Bobby Ray [Grizzly Ridge 2] (The Lynn Hagen ManLove Collection)

by Lynn Hagen

  Noel didn’t hear the conversation, but the anger in Bobby Ray’s voice was tangible.

  * * * *

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Bobby Ray looked ready to rip Jesse’s head off as the alpha wolf stood before him and Clint in the clearing. “They should’ve never gone anywhere near Noel.”

  “I gave your men permission to hunt on our land in order to find that nomad,” Clint ground out through clenched teeth. “But I didn’t give them permission to lose their fucking minds. You know as well as I do how cherished and protected a mate is.”

  “Protected?” Jesse sneered. “Hell of way to protect him by letting him wander off on his own. How were my men supposed to know?”

  “Gee, I don’t know,” Bobby Ray said. “Maybe because Noel carries my scent. That should’ve been their first clue.”

  Clint had been working hard to bring the different shifters together, to at least calm the waters. Although Clarence was no longer a threat to the mountains, relationship among the different groups had been strained even before Clint’s father had lost his mind and started leaving dead bodies everywhere.

  But the wolves approaching Noel, especially when he carried Bobby Ray’s scent, was asking for war. Clint would call a halt to the truce he’d been working toward if the wolves had no regard for their way of life.

  “They crossed a line,” Clint snapped. He took a few steps forward, snarling at Jesse. “Get your men off my land. They’re no longer allowed to cross bear territory.”

  Jesse curled his upper lip. “Fine, then our little peace talks are done. You better not come to Howling Cavern. Our bartering days are over, bear.”

  Clint was barely holding it together. Now that he was head of his clan, protecting those under his care was his responsibility. That included his brother’s mate and any other mates who joined them. “You have an hour to clear off my land, Jesse.”

  This was the last thing Clint wanted. Since his son’s birth, he’d wanted his cub to grow up knowing peace. With one mistake, that dream had shattered.

  Jesse got into his truck and drove off. Clint ground his teeth and turned to Bobby Ray. “What was Noel thinking?”

  Bobby Ray scowled. “He panicked and he’s emotional. That doesn’t give those wolves the right to approach him.”

  Bobby Ray was right. Noel smelled as if he’d bathed in Bobby Ray’s scent, so there was no way the wolves hadn’t scented that from a mile away. “Make it perfectly clear to Noel that he’s not to wander these woods without you by his side.”

  Clint walked away, steaming mad. He needed to let the rest of the clan know what had transpired between him and that dumbass wolf.

  * * * *

  Noel couldn’t understand why Bobby Ray wasn’t pissed at him. Not only had he taken off, but now the bears and wolves were enemies. That was Noel’s fault, yet Bobby Ray hadn’t said one bad thing to him. If he’d done something like this to Bart, his brother would’ve knocked him into next week.

  Noel sat on the couch as Bobby Ray and Clint spoke in the kitchen. Dane and King were in the living room with Noel, but Noel was too anxious to say anything to them.

  “Stop looking so constipated,” Dane said. “I promise you Bobby Ray isn’t upset.”

  King crawled around in his cub form, chewing at one of Bobby Ray’s shoes that had been sitting by the front door. “But why?” Noel peeked over his shoulder, waiting for his mate to charge into the room yelling his head off. “I just don’t get Bobby Ray’s…” Noel couldn’t think of the right word. Laid-back attitude? Blasé approach to life?

  “For one,” Dane said as he tried to wrestle the shoe away from King, “Bobby Ray is the brother who loves to flirt and laugh. Now that his dad isn’t around, he’s more relaxed, too.”

  Noel didn’t get what Bobby Ray’s dad had to do with anything. “Okay, give me the short version of what’s going on around here,” he said.

  “When I came to the mountains, their father was still alive. He was as nutty as a fruitcake, and violent. He tried to invoke some barbaric tradition to sleep with me.”

  Ice cubes formed in Noel’s stomach. “Please don’t tell me the brothers practice that.” The Rising men were drop-dead gorgeous, but Noel had eyes only for Bobby Ray.

  “No, and Clint fought his father to keep the sick prick away from me.” Dane went on to tell Noel about how the brothers had hunted their father down, and how Clarence had broken into Clint’s home and held a knife to Dane.

  “Clint and Jesse killed him. Clint wants peace in the mountains now, and I thought Jesse did, too.”

