The Way You Are

by Carly Fall

  “Now get up and put some clothes on, you fat piece of shit.”

  Wait a minute.

  She recognized that voice.

  She cracked her eyelid and sure enough, her brother John stood over her, his shaky hand holding a gun, his face damp with sweat as he pushed his blond curls back from his forehead.

  “I said, don’t look at me!” he yelled, and she shut her eyes again.

  “John, what are you doing?” she asked, her voice quivering.

  “I’m doing what I’ve been trying to do for the past week. I’m trying to kidnap your fucking fat ass.”

  She noted he sounded different—the tone and pitch of his voice seemed off.

  “Why?”

  “Shut up and get dressed!” he yelled.

  She stood, the sheet still wrapped around her body while John paced the small room, kicking Garrett’s duffel bag out of the way. Where had he gone? Had John hurt him? She picked up a pair of jean and turned her back to him.

  “Trust me, I have no desire to look at your disgusting body,” he said.

  She slipped a sweatshirt over her head and turned back to him. “Why are you doing this? You’ve been behind this kidnapping business?”

  He flipped on the light and rolled his eyes at her. “I need money.”

  Ruby laughed, despite the dire situation. “You have money, John.”

  “No I don’t, Ruby! My trust fund is dry and I don’t get another payout until next year. I need the money now!”

  As she stared at him, she thought perhaps he was drugged. His eyes looked dilated and glassy, and she hadn’t noticed it earlier when he’d delivered the Chinese food as he’d had sunglasses on. She also noted his face seemed even thinner than a week ago.

  “So you hired someone to kidnap me? What, then? You would hold me for ransom?”

  “Exactly. You aren’t as stupid as you look.”

  She shook her head. “John, I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  He pointed the gun at her, his finger wrapped around the trigger. She hit the floor as the shot rang out, and she glanced up to see a bullet hole in the upper part of the wall.

  Her gaze fell on John, and he pointed the gun at her again. “Get up. Let’s go.”

  She caught a flash of movement out in the hallway, and a second later, Garrett came flying into the room and tackled a very surprised John to the bed.

  Ruby hadn’t given John any indication that afternoon that anyone had been with her, and apparently, he’d somehow missed Garrett while coming into the apartment.

  Garrett straddled John and struggled to get the gun away from him. Ruby knew her brother was no match for him, but if that gun went off, Garrett could be killed.

  “Stop it!” she screamed, but no one listened.

  She backed up against the wall, helpless about what to do. Garrett’s fist connected with John’s cheek, a resounding crack echoing throughout the room, causing her to wince.

  John still held the gun tightly in his grip, and she closed her eyes. Certainly, one of her neighbors would call 9-1-1 with the bed banging against the wall and the grunts as the two men fought, not to mention the gunshots.

  A loud shot sounded, deafening her. She clenched her ears, afraid to open her eyes and see if the bullet had hit anyone.

  Through the ringing, she heard someone yell. Gazing at the scene before her, bile rose in her throat.

  A trail of blood oozed from Garrett’s shoulder, but he seemed unaware of it as he pounded John. The gun finally fell from her brother’s hand to the floor, and she noticed John’s body had gone limp.

  “Garrett! Stop!”

  It seemed he couldn’t hear her as he pummeled John’s face that had become a bloody mess, his features barely recognizable. Garrett’s, on the other hand, contorted in uncontrolled fury.

  “Garrett! You’re going to kill him!”

  She threw her body over John’s, closing her eyes and fully expecting to feel the blows of Garrett’s rage. Instead, he stopped the assault, and she heard him breathing hard, then she felt him get off the bed.

  Relieved, she opened her eyes, checked to make sure John still breathed, and glanced around the room. Garrett stood in the corner, blood flowing freely from the bullet wound and a hard, golden glow surrounding him, his face contorted in agony and anger.

  Getting off the bed, she moved toward the door. An ear-shattering roar stopped her, and she slowly turned. Fear gripped her heart as she realized she stood face-to-face with a wounded black bear.

