“It's complicated.” He finally replied.
“Then uncomplicated it, at the very least tell me where you’re taking me.” She pled.
Glancing in his rearview mirror at her, he replied. “We’re headed to a place called Darkwood Springs.”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
“You wouldn’t have. It’s a safe haven just beyond the Canadian border.”
Shock hit her with his words. Canada? He was taking her to Canada? Shaking off her surprise, she pushed to get more information on the little scraps that he was tossing her way. “A safe haven for whom?”
Not replying, Robert’s gaze strayed to his driver side mirror. In the distance behind him was a dark SUV that he didn’t recall seeing before. He could feel his bear rise up at the feeling of foreboding. Were they being followed?
His skin became tight as his bear fought to surface at the possible threat. In the rearview mirror he caught the sight of his eyes glowing yellow with the presence of his animal. Shaