He stank and looked like he had seen better days. He hadn’t shaved or bathed in a while and his hair and clothes were filthy.
Ryder’s lion tightened inside, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice.
The polar bear shifter never looked up. He just kept staring at the picture of the little girl with a sad face.
Ryder wondered if it was one of the people he killed and gritted his teeth together.
“Grease,” Grant said in a firm voice.
The shifter still didn’t look up.
“Grease, we’re here to take you in.”
“You should leave,” he whispered. It was so low that Ryder had to lean in to hear.
“Your bear killed a lot of people,” Grant continued. “It can’t be on the street anymore.”
“It wasn’t my bear,” he said.
Ryder flexed his arms. They had all secretly hoped that it was his bear. A wild murderous bear that couldn’t be tamed was always easier to deal with then a murderous human.
“Enough of this,” Mack said with an impatient grunt. He rolled up his sleeves and stomped forward. “You’re coming with us!”
He slapped a large palm onto Grease’s arm and the polar bear shifter reacted so fast that Ryder couldn’t register what was happening until Mack was flying through the air and crashing into the brick wall across the factory.
“Get him!” Grant shouted.
A lion exploded out of Logan as Grant and Ryder rushed forward. Grease quickly tucked the picture of the girl into his front pocket and leapt to his feet.
He was so fast. He ducked under Grant’s punch and crumpled him to the floor with a hard roundhouse to the ribs. Ryder could hear the bones cracking as Grant fell to a knee.
Logan’s lion was running up behind Ryder so he dropped to his hands and knees for their move that worked every time.
The lion’s heavy paws slammed onto Ryder’s back and then pushed off, sending Logan’s lion flying through the air. He was all claws and teeth as he sailed at the killer.
It worked every time. Except this one.
Grease shot his arm out and snatched the lion’s neck in his big hand. He turned his body, using the lion’s momentum against him and slammed him into the concrete floor.
As Logan’s eyes rolled in the back of his head, Ryder leapt up and jumped on the big man just as Grant recovered and joined him. The two cousins fought together—punching, kicking, and wrestling the much, much stronger man. How the hell is he so strong?
Grease brushed off any punch they landed and yanked himself out of any hold they got on him. The two cousins had been fighting together for years and had the grace and choreography of tango dancers, but none of that was showing now. They were struggling and we’re about to get their asses kicked.
Bryce’s lion jumped in out of nowhere, snarling and gnashing his teeth. He was gone just as quickly as he came, sailing through the air like a broken piñata.
Ryder was doing everything he could to avoid those heavy mitts, but when he stepped on the tail of Logan’s lion, he slipped, and those thunderous knuckles connected.
Pain shot through his head as Grease’s fist slammed into his face. His legs buckled and he fell back, his ass landing hard on the damp concrete. He looked up through watery eyes and saw Grant getting the same treatment. Two shots to the face and his alpha fell as well.
Grease’s huge body started shaking, and then in front of Ryder’s horrified eyes, a huge, mutant-like polar bear exploded out of him. His white fur was gone in patches, which showed off his pink skin and freakishly grotesque muscles.
“Oh my god,” Ryder gasped as he looked up at him. This wasn’t normal. This wasn’t like any polar bear shifter that he had ever seen before. He was a monster.
Now it all made sense. Two million dollars for one shifter. They’d be lucky to walk out of here with their lives, let alone the two million dollars.
The bear huffed out a breath, opened its huge jaws and let out a roar that Ryder felt vibrating in his bones. When it stopped, another roar took its place.
Mack’s crazy lion was sprinting across the factory floor, snarling and growling in anger. He leapt into the air and landed with a smack on the polar bear’s back. The bear snarled in anger and pain as the lion dug his thick claws into his shoulders, holding himself in place.
Grant and Ryder both jumped up and rushed to help. But the look in the bear’s eye had them sliding to a stop. His jaw snapped shut and tightened as he flexed his body that had the lion still clinging on.
A shlang filled the air and Mack’s eyes widened. His face lost all its ferocity and his body went limp. He slowly slipped off and then fell to the ground as the bear shrugged him off.
“What the hell is that?” Ryder couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Six long spikes were sticking out of
the polar bear’s back, trailing along his spine. They were about a foot long each and covered in Mack’s blood.
