The Way You Are

by Carly Fall

  Getting up, he slipped on some sweats and went into the kitchen. Zach sat had been at the table, the coffee pot full.

  “Good morning,” Garrett said with a yawn.

  “I’m sure it is.”

  He pulled a cup off the shelf and poured, then sat down across from Zach. “What does that mean?”

  “It means you had a good night.”

  Garrett studied his friend, and decided he wouldn’t cop to anything.

  Zach sighed. “I know you and Ruby were together last night, Garrett. You two were so loud it sounded like cats fucking, except not as violent. Poor Savannah almost had a nervous breakdown. Besides that, the whole hallway smells like sex.”

  He didn’t remember smelling anything out of the ordinary.

  “When I lost my sight, my other senses were heightened,” Zach reminded him.

  Right.

  “Well, I guess there’s no point in denying it,” he mumbled, drinking his coffee. “This is a good pot of ambition, Zach.”

  “No, there’s no sense denying it, and thank you. Joe also called this morning, He’s sending Thomas to pick me up.”

  “Did he say anything else?”

  “He said they are close to locating Ruby’s kidnappers, and her parents will be calling tonight at five. He expects Ruby to be by the phone at that time.”

  He nodded, wondering why they hadn’t touched base with her before then. “Anything else?”

  “Like a list of people who work for Group Nine? No.”

  Damn.

  “You’ve got other problems right now, anyway.”

  “What’s that?”

  Zach lowered his voice and leaned forward. “It’s a wild guess, but I think Ruby knows your secret.”

  Suddenly, the coffee didn’t taste so good. “Why do you think that?”

  Zach sighed. “Did you go out last night?”

  “Yeah. Early this morning about four or five—before the sun came up.”

  “I heard Ruby up around that time. She used the bathroom in your room. Then all was blessedly quiet for a few minutes before she scampered to her room like her ass was on fire.” Zach sat back in his chair and had another sip of coffee. “Either she knows, or you’re a terrible lay and she just wanted to get away from you. Considering the fact that it’s almost noon and we haven’t seen her yet, I’m going with option one.”

  He stared at his friend. “Your second option is not even up for debate. I’m a master in the sack.”

  Zach shrugged. “So I heard. However, maybe you met your match in Ruby McDermott.”

  Garrett gazed out the window, replaying the night. It seemed impossible she could have faked the passion and pleasure they’d shared. No, she’d have to be a master actress, and everything they’d done had just felt honest. Some things could be faked, but the emotions behind the caresses and kisses had been real. And if she’d been so unsatisfied, why didn’t she leave after the first time? Why did she stick around, very willingly?

  “Well, here’s the thing,” Zach said. “If she does know you can shape shift, and her parents are calling tonight ... you can see the issue. Mommy and Daddy aren’t going to want their little girl around some freak who can turn into a bear. They’ll get her out of here faster than a bear can shit in the woods. Joe will be pissed off because you caused him to lose a customer.”

  Garrett sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. “You’re a smart fucker, you know that?”

  “Yes, I’m aware of that. Also, don’t forget charming and dashingly handsome.”

  He chuckled. “Now you sound like me.”

  “I think the first thing we need to do is figure out what to do with Ruby.”

  Garrett went over his options as the coffee began to jumpstart his brain. He saw no other course of action except to talk to her, to tell her the truth.

  However, that also could be a double-edged sword. If she went gossiping about him to others, that might also put Joe in danger, as well. She couldn’t necessarily tell the story without including Joe in the details. On the other hand, she didn’t strike him as the gossipy type.

  “I guess we need to talk to her, explain her knowledge can mean a big danger for all of us, and see where the chips fall.”

  Zach sighed. “What the hell were you doing out there, anyway? Why the fuck did you shift by the house?”

  He’d been trying to sort through these strange feelings for Ruby, and in a nutshell, he hadn’t really been paying attention to what he did because of his muddled brain. The woman had him all confused, and he couldn’t think straight.

  “I don’t know, man,” he said, shaking his head. “I just don’t know.”

  “I do. That girl has you by the short and curlies, Garrett, and you better not hope she has any feelings for you. If you think Daddy is going to be pissed a guy who can turn into a bear is guarding his daughter, you aren’t going to believe the nuclear reaction to the guy who breaks her heart.”

  He couldn’t think about that. “Who’s going to talk to her?”

  “If I’m right, she’s going to be terrified of you, so I’ll go talk to her right now. Hopefully, my amazing personality, dashing good looks, and ability to persuade will keep you out of the hot zone.”

  Zach stood up and left the kitchen, and Garrett wondered if he could go back to bed and start the day over.

  Chapter 26

  Ruby paced her bedroom, exhausted, scared, and wondering if she’d dreamed the whole thing.

  Garrett could turn himself into a bear.

  Impossible.

  Then what, exactly, had she seen?

  And what did it mean?

  Obviously, her father trusted Joe more than he trusted his own security team, sending her away with him. Had he known of Garrett’s ability?

  “How is it even possible?” she whispered. No one could change into an animal.

  But she’d seen it.

  She needed to call her father and get the hell out of this place. Her dad would save her—she just needed to reach that damn satellite phone in the kitchen.

  Resolve set, a tear trickled down her cheek. Last night had been the best of her life. Why hadn’t Garrett told her? Was he dangerous? What if he’d turned into a bear while they lay together? She had visions of him taking her from behind and shifting.

  “Oh, hell,” she murmured. “Stop it, Ruby. Just ... stop. You’re fine—you just need to get out of here. Forget about what could have happened. Just concentrate on what you need to do now.”

  A knock at the door startled her, and she jumped. Could bears knock?

  “Ruby? It’s Zach and Savannah. Can we please come in?”

  She backed up against the wall, not having given any thought to Zach. Could he turn into an animal, as well? Was Savannah really a dog? The way she acted—almost human-like—made her question it further.

  “Ruby, I know you’re in there. Savannah and I just need to talk to you a few minutes.”

  Her mind raced. “I’m sick!”

  “Okay, then that’s another reason we need to see you. We can’t have you sick on our watch. I need to evaluate you before calling the doctor.”

  Zach had been sweet since she’d arrived and she stared at the floor as she tried to decide what to do.

  “Ruby?”

  Slowly, she walked over to the door, laid her hand on the knob, and turned it. Zach stood on the other side with Savannah at his side. The dog’s tongue lolled to the left as she panted and wagged her tail.

  “Hi,” he greeted her.

  “Hi.”

  “Can we come in?”

  She sighed, deciding to trust him, although he held a bigger allegiance to Garrett than to her. Something about him struck her as honest, and she stepped to the side.

  “Well?”

  “I’m sorry, Zach. Please, come in.”

  After he stepped into the room, she glanced out in the hallway, happy Garrett couldn’t be found.

  “If I remember right, this room has a desk with a chair
. Could you please direct me toward that chair?”

  She walked over and pulled it out, setting it in the middle of the room. “Here you go,” she said, leading him to it.

  “Thank you, Ruby.” Savannah lay down at his side and immediately closed her eyes as if she hadn’t gotten enough sleep.

  Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Are you really feeling sick?”

  Yes, she did, but not in a virus way. No, her sickness resided in her brain with her thoughts, and in her heart with her feelings of betrayal and uncertainty.

  “Do we need to call the doctor?”

  She had no physical symptoms. “No. I’ll be okay.”

  Zach nodded. “Good. Now, what I’d like to do is be very honest with you, Ruby, and I’d like you to do the same.”

  “Okay.”

  “I know some things about Garrett, some things that very few people know. For instance, he can really be a bear at times.”

  She gasped, wondering if the play on words was legitimate or coincidence?

  “Don’t you agree?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she answered hesitantly, deciding to test the waters. “Especially last night.”

  Zach smiled and sat back. “Let’s just get down to it, Ruby, cut through the bullshit and innuendos. You saw him, right? Outside?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “So just to be clear, you saw Garrett change into a bear, or vice versa?”

  It sounded so bizarre hearing someone else say it out loud.. “Yes.”

  He nodded. “Let me tell you a story, Ruby. And every bit of this is truth.”

  Zach took off his sunglasses to exhibit two white orbs where colored eyes should have been, and she gasped, swallowing a scream as a bolt of terror tore through her.

  “I lost my sight over a year ago.”

  Obviously, she knew he was blind, but how had she never seen that his eyes didn’t hold any coloring? The wrap-around glasses hid them very effectively, not allowing for even a glance at the sides.

  Slipping the sunglasses back on, he then stroked Savannah. “Garrett and I were in the same unit in the Marines. When the accident that made me blind happened, we were together. In fact, Garrett happened to be in charge of our unit at that time.”

  Ruby’s heart thumped in her chest. She stared in abject fascination at Zach, wanting to run away from what would be said next, but transfixed by the story.

  “We were in the jungles of Guatemala at the time, fighting that stupid, losing war on drugs.” He shook his head. “What a waste of time and money.”

  She said nothing, hoping he’d continue.

  “Anyway, we had been given solid intelligence on this warehouse in the jungle. It belonged to a drug cartel, and the word was the cartel ran drugs, as well as smuggled humans out of it.”

  She moved back on the bed and pressed her back against the wall. It sounded like a book she could pull off the shelves at the library.

  “To make a long story short, the damn thing blew sky high. After all was said and done, the government we served broke up our unit and relocated all of us. Little did we know at the time how much each of us had been affected by the blast.”

  She gripped the bedspread, wondering if she’d entered some type of dream state. Pinching her arm, she realized she was fully awake. Welcome to reality, Ruby.

  “Obviously, I was blinded. However, something else began to happen shortly afterward. Whenever I stand in front of a mirror, I see snippets of the future, Ruby. It’s like someone is playing ten second bits of multiple movie trailers, one right after the other. Soon after I started seeing them, I realized that what I watched was bits of the future.”

  Tears sprung into her eyes as she listened. How could all this be true? Who were these crazy men?

  “Garrett found out he had the ability to change into a bear, as you saw last night. Another member of our unit, Lucas, sees people dying before it actually happens, the poor bastard. Brody has an intricate connection with the ocean. It’s Garrett’s belief, as well as mine, that our whole unit was intricately changed by what happened that night in the jungle.”

  She now sobbed.

  “Ruby, you have to believe me. In a few minutes, Garrett will come through that door. He’ll tell you that your parents are going to call tonight.”

  “That doesn’t prove anything!”

  Zach smiled. “But just wait. You’ll see Ruby. Because when he comes into the room, Savannah is going to throw up all over his feet. Now, I could certainly work with Garrett on the timing of him coming through the door, but I can’t make a horse whinny in the distance, nor can I make a dog barf on Garrett’s feet, however much I would love that type of power.”

  She smiled in spite of the situation.

  “Now, do you have any questions for me?”

  She tried to think of some, but frankly, she felt too overwhelmed to form any coherent thoughts. How she wanted to believe Zach’s explanation, but at the same time, she knew she delved into a world where she simply didn’t belong—jungles, explosions, and life changing events—she had no idea how to accept any of it, or deal with it.

  “I don’t think so,” she murmured. “It’s all so much to process.”

  He nodded. “I know. Imagine it actually happening to you. Now that, Ruby, is terrifying. Imagine one moment standing in your living room, minding your own business, and then catching a glimpse of yourself in the TV screen, and you’re a bear. Or, having your vision taken from you, only to be replaced by this very strange third sight and knowing bits of the future.”

  Both scenarios terrified her.

  “Now, you know that Garrett and I would never hurt you. You’ve been here three days, and we’ve had ample opportunity.”

  “But I didn’t know your secrets.”

  He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, Ruby. Besides, I think Garrett likes you a little bit more than any other client.”

  Her cheeks flamed as Zach smiled. Was he cluing her in that he knew about last night?

  A knock sounded at the door, and Savannah got up and whined. Ruby moved to answer it, but Zach put up his hand.

  “I’ll get it. I’m going to have to leave to clean up the throw up, anyway.”

  He made his way over to the door and opened it. Garrett stood on the other side, looking worried. He glanced over Zach’s shoulder at her, his eyes pleading.

  “Can I come in, Ruby?”

  The horse whinnied in the distance, and Savannah whined again and bent her head down.

  A second later, Garrett’s boots were covered in throw-up.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” he yelled, and Ruby burst out laughing, as did Zach. “You knew that was coming, didn’t you, Zach!’

  Zach shrugged. “I needed to prove to Ruby that you weren’t the only one affected that night. Besides, there’s nothing that can be done. You can’t change Fate, Garrett. Take off your shoes and I’ll get them cleaned up for you.”

  Zach continued to chuckle as Garrett slipped off his boots. Ruby tried to keep a straight face, but couldn’t. The stress of the past few hours had had her so wound up, she couldn’t stop giggling even if her life depended on it.

  Garrett looked over at her and smiled.

  After Zach and Savannah left, he shut the door and came over to the bed. Her laughter quickly died down as he gazed at her.

  “Can I sit?” he asked.

  She nodded, and the mattress bowed under his weight.

  “I’m sorry I was so careless, and you now know our secrets, Ruby. I’m sorry I scared you.”

  “I-I just don’t know what to think, Garrett. It just all seems so surreal.”

  “I know. It’s a mind fuck for me, too, I think for all of us.”

  “Zach told me a little bit of the story, but I’d like to hear more.”

  He sighed. “I guess I owe you that much. Yeah, I’ll spill everything, Ruby, but on one condition.”

  “What’s that?
”

  “You can never say anything to anyone about what I tell you. Not only are you putting us in danger, but yourself, as well. What happened to us was a government experiment. If the wrong people find out that you’re talking about something that’s not supposed to be common knowledge, they won’t hesitate to kill you.”

  Could she keep a secret of such magnitude? If her life depended on it, then she supposed it should be easy to do. “Okay.”

  “Okay. Now, the snow from yesterday is pretty much gone. Would you like to get on those horses?”

  A ride was exactly what she needed. “That sounds good.”

  They stared each other a beat, and she wasn’t quite sure how she felt about the man she had shared a bed with the prior night. He looked normal, but he was anything but. As his gaze raked over her, she felt her body heat despite her confusion.

  “Can I get a hug, Ruby Rose?” he asked, his voice husky.

  Hesitantly, she nodded and moved over.

  His embrace reassured her that everything would be okay, that he wasn’t a monster, but just a man with a very, very strange ability.

  “Thank you for spending the night with me last night,” he whispered in her ear. “Being with you was magnificent.”

  Tears pricked her eyes. Not that she’d been with a lot of men, but none had ever thanked her for her time. She had no idea what to say.

  He pulled away and gently kissed her cheek. “Let’s go get on those damn horses.”

  Chapter 27

  Garrett sat ramrod straight on top of the horse. He glanced over at Ruby who seemed so relaxed and at home in her saddle as they rode together down the trail that he felt like a fool for the fear rolling through him. When he’d offered to take her horseback riding, it had been a spur of the moment idea as he tried to soothe her. He probably should have given it more consideration, but at that time, he would have done anything to make things right with Ruby.

  His horse, Richards, tossed his head and reared back a little. Garrett held on for dear life as he swore under his breath.

  “Knock it off,” Ruby chastised the beast while grabbing hold of the reins. “You know better than that.”