by Eve Vaughn
“Right now, the only thing I want to suck is your pussy.”
Logan smacked his lips suggestively.
A wave of heat spread through Zora’s body and she squirmed in her chair as the image of Logan eating her pussy entered her head. “You have such a one track mind. But it’s not going to distract me from this game.”
The men grumbled collectively. Since Zora had the majority of the money, Logan was knocked out in no time, leaving her the undisputed winner.
“We’re definitely going to check you for cheating next time. I say one of us gets to choose the next game,” Gavin suggested.
“Yeah? What game did you have in mind?” she asked, putting the pieces neatly back in the box.
“Strip poker, of course,” Logan said straight-faced.
She rolled her eyes, knowing exactly how this night was going to end. Not taking the bait, she decided to steer the subject to another topic. She’d wanted to bring it up since she’d heard them whispering when they thought she wasn’t around. At the time, Zora hadn’t dwelt on it because they’d distracted her with a lot of heavy petting and kissing, but now she wasn’t going to be put off.
“So guys, what were the three of you talking about earlier today?”
To their credit, none of the men batted at eye, but she could still sense their unease, a testament to how well she’d learned to read them in the time they’d been together.
When they remained silent, she prompted them. “Well? Is anyone going to tell me? I thought we said no secrets, but this morning I find Gavin on the phone talking to someone rather rudely, and then the three of you are speaking in hushed tones when you think I’m not in the room. If we’re supposed to share things with each other, you guys aren’t holding up your end of the bargain very well.”
The three men looked at each other, silently communicating while Zora grew more annoyed by the second.
Finally Gavin answered. “Remember when you were telling us about those harassing phone calls you’d started to receive when you still lived in Covington?”
She nodded. “Yes, what about them?”
Gavin glanced at his cousins again before speaking. She could tell he was stalling to find the right words. “We knew you were worried about Dale coming back into your life and we wanted to go to the source. We hired a private investigator to find him and it was our intent to confront him.”
It took a moment to process what Gavin had just told her.
She was highly annoyed they’d gone behind her back without telling her, but she managed to hold back any harsh words because she knew they’d meant well. “So what did you find out?” she asked as calmly as she could.
“This morning when you walked into the kitchen, I was on the phone with the private investigator. I was upset because I got some unexpected news,” Gavin said.
Zora’s heart sped up at the thought of that maniac being free to do her and her men harm. Though she was almost frightened to ask, she did anyway. “What did you find out?”
Another long pause followed her question before Heath answered, “Dale’s been dead for the last three years. It seems when he was released from prison, he was in and out of trouble with the law, drug charges mostly. From what the investigator learned, he’d picked up a heavy crystal meth and heroin addiction. He was found dead in his parents’ home of an overdose.”
So many thoughts rushed through Zora’s head. She felt relief that she’d never see him again, yet also anger because she’d never be able to confront him to tell him what he’d stolen from her. And sadness because of the terrible way he’d died. She wouldn’t have wished that on anyone. And finally she felt trepidation. If it hadn’t been Dale who’d been making those calls, then who? She wanted to think maybe it was a random nut, but how would they know such intimate details about her?
“So if it wasn’t him, then who was making those calls?” she finally asked.
“That we don’t know, but at least we know who it wasn’t,”
Heath answered. “Zora, you said this caller said things only Dale would know. Exactly what did he say to make you believe that?”
Zora shuddered just thinking about the vulgar things the caller had told her. “He mentioned things on my body, like my birthmark, and moles on strategic parts of my body. Dale wasn’t my only lover, but he was the only one other than you guys, of course, who I’d been with more than once. He would have been the only one to know my body as intimately. Plus, he taunted me with some things I’d shared with him about my childhood. Remember I said he used to throw things back in my face? That’s why I couldn’t think of anyone it could be other than him.”
Gavin, Heath and Logan seemed just as puzzled as she was. Who would know all this stuff about her? “And you didn’t recognize the voice of the caller?” Logan wondered aloud.
“The voice was scratchy. The person was obviously trying to disguise himself, but it did sound a little familiar. I just couldn’t place it for sure.”
Logan leaned forward, a thoughtful expression on his face.
“Did Dale have a best friend he might have confided in?
Perhaps this person might blame you for what happened to him and wants revenge or at the very least, they want to rattle you a bit.”
Zora snorted. “Dale didn’t have friends, he had admirers.
He surrounded himself with sycophants because he threw his money around so freely. He had cronies, not friends.”
“But was there anyone he hung out with more than others?
Someone who might have considered him a friend?” Gavin asked.
“There were a couple guys, one guy’s name was Craig Martin and the other Ron, but I can’t remember his last name.
Those two don’t really strike me as the stalkerish types.”
“We have to look into all possibilities at this point.” Heath reached across the table. “Our main priority right now is ensuring your safety, and trust us, we will get to the bottom of this.”