  “That still doesn’t explain why Bobby Ray keeps giving me a free pass.”

  “Because,” Dane said, “Bobby Ray and Wade were their father’s favorite punching bags. I think Bobby Ray would rather slice his own throat than raise his hand, or even his voice to you.”

  Bart had done his fair share of knocking Noel around. Noel knew that panic, that fear when you knew your abuser was angry. Noel had come home from college and raised hell about the missing funds, and Bart had silenced him by beating the crap out of him.

  Not for the first time, Noel wondered how his parents had spawned such an evil child. Bart had been in the wrong, yet he’d made Noel feel as if he’d been the bad guy. After hearing Clarence had been the same way, Noel saw Bobby Ray in a whole new light now.

  “They still haven’t found that nomad wolf, have they?” Noel asked.

  “No, but from what Clint tells me, he was spotted in lion territory.” Dane finally got the shoe away from King, and the cub ambled off and found something else to chew on.

  “Lion?” Noel remembered Bobby Ray telling him something about animals roaming the woods, but knew Dane had been talking about shifters. He felt queasy.

  “Life in these mountains can be dangerous,” Dane said. “But I’ll take my chances if it means being with Clint.”

  Noel pressed a hand to his stomach and wondered if he’d say the same thing a year from now. Hell, a week from now.

  Clint came into the living room, scooped King from the floor, and grabbed Dane’s hand. “Come on, Dane. If we don’t get the cub home and feed him, he might eat Bobby Ray’s house.”

  King nipped at Clint’s ear, but Clint didn’t look as if it had hurt. He watched them leave, then Bobby Ray slid his arms around Noel.

  “Trigger just lit a fire in the clearing. You wanna go swimming in the lake?”

  Although Bobby Ray’s home had central air, Noel wanted fresh air, and he wanted to feel the sun on his face. Staying cooped up had been part of the reason he’d lost his mind and escaped.

  Noel followed Bobby Ray from the cabin, leaving his phone behind. He hadn’t bothered checking it, and hadn’t seen that Bart was tracking the phone.

  Chapter Seven

  Not only had Trigger made a large campfire, but he’d used the grill to cook dinner for everyone. Bobby Ray was so full that he felt as if he’d burst as he lay in a reclining chair on the dock, watching as Noel and Wade swam in the lake.

  Now this was the perfect evening. Fearing that Noel would try to take off again, Bobby Ray was trying to make sure Noel felt at home here. Judging from his loud squeals and splashing, he was having a good time.

  How could this evening not be perfect? Bobby Ray had a beer in his hand, watching his sexy mate try to escape Wade as Trigger and Duane played cards at their makeshift table. Clint was in his bear form, chasing his cub around as Dane yelled at Clint to stop because he needed to put King to sleep soon. Walker lay in a hammock, snoring as it gently swung back and forth.

  And Bobby Ray wasn’t constantly checking to see if Clarence was nearby. That alone made him smile. The sun was setting, the air was warm, and Bobby Ray began to doze with a full stomach.

  Just as he closed his eyes, he was shoved from his seat. He shouted as he landed in the water, beer bottle and all. He looked up at the dock and growled as Clint ambled away, King trotting behind him.

  “Not funny, asshole!” Bobby Ray sho
uted as he wiped the water from his eyes. “My damn phone was in my pocket!”

  Bobby Ray had started to climb out when Noel swam toward him. He reached for his mate, but instead of Noel curling into his arms, he tried to dunk Bobby Ray.

  He let Noel push him under, then grabbed Noel’s waist and broke the surface, pulling Noel to him. Something shiny caught his eyes. He squinted across the lake and the bountiful trees, and he saw it again.

  “Shit!” Bobby Ray pulled Noel under the water just as something whizzed over his head. When he surfaced, his brothers were shouting. Noel came up for air and glanced around.

  “Get to the shore.” Bobby Ray pulled Noel along, using his own body as a shield. Bobby Ray lifted himself out of the water, helped Noel climb out, then felt as if something punched his back. Pain exploded in his shoulder as the cold air touched exposed nerves.

  With a loud growl, Bobby Ray grabbed his mate and took off. Wade and Trigger raced toward them and surrounded Noel as they hauled ass to Bobby Ray’s cabin.