Grease tightened once again and the spikes disappeared with a shlunk.
“Retractable spikes,” Grant said, almost to himself. “He’s been experimented on.”
The polar bear wasn’t in the mood to explain. He gathered his clothes into his mouth and sprinted away.
Ryder watched in shock as the bear dashed away. Not only was this guy big and strong, he was also incredibly fast.
Grant ran over to check on Mack who was bleeding pretty heavily. Logan was only now waking up and who knew where Bryce was? Probably halfway to the moon by now.
Ryder knew what was on the line. This murderous freak of a teddy bear was the only thing that could save his family’s ranch. He had to get that two million dollars. Grease looked unbeatable, but Ryder had to try.
He sprinted after him through the old factory, slamming his feet onto the wet concrete floor.
His inner lion was raging and begging to be released. It was true that his animal was faster, but he couldn’t let him out. If this guy had shaken off Mack and Logan’s lion like they were pesky fleas, then Ryder’s luck wouldn’t be that much better. Beating this guy would require brains, not brawn.
Ryder pushed a little harder when he saw Grease escape through a hole in the wall up ahead. He followed him out and watched as the bear shifter turned back into his human form, quickly got dressed, and then raced up the rickety fire escape.
Ryder followed, chasing him up until his legs were burning and his lungs were on fire. The deadly killer disappeared onto the roof and Ryder followed him.
His heart was pounding as adrenaline surged through his veins as he jumped up and pulled himself onto the roof.
“Wha—”
He couldn’t believe what he was witnessing.
Grease was frozen in the air. His feet were off the ground and his face was twisted up in a look of shock and horror. A woman was on the roof, pointing a red stick at him.
Her wide blue eyes darted to Ryder and she took a step back, looking at him with unease.
Ryder’s mind raced as he tried to piece it all together. Who was this girl with the long brown hair flowing in the wind? What the hell kind of weapon was she holding that could do that to this killer bear? What the hell was he supposed to do now and why couldn’t he stop staring at her?
“Get back,” she warned as she took another step away from him.
“I’m just trying to help,” Ryder said as he slowly raised his hands in the air. “This is a very bad guy, and I want to take him back to jail.”
“That’s what I’m doing,” she said.
“You’re a bounty hunter?” Ryder asked. This gorgeous girl with the ripped up jeans, Mumford and Sons t-shirt, and beautiful thick brown eyebrows didn’t look like a bounty hunter. She smelled like vanilla and lavender for fuck’s sake! Bounty Hunters don’t smell delicious. They smell like sweat and gunpowder and blood and manliness.
“Yeah,” she said, tilting her head to the side. “You are too?”
Ryder nodded.
“He’s mine,” she said, walking closer to him. “I got him first.”
“You don’t understand,” Ryder said, feeling his pulse start to race. He was going to lose this guy to a girl? The boys would never let him live this down. “You have to let me take him.”
“I don’t have to do anything,” she snapped back. “I’ve been following this guy for two weeks.”
Grease was still suspended a foot off the ground. The only thing moving on his body was his panicked eyes that were slowly moving from side to side.
Ryder’s body tensed as he stepped forward. “I’m taking him.”
The girl stepped up beside Grease and reached behind her back. She unhooked a pair of handcuffs and locked her wrist to Grease’s. “I told you. He’s mine.”
Ryder huffed out a breath as he walked over to her.
“Stay back,” she warned, but she had only one of those red sticks and it was already pointed at Grease.
“I told you,” Ryder grunted. “I’m bringing him, even if I have to bring you in with him.”
Ryder grabbed the second pair of cuffs from her belt and locked his tattooed wrist to hers with a click.
Her mouth dropped open in shock. The three of them were now handcuffed together.
“I can’t believe you just did that!”
“I always get my mark,” Ryder said with a snarl.
Her bushy eyebrows squished together as she narrowed her eyes at him with a vicious glare. She was stuck between two deadly shifters, but she didn’t look scared.
She looked pissed.
“You have no idea what you just did.”
Ryder scoffed. “What, did I ruin your little plan?”
He was loving this—watching her getting all worked up. The handcuffs weren’t as permanent as she thought they were. Ryder knew he could break the chain if he had to.