She believed them when they promised to keep her safe, but if someone was really after her, who would keep them safe?
Chapter Thirteen
A month had passed without incident and they’d fallen into a nice routine. Zora helped out in Gavin’s practice two days a week, organizing files, handling billing and confirming appointments. Two days she spent in the store with Logan, doing the bookkeeping and keeping track of the inventory.
On her day off, she threw herself into redecorating the house and having lunch with Heath. It was hard to believe she could be happy again when her nana had passed, but now not only was she loved, she was in love. Some people would say her relationship was unconventional, and in the beginning she had doubts herself on how to make it work, but now she’d have it no other way.
With it being her day off, she’d spent the morning looking at paint samples, trying to find the right shade of yellow to paint the kitchen before finally deciding on a soft buttercream.
With that decision made, she fixed a special picnic lunch for her and Heath to share in his office. They usually went to a local restaurant, but she figured this would be much more intimate.
Once she finished packing her picnic basket, she showered and prepared herself to leave. Her men had gifted her with a car to get around in. She missed Christine, but Zora got over it the first time she slid behind the wheel of her brand new Mercedes SUV. She buckled up and dug her cell phone out of her purse to call Logan and Gavin to let them know she was on the go. She loved Gavin, Logan and Heath with all her heart, but they drove her mad with their overprotective ways.
Because their investigator never found any leads on who the harassing phone calls were from, they were leery of letting her leave the house alone. Zora refused to live her life in fear.
She’d run before, she wasn’t going to do it anymore.
After arguing, begging, pleading and even a little seduction, they’d finally relented a little. However, they made her agree to call them whenever she left the house so they’d k
now where she was going at all times. When she picked up her phone, she noticed several missed calls from a number she didn’t recognize. She went into her voicemail and saw it was empty. She wanted to think it was a wrong number, but a wrong number wouldn’t call so many times, would they?
She’d think about it later. In the meantime, she made her calls to Logan and Gavin. Heath already knew she’d be there at noon so she saw no point in calling him.
As she headed toward Heath’s office, she turned on the radio and sang along. She didn’t notice the car following so closely behind until she happened to glance in her rear view mirror. “What the hell?”
There were too many nuts on the road to make a stink about it, so she got over to the right lane to allow the car to pass. But instead of going by, the other driver pulled his vehicle in behind hers. She sped up and so did he. She slowed down and the other driver mimicked. Her heart began to pound a mile a minute. Who was this?
She reached for her phone, wishing she’d taken the time to synch her cell to her car, but instead she took her eyes off the road to press Heath’s number. As she pressed the button to call him, the other driver rammed her from behind.
“Oh shit!” she screamed, dropping the phone in panic and gripping the steering wheel.
She looked around to see if there were witnesses, but she was on a back road that didn’t get much traffic, with a wooded area on either side of her. The other car maneuvered next to hers. She glanced over and was shocked to see who the driver was. Before she could react, he did a pit maneuver, sending her car spinning out of control. She screamed.
Heath had just come out of a meeting when he felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out of his pocket to see Zora was calling. She was probably calling to let him know she was on the way, but he wasn’t going to pass up on an opportunity to hear her voice.
“Hey, babe,” he answered with a smile on his face, which immediately fell when she didn’t answer right away. “Zora?”
He heard muffled sounds that sounded like crying. “Baby?”
A piercing scream greeted his ears before the phone cut off.
His heart raced and his bear fought to break free.
He hurried over to his assistant’s desk. “Flo, I’m heading out for the day. Cancel all my afternoon meetings and reschedule. I won’t be answering my phone.”
The older woman frowned in concern. “Is everything okay, boss?”
“A personal matter I need to deal with. Could you please take care of things for me?”
“Sure thing. And I hope everything works out for you.”
He barely managed to nod before turning on his heel and heading out. If anything happened to Zora, someone would pay dearly. With their life.
Gavin was charting some information for the last patient he’d seen when his personal cell phone rang. He saw who was calling and frowned. His cousins rarely called him at work, and it surprised him Heath would be calling when he was supposed to be with Zora.
“Hey, Heath, what’s—”
“Something happened to Zora.” Heath was usually calm in most instances, but Gavin could hear the panic in his cousin’s voice.
The pen he’d been holding snapped in his hand. His heart dropped to his feet. “What do you mean something happened to her? Wasn’t she supposed to be having lunch with you?”
“She never made it to the office. I received a phone call from her, but she didn’t say anything. The call was muffled and it sounded like she was crying and then she started screaming. I’m assuming she was in her car because I heard music in the background like a car stereo.”
Gavin’s anxiety level rose before the anger kicked in. If anything happened to Zora, he’d ripped whoever was responsible in half. “Okay, I’ll get one of the other doctors to cover my afternoon appointments,” he managed to bite out through gritted teeth. “Did you call the police?” Gavin asked even though he already knew the answer.
“Hell no! We find her and we handle this our way. If someone harms one hair on her head, there won’t be enough left of the person for the police to clean up after. I know the healer in you isn’t crazy about the kill but—”
“This person has fucked with the wrong bear.” Where Zora was concern, reason didn’t figure into it as far as Gavin and his cousins were concerned. “Have you contacted Logan?”
“I’m calling him as soon as I get off the phone with you.
I’m going to try to pinpoint her location through the GPS
tracking device in her phone.”
“Call me the second you locate her.”
“Will do.” Heath clicked off without waiting for Gavin to respond, but Gavin didn’t mind. He was already planning his next move. He hoped they’d find Zora safe and sound. God help the person who hurt her.
Tears streamed down Zora’s face as she frantically searched for her phone. She knew there was a tracking device on the inside because she’d heard Heath and Logan discussing it when they thought she wasn’t in the room. At the time she was annoyed, but knew they meant well. Even though she had planned on purchasing her own phone, she was now thankful she hadn’t gotten around to it.
Catching sight of the jewel-cased phone, she stuffed it in her jeans pocket. When her car skidded out of control, she’d managed not to swerve into the ditch, but she hit a huge obstruction on the side of the road, which damaged the wheels on the passenger side so it would no longer accelerate and made a funny scraping noise.
She didn’t know what to do as she saw her father get out of his vehicle and walk toward her. She couldn’t wrap her head around why he was there. Zora checked to see that her doors were all locked, but it wouldn’t stop him from breaking a window. She opened the glove compartment to search for any weapon she could use to protect herself. Nothing but a pen. It would have to do. Just as she grabbed it, the driver’s side window shattered as a rock flew through the glass hitting her on the shoulder.
“No!” Zora screamed out as her father approached with a maniacal gleam in his eyes. He reached in and unlocked her door. Before she knew what was happening, he dragged her out of the car by her hair.
“Why are you doing this?” She struggled to get out of his hold. Remembering she had the pen in her hand, she reached back and shoved it through his hand with all her might, causing him to release his grip.
“You little bitch! I should have gotten rid of you when I had the chance. You don’t deserve to breathe and by the time I get through with you, you won’t,” he yelled, clutching his injured hand.
Zora took off, not knowing where to go. She knew if she continued running down the road, he could easily run her over with his car. So she got off the road and headed into the woods. At the very least, she could hide and buy herself some time until help arrived. “Please hurry,” she whispered to the wind.
Logan tore down the road in his truck toward the location Heath had last pinpointed Zora’s cell phone signal. Since his store was the closest to the house, he figured he’d get there first. He wasn’t a particularly religious man, but in that moment, he prayed like he never had before. He prayed Zora was all right and he prayed to find the motherfucker responsible for this.
He wished he’d insisted she stay indoors unless either he, Gavin or Heath was out with her, no matter how much she protested. At the very least with the store being so close to their home, he should have driven her to Heath’s office and then picked her up. The very thought of losing her caused him more pain than he’d ever dealt with in his life. Angry tears burned the backs of his eyes and the more emotional he became, the more pissed his bear got. Already the animal was bursting through. Black fur popped out along his skin, but he fought to keep the beast at bay until he could get out of the car.
As he continued on, he started to feel her presence. She was close. Another half mile ahead, he spotted two cars along the side of the road, both empty. One was Zora’s and her driver’s side window was shattered.
He barely managed to pull over, put the truck in park
and get out of the car before the transformation took over. His joints and bones contorted and his mass bulked, slitting the seams of his clothing until he burst free. By the time he moved to the edge of the road, his transformation was complete and he went in search of his woman.
Zora ran deeper into the woods, trying not to look behind her as her assailant got closer. She tripped over tree branches but managed not to fall. If she got out of this ordeal alive, she promised to never make fun of those girls in horror movies who always fall when they’re being chased by the killer.
She wasn’t familiar with the layout of the land and wasn’t sure where she was heading. In this moment, it didn’t matter why her father wanted her dead or how he’d found her. The only thing on her mind was survival.
She made the mistake of looking behind her to see him catching up. She wasn’t watching where she was going and this time when she tripped, she fell flat on her face. Before she could get up, he was on her. Grabbing a handful of her hair, he turned her around and delivered a vicious backhand.
Pain exploded in her cheek but her instinct to survive was strong. The endorphin rush kept her from swooning. Zora brought her knee up, catching him in the solar plexus.
He grunted, falling back just enough for her to get out of his grasp. Zora scrambled to her feet and only got a few yards before he gripped her ankles, sending her to the ground. He was on top of her again, his eyes glistening with madness as he wrapped his hands around her throat.
Zora clawed at him, trying to break the hold. She then tried to claw at his face, going for the eyes. It only made him tighten his hold on her throat. Zora continued to fight, but she was fast losing energy and was getting dizzy from lack of oxygen. With his hands around her neck, she couldn’t do anything but mouth the word, “Why?”