Stone Bear: Guardian (A BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (Stone Bears Book 3)

by Amelia Jade

“They have. And it’s one I intend to use to get us out of here.”

  Chapter Ten

  Karlie

  Things were looking up, it seemed. The details of Raphael’s plan were still firmly entrenched within his brain. He didn’t seem to want to give up any details, but the way he was adjusting himself across the open space from her was encouraging. She almost wanted to laugh, but a dull-sounding snap followed by an extreme look of pain crossed his face, and all of a sudden she was nothing but concerned.

  “Are you going to share what this little detail is?” she asked.

  He grunted, his face tight for a moment as he did something that she couldn’t see. A sheen of sweat broke out across his forehead.

  “Just. A. Second,” he grunted.

  Beside them the shifter began to stir as he slowly regained consciousness. The blood had stopped flowing from his nose and was already drying.

  “You little shit!” he suddenly roared, climbing to his feet in the cramped conditions. The intent on his face was clear. He was going to kill, or at the minimum seriously hurt Raphael, who was still struggling with his restraints.

  It was now or never. She had to do something. She kicked him in the shins, but a flick of his backhand slammed her head into the metal wall.

  “Oh,” she growled. “That wasn’t very nice. Can you kiss it better?”

  Surprised at her response, the shifter turned to face her, ignoring his initial target for the moment. Karlie couldn’t think of much else to do. Her arms were immobilized behind her back, the same as Raphael’s. All she had free were her legs and her face. Then an idea came to her just as the shifter began to smile in response to her invitation.

  Just as he began to speak, she spat in his face.

  The angry shifter began to shake, his face going red with anger as his eyes bulged, blinking rapidly to clear her saliva from them.

  “You’re going to pay for that, missy,” he said, leering at her rather prominent chest, sticking forward as it was with her arms pinned behind her back.

  Karlie only smiled. “You first,” she said, and looked past him.

  The shifter frowned, only then remembering Raphael. He spun, bringing his fist to bear, but it was too late. Raphael was—somehow, she still wasn’t sure how—free, and his fist connected solidly with the shifter. The big man staggered, dropping out of his crouch onto one knee, trying to stabilize himself.

  Raphael hit him again, knocking him down to the ground.

  “Close your eyes,” he commanded, and though she didn’t like being ordered around, Karlie knew what was coming. She squished her eyes closed and wished she could plug her ears too. The sharp crack as Raphael broke his spine sent an unpleasant shiver down her back.

  Several moments passed, and then a shadow passed across her eyes. “Okay,” came her rescuer’s soft voice. “You can look now.”

  She opened her eyes but quickly looked toward the back of the van. “Did they see anything?”

  He paused before answering. “Doesn’t look like it, though I have no idea how.”

  “They’re a rather overconfident bunch,” she told him. “If I learned anything while I was imprisoned with them, it was that. They just assume that once they have a situation under control, it will stay under control.”

  “Works for us,” he said. “That window is only a few inches on either side though. I have a feeling this vehicle wasn’t built with us in mind.”

  “Probably. What now?” she asked as he snapped the metal shackles around her wrist, allowing the restraint to fall off rather easily.

  “I’m gonna need you to trust me,” he said, climbing toward the rear of the vehicle.

  Karlie froze, the words triggering memories she had thought long forgotten. Images of her earlier life, of her parents, rushed into her brain. “Trust me,” her father had said.

  And as a child, she had. There had been no reason not to trust him. He seemed like a normal person then, before she knew of his treacherous and evil ways. How could she know any better? One child of eight, he was her father. Her hero. Why would she suspect otherwise?

  Then one night when she had been unable to fall asleep, she had gone into the kitchen looking for a snack, but the sound of voices had stopped her.

  “I need you to trust me,” he’d said to her mother over the sounds of her crying.

  She remembered what happened next, had known it, the memory sticking with her.

  “Karlie!” Raphael said, his hands firmly on her shoulders.

  Pain lanced up her arm from her injury. It must have shown on her face because Raphael reacted instantly, pulling his hand back. “I’m so sorry!” he said, his eyes searching hers. “We need to go though. Right now.”

  She nodded numbly, unsure of what else to do.

  “Grab my waist and hold on as tight as you can, okay?”

  Her head moved up and down, though she still couldn’t speak. He crouched down and she clambered onto his back, wrapping her arms around his collarbone and her legs squeezing tight around his waist.

  Was this the right move? Should she be doing this? Trusting a man, after what her father had done?

  In front of her, Raphael opened one of the doors, holding it steady so it didn’t fly open. One hand gripped the exposed edge of the door. The other he awkwardly jammed between the door and the frame of the vehicle.

  She felt his chest exhale, and in one wrenching motion he tore the door right off the hinges.

  “Hold on!” he shouted, all pretense of stealth gone. The shrieking metal and sudden influx of sunlight had to alert the driver and passenger of what was going on.

  He didn’t give her more than a split second of warning before he jumped.

  He’s going to kill us both. I trusted him, and now we’re going to die.

  The thoughts ran through her head at least a thousand times in the span of time it took them to fall from the truck. Then the ear-piercing shriek of fast-moving metal on concrete blasted any thought from her mind. They were skidding down the road with the warped door as their sled. It was godawful loud and bumpy to boot, but it was working. It was working!

  The makeshift sled hit a bump in the road as it neared the shoulder, launching the two of them into the air. Karlie lost her grip on Raphael, and they went tumbling down the rather steep embankment, the incline only increasing their speed. She landed hard on her injured shoulder, feeling one of the cuts rip open as she tumbled on, before landing in a heap. She was bleeding in several places, but otherwise unharmed.

  Ahead of her, thrown farther because of his heavier weight, Raphael was picking himself up after having slammed into a fallen tree. There was a fresh gash along his arm, but she knew that would likely heal in a few minutes’ time.

  “Come on!” he shouted, running past her, heading back down the way they had come.

  Behind him the van screeched to a halt and two people emerged from it as they chased after them. She turned and broke out into a flat run, thankful once again that despite wearing the same clothing for several days straight, she had picked athletic wear. Running had been a passion of hers, and she managed to keep up with Raphael, even if every one of his steps required at least one and a half of hers.

  “What now?” she huffed, angry to see that he was barely breathing hard. Why couldn’t that be her?

  “We’ll figure something out,” he assured her.

  “What?!” she shrieked, almost breaking stride to face him. “You don’t have a plan?”

  “I did,” he said, shrugging. “It worked. We escaped the truck.”

  “And now?” she puffed, trying to focus on her breathing as they ran down the road.

  There were no people around, no cars going past that might help them. They had been traveling along an old country road that was two lanes wide with a single yellow strip down the middle. Trees sprouted high on either side of the road, new-growth forest that had been clear-cut and then replanted as the logging companies moved on, leaving evenly spaced rows of trees with l
ittle in the way of low-hanging branches.

  They wouldn’t find cover there.

  Raphael still hadn’t responded.

  “I’m all ears,” she said.

  “I’m thinking,” he replied calmly, his eyes focused ahead of them.

  The sounds of pursuit behind them had died off. She risked a glance over her shoulder. They were getting back in the van.

  “They’re going to use the van to close the distance,” she informed him.

  “Okay,” he said simply. “Follow me.”

  He darted off to the right, down the embankment, and into the tree line. Once again she had to trust him, to believe that he was doing the right thing.

  Why was it suddenly so hard for her? She had believed him at the start that he was there to rescue her, and had fled into a terrible storm without needing much more than a few words of convincing. Why now, after all that she’d been through with him, was she having trust issues? A normal person would trust them more after all that he’d done for her.

  But it seemed the closer they got, the less she trusted him.

  Just like her dad.

  The thought hit her over the head, hard, and she almost forgot to follow Raphael. She made her way down the embankment several strides farther down the road.

  “Hold on!” she shouted, not wanting to get left behind. Ahead of her he slowed his pace.

  “Everything okay?” he asked, concern tinging his voice.

  “Fine,” she said, the words a little harsher than she had intended. Seeing the hurt look on his face, Karlie relented. “No, it isn’t fine. We’re running through the forest with no idea of where the hell to go. So no, I’m not fine. I’m angry, annoyed, tired, hungry, and desperately craving a hot shower.”

  She felt tears well up in her eyes as she let loose her frustrations all at the same time. It wasn’t fair, he didn’t deserve it. Not after all he’d done for her. But that was the way it seemed to be going.

  With a growl she blinked back the tears. She was more angry than she was upset, and frustrated with the situation. They had been so close to getting away, to boarding the flight and being free. But her stubbornness had ensured their plan was foiled, and now they were almost right back where they started.

  Back on the road tires screeched to a halt and doors slammed, signaling that their pursuers were after them once again. The gap had widened however, but it was close enough that she knew they would keep up. Karlie couldn’t outrun the two shifters, even if it appeared Raphael could.

  “We can’t outrun them,” he said, as if reading her mind. “We need to fight.”

  She looked over at him, incredulous. “You can’t be serious.”

  His expression didn’t waver. “You are serious,” she breathed, shocked.

  Raphael looked unhappy. “I don’t want to,” he said, shaking his one hand as if it was hurt. “But I don’t see another way out. They’ll catch us eventually, and we have no idea where the hell we are.”

  “Are you okay?” she asked, noting the way he looked at his hand.

  He glanced away for a moment before answering. “The only way to get out of those restraints is to dislocate your thumb. It’s actually relatively easy after that. The makers never really considered the fact that we can heal from that in a short period of time."

  “You’re not even fully healed yet and you want to take the two of them on?” she asked. “Are you crazy? Do you have a plan for this at least?”

  He shot her a smile that almost made her heart stop.

  “I’m working on it,” he promised. There was something in his voice, but she couldn’t tell what.

  An idea popped into her head.

  “No, I think this time it’s I who has the plan,” she told him.

  Raphael arched an eyebrow in her direction, curiosity written on his face. “I’m listening.”

  ***

  Karlie hunched over, shoulders heaving, hands on the ground in front of her as she collapsed to all fours.

  Her eyes were closed, unable to keep them open as she tried to recover.

  Behind her, a branch snapped.

  “Raphael?” she croaked. “Are you back?”

  There was silence.

  “Raphael?” she said, nervousness creeping into her voice this time.

  A female laugh sounded behind her, and she froze.

  “No, your precious Raphael cannot save you this time,” the woman said, her voice turning his name into a sneer.

  “Who are you?” Karlie, her voice wavering slightly. She remained crouched on the ground, unmoving, as footsteps came up beside her.

  “You don’t know?” she asked, surprised at the revelation.

  Karlie shook her head, refusing to look up. “No, should I?”

  The woman snorted. “Apparently that imbecile Vincent has been doing a better job than I thought if I’m still an unknown to you.”

  Karlie froze. This was her. The person that Vincent reported to, the one she had known was at the compound or nearby but never heard a word about. She was here, now, standing right next to Karlie.

  Heavier footsteps came closer.

  “Take her Rupert, and this time try not to let her get away, okay?” The unknown woman’s tone was patronizing, but Rupert, who she assumed was the other shifter, simply grunted and moved forward. His hand grabbed Karlie by the neck and hauled her to her feet.

  At which point she swung the rock she’d been hiding under her into his face with as much effort as she could muster. Skin split and his cheekbone shattered under the impact.

  That was about all that went as expected though. Instead of dropping her to the ground, the stunned shifter tossed her into the nearest tree. Karlie hit hard, falling to the ground just as she saw Raphael drop from the tree high above. Something must have given his presence away though, because the woman dove to the side, avoiding his attack.

  Raphael hit the ground and bounced back up, ready to fight, but the woman was already inside his range and she landed two solid blows before Raphael could bring his defenses up and block the next flurry.

  The woman, whoever she was, was good. She pressed Raphael hard, throwing punch after punch, combining attacks and even interspersing leg kicks to keep him off balance. It was an impressive coordination. After the way she’d seen Raphael dismantle shifter after shifter, seeing him knocked back on his heels didn’t do much good for her confidence levels.

  Climbing to her feet, she watched as the shifter she’d staggered worked his jaw and glared at her. She prepared herself for his charge, knowing she couldn’t afford to get bogged down with him. He would rip her to shreds.

  Her plan was falling to pieces around her, but there was still a chance it could succeed. There were a lot of if’s, however. If she could keep her opponent occupied without getting in trouble. If Raphael could dispatch the unknown woman swiftly. If the two of them could overpower this last shifter. If they could do all of that, they might succeed.

  Then of course, all they had to do was get back to the city, avoid any other people who were trying to track them down, get on a flight, escape, and get back to Genesis Valley in one piece.

  “No problem,” she growled to herself.

  “What?” The approaching shifter looked around in confusion, expecting someone else to jump out of the shadows.

  “Not there you idiot,” she said, taking advantage of his gullibility. “There,” she told him with a nod of her head in the opposite direction.

  The shifter spun.

  Karlie didn’t wait to see what happened, launching herself in the opposite direction, putting some distance between them.

  Behind her she heard the larger man snarl with anger. Not waiting for him, she kept running, moving in a circle around the little clearing where Raphael was still battling it out with the woman. They separated for a second, and Karlie saw her chance.

  Changing course, she charged into the circle, screaming loudly as she aimed right at the woman.

  I really hope Raphae
l picks up on—

  He did. As soon as the woman’s head spun to confront the new threat, Raphael took advantage. Karlie was already darting to the side. Behind her, thundering steps drew closer.

  There was a distinctly inhuman-sounding roar, followed by the ground-shaking impact of a very large body. The footsteps behind her had stopped. Risking a peek, Karlie slowed her pace and looked back.

  The woman was on the ground, not moving. But above her, two titanic beasts were involved in a deathmatch. Even as she watched, they went at each other with unbridled ferocity, each landing blows, more concerned with offense than defense.

  It looked like Raphael had the upper hand, but the other shifter was giving almost as good as he was getting, at least to her untrained eye.

  “Oh no,” she whispered to herself as the woman began to stir. “Come on Raphael, finish him already.” Karlie was pleading with him, but she already knew he wouldn’t be able to end the fight in time.

  Not before the woman regained her senses and jumped into the fray, at least. And if she did that, judging by her earlier skill in a fight, it would be more than Raphael could handle. All of which meant that Karlie had to prevent her from getting involved.

  She walked forward hesitantly. Karlie had been trained to fight, and had known that one day she might have to kill. But until her first escape attempt, she had never even hit a person in anger.

  She had likely killed a man earlier in their escape attempt, but she hadn’t meant to, nor had she truly hit the final blow.

  Now, if she wanted to escape with Raphael, she was going to have to cross that line. As she neared the fallen female shifter, doubt began to cloud her mind. Could she do it? Was it the right thing to do? It was a simple action, but it was the consequences that were dire.

  In front of her, the woman stirred on the ground. It was now or never. Karlie raised the rock she had initially hit Rupert with high over her head.

  With an anguished scream, she did what needed to be done.

  Chapter Eleven

  Raphael

  This time, the boarding went perfectly. The first available flight was still in the opposite direction of Genesis Valley, their ultimate destination, but they would be able to hopefully escape the net Vincent had thrown up around them. Raphael desperately hoped so, because Karlie needed a break from the constant stress their pursuit had put upon her.