Hunt (The Grizzly Brothers Chronicles Book 1) (12 page)

I
thought back
on my time with Ian over and over as we continued our drive toward Green Acres. I should have been annoyed at myself, and Ian, yet I wasn’t. At least not completely. More than anything I wanted to see him again, and I knew that wasn’t a good thing.

Ian was everything I didn’t need in my life. To be fair, I didn’t need a guy in my life at all. I especially didn’t need one that excited me the way Ian did. He’d awakened a side of me I wanted to keep dormant. I had more important things to focus on such as getting through law school and securing a good job. I was all alone in the world now, and I was going to have to be able to support myself.

Lauren slowed down and pulled into a gravel parking lot.

“Where are we?” I looked at the windowless cinderblock building with a bright blue door. My first thought when I looked at the place was adult video store, but those places usually had signs describing what they were. The only signage on this building was a metal sign that said ‘Lonny’s’.

“A bar. It’s only been open a few months, but it’s a nice change of pace from the other options around here.”

“This is a bar?” I pointed toward the blue door. I kept my adult video store thought to myself. “It has a different look than I’d expect.”

“Yes. It doesn’t look like much on the outside, but it’s rather nice on the inside.”

“I guess looks can be deceiving.” I shrugged. I’d learned the hard way it was the same way with people.

“They can be.” She opened her door but paused before getting out. “You are twenty-one, aren’t you?”

“Twenty-three.” I smiled. Being legal to drink was still new enough that it was exciting.

“Good.” Lauren opened her door. “Although I can guarantee they aren’t carding in there.”

“I take it you’ve been here a lot?”

“More than I’d like to admit.” She jumped down from the truck, and I walked around to meet her.

Lauren led the way toward the building. She glanced over her shoulder at least half a dozen times before we reached the door. She took one last glance back before she pushed open the door.

We were immediately hit by a wave of smoke as we made our way inside. Evidently there was no smoking ban in this town, or if there was one, it wasn’t being followed. The latter thought seemed more likely since the large room appeared to have absolutely no windows. I really hoped there was a good ventilation system; however, I couldn’t imagine anything about this place was up to code. By the dense crowd filling the place, they also weren’t concerned about a capacity limit.

Lauren pressed through the crowd, and I reluctantly followed her. My eyes were already burning from the smoke, and if it had been up to me I would have hightailed it back to her truck.
And back to Ian
. That second thought was enough to get me to follow her further inside.

The crowd was older than the ones I usually encountered in bars in Philadelphia, but aside from that and the abundance of cowboy hats, it didn’t seem all that different.

Lauren stopped. “I’m going to get a beer, you want anything?”

“Sure. Get me whatever you’re having.” I didn’t know much about beers aside from Yuengling and Victory.

She eyed the crowd. “If I lose you, meet me on the far side of the bar.” She pointed in the direction we were already heading.

“Ok.” I tried to follow her, but as soon as she moved forward the crowd seemed to swallow her up. I looked for a spot to slip through without being rude. I’d never been in such a crowded room before, and I wasn’t a fan of crowds. Or bars. I’d never been the type to feel particularly comfortable in bars. I didn’t have the social ease most of my peers had, and unless I was out celebrating a friend’s birthday or something, I usually found an excuse to leave as soon as possible. I probably should have thought through all that before blindly agreeing to go with Lauren. I guess I hadn’t expected to end up in a bar.

I finally made my way through the most densely packed part of the crowd and reached the far side of the bar. The crowd around the bar was so heavy I couldn’t see Lauren. I hoped she’d find me.

I waited along the back wall, wishing there was an exit. Coming with Lauren had been a mistake.

“Where’s Connor?” a low scratchy voice asked from right next to my ear.

I jumped, taking in the guy standing next to me. He appeared to be in his mid to late twenties and wore a cowboy hat that partially obscured his face.

“Uh, do I know you?” I wrapped my arms around myself.

His expression was hard. “Just answer the question.”

“Easy there, Henderson.” A second and slightly younger looking man walked over. “Talk to her nicely. She may be innocent in all this.”

“Innocent in all what?” If they hadn’t asked about Connor I’d have thought it was mistaken identity, and maybe it still was. Connor was a fairly common name. “And I’m not sure if I’m who you think I am.”

“You are exactly who we think you are.” The man named Henderson narrowed his eyes. “Tell us where Connor is.”

“He’s somewhere.” I wasn’t sure if telling them he was out of town was a good idea. I scanned the room for Lauren. “And if you’ll excuse me.” I started to walk away but the second man grabbed my wrist.

“He wouldn’t have left you by yourself, Mara.”

I froze. He knew my name. Then I came to my senses and tried to pull away, but the guy had an iron clad grip on my wrist. “Let go of me.”

“Where is he?” The man’s scratchy, low voice sent chills through me.

“I don’t know where he is, and I don’t have any clue who you are.” I gazed around looking for my best means of escape.

“You don’t need to know anything about me, but you will need to know Willem. You’ll meet him very soon.” He grinned.

“Yeah, no thanks.” I had no interest in meeting anyone connected to these guys. I pulled my wrist away from the guy who became distracted as Lauren headed toward us.

“Hey…” Lauren walked over warily holding a beer in each hand. “Sorry about that, I ran into someone I know.”

I nodded. “Ok, but we need to go.”

“What’s going on?” She asked eyeing the two men.

“We need to go.” I repeated myself hoping she picked up on the urgency this time.

Lauren nodded. “Gotcha.”

Henderson turned to Lauren. “We’re going to need to take your friend with us.”

“Like hell you are.” Lauren scowled.

Henderson smiled. “You don’t want trouble, do you?”

“We don’t want trouble.” She held out the beers. “So take these as a peace offering, and forget you saw us.”

The guy accepted the beers and threw them down on the wooden floors. The glass shattered and the brown liquid splattered all over. A few people glanced in our direction, but just as quickly they turned away. “We don’t need a peace offering. We need your friend. You saved us a trip by delivering her to us.”

A few people around us glanced over to see what the commotion was about, but no one seemed particularly concerned. What was wrong with these people?

“I didn’t deliver her to you.” Lauren scowled. “And I’ll be taking her with me right now.”

The second guy grabbed me from behind, and I yelled out. Lauren lunged for Henderson, and I kicked the guy holding me in the balls.

While he was distracted Lauren throat punched the second guy. He gasped for air, and she grabbed my hand, pulling me into the crowd. She held onto my hand as we rushed toward the doorway, and she pulled me toward the truck.

I buckled my seatbelt as she peeled out of the parking lot. “What just happened in there?”

“You found trouble.”

“I think trouble found me.”

“No matter how you put it, there is only one thing you can do.”

“What’s that?”

“Call Ian.”

“Call Ian? Why?”

“Just do it.” Lauren stepped on the gas, easily going twenty over the speed limit. She glanced in the rearview mirror every few moments.

I looked over my shoulder, but I didn’t see any cars behind us. Maybe we’d lost them, or they hadn’t bothered to follow. I still didn’t understand what they wanted with me. “I don’t have his number.” I’d gotten naked in front of the guy, yet I didn’t have his number. I was acting so out of character it wasn’t funny.

She sighed. “How is that even possible? Take my phone.” She handed me the phone while she drove in the direction of Crestview.

I
was done wasting
my time with Claire. She wasn’t giving up any other information, which meant it was time to get as far away from her as possible. Now that she knew I was interested in someone, I was going to have to be even more careful. I couldn’t let her screw things up with Mara, and I knew that was exactly what she was going to try to do.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out. I was hoping to see Mara’s name before I realized I didn’t even have her number. I was going to have to remedy that soon.

Instead I saw Lauren’s name on the screen. She wasn’t one to call me unless it was important, so after a quick glance at Claire’s pout I picked up. “Hi, what’s going on?”

“Ian?” Mara’s voice came through the phone. It was shaky, and I knew instantly something was wrong.

“Mara, where are you?” My heartbeat accelerated. I was an idiot. I should have had one of my brother’s watch her. She’d have never known, and she would have been better off. “And why do you have Lauren’s phone?” That second question came to me only at the last moment.

“I’m on Lauren’s phone because I didn’t have your number in mine. We’re on our way back to Crestview.”

“Back to Crestview? Where were you?” She’d left town? I hadn’t even considered that possibility.

“It’s a long story. But Lauren says we need to talk to you.” Her voice sounded stronger, and I hoped some of that had to do with the fact that she was talking to me.

“I’ll meet you at your place then. I’ll be there before you are.” I’d make sure of it, but first I had to get rid of Claire.

“Ok. Thanks.” Mara hung up.

I looked at Claire. “We’re going to have to cut this short.”

“Mara?” Claire’s eyes twinkled. “That’s the girl’s name?”

“I already told you she is none of your business.”

“This again? I’m merely asking out of curiosity. I assume I’ll be seeing a lot of her if she’s going to be your mate.” Claire sighed. “And we both know that’s what she’s going to be.”

“There is no reason for you to see her.”

“You can stop fucking me, Ian, but you can’t completely cut me out of your life.” There was a threat in Claire’s voice I didn’t like.

I stepped toward her. “I can do whatever I want to.”

“No you can’t. Our packs have a truce. We have to stay on good terms.”

“Yet you’re sleeping with the enemy.”

“I never said I was.” She crossed her arms.

