Bears & Beauties - Complete (7 page)

Catherine took up a defensive posture again, this time her dark eyes drilling directly into Grayson’s.

“I’d like to send her my compliments,” Grayson lied. “I was planning to gift all of the workers at tonight’s event, and it’d be unfair for her to miss out just because she took ill.”

Catherine studied him for a long moment before nodding and waving at a wiry looking caterer in the corner of the room. The man fast-walked across the room toward them, a small notebook in his hand. “Allen, would you do me a favor and get Mr. Days the mailing address for Amber Kelli.”

The man, Allen, snapped to attention before flipping through the notebook, “Can do.”

“Thank you very much, Catherine,” Grayson said to the manager as she nodded toward him and walked off to find some other worker to supervise.

After a few moments of searching, Allen finally came across Amber’s information and copied it down on a napkin for Grayson, who thanked him heartedly.

When Allen had returned to the table, and Grayson found himself alone again, he stared blearily at the napkin, his hands shaking as he gripped it. At some point, he would have to find the time to go to the address on the napkin, and do everything he could to claim his mate. Right now, though, he had a party to attend to and parents to fawn over.

Stuffing the napkin into his pocket, Grayson walked toward his parents’ table and leaned down to kiss his mother on the cheek.

“Is something wrong, dear?” his mother questioned, taking his hand in hers as he stood back up.

Grayson shook his head, “No. Or, at least, I don’t think so.”

Grayson’s father studied him for a long moment, and he felt the presence of the older bear gazing into his soul. “You’ve found her, eh?” the man said finally.

Grayson nodded. “She was one of the caterers. Left while I was giving the toast.”

“Bah,” the older man scoffed. “Damned formalities get in the way of everything. Should’ve never left her side, boy.”

“You should go after her,” Grayson’s mother offered, much to his surprise. She’d always been a romantic, yes, but she was also a stickler for respect and the rules. You didn’t just leave in the middle of your own party, not when every guest there had been personally invited.

“I can’t just leave…” Grayson stammered.

“Sure you can,” his father bellowed with a wink. “This party is for your mother and me, not for you. Get out of here and stop hogging all the attention. We raised you better than that.”

Grayson glanced from one parent to the other, searching for any sign of uncertainty. “You’re sure?”

They both nodded and waved him off.

Without another word, Grayson darted toward the exit in search of Amber Kelli.

3

Amber smelled the rain in the air long before the first drops trickled onto her head. The heaviness of the storm poured through the city all at once, thunder crashing as the sky ignited with fierce and dangerous lightning. Head turned down and shoulders hunched against her neck, Amber stumbled her way down the darkened city streets, her mind still reeling from the events that had just unfolded. She still couldn’t get past it. The tall, dark, and handsome stranger had been the billionaire playboy she’d ranted about to the
same
tall, dark, and handsome stranger. It was embarrassing to say the least. Devastating to say the worst. The man, Grayson Days, had looked playful enough when giving his speech, but Amber knew that men like that - men like him - weren’t fond of having their names mocked in the quiet corners. For all he knew, Amber could have been trashing him and his guests all night. And if he assumed that, Amber knew she was toast.

The best she could do now was run away, get as far from the party as possible, and hope that she had a job to go to in the morning. Grayson had obviously spoken with her manager, though, so the chances of that were slim to none. At some point, Amber considered returning to the party, begging the handsome billionaire for forgiveness, then groveling until she got her job back. Turns out, though, that even in the face of unemployment, Amber had enough self-respect to stay her course. If there was one thing she had left in this world when everything else vanished or failed, it would be her dignity. No man - not even a muscular charmer with alluring eyes - could take that from her.

After strolling a few blocks away from the party, Amber looked up to take in her surroundings for the first time. She realized then that she’d made a mistake. Somehow, Amber had wandered into one of the less seemly parts of Manhattan. The streets were all but empty, and large buildings cast darkened shadows across an already dark street. Cavernous alleyways opened up in either direction, and streetlights flickered the midst of the surging storm.

“Great,” Amber managed, disbelieving her luck as she searched for a cab but finding none. If she stayed out in the rain for too long, she’d be sick on top of being unemployed. Even worse, if she spent too much time wandering around in the rundown neighborhood, she’d likely find herself in an even worse predicament. If her memory served her correctly, this particular neighborhood had turned into a cesspool of crime as of late. All things considered, Amber thanked the rainstorm for at least keeping the crooks at bay while she wandered aimlessly through the streets.

Amber made her way up the street and through the neighborhood, her eyes scanning relentlessly for some sign of a cab. Eerily, however, the streets remained empty except for her.

“How is it that in a city this large, I’m the only one out and about tonight?” Amber barked, the rain still drenching every inch of her physical being. By that point, the water had already soaked into her clothes, even to the point that her panties were dripping cool streams down the inside of her thighs.

The sound of an oncoming car quickly alerted Amber, and she raised her head to scan for the source. At the end of the block, a dark colored Crown Victoria made its way toward her. Much to Amber’s surprise, the car slowed to a stop as it neared her, and the driver’s window rolled down.

“Hey, honey. You look a little wet, need a ride?” shouted the vehicle’s occupant. From where she was standing, Amber could barely make out the driver’s features. He had an Italian look to him, with dark hair and olive skin. The man’s nose was sharp and looked like it had been broken a few times, and his eyes came across as threatening.

Amber just stared silently at the man, unsure of what to say or do. On one hand, she absolutely needed a ride. More than anything, she needed to get out of the rain and find a way back to her apartment. On the other hand, something about the man came across as utterly wrong to her. There was something very aggressive about his appearance, and Amber’s instincts screamed for her to run as fast and far from him as she could.

“I asked if you needed a ride, honey. How about you get in the car?” the man offered again, this time without a trace of politeness in his tone.

Amber took a step backward and waved the man off, “I’m fine. But thanks.”

The sound of the car’s gear being thrown into park sent shivers down Amber’s spine and she took another step away from the car. “I wasn’t asking, honey,” the man snarled before opening his door and stepping out into the rain.

A good fifteen feet separated Amber from the man now, but she could make out his large muscular physique. The man’s body language screamed violence, and it was all Amber could do to keep her feet under her. Fear surged through her body, her mind suddenly numbed by adrenaline, and she turned away from the man ran as fast as she could down the nearest alleyway.

“Bitch!” the man snarled after her. Amber could hear the man following from behind her, his heavy footsteps echoing down the alleyway as he sprinted after her.

Tears streamed down Amber’s face, the knowledge of what was almost certain to happen filling her mind as she forced herself to keep running. Some sliver of hope in her consciousness told that she could find help or escape the man, but the realist in her knew that it was inevitable. There was no way could match or outpace her assailant’s athleticism. Not when her body was already screaming for surrender and her lungs were afire from breathlessness.

They neared the end of the alleyway, and Amber’s heart jumped at the thought that maybe someone would be at the other end. She’d find help there, someone would see her, someone would come to her rescue. That, or she’d give the guy the slip. She’d get away from him. She had to, or else…

Amber didn’t want to think of what would happen. She’d heard the stories. She’d read the news. “Or else” wasn’t an option. It couldn’t be.

That’s when he caught up to her, grabbed her by the back of her shirt’s collar and threw her to the ground.

It all happened in a blur. One minute, her hopes were up and she was facing the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, the next she was seeing stars as her skull crashed against the pavement. Amber’s vision swam and she felt herself being hoisted up and thrown over the man’s shoulder, her ass stuck up in the air and her head bobbing just above the ground. Everything seemed hopeless then, and with her world still spinning all Amber could manage to do was cry.

4

The rain pounded against the windshield of Grayson’s black Mercedes as he navigated the streets of Manhattan, his GPS blaring out directions to the address on the napkin sitting in his passenger seat. His head swam with all of the possibilities. Would Amber welcome him into her home with open arms? Would she slam the door in his face? Would she even bother to open the door at all? And if she did, who’s to say that she would hear him out? How could he explain to her the concept of fated mates, and of his bear’s need to have her in his life? More often than not, he himself had thought of the concept as absurd. How then could he even hope to relay it to someone he assumed had no knowledge of the shifter community? Still, despite any misgivings he might have had, Grayson pressed onward, directing his vehicle toward Amber’s home.

After several minutes, the GPS chimed that Grayson had reached his destination, and he pulled to a stop on the side of the street. Killing the ignition and clambering out of the car, Grayson stared up at the run-down apartment building before him. He double-checked the apartment number on the napkin, then made his way toward the building’s entrance. Much to his delight, Grayson found the door unlocked and slipped inside.

Quickly making his way toward the staircase, Grayson took the steps two at a time until he reached the third floor. He stepped out and into the hallway and all but ran down the hall as his eyes scanned the numbers on the door. With every number closer to Amber’s address, Grayson’s heart thumped a little faster and his bear rose closer to the surface. As he neared Amber’s address, something in the pit of Grayson’s stomach began to bite at him, urging him that something was desperately wrong. He ignored it, though, as he closed in on his would-be mate’s apartment.

Grayson stopped dead in his tracks in front of Amber’s door, his heart pounding more furiously than ever in his chest. Everything in him wanted to tear down the door, find the woman he was destined for, and swear his undying love to her right then and there. On the other side of that door - that plain, simple, brown door - Grayson would find his destiny. And yet, something gave him pause. Something wasn’t quite right.

Shaking his head in an attempt to dismiss the concerns, Grayson raised one fist to the door and rapped on it twice. After a few short moments, Grayson heard some shuffling from inside the apartment, then the door opened to reveal a small woman with blond hair and sleep in her eyes. Grayson looked past her to see toddler toys thrown around the floor of the room in addition to some old, ragged furniture.

“Can I help you?” the woman asked, rubbing at her eyes. Clearly, she’d either been asleep or was on her way there.

“I’m looking for Amber Kelli,” Grayson replied, wasting no time.

The woman arched an eyebrow at Grayson, clearly taken off guard by his words.

“Who’s asking?” The woman questioned cautiously.

Grayson took a breath. “My name is Grayson Days. I hired out the catering company Ms. Kelli works with for a party tonight. She left early, ill, and I was coming to check on her.”

Due to either sheer tiredness or a lack of care, the woman shrugged her shoulders in acceptance of his statement. “Amber isn’t here. Hasn’t been in months.”

Grayson blinked. “I was told this was her home address?”

The woman shook her head. “She used to crash here, back when we worked together at the diner. But, like I said, haven’t seen her in months.”

From inside the apartment, the sound of a small child crying echoed out into the hallway. The woman glanced back in her apartment, then shrugged again at Grayson. “I’ve gotta tend to him. Sorry I wasn’t any help.”

Grayson stood there, his mind reeling, as the door closed in his face. The same feeling in the pit of his stomach reemerged, and Grayson felt his heart sink. His instincts had been right. Something was wrong. Amber wasn’t here. She hadn’t been in a long time.

Feeling dejected, Grayson turned and made his way back down the hallway and down toward the building’s exit. As he stepped into the open air outside the building, Grayson stood still for a long moment, letting the downpour overtake him.