Night Shift (Grizzly Cove Book 3) (8 page)

She took his hand, very conscious of Brody watching their movements. She couldn’t tell whether he was frowning at the fact that she was holding Zak’s hand, or if he was thinking about the sea monster that had almost dragged her down into Davy Jones’ Locker. Either way, she didn’t want to chat about it.

She walked briskly to the SUV and let Zak open her door and help her in. He strode around and got in the driver’s side, and they were off a moment later.

CHAPTER NINE

The drive back to town didn’t take long, and Zak was on the phone for most of it. He gave the details of the change in the night’s meeting plans to at least three people, who would probably phone three more, and so on, until everybody had heard the news.

When they arrived at the bakery, he parked in front, turning the engine off. Then he faced her, taking her hand across the center console of the SUV.

“I’m really sorry our picnic got ruined.” He seemed so serious, and she was quick to reassure him.

“It wasn’t your fault. And up to that ill-fated walk by the water, I thought it was a great afternoon. You treated me like a queen, and then, you did your knight-in-shining-armor act and saved my life.” She laughed and was relieved when he smiled too, briefly. “You totally impressed me, Zak, and…” She hesitated a bit, not knowing if what she was about to say was okay, but wanting him to know anyway. “I loved seeing you as a bear.”

“Really?” He seemed concerned. “I didn’t scare you?”

“Scare me? When you were saving my life?” Her tone was incredulous. “No way. Zak, you’re amazing, and I’m so glad you were there. Human or bear, you’re still Zak, and you’re the bravest man I know.” She leaned over and hugged him, pressing kisses to his cheek, his ear, wherever she could reach.

Emotion threatened to overcome her as she thought about the close call this afternoon. Zak was such a great guy. She had deep feelings for him, even though they’d only known each other a short time.

He held her, rubbing her back and stroking her hair as she trembled. The reaction from her brush with danger had never really dissipated. She’d been shaky since the had monster attacked, but she’d kept going. Only now did she realize she was still trembling, emotion clogging her throat.

“It’s okay, baby. Let it out, if you need to. I’m here for you,” he crooned near her ear, overcoming the last of her resistance.

The tears came then. Tears of anger that she’d been attacked out of the blue, for no discernible reason. Tears for the fear that had gripped her heart and tears of relief. So much relief.

Zak held her throughout, speaking soft words of reassurance.

Zak met Nell’s eyes through the windshield of the SUV. She was still inside the bakery, but she’d seen them pull up and could see through the glass separating them that her little sister was upset. Zak nodded to her, glad when Nell took his signal as reassurance and backed away from the window. The last thing he wanted was the family swooping down on his SUV, disrupting this moment.

For one thing, his inner bear demanded he be the one to comfort Tina. The beast had grown very attached to the woman over the past days. In fact, the bear was downright possessive. He wanted to be the center of Tina’s universe, even though the human half of him knew her family would always hold a place in her heart.

The other aspect of this situation was even more selfish. Zak just liked holding her in his arms. It broke his heart that she was so upset, but he couldn’t help but feel the softness of her body against his, the silkiness of her hair under his hand, and inhale the warm, womanly scent of her wafting to his sensitive nose. She was delicious. Delectable. Delightful in every way. Everything about her satisfied his senses. More than satisfied, actually. With no effort at all, she could light him on fire with the most intense passion he’d ever known.

Oh yeah.
This woman was lethal at close range, but what a way to go.

After a few more minutes, she seemed to get herself together. The trembling eased, and her tears died away naturally, leaving her face a little flushed, her eyes a little red, her nose a little runny, but even with all of that, she was still adorable to him.

Zak reached into the door console behind him and came up with a few tissues. Actually, they were paper napkins he’d gotten from somewhere, but they would do in a pinch. She accepted them gratefully, wiping at her eyes and nose as she moved back to her own side of the vehicle.

“I’m sorry for crying all over you,” she said softly, hiccupping just once. He had to smile at the way she was trying to put on a brave face for him.

“I don’t mind,” he answered honestly. “I’m here for you, Tina. Whatever you need.”

“Apparently, I needed to fall apart there for a minute. Sorry.” She laughed, and he chuckled with her. “You’re a very indulgent guy.”

“For you? I’ll be whatever you want.”
Whoa. Too serious?
He watched her reaction to his words carefully. If he had to backpedal, he would, but maybe…just maybe…this afternoon’s adventure—and the delicious interlude that had come before—had changed things.

She looked over at him, meeting his gaze. “You’re perfect just the way you are, Zak. Anybody else would have freaked out, like I was doing. You took action. You saved me, when all I could do was panic.”

“You weren’t so bad,” Zak told her honestly. “You were a lot calmer than you think. Give yourself some credit. You were actively fighting, buying time for me to figure out how best to attack the situation. You did really good, Tina. Never doubt it. And never doubt yourself. You’re an amazing girl, and I’m really sorry our picnic got ruined.”

“Hey, that wasn’t your fault. There was no way to know that kind of thing was going to happen.” She shuddered, but seemed to be holding together a lot better, Zak was happy to note.

“It’s my land. I should have inspected the waterfront better before taking you there. I’m really sorry.”

He felt terrible that he had brought her to such a dangerous place. All he’d wanted to do was have a nice, romantic picnic by the water. Instead, he brought her onto the set of a horror movie.

“You can’t be responsible for the entire ocean, Zak. I know you take your duties as a deputy seriously, but that’s going a little too far above and beyond, you know?” She smiled again, and he saw her point…somewhat.

“Well, I can promise you, we’re not going to stop until we get to the bottom of this. Nobody is safe until we figure out what’s going on in the cove.” Zak knew this was going to be a difficult task, but everyone was going to work hard—especially Zak—to nail this down and make the water safe again. “Now, I saw Nell watching us, so you’re probably going to be facing some questions when you go inside.” He wanted her to be prepared for the sisterly third degree.

“Yeah, I figured as much.” She didn’t look too thrilled by the idea.

“I’ll save you a seat up front at the town meeting. They may want to ask you questions about the creature.” He wanted her to be ready, just in case.

“Really?” She didn’t look too thrilled with that either. “I suppose… But it all happened so fast.”

“If anything, they might ask about the thing’s strength. How hard it was pulling you toward the water. Stuff like that. They might ask if there was anything you noticed about the suckers, or the slime. Physical stuff. I’ll try to deflect as much as I can from you.”

“No, it’s okay. They need to know everything they can to fight this thing. It’ll be okay.”

He loved the way she found her courage. He was so proud of her. Zak reached over and kissed her.

The kiss wanted to turn hotter than it should for the front seat of his town-issued SUV, but he controlled himself. He backed away, letting her go by slow degrees, until he was looking deeply into her eyes. The moment felt significant.

“What was that for?” she whispered.

“For how strong you are, how brave, and how lovely,” he replied in the same hushed tone of voice.

She dropped her gaze, smiling shyly. “I’m not brave.”

“I beg to differ.” He let her move away, each retreating to their own side of the vehicle. “You handled yourself really well today, Tina. Don’t ever think differently. I was very proud of you and the way you handled yourself. I’d pick you for my team any day of the week.”

He was glad to see her smile at that last bit. He thought she would be okay now. Zak opened his door and got out of the SUV. He jogged around to her side, opening the passenger door with a flourish.

“Thank you,” she said demurely as she stepped down out of the vehicle.

He was probably standing too close, but he couldn’t help himself, and she didn’t seem to mind. In fact, she stepped closer, almost pressing against him as her gaze lifted to meet his.

“You’ll be all right with your sister?” He found himself worrying about her. She nodded in response.

He still had a job to do, and for the first time in his life, he found himself conflicted between his duty and his desires. If he followed the latter, he’d stay with Tina all day, just following her around, making sure she was safe. That would probably annoy the hell out of her in short order, but keeping her out of trouble and away from all possible harm was something his bear half demanded of him.

He tried to convince himself Tina would be safe enough with her sister. The bear side wasn’t quite buying it, but the minute he caught sight of Tom and Ashley sitting at a table near the front window, he relaxed just the tiniest bit. Tom was there. Tom was a large grizzly. A good bear and a good friend. He wouldn’t let anything happen to any of the Baker sisters.

And all three sisters would be gathered in the bakery. Circling the wagons, so to speak. Keeping everyone together for protection. It was a good move. Zak’s bear approved.

Only then could Zak step back, giving Tina room to move away from the vehicle.

* * *

Tina hadn’t seen Zak since he’d dropped her off at the bakery. Tom and Ashley had stuck around all afternoon. Just before the meeting, Tina turned the sign on the door of the bakery to
closed,
and they all headed over to the half-finished building site that was going to be the new town hall. Just adjacent to the unfinished building, there was an area that had been cleared of brush and most of the trees, that would eventually function as a fully landscaped town square.

At the moment, it was still a bit rough around the edges, but there was plenty of grass for people to sit on, as well as several benches scattered around the area. There was also the beginning of a platform, which would one day become a gazebo-type building where musicians could set up and play during tourist season.

Big John had big plans for the town. This experiment in integrated bear shifter society would eventually include many more humans both living in and passing through their town. The tourists would bring in money to keep the place running while the town council carefully screened who they let in as permanent residents. They could get away with such highhanded tactics because Tom had gone to great lengths with all sorts of legal paperwork, relying on both U.S. federal laws and those governing the local Indian reservation, since part of Grizzly Cove was technically on Native American land.

The local tribe had been very willing to work with Big John, and the shaman had welcomed the
bear spirits
, as he called them, to their land. Native Americans were one of the few groups of humans who actively knew about shifters and, in most cases, welcomed them. Bear shifters, in particular, were considered good omens, as well as good neighbors to have.

Big John had spent a lot of time negotiating with the tribal elders, and Tom had drawn up many agreements between the two parties. Theirs was a symbiotic relationship. The shifters would help bring prosperity to the tribe, as best they could, while also protecting the land and preserving it for the next generation.

Tom had explained a lot about the origins of this crazy little town to pass the time during the afternoon spent huddling together at the bakery. Tina hadn’t wanted to talk about her experience on the beach just yet, and thankfully, her sisters understood. Beyond a few hugs of reassurance, they had left her alone for the most part, allowing her to speak or not, as she wished.

Tom had been good company. She’d enjoyed getting to know him better this afternoon. Before he’d taken up with Ashley, he’d never been to the bakery before, so of all the people in town, he was probably the one she’d known least before a few weeks ago. Since then, of course, he’d become part of the family.

Tina liked him more each time they got to spend a little time together. Today was no exception. He’d done a wonderful job of keeping her mind off what had happened earlier in the day.

But there was no escaping those scary thoughts once she caught sight of Exhibit A sitting on ice up near the platform. They’d strung together a series of rectangular foam coolers with U-shaped holes cut out of the sides. Ice filled the containers, and the tentacle was stretched out within them, all twelve-plus feet of it.

“Holy shit,” Ashley whispered as she caught sight of it. “That’s what attacked you?”

Tina grimaced. “Part of it, anyway. I didn’t really realize how long it was. Damn.” She couldn’t stop looking at it.

And then Zak was there, right in front of her, blocking her view of the tentacle that had tried to drag her under. He smiled at her, bending to kiss her cheek and whisper close to her ear. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m good. How about you?” she answered, so incredibly glad to see him again.

“Been running nonstop since I left you. It took a bit of legwork to find all those foam boxes, but I finally got enough for the display. Brody figured everyone ought to see this thing for themselves, so they know what it looks like and get a whiff of its scent.”

“Good idea,” Tom said from over Tina’s shoulder. He’d come up behind them, sticking close to his mate.

“Thanks for what you did,” Ashley said to Zak, blinking back tears as she reached out to give Zak a hug he clearly wasn’t expecting.