“You said you and your sisters were friendly with them. That might as well be the same thing.”

“Is that jealousy I hear?” She dropped her arms to the side.

“No. It’s called protecting my family.”

“So let’s go see this Mara and make sure she’s okay.”

I shook my head. “You aren’t coming with me.”

“Is that the way you treat me after I gave you all that information? You can at least pretend to appreciate it.”

“Your appreciation is going to come in the form of the ten grand I’ll wire you tonight.”

“Money can’t buy everything.” She batted her eyes.

“No, but it can buy you.” My words were mean, but it was the only way things worked with this cheetah. She was cold, and the only types of overtures she responded to were ones that matched her own.

“I’m going to write this attitude off to you needing some. The girl is driving you wild, and until you claim her you’re going to be off your rocker.”

“You make it sound like you want me to claim her.” I stepped back.

“Ian, honey. I like you. We both know I like you, but there are plenty of other men out there for the needs you used to fill for me. More importantly, your pack needs to survive in order for mine to stay here, and that means you need to do your job. You’re not going to do that acting like a horney school boy.”

“I am not acting like that.”

“Stop while you’re ahead. Go see the girl, but know that I’m going to be meeting with her. Who knows, maybe we’ll be good friends.”

“She’s not going to be your friend.”

Claire sighed dramatically. “We’ll have to wait and see.” She pulled off the borrowed t-shirt and dropped in into the dirt. “I’ll see you around, Ian.” The air shimmered and she shifted back into her cheetah form.

I waited until she’d disappeared into the brush before stripping down and shifting back into my bear. I’d get to Mara much faster that way.

I felt stronger and sharper as I ran toward Mrs. Peterson’s. I could sense Mara now. She was close, and that only pushed me to run faster. I had to reach her. I had to make sure she was okay.

I couldn’t help but think about Claire’s words. About me needing to claim Mara in order to do my job. I knew Claire was right. I was distracted, and if a rival pack was trying to take our land, I couldn’t afford to be.

But I also couldn’t afford to rush things. Mara would agree to be my mate. She knew the connection was real. She could feel it, maybe not as much as I could, but enough. I didn’t want anything to be forced. I wanted her to want to be mine. I wanted no regrets. They would only cause problems later on. Being my mate wouldn’t be an easy road, but I’d make it a good one for her. I’d protect her at all costs and make sure she wanted for nothing. Unfortunately, no matter how much I gave her, she still had to accept she was going to be mated to a bear.

I arrived at Mrs. Peterson’s in time to shift back and change. If Mara was already upset, now wasn’t the time to reveal any of my secrets.

I paced the area in front of her porch. What was taking so long? I fought the urge to call Lauren’s phone back. I didn’t want to distract them and cause further problems. Although if they didn’t show up soon, I was going to have to.

I heard the sound of a truck and hurried over to the start of the gravel drive. Lauren’s truck had barely stopped before I wrenched open the passenger side door. “Mara.”

“Hey.” Her face was calm as she accepted my outstretched hand.

She wobbled slightly when she reached the ground, so I pulled her into my arms.

“It’s okay.” I didn’t know what happened, but I would fix everything. I tried to keep my voice light, but it wasn’t how I felt.

“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.” Lauren came around to where we waited on the other side of the truck.

“How is it your fault?” I caught Lauren’s eye, but I didn’t let go of Mara. I had no plans to let go of her.

“I was the one who took her to Green Acres.”

“You took her to Lonny’s, didn’t you?” I could hear the anger in my voice. It was the last place my future mate should have been.

“I didn’t think it would be a problem.” Lauren clasped her hands in front of her. “I thought she could use a break from Crestview, and I knew I could use the company.”

I let out a deep breath. “It’s not your fault, but I still need to know everything.”

Mara stepped back from my arms. “There were some men there who seemed to think they knew me.”

“What do you mean by seemed to think?” I put my hands on her hips.

“They knew my name. They knew Connor.” She grazed her teeth over her bottom lip. “But I had no clue who they were.”

“And what did they say or do?” I kept my voice level, even though I was anything but calm.

“They tried to get me to leave with them.”

“What?” Rage surged through me. “Did they touch you?”

Mara wrapped her arms over her chest. “Lauren saved me. She’s pretty kick-ass.”

I forced a smile despite my anger. “That she is.”

“I know a thing or two about self-defense.” Lauren shrugged.

“Who were the men?” I looked to Lauren. She’d been in the area long enough to know almost everyone.

“I didn’t recognize them.” She kicked the gravel with her boot. “Honest.”

“I don’t doubt you.” She had no reason to lie. I was annoyed she’d put Mara in a dangerous situation, but she wasn’t the one worthy of my anger.

Mara dropped her hands to her sides. “There’s no way they should have known me. It makes no sense.”

