by W. H. Vega
She had just finished up the beverage area when she saw a tall, bulky man walk into the lobby. She smiled at him, though he barely looked at her, and she hurried off to go behind the desk, waiting for the new guest to approach. The man did not approach, but instead circled around the lobby, checking things out. Gabby thought it was strange, and she watched him for a minute, but then shrugged before taking out a stack of receipts to file. Perhaps the man was meeting some guests here, or he maybe he was waiting for someone. Sometimes, people even conducted small business meetings in the lobby, though she knew Paul didn’t like that.
She slipped the receipts into the correct folders and then decided she would make a few calls that Paul had asked her to make. She reached for the phone and noticed that the man who had entered the lobby was watching her closely.
It made her uncomfortable.
She took a deep breath and stared at the man head-on. “Can I help you, sir?” she asked loudly. The man looked down and shook his head.
What the hell? Why was he staring at her one minute and then practically ignoring her when she spoke to him?
She decided not to worry about him, and instead she began organizing a bookcase filled with used books for the hotel guests. Paul was working in his office, and the lobby was now deserted except for the strange man who was still lurking by the back wall. Gabby focused on organizing the books, and she became so engrossed that she did not even hear the man approach.
“You,” he growled and Gabby jumped, scrambling to her feet. The man was less than two feet away, and he was much larger than she had imagined. He had to be over six feet tall, and his shoulders were broad and hulking. His eyes were a dark, dark brown, nearly black, and his mouth was twisted in an ugly grimace. He was looking at Gabby with so much hatred that she thought he must be delusional.
He advanced towards her and she took a step back, glancing wildly for Paul. With a deep feeling of dread, she realized that there was no one else in the lobby besides her and the man. As if reading her thoughts, the man smiled a sick smile and stuck his hand into his pocket, drawing out a knife.
Gabby gasped and she wanted to scream for help but was paralyzed. The man laughed softly. “No one protecting you now.”
Gabby had no idea what he meant, but she realized that her only option was to try to dodge the man and run towards Paul’s office. Terror gripped her and her heart beat frantically against her rib cage.
She did not want to die.
She had no idea what the man was capable of, and fearing the worst, she quickly dodged him, but he was too fast, and he yelled, grabbing her by the foot and pulling her to the ground.
Gabby screamed as she hit the ground, and she tried to free her foot as she clambered along the floor.
“Leave her alone!” A powerful voice roared, and Gabby watched in amazement as another man came barreling towards her and the stranger. He moved so swiftly that it wasn’t until Gabby had been pushed aside that she realized her savior was Zane.
Tears of relief filled her eyes and she hurried away from Zane and her attacker. She watched with horror as Zane punched the man in the jaw, then kicked him hard in the stomach when he fell to the ground.
“What the hell?” Paul came skidding out of his office and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the brawl. He then noticed Gabby shaking and crying on the sidelines and hurried over.
Zane had knelt down and grabbed the man by his hair, slamming his head down on the cool marble of the floor. Gabby looked away just as Paul pulled her to him.
“Gabby! Are you okay? What the hell happened?”
“That—that man!” she stuttered. “He attacked me! He had a knife!” she sobbed as her emotions overcame her.
“What?” Paul asked, looking again from Zane to the other man.
The attacker now seemed to be unconscious, and Zane dragged him across the hotel floor.
Gabby gasped again.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, turning to face Gabby. His eyes pierced through her and she felt something strange.
A connection?
A type of protection?
Or maybe she was just so freaked out that she didn’t know what the hell was happening.
She watched in shock as Zane dragged the man out of the hotel lobby, his rubber boots squeaking along the floor as he went.
“My god,” Paul said, taking Gabby’s hands and leading her to the couch. “Tell me again what happened. Are you sure you’re okay? You’re shaking!’’
Trembling, Gabby sat down, but she kept glancing towards the hotel entrance. She desperately wanted Zane to come back. Paul was being kind, but strangely, she only wanted Zane.
“Gabby, please! Say something!” Paul urged.
At that moment, Zane came walking back into the hotel, and Gabby jumped up and rushed across the room to him.
He pulled her into his arms and then held her back to examine her.
“Are you okay?” he practically growled. He was nearly shaking, but Gabby could tell it was from anger.
“I’m—I’m fine,” she explained, “just scared.”
Before she could say any more, Paul was beside her. She knew he was only being nice, but she wanted to tell him to stay the hell away.
“I’m Paul. The manager,” he explained. “What happened?”
“I’ve been wondering the same thing,” Zane said darkly. Both men turned towards Gabby for an explanation.
“I don’t know! I noticed that he came in and kind of stuck to himself towards the back of the lobby.” She pointed to where the man had been lurking. “I asked if he needed help and he said no, so I started to organize the juice bar and the bookshelf.” She trailed off as she remembered what happened. “And then—and then,” she faltered and Zane took her hand. “Then he was right behind me and I jumped up and he had a knife!” Her voice quavered, but she held it together. How many times was she going to cry in front of Zane? She was beginning to feel like a total baby.