  Right before Bobby Ray raced into the trees, another punch hit his right calf. He went down, but Wade kept going, getting Noel to safety as Trigger helped Bobby Ray to his feet.

  Duane, Walker, and Clint hopped into Clint’s truck as Dane and King vanished through the woods with Wade and Noel at their sides.

  “I’m gonna kill the fucker when I get my hands on him,” Bobby Ray snarled. He threw his arm around Trigger’s shoulder as his brother helped him home.

  When they reached Bobby Ray’s porch, Noel spun away from Wade and headed toward him. “You’ve been shot!”

  Bobby Ray felt every ounce of pain radiating through his body. He would be able to heal, though, after the bullets were dug out. “Get inside,” he shouted at Noel.

  There might’ve been more than one shooter, and Bobby Ray couldn’t take the chance. Noel thankfully obeyed, but he hovered near the open door. The scent of his fear and worry for his mate nearly choked Bobby Ray as Trigger pulled him inside.

  “Get me a knife and some towels,” Trigger said to Wade. “I need to get these bullets out.”

  Noel bounced from foot to foot, looking as if he’d pass out at any second. Trigger laid Bobby Ray on his stomach on the living room floor. Bobby Ray panted as he gritted his teeth, forcing himself not to shout. Dane stood there holding King as King shifted to his human form, crying.

  “I’m gonna take him to your bedroom,” Dane said to Bobby Ray.

  “Hang in there,” Trigger told Bobby Ray. He went to the liquor cabinet and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. “You might need this.” He handed the bottle to Bobby Ray. “Digging those bullets out is gonna hurt like a bitch.”

  “Wade,” Bobby Ray said when he returned with the things Trigger had asked for, “take Noel into the kitchen.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.” Noel crossed his arms, his features set in determined lines.

  “He’s got to dig into my body, Sugar,” Bobby Ray said. “I’m not going to be the most pleasant guy.”

  “I don’t care,” Noel said. “I’m staying.”

  Bobby Ray forgot the argument as Trigger dug into his shoulder. Bobby Ray sucked down a good portion of the whiskey, then cursed up a storm.

  “Hold the hell still,” Trigger snapped. “I don’t need to add to the damage.”

  Bobby Ray gripped the bottle so tight that it cracked. His teeth should’ve shattered, too. He’d never been shot before, and never wanted to be shot again. Both the wound and the knife hurt so badly that he wanted to slug Trigger.

  “Almost there,” Trigger said as Wade held Bobby Ray down.

  As soon as Trigger dug the bullet out, he went to work on Bobby Ray’s leg. Bobby Ray fought not to shift. If he did before the bullet was out, it would be trapped inside of him.

  He snarled and growled, swiping his claws at Wade.

  “If you break skin, I’m gonna beat your ass,” Wade threatened. “Now man the fuck up and be still.”

  “You get a bullet dug out of you and let’s see you be still,” Bobby Ray snarled. He slammed his fist into the floor, and a large crack formed in the wood beneath it.

  Noel dropped in front of Bobby Ray and brushed his hand through Bobby Ray’s hair. He wished the touch brought him comfort, but nothing would until he shifted and healed.

  As soon as Trigger said the second bullet was out, Bobby Ray shifted. Wade and Trigger leapt to their feet and moved backward as Bobby Ray got up, growling at them.

  “You might want to get out of the way,” Wade warned Noel.

  “I-I’m not a-afraid.” But Noel scurried backward.

  Bobby Ray swayed, then collapsed. Noel hurried to him and laid his body over Bobby Ray’s bear. He had to hand it to his mate. Noel had a spine to approach a pissed-off bear.

  “Just rest,” Noel whispered. “I’m not leaving your side.” He brushed his hand over Bobby Ray’s fur.

  “I’ll go stand guard,” Trigger said. Wade followed him out.

  Bobby Ray closed his eyes, taking comfort in Noel’s slight weight against him. When he opened them, the room was dark. Bobby Ray lifted his head and looked around. Noel was still draped over him, only Bobby Ray was no longer in his bear form.

  He heard his brothers talking outside.

  “That was a human scent,” Clint said. “I found the shell casings where he’d been standing when he shot Bobby Ray.”