“They asked about Connor?” I double checked to make sure I was following right.

“Yes. And when I said I didn’t know where he was they got angry.”

“They know who you are because of him, and that makes his disappearance even more suspicious.”

“He didn’t disappear.” Mara stiffened. “He left town.”

“He left town for a few days. It’s been over a week. He’s missing.” I went with blunt, because Mara needed to accept the truth.

“But why would he have told anyone about me?” Mara leaned her head back and looked up at the dark, stormy sky before returning her gaze to me. There was more rain on the way. “And he’s not from here anymore than I am. How would he even know these guys?”

“Are you sure he hasn’t been out here before?” Lauren asked gently. “How did he explain his reasoning for coming out here for the summer? Is it normal for him to spend months out of the area to work on a case?”

Mara seemed to mull it over. “He’s an expert on real property litigation.”

“Is the case out here big enough to warrant an expert?” Lauren was good. She was able to ask the questions I wanted to but make them less pointed.

Mara bit her lip. “Now that you say that…”

“What?” Lauren touched Mara’s shoulder gently. “Did you remember something?”

“Kind of.”

“What did you remember?” I asked.

“He said something about doing an old friend a favor.” Mara closed her eyes for a moment. Then she opened them. “He didn’t elaborate on it, but he definitely said that.”

“Bingo.” I’d known Connor was bad news.

“Bingo?” Mara raised an eyebrow.

“Yes. Maybe not everyone is happy about the favor he is doing.” I certainly wasn’t since he was working with the bears trying to steal my land.

“But what do I have to do with any of it?” She wrapped her arms around herself again.

This time I couldn’t sit back. I wrapped my arms around her half expecting her to move away, but she didn’t. Either she was cold and enjoyed the body heat, or she liked having me close. Maybe it was a combination of both.

“Something.” I mulled over it and made a decision. “And until we get to the bottom of it, you are coming to stay with me.” There was no question about it. She wasn't safe on her own. Any guys that would threaten to take a girl in public wouldn’t think twice about going after her in private.

"Are you kidding me?" Mara’s eyes widened.

"No." I met her gaze. “Not in the slightest.”

"A guy gets me mixed up with someone else and you think I’m going to stay with you?” Mara stepped back out of my arms.

"He didn’t mix you up. How many Maras with connections to Connors do you think there are out here? Plus, even if it is mistaken identity, what will stop them from coming after you anyway?” I put my hands on her arms. She needed to understand this was serious.

"Still, I'm not coming." She shook her head.

"You are." There was no way I was budging on that.

"Why would I listen to you?" She put a hand on her hip. “You can’t tell me what to do.”

"Because you don't have a death wish." I needed her to understand this wasn’t a joke. She’d unwittingly stepped into a mess way bigger than she knew.

"How do you know?" she mumbled.

I grabbed her and pulled her into my arms. “Tell me that’s a joke."

"It is, but I'm willing to face any risks that come my way." She lifted her chin.

"I realize that. But I'm not. You don't know what these guys are capable of."

"And you do?” She shook her head. “Who are they?"

"Not the kind of people you want anywhere near you.” Lauren’s expression darkened. “You know that as well as I do, Mara. There was nothing friendly about them.”

"Why would they want me?" She looked down at the ground. “I’m just Connor’s research assistant.”

“This has nothing to do with you being his assistant. There’s more than that.” I needed to find out what. “You said you’re old family friends.”

“Yes.” Mara nodded.

“There’s got to be something there. Some answers.”

"There’s no answers there. We grew up on a farm together hundreds of miles from here.”

“But he brought you out here.”

“We’re going around in circles.” Mara sighed.

“Have you changed your mind?” I asked.

“About what?”

“Staying with me.”

“No.” She shook her head. “I’m fine staying here.”

“Not a chance.”

“We already established that you can’t tell me what to do.”

“It’s not telling you what to do, it’s protecting you.” And I would always protect her.

“I don’t need or want your protection.” She gritted her teeth.

She was far more stubborn than I’d originally thought. That was fine for some things, but not when it came to her safety. “But I am going to give it anyway.”

She stepped up toward me. “Do you realize you sound like a brute?”

"Brute?" My jaw clenched.

"Hey guys,” Lauren called slowly.

I ignored her. "Is that really how you see me?"

Mara put a hand on her hip. "It's how you are acting right now."

"But not how I was acting in the woods?" I reminded her of what had happened only hours before.

"Guys, seriously." Lauren’s voice rose an octave. “We have company.”

“What?” I whirled around, shocked that I hadn’t noticed a man approaching. I’d been so focused on Mara that I’d missed a potential threat.

I jumped in front of both Mara and Lauren and stared down the man in a suit that was currently walking up the driveway toward us.