“Did he say anything?” Zane asked, his voice hard.
“Umm,” Gabby tried to think. “I think he said ‘you’ as if, I don’t know, he was mad at me or something.” She shook her head. “I just thought he was crazy. And then he said something about me not being protected.” She looked helplessly at both men. Paul seemed just as clueless, but Zane was fuming.
“Does that mean anything to you?” she asked Zane.
He shook his head a little too quickly. “I need to look into it more.”
“Listen, take the rest of the day off,” Paul said, patting Gabby’s free hand. She had the feeling that Paul wanted to hold her hand too.
“Are you sure?” she asked in a small voice. She didn’t want to be a wimp, but she couldn’t imagine going back to work.
“Absolutely. But I think we should file a police report first.”
“I’ll take her to do that,” Zane spoke up quickly, and Gabby looked at him with confusion.
“Shouldn’t we have the police come here?” Paul asked, but Zane shook his head.
“You don’t want to scare your hotel guests. I’ll take Gabby down to the station now. In fact, we’ll leave your car here and then I’ll bring you back.”
“I’m sorry,” Paul jumped in, clearly confused. “How do you two know each other?”
Gabby rolled her eyes. She knew Paul was looking out for her, but she also knew he was jealous.
“I met Zane at Santiam state park. He helped me.”
Paul raised his eyebrows. Gabby didn’t want to rehash how a bear had chased her.
First a bear, and now a lunatic. What the hell was going on with her?
“She’ll be in good hands,” Zane said, his voice full of authority. Gabby felt herself move to his side. She had a million questions for him and she hoped that she could ask them on the drive to the police station.
“Okay,” Paul said, somewhat grudgingly. Zane started to move towards the door but Paul pulled Gabby to the side. “Hey,” he said softly. “Can you just gi
ve me a call later? Please. Let me know that you’re okay?”
Gabby felt bad for him. He was a nice guy and an even better boss. “Of course, Paul,” she said, patting his hand. “I’ll call you later. Thanks for being so understanding.”
She gave Paul a weak smile, grabbed her purse and followed Zane outside. As soon as she got outside she froze and looked around quickly.
“He’s gone,” Zane said flatly, knowing exactly who Gabby was looking for.
“Did you know him? What the hell is going on?”
“No, I didn’t know him.” He yanked open the door to the state park car.
“How did you even know to come back? You had left. And then you were back again.” Gabby knew how stupid she sounded, but it was so strange. Zane remained tight lipped, but Gabby didn’t question it as she climbed into the car. She buckled herself in and looked over at Zane.
His eyes were focused straight ahead, and he seemed to be concentrating especially hard on something. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something seemed off about him.
Zane pulled out into traffic, and Gabby quickly spoke up.
“The police station is in the opposite direction.”
“I know.”
Gabby paused. “So, are you going to turn around?”
“No.”
Gabby gulped. “Zane. What are you doing?”
“I’m taking you somewhere safe.”
“Huh?”
“Please, don’t ask any questions,” he said, visibly struggling to talk.
“Where the fuck are you going?” she burst out, gripping the door. She did not sign up for this bullshit. The past few days had been out of control, and she had had just about enough crazy to last her a lifetime.
Zane seemed to relax just a bit, and Gabby could swear that she had seen him smile slightly.
The son of a bitch.
“I’m taking you to the park.”
He must be kidding.
“The park?” she asked incredulously. “For what?”
He gripped the steering wheel tightly. “Just trust me, alright? I need to go there and talk to my boss.”
“What the hell does your boss have to do with it? Does he know the guy?”
“He might, okay? Let me just get you there and keep you safe so I can sort this out.”
Gabby took a deep breath, but she could feel herself about to blow. “Look. I really appreciate you helping me, honestly I do. I swear that wacko was about to kill me. But I really don’t think taking me to the park office is going to do a bit of good. We need to turn around and go to the police.”
Zane glanced over at Gabby and then fixed his eyes back on the road.
They were nearly at the park.
“Sorry. No can do.”
Chapter Thirteen
Zane was trying as hard as he possibly could to focus on the task at hand—getting Gabby to the park office in one piece. His bear was roaring angrily for its release and Zane had to focus every ounce of energy on not shifting while driving and killing them both in the process.
He could still smell the stench of that stupid fucker, and the bear was lucky that Zane hadn’t ripped out his fucking throat after he had dragged him out of that hotel lobby.
Zane had been leaving and was already driving away when he picked up the other bear’s scent. Given all the strangeness with the trespassers over the past few days and Gabby’s possible involvement, he didn’t think twice before racing back to the hotel. And thank God he had, because there was that stinking bear, standing over Gabby with a knife.
What was with her?
He couldn’t be sure if the bear was Cruentus or Atrocitas, but it didn’t fucking matter to him. Right now he needed to focus on getting Gabby back to the park office where she would be safe, and where he could talk to Michael. He didn’t care what Michael said, there was no way that this was a coincidence.
He also took some satisfaction from the fact that he was probably right about the bears and Gabby from the beginning.
He glanced over at Gabby, who looked like she was ready to push open the passenger door and roll out onto the pavement.
Not good.
She clearly wasn’t happy that he had lied about going to the police station and was now taking her back to the office against her will.
Too fucking bad.
He pulled into the parking lot and whipped the car haphazardly into a spot.
Gabby exploded. “I’m not going in there!” she raged, crossing her arms across her chest like a child.
He didn’t have time for this shit. He needed to get her inside before another possible attack. With her now on the grounds, who knew what the hell was going to happen.
“Then I’m going to drag your ass of out this car, and I don’t care if you kick and scream.” He got out, slammed his door and walked around to her side before yanking the door open. “Are you coming?” he snapped.
“This is bullshit!” she hissed. “I could have you arrested for kidnapping.”
“Sure, you could do that. But if you get killed before then, it’s not going to make a damn difference, is it?”
Gabby muttered something about an egotistical asshole, but she got out of the car and stomped after Zane as he climbed the hill towards the office.
“What is going on?” Michael demanded, stepping out into the foyer as he sized up the situation.
“We need to talk,” Zane said. “Alone,” he added, not wanting to say anything in front of Gabby.
Michael nodded, and Zane knew he probably glimpsed enough from his own thoughts.
“Upstairs,” Michael said, before disappearing into his office.
“Follow me,” Zane said, moving towards the steps.
Gabby stayed root in her spot. “What? And go upstairs? I don’t think so. How do I know you aren’t going to rape me or something?”
“Really?” He rolled his eyes. “I don’t have time for this, Gabby. Let’s go.”
“And then what? Why the hell am I here?”
“I told you,” he snapped, “It’s for your own damn protection! Now stop being such a pain in the ass and get upstairs.”
“I am not some child you can order around,” she lashed out, but she went up the stairs, regardless.
Zane strode down the upstairs hallway, and he nearly growled at the scent which filled his nostrils. Gabby turned to stare at him.
Shit. He was too close to exposing his bear. He needed to get a fucking grip.
“Is something wrong?”
“Everything is fine,” he said through gritted teeth. Michael could have at least given him a fucking warning.
He pushed the second door on the right open and prepared himself.
There, pacing near the back of the room, was Alicia.
His ex-fiancé.
The woman who had smashed his heart into a million tiny pieces.
“Zane!” she exclaimed, clearly surprised by his presence.
“Alicia,” he said tightly.
The awkward exchange wasn’t lost on Gabby as she looked from Alicia to Zane. Grayson was also there, along with Quentin. Mick, another member of the clan was there, too. Zane didn’t care much for Mick, mostly because he seemed to be up Grayson’s ass all the time.
“What’s going on?” Quentin asked, striding over to Gabby.
“I can’t talk about it,” Zane said, hating how cryptic he sounded.
“Okay, no prob. What do you need from us?”
At least Quentin wasn’t a dick.
“I need you guys to keep her safe while I go talk to Michael.”
“I’m right here,” Gabby interrupted. “I can hear you.”
“I know,” Zane said, irritated, and he didn’t miss Alicia raising her eyebrows.
“And my name is Gabby,” she added, her voice dripping with annoyance.
“Wait,” Grayson said slowly, looking Gabby over carefully. “Is she-”
“Yes,” Zane cut him off sharply.
“Di
d something else-’’ Grayson started, but the look Zane gave him caused him to shut up immediately.
“I’ll be back,” Zane said “And don’t let her out of your sight.”
“Seriously?” Gabby yelled, hurrying after Zane as he started to leave. “You’re just going to leave me with these people? I don’t even know who they are!”
“Hey, it’s fine,” Alicia said softly, approaching her. “I’m Alicia.”
“Zane!” Gabby yelled, ignoring Alicia. “Who the hell are these people? Where are you going?”
“They’re my cousins,” he said dryly, and then he pulled the door closed behind him and made his way down the hallway. He couldn’t help but smirk at the hell he knew Gabby was going to give the others.
Oh well.
Let someone else deal with her for bit. He got great pleasure from the fact that Gabby was probably going to drive Grayson up the fucking wall.
His smirk died on his face when he saw Michael pacing at the bottom of the stairs.
“What the fuck is going on?” he barked.
“I have no idea,” Zane said, following Michael, who was now walking briskly toward his office. They stepped inside, and Michael slammed the door, running his hand through his messy, dark hair. He normally looked more pulled together, but Zane could see the toll this was taking on him. Zane quickly recounted what had happened.
“And you’re certain that he was trying to kill her?” Michael asked when he was finished.
“I’m positive. He went to her work. She was the only one in the hotel lobby. There’s no doubt.”
“Why? Why?” Michael asked.
Zane hesitated. “I’m not sure, but I feel like there has to be a connection between the bear chasing her in the woods and the trespassing Cruentus.”
Michael shook his head. “I didn’t want to believe it, but I feel like I can’t ignore the evidence now. But why? What the hell is it?”
Zane shook his head, at a loss.
“We’re sure that she’s not a shifter?”
“There’s no way. We would have smelled her blood immediately.”