  Although it happened rarely, humans had ventured this far into the mountains. But why would one have shot at Bobby Ray? Sure, he’d gone into town from time to time for sex—though he was very discreet about it since the residents claim a Rising hasn’t been in Grizzly Ridge in forever. If they only knew—but he didn’t think any of his past lovers would work their way up the mountains to blow his balls off.

  Then he thought of Noel’s brother. If it had been Bart, how in the hell had he found them? It wasn’t as if the mountains had road signs pointing to where they lived.

  When he tried to wriggle from under Noel, his mate’s head popped up. “What’s wrong?” He wiped a line of drool from his mouth. Damn it, Noel was adorable.

  “Nothing, Sugar.” Bobby Ray sat up. He frowned when he saw pieces of fur stuck to Noel’s drool line. After plucking them off his mate’s chin, he stood. “I need to go talk to my brothers outside. Can you make a pot of coffee?”

  Noel nodded, got up, and ambled into the kitchen. Everyone looked Bobby Ray’s way as he stepped onto the porch.

  “Glad to see you’re up and moving around,” Clint said. “Scared the shit out of me.”

  “You?” Bobby Ray snorted. “Thought I was a goner.”

  In truth, Bobby Ray had been terrified one of those bullets would hit Noel. He was eternally grateful to Wade for getting Noel to safety.

  “Did you hear our conversation?” Clint asked.

  “Just the part about the shooter being human,” Bobby Ray said.

  “You thinking what I’m thinking?” Wade asked.

  Bobby Ray scratched at his whiskers. “Yeah. Bart.”

  “Who?” Duane looked between them.

  “Noel’s brother.” Bobby Ray filled them in on their trip to Noel’s house. The more he talked, the angrier he became. He’d seen firsthand what a douche bag Bart was, but he’d never thought the bastard would come after them. What if he’d shot his own brother?

  Bobby Ray didn’t think Bart cared who he hit, and that was one scary-ass thought.

  * * * *

  Bart had hauled ass after he’d shot the fucker who’d embarrassed him. Too bad neither of them had been a kill shot. But he was far from done. After racing through the woods, through streams and up hills, he’d gotten far enough away that those men wouldn’t be able to track him.

  But now Bart was heading right for their little slice of paradise. He no longer cared about that dumb watch. He wanted Noel dead. His brother had always thought he was better and smarter than Bart, and now he was shacked up with a bunch of men.

  The fucking degenerate. Bart wou
ld teach Noel who the better man was. And when he finished everyone off, Bart would loot their houses and pay off those damn loan sharks who were after him.

  * * * *

  As soon as Bobby Ray closed the door, Noel hurried from the kitchen and crept to the open window in the living room. Eavesdropping was probably the wrong thing to do, but Noel wanted to know who had shot at Bobby Ray.

  His heart thundered and he closed his eyes when Bobby Ray said Bart’s name. Bart was an asshole, but Noel never thought he would go so far as to try to kill someone. Then again, Bart had been spiraling out of control for the past few years.

  The knowledge that Bart had tried to kill his mate had Noel racing to the bathroom. He barely made it before he threw up. They’d had arguments before, and most had become physical, but for his brother to track him down and do this…Noel hugged the toilet as tears streamed down his cheeks. Why did Bart hate him so much?

  “Aw, Sugar.” Bobby Ray grabbed a towel and wiped at Noel’s mouth before he rinsed it and used it on Noel’s forehead and neck. “Let me help you to your feet.”

  Tears still flowing, Noel pulled away from him. “How can you be so nice to me when Bart tried to kill you?”

  Bobby Ray should kick him out and never want anything to do with Noel again. Bart had lost his ever-loving mind, and Bobby Ray could’ve died. Noel’s stomach twisted again as he wiped away the flowing tears with his palms.

  “The same reason my father’s insanity wasn’t my fault,” Bobby Ray said. “Unless you personally pulled that trigger, there’s no reason to blame you.” He took Noel’s hand. “Now come on. Let’s get something light in your stomach.”

  “Why are you always trying to feed me?” Noel asked as they entered the kitchen. “I’m not hungry.”

  At the same moment, Noel’s stomach rumbled.

  Wade and Duane were sitting at the table, and Noel didn’t want to face them. He felt as though they were staring at him in accusation. That could be his imagination, though. “He thinks this is his fault,” Bobby Ray said as he grabbed the teakettle and set it on a burner.