But first, he had to get Grease under control, which meant, getting that red weapon in her hand.
“Give me the stun gun or stun stick or whatever that thing is,” he said, holding his hand out for it.
She jerked it away. “No.”
Grease was watching all of this with wide eyes, still frozen in the air.
Ryder tried to grab it, but she jerked it out of his reach. While she moved it, Grease’s arm was free for a split second.
“Give it to me,” he demanded. “I’m not going to tell you again.”
“Stop it!” she shouted as he tried to grab it again. She moved it out of his reach and slapped him. His own hand flew up and struck him after hers did thanks to the handcuffs.
Now he was really pissed.
He wasn’t about to lose his mark, his pride, or the family ranch over this stubborn girl.
“No!” she shouted, swearing at him as he jumped on her arm, trying to grab the red stick. They fought and wrestled, but she hung on. The girl was stronger than he expected and faster too. She was much stronger than a human, but she smelled like one. She definitely wasn’t a shifter. Ryder would have been able to smell the animal she was hiding within.
He grabbed a hold of her wrist and she yanked her hand away, jerking the red weapon into the air. The hold on Grease was released and the bear shifter dropped to his feet.
Ryder gasped as Grease immediately grabbed the chain on the handcuffs and snapped it in two.
He took off running with the cuff and broken chain still wrapped around his wrist.
“Look what you did!” the girl shouted in frustration as Grease leapt off the building, disappearing below. “You let him get away.”
Ryder grinned. “He’s not getting away.”
He grabbed the handcuffs that tied him to the feisty girl and yanked as hard as he could. The chain didn’t break. It didn’t even bend.
“I don’t understand,” he muttered as he tried again, even harder this time. He had broken handcuffs before. What was going on?
The girl was just shaking her head. “They’re not going to break.”
All of the energy seemed to rush out of Ryder. He was attached to this girl now?
She looked at him with a challenging stare. “What’s the plan now, genius?”
Ryder took a deep breath. “We go get him.”
She laughed in his face. “How the heck ar—”
He turned and sprinted back to the fire escape, shutting her up and practically dragging her behind him.
Chapter Three
Tempest
This day kept going from bad to worse. First, the waiter messed up Tempest’s breakfast order, giving her an all egg-white omelet when she had clearly ordered chocolate chip pancakes—I mean, how do you mix those two up??? Come on!—then she felt guilty about turning back the healthy option for a much less healthy option and was forced to choke it down. Then, she forgot her favorite sweater in the bathroom of a gas station, and now she was chained to this random asshole who k
ept pulling her down the fire escape without giving her a freaking second to catch up. At least he was cute.
Her mother had warned her that being a bounty hunter was a bad idea, but Tempest sucked at customer service and she could only last about fourteen seconds in front of a computer before she was clicking on the hottest gossip websites. She clearly wasn’t suited for office work. Or, any kind of work for that matter.
“Hurry up,” the tattooed hottie grunted as he practically pulled her down the stairs.
“No, you slow down!” she shouted, yanking him back. He jerked to a stop, slipping on the stair.
He turned back and looked at her over his shoulder with a stunned look on his face. She grinned, loving it. Tempest knew that she was stronger than any woman he’d ever come across. Her mother had made sure of that.
“He’s going to get away,” he said, his voice thick with frustration. He turned back and continued running, but now that Tempest had gotten a second to catch up, she kept up with him. She was fast. Her mother had made sure of that too.
The unbreakable chain of the handcuffs slackened when they got to the ground and started running side by side.
“How are you keeping up with me?” he asked, staring at her in shock as they sprinted after that creepy looking polar bear shifter guy.
She just grinned and put her chin up, letting her hair flow in the wind behind her. He just stared.
That’s right, buddy. Eat your heart out.
Just as she was about to wink at him, her toe snagged on a crack in the pavement and she went flying forward, smacking her forehead on the cement and bringing her new friend down with her.
“Ow,” she whined as she pushed up to her knees. Her head was spinning and her eyes were watering.
Tempest was incredibly strong and incredibly fast. But she was also incredibly clumsy.
Her mother had forgotten to make sure of that.
“Are you okay?” the guy said as he climbed to his feet.
Tempest’s cheeks blushed. She was touched and a little flattered that he had asked about her.