  Blood oozed from his shoulder, and he stared at her, pawing the air in front of him while snarling and huffing. She glanced over at John, who seemed unconscious, thank goodness. How she’d explain this, she had no idea.

  “Garrett,” she said, trying to keep her voice calm. “It’s okay.”

  He roared in response.

  “You need to calm down!” she whispered. “The police will be here shortly, and I can’t have a bear in here!”

  He stood up on his hind legs and bellowed, his long claws mauling the emptiness between them.

  “Stop it!” she hissed, “You knock it off right now, Garrett Bloom!”

  He came down on all fours, still breathing hard, and bared his teeth.

  Gathering her courage, she bent down on her knees in front of him and slowly stretched her arm out, placing her palm up. “Garrett, I need you to help me. The police are going to be here. What do I do? What do I say? Should I call Joe?”

  He shook his head as if he tried to clear his thoughts, his honeyed gaze never leaving her.

  “Garrett, they can’t come here and find a bear in my room.”

  In the distance, she heard the sirens, and Garrett’s ears twitched. Obviously, he had, as well.

  “Please, turn back into a human.”

  He glanced at the bed and lifted his two front paws up onto it, sniffing John.

  “Garrett, please don’t hurt him any more,” she begged, her tears flowing freely. “Please, that’s my brother. I need you to help me.”

  He brought his front paws down onto the floor and walked toward her, still snarling. She met his gaze as the sirens drew closer.

  He nuzzled her hand, licking her palm.

  The sirens stopped outside the apartment complex, the red and blue lights flashing through the windows.

  He sat down in front of her as a dog would and began to glow. The glimmer grew brighter, almost blinding her. A moment later, Garrett lay before her. He pulled himself into a fetal position and began to shake.

  “What do I do?” she whispered.

  “Don’t let them in. Not until you call Joe,” he rasped. “The satellite phone is in my bag. Joe’s on speed dial. Number one.”

  She climbed over him and rifled through his bag, finding the phone. She powered it up and held down the number one. A moment later, it rang just as fists pounded her front door. “Police!”

  Joe answered.

  “Joe, my brother’s here, he’s the kidnapper. He shot Garrett. The police are here. I don’t know what to do.”

  “Oh, for God’s sake.”

  “Joe!”

  “Police! Open up now!”

  “Let them in, Ruby, or they’ll break down your door. Tell them as little as possible, but don’t be difficult. Tell them what you think is best, and I’ll clean up the rest. We’re on our way.”

  She threw down the phone and looked at Garrett. His whole body trembled, and she grabbed a pillow from the bed, resting it under his head.

  She ran to the front door and opened it. Police greeted her, guns drawn.

  “We’ve received a phone call of possible gunshots,” the young officer said as he looked over her shoulder.

  “Yes. I’m unarmed,” she said, surprised at the control in her voice when she wanted nothing more than to scream and cry. “The gun is in the bedroom at the end of the hall. Please, come in.”

  Chapter 40

  Ruby had been told to sit on the couch while the paramedics worked on Garrett and he
r brother. No matter how tightly she wrapped the afghan around her shoulders, her body continued to tremble from fear and nerves.

  The police had asked her for a statement, and she kept pushing it off, trying to organize her thoughts.

  As they carted Garrett away, a lone officer came in. Standing at six foot and built like a semi, he gazed at her with kind blue eyes and winked. “Are you okay, miss?”

  “Yes, I-I’m fine.”

  He nodded and took her hand. “This must be very frightening for you,” he murmured. “I’m here at your disposal.”

  He slipped something into her palm, and she grabbed it. He smiled at her again, and walked down the hall. It was a piece of paper, and before opening it, she looked around to make sure she sat alone.

  I’m with Joe.

  She balled up the paper and jammed it into her pocket, a surge of relief washing through her.

  He came back out to the living room. “I understand you haven’t given a statement, Ms. McDermott. Is that true?”

  She nodded. “No, I haven’t given a statement.”

  He sat down on the opposite end of the couch and took out a pad of paper and a pen. “Please, tell me what happened.”

  Glancing around, she whispered, “The truth, or what I’m going to tell the police?”

  “I need the full truth,” the officer said, leaning forward. “After I have the sequence of events, I’ll doctor up the statement. Based on the smell in that room, my guess is there was some shifting going on here.”

  She nodded.

  “No one needs to know about that. We won’t even mention it.”

  With a sigh of relief, she took a deep breath and began talking.

  Chapter 41

  Beeping. Incessant beeping that didn’t stop.

  How could anyone get any sleep with that shit going on?

  He opened his eyes and glanced around the room. A television played on low in front of him. Machines—the bastards responsible for the noise—continued their job to the right. To his left, Thomas sat, reading a magazine.

  “Hey,” Garrett whispered.

  Thomas gazed up at him and pulled a phone from his pocket. “He’s awake,” he said, and hung up.

  “It’s nice to see you, too, Thomas.”

  “Tell me what happened.”

  Garrett grinned, feeling fairly loopy. “Don’t you want to kiss me first?”

  Thomas rolled his eyes and looked back at the magazine.

  He guessed that was a definitive no.

  His head swam, and he lulled back to sleep.

  It could have been hours, minutes, or days, but Joe’s voice brought him out of his reverie.

  “I understand you think it’s a good idea to keep him here, doctor. However, as his personal physician, I can assure you he’ll be in good hands.”

  Garrett glanced over at him and chuckled at the white coat he wore and the stethoscope draped over his shoulders. Joe pushed his wire-rimmed glasses up his nose, glaring at the other doctor as if he dared the man to argue with him.

  “He has taken a bullet to the shoulder, Doctor Smith.”

  Joe rolled his eyes. “I’m quite aware of that. I’ll be discharging him immediately. Please prepare all the proper paperwork.”

  “Well, you know that you’ll be responsible for him.”

  “Of course I know that. I just said it,” Joe snapped.

  The doctor glanced at Garrett, Thomas, and Joe one last time, shook his head, and left the room.

  Twenty minutes later, Garrett sat in a wheelchair being pushed down the hall. Whatever drugs they had him on made him feel like he rode a rollercoaster, and he couldn’t help but laugh as they took a turn and it seemed he experienced high g-forces.

  “What in the world do they have you on?” Thomas murmured as he pushing him.

  As they rounded the last corner, he noticed Joe arguing with the same doctor again. He gave the doctor a wave, and Joe met them at the sliding glass door. A burst of fresh, spring air assaulted him as Thomas wheeled him up the van a few feet away.

  The back door slid open, and the ramp came down.

  “Put him in the front, Thomas,” Joe said, wheeling himself up the ramp.

  The van sped out of the hospital driveway, and after a few short turns, hit the freeway.

  “Where’re we going?” Garrett asked, finding it hard to form the words.

  “To safety,” Thomas said. “Just make sure you don’t puke in the van. Please.”

  His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he passed out as he tried to remember how he’d ended up in the hospital to begin with.

  Chapter 42

  He came to consciousness again, his shoulder throbbing. He opened his eyes and looked around.

  The room, colored in rich, forest greens, had sunlight streaming through the large-paned windows. It seemed to be another beautiful day in … where was he again?

  Cursing, he looked down at his shoulder. A large white bandage wrapped around it and part of his torso. As he tried to move it, the events leading up to his injury came flooding back.

  Ruby.

  After they’d made slow love, he hadn’t been able to sleep. He’d pulled on his sweats, snuck out of the room, and taken refuge on the small balcony. The shadow of the trees had danced in the moonlight, providing an almost hypnotic movement. He’d sat deep in thought, thinking about his life without Ruby.

  The more he’d considered it, the more he’d realized there wasn’t anywhere for them to go.

  If they did decide to continue on with the relationship, he couldn’t become a productive, working member of society. He ran from the government he’d given his soul to, and they wouldn’t have any trouble putting a few bullets through his brain if they caught him. Sure, Ruby had money, but he wasn’t the type to sit around and let his significant other support him.

  So, say he kept working for Joe, which he really wanted to do. He could be gone for days, or even weeks, and he didn’t think Ruby would be happy with that arrangement. Besides, what would her family think of her being with an ex-Marine who could turn into a bear, and who the government also wanted?

  They just weren’t a good match.

  As he’d sat there trying to work the situation in his mind to both their benefits, the assailant must have snuck in. Garrett only knew they’d had an intruder because of the shot.

  Fear had coiled in his gut, but he’d kept his wits about him as he’d quietly opened the sliding glass door. He had tucked away his gun in his duffle bag, and wouldn’t be able to get to it as it seemed the mêlée was taking place in the bedroom.

  Get up. Let’s go.

  Those four words had sent him into a rage like he’d never experienced. Ruby wouldn’t be going anywhere with anyone, not until his heart no longer beat in his chest.

  Without thinking, he’d lunged into the room and plowed into the kidnapper. Lights had flashed behind his lids and blood had roared in his ears as he’d pummeled him. When the shot had rang out, he’d felt a sting in his shoulder, but the adrenaline had kept most of the pain at bay.

  Garrett! You’re going to kill him! Ruby had shouted, and he’d known he should stop hitting the attacker, but his rage ran too thick and too deep.

  As he’d raised his fist again, suddenly Ruby had appeared in front of him, throwing herself over his target. Only then could he stop, and he’d stepped off the bed.

  His body had trembled, the beast inside him fighting to get loose as the pain in his shoulder had registered. Garrett had succumbed to the feeling and shifted.

  His anger still off the charts, he’d been furious to see Ruby try to leave the room. Of course he’d never hurt her, but he couldn’t help her if she left the apartment. She needed to stay with him.

  Trying to bully Ruby had only made her more upset, and he’d found the longer she talked to him, the calmer he became. He had no recollection of what had been said, but her voice had soothed his fury, and eventually, he’d calmed, becoming human again.

 
He didn’t remember much after that.

  The door cracked open and Thomas stepped in. “Feeling any better?”

  He nodded.

  “They had you on some major painkillers, Garrett. We brought the dose down a bit.”

  He said nothing, wondering if Ruby was safe.

  “I’ll get Joe for you,” Thomas said, leaving the room.

  A few moments later, Joe wheeled himself in and looked over Garrett with an assessing gaze, as if he could tell Garrett’s medical condition.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Like I’ve been shot in the shoulder.”

  Joe grinned. “Well, at least you aren’t asking me if I want to kiss you, so I believe we’re making progress in the right direction.”

  Garrett wrinkled his forehead, having no idea what Joe referred to, and not certain he needed to be aware of that knowledge.

  Joe peered at him over his glasses.

  “Where’s Ruby?” he asked, his throat dry.

  “She’s home safe with her parents.”

  “What about the kidnapper?”

  “Did you know it was her brother?”

  Shock rolled through him as he tried to remember if he’d been aware of that before, and he thought he remembered Ruby saying something like that. “Really?”

  “Yes. He paid the first set of kidnappers a thousand dollars to grab her, which, as we know, was a failure. Once he found out where Ruby was in Arizona, he sent some other people up there.”

  “How did he find the house?” He had been certain Ruby hadn’t given her family the address when she’d talked to them.

  “Well, apparently, Ruby’s description of the house proved enough. Google Maps is a very powerful tool for finding things. A little time and effort, and I’m sure it was quite easy.”

  Garrett shut his eyes. He wasn’t up on all the technology available, but he should have thought of that as Ruby described the house to her family during that fateful phone call.

  “You called it, Garrett. Amateur hour, indeed.”