by Layla Nash
"It's hard to explain." Simon gritted his teeth, wishing he could tell Tate about being a shifter. It made it a lot easier to understand why Zoe ran, but that didn't mean it would make it easier for him to leave Zoe there. If Tate even believed him, that is. Most humans still refused to believe shifters walked among them, despite evidence all over the internet. Simon took a deep breath. "She got scared. There were some bears in the meadow and she surprised them. They surprised her. She ran. I tried to stop her and she flipped out, got in my truck and drove off. I'm guessing that's when she called you. That's it. Nothing major."
He left out the part where she wrecked his truck and would have died if he hadn't turned her into the bear. That part could wait. And the part where Simon took her to bed. A couple of times. No reason for Tate to know that, either. Simon held his hands out, glad that the door to the lodge opened again and two more pairs of boots clomped onto the porch behind him. "You know me, brother. You know I wouldn't hurt her, and I sure as hell wouldn't let anything happen to her."
Tate frowned at him, arms folded, and for a moment Simon thought they might end up brawling in the front drive of the lodge. He braced for the confrontation. At least the guests were all inside and wouldn't witness the mess.
14
Zoe
Zoe stormed toward the river, hands clenched at her sides and muttering to herself with each step. Unbelievable. Not just one but two men trying to tell her what to do. Like she couldn't see what a problem some of this was. And imagine, Simon thinking he could just decide she would stay forever in the middle of a freaking forest because she'd slept with him and that crazy wild part of her liked him.
The stillness and quiet of the trees settled around her, though, and eventually her heart slowed and the storm of anger clouding her thoughts passed. Zoe took a deep breath and paused to take in her surroundings. The river trickled and ran over stones, a soothing soundtrack, and she turned in a slow circle. It really was peaceful, if a little weird. It was a strange feeling to be so alone, to feel as if there was no one in shouting distance. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been so disconnected from everything.
Zoe eased closer to the river but didn't touch the water. She preferred to study moss and fish and smelly things from afar. Her nose wrinkled but the wild part of her reveled in the tantalizing scent of things swimming in the water.
She retreated from the river before she jumped in and started chowing down on some trout, and perched on a fallen log to contemplate the running water. Stay or go. City or forest. Living in virtual reality or ... reality reality. She rubbed her forehead. She liked Simon, a lot. When she could relax around him and didn't say the wrong thing, she felt more at home with Simon than she had at any other time in her life. He felt safe. Comforting and comfortable.
She groaned and pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes. Sure, he'd slept with her and talked like he wanted her to stick around, but she was still a criminal. It would be better to return to California with Tate and lay low until the stuff with Castellano blew over. She could find a legitimate job. Write code for banks, maybe. Do security testing on networks. Work nine to five in an office.
Zoe shoved to her feet and paced a few steps closer to the river. Nine to five in an office sounded like hell. Business casual instead of jeans and leggings. She made a face and turned on her heel, ready to head back to the lodge. There had to be a compromise. Maybe she could live in town, work for Rosie or someone, and then she could still see Simon. If he wanted to see her.
She lurched to a halt. What if he didn't really want her to stick around? What if he just wanted the bear part of her, and the real Zoe part of her ended up slowly suffocating? She gulped air as uneasiness grew in her chest. She didn't know much about bears, but there didn't seem to be a whole lot of women hanging around at the lodge or in town. Zoe chewed her lower lip as she stared up the path to where the lodge waited. Where Tate and Simon both waited — two different paths, two different futures.
The wild part of her, the bear, knew which decision to make. The bear grumbled and rumbled that Zoe even considered walking away from Simon. He was their match, their other half. Zoe rubbed her temples and turned back to the river. But how could she live in the woods, at the lodge, with five guys? And no Chinese takeout to call and no movie theaters. Was Simon enough to balance out everything she liked about the city?
She sank onto the log once more. Except she was alone in the city. In her apartment with her computers and nothing else. Even the stray cats she fed didn't show up every night. Putting up with mosquitos the size of pigeons might be worth having human companionship, feeling like she was finally part of a family. A family. Her throat closed up a little and her vision blurred. Simon felt like family. More like family than people she'd known her entire life.
Zoe shoved to her feet and turned toward the lodge. Sure, Simon made her a little jumpy with how intensely he looked at her. But when she finally relaxed... It was worth it.
She got three steps before something sounded wrong in the trees to her left. The bear didn't like it. Something didn't belong. Zoe's heart jumped to her throat. For half a second, she thought about screaming for help or trying to call, but then four men dressed in black paramilitary gear rose out of the underbrush and surrounded her.
They had guns. Lots of gun.
Radios in their ears and paint covering their faces, some with branches and camouflage netting draped around them. The bear roared inside her head and Zoe twitched, hugging herself as she backed toward the river. "Uh, it's not hunting season yet, you probably shouldn't —"
"Mick sends his regards," one said, voice low and gruff. The leader, by his demeanor. He had blue eyes, piercing and cold, and they cut right through her. "And wants to have a word with you."
"I'm h-happy to give him a call," Zoe said, swallowing hard as she turned. Two more woodland ghosts stood behind her, between her and the river. "But the reception out here is so bad, I'll just —"
"He's waiting." Blue Eyes leaned forward and grabbed her arm, hard enough it hurt and the bear part of her wanted to do something about it. Her chest felt tight and intense, like the bear might burst out whether she wanted it to or not. Zoe gritted her teeth as he slid plastic loops around her wrists and cranked them down until they cut off her circulation and bit into her skin. He frowned at her and said, "Cooperate. Don't yell or try to get away, or we'll knock you out. Got it?"
"I have a lot of money," she said quietly, praying she sounded competent and sincere. "I can double whatever he's paying you."
"Nice try." Blue Eyes lifted up a black bag and tossed it over her head, and everything went dark.
Zoe held her breath at the rank smell in the cloth and dug in her heels as he tried to pull her forward. Her heart started to race. Simon. Simon would save her, but he thought she needed time to think. It could be an hour before he came to find her. And in an hour, Castellano could take her anywhere. Could kill her.
A strangled sound escaped and tears dripped to her cheeks, soaked up by the hood, and she tripped as they started marching. Alone again. Except for the bear. But if she let the bear out, if she could even figure out how to do it, would she be able to find herself again? Maybe Zoe would be lost forever if the bear came out too soon. She held her breath and tried to come up with a plan.
15
Simon
Simon stared Tate down. "Don't yell."
He thought he could still hear Zoe crashing through the trees, making more noise than a bull in a china shop even on a well-travelled path. Simon wanted to go after her, wanted to chase her down and prove how much he wanted her to stay with him. Tate might think the city was safer, but Simon knew better. He was a bear in the woods, the biggest grizzly in the neighborhood and most of the entire state. He could protect her.
Cooper, Finn, and Ethan all remained outside with Simon, eyes on Tate as they assessed the threat he posed. Simon knew his guys were already riled up over Zoe being upset. She'd only been with the
m a couple of days, but she was already family. Already part of the group. They would defend her with their lives, particularly since she was Simon's mate.
Tate's eyes narrowed as he faced Simon. "Look, dude. I trusted you with her, to protect her, and I get a call from her a day after I drop her off that you're crazy and she needs help. What the hell is going on?"
"Look, man —" Simon took a breath to try and explain he wanted Zoe to stay forever when a crack echoed through the air. Gun shot. He started to yell for them to get down, but Tate stared at him with a confused look on his face. Then he looked down at where red bloomed across his chest.
Shot.
Simon choked on denial as another shot rang out, and another red patch appeared on Tate's chest. His guys ran for cover and Simon tackled Tate to get him down, to make a smaller target, and dragged him over to crouch behind one of the axles of the old truck. Bullets, particularly ones from high-powered rifles, cut right through car bodies. Even the axles were a gamble. Only the engine block was safe, but Ethan claimed that real estate.
Ethan signaled to Finn and Cooper, and turned to look at Simon. "Where did the shot come from?"
"Didn't see." Simon pressed against the wounds in Tate's chest, but part of him knew his friend breathed his last. He tried to push away the grief; there would be time for regret later. "It's just a flesh wound, mate. Just hold on. We'll get these bastards and —"
"Must be Castellano," Tate managed to say, but the breath whistled in his chest. When Simon looked at Ethan, the medic shook his head. Tate coughed and blood coated his teeth. "Tracked me. Or Zoe's phone. They've gotta be his. Be careful."
"We got it." But Simon's heart stopped. Zoe. Zoe, alone in the woods. He swallowed the panic and concentrated on the immediate task. Get the guys shooting at them, then find Zoe. Make sure she was safe. Then find Castellano and kill him.
Simon's world condensed down to series of simple tasks, and he started giving orders. Cooper and Finn pulled rifles from the truck they crouched behind, and Simon retrieved the rifle from the floorboard of his truck. The woods remained silent, the shooters no doubt waiting for one of them to poke their head out. Simon made eye contact with Finn and Cooper and nodded at the house. "Go through the lodge and out back. Circle around and try to flank them."
The guys nodded and braced to make a run for it. They waited until Simon and Ethan rose to crack off a few rounds into the trees, hopefully distracting the shooters enough so they didn't kill the others. Cooper and Finn would get to the back of the lodge and escape outside to transform, then hunt the bastards as bears.
Ethan scanned the trees and gestured. "Two o'clock, near the oak."
Simon leaned to take a shot across the bed of the truck, and was rewarded by a grunt and rustle of movement in the trees. One down. Another shot rang out and pinged off the truck next to him. He checked on Tate, but the man's chest barely moved. Simon gritted his teeth, about to charge into the trees by himself to kill the sons of bitches when a grizzly roar broke the silence.
Simon lurched up and around the truck, not caring about whether more shooters lurked in the trees, and ran to where Cooper, a massive brown bear with blazes of white on his chest, pinned a man in camouflage netting against the trunk of a giant oak. Simon grabbed the guy by his chest rig and slammed him back against the tree, feeling grim satisfaction as the guy's head bounced off the bark. "Where's Zoe?"
The guy gritted his teeth but kept his attention on the bear snarling over Simon's shoulder. Simon's bear wanted to burst out and show the idiot who he really needed to worry about, but Simon knew Zoe needed him to be human. So he punched the guy in the face, then the kidney, and again in the face. "Where's Zoe?"
Still nothing.
A radio, clipped to his belt, lit up, and Simon seized it. Held it up to his ear and heard through a static crackle something about taking the girl to 'rally point bravo.' The shooter looked grim, despite the broken nose. As if resigned to being eaten by a grizzly. Simon bared his teeth in fury, ready to choke him out. "I hope Castellano pays you well."
The man's cold, dead eyes flashed to Simon's face before returning to the brown bear behind him. "He does."
Simon threw him head-first into another tree and stormed back to the trucks. Rally point bravo. Finn, back to human and stark naked, made his way back to the front of the lodge and held out a small waterproof pouch. "Maps, boss. The other one had these on him."
"Dead?"
"Yep. Fell out of the tree and broke his neck. Sad."
"Except he was on the ground when Simon shot him," Ethan said under his breath as he loaded another rifle into the truck and jumped in the passenger seat. "Did you toss him back up the tree?"
"Don't ask me no questions," Finn said with an arched eyebrow. "And I'll tell you no lies."
Simon didn't have time for banter. Castellano's guys had Zoe. And they killed Tate. Took a shot at him and his guys, and endangered their guests. His bear wanted vengeance. Wanted to show the world that anyone who threatened his family would pay a terrible price. He started up the truck as he spoke to Finn. "Get Cooper and Noah. Distract the guests with something. Put Tate in the infirmary, and hide those other guys somewhere. I don't want the guests finding a bunch of dead bodies laying around. Then bring the other truck and meet us in town. They're taking Zoe to a place just south of Rosie's."
"Roger," Finn said and knocked his fist against the side of the truck. "Go get her. We'll radio when we're on our way."
Ethan leaned around Simon enough to say, "Call some of the neighbors, see if they can help clear the woods. There's no telling how many of these guys are out there."
Finn nodded and headed into the lodge, just as Cooper lumbered across the drive, still in bear form. He gave a mournful grizzly groan and snuffled at Tate, still laying on the gravel. Simon refused to look back as he drove away from the lodge. He couldn't think about Tate yet. He had to find Zoe.
Ethan didn't speak as the truck careened through the switchbacks, but kept loading magazines for the rifles they both carried. He'd known Tate, too. They knew from experience that it wasn't the hot anger that proved dangerous. No, cold anger meant clarity and precision. Deliberate and calculating. Perfect for vengeance. Simon gripped the steering wheel until the leather creaked. If there was so much as a scratch on Zoe, everyone Castellano knew would pay the price.
16
Zoe
She fell at least three times before she heard an idling car. A door opened and then the guy with a vise grip on her shoulder shoved her forward. She tripped and fell forward, onto a bench seat, and struggled to get her feet under her once more. Zoe wormed around to sit up, wrists aching as the plastic ties cut into her skin, and as the door closed, someone pulled the hood off her head.
She blinked and sneezed, shaking her head to get hair out of her face, and stared around the inside of the car. It was one of the fancy town cars with a large back seat, almost a limo with a rear-facing bench seat as well. She faced Castellano and one of his right-hand guys, Joey. No one knew Joey's last name, and he always said it was better that way. Zoe gulped.
Castellano frowned, heavy eyebrows drawing down, and adjusted the fine suit coat he wore even in the middle of the woods. "Zoe. You haven't been answering your phone."
"Reception is terrible out here," she said, a little weakly.
"Indeed." Castellano didn't blink as the car started moving, but Zoe almost fell off the seat. Her former boss studied his nails as he went on. "Imagine my surprise when I discovered you'd disappeared. And when I checked my bank accounts."
She cleared her throat, unable to meet his cold gaze. She needed to buy a little time, that was all. "A misunderstanding, Mick. Really."
"That's what I thought." The boss glanced at his henchman as he gestured at Zoe. "A misunderstanding, isn't that what I said?"
"Yeah," Joey said, expressionless. He watched Zoe with dead eyes, and she shivered.
Castellano folded his hands in his lap, unperturbed as the town
car bumped and skidded along the unpaved road. "So now we have just a small mistake to resolve. Right?"
Zoe's heart raced and she tried to swallow, tried to smile winningly. "Easy fix, Mick. Promise. We just need to find some good wifi, and I can put everything back the way it was."
"Good. That's what I want, Zoe." Castellano's eyes narrowed as he sat forward, and Zoe recoiled on instinct. "Exactly the way things were. Is that going to be a problem?"
"N-no," she said. She looked out the window for half a second, praying she would see a giant bear running beside the car, but nothing. Just trees and a hint of sky. Her eyes burned and she cleared her throat to keep her voice steady as she looked back at her former boss. "Not a problem at all."
"Good." He glanced down at his phone, then handed it to Joey. "We'll make sure everything is back where it should be, then we can talk about the future. Your future."
"My future?" Zoe's voice went a little high at the end, particularly as Joey put the phone away and revealed the dull gleam of a pistol at his belt. She'd always known Castellano wasn't a good guy, but she'd overlooked some of the more questionable business practices because they didn't really affect her. Except now they did. Her palms started to sweat as the car sped up.
Castellano let the silence stretch, his fingers drumming on his knee.
Zoe sank lower in the seat and fiddled with the plastic on her wrists. The bear didn't want to be there, wanted to transform and scare the bejeesus out of these guys. But Zoe knew perfectly well that they would shoot her, and chances were, she wouldn't be a very good bear to start with. She'd never done it. What if she got stuck? What if she couldn't walk or think or anything? She shivered and swallowed a knot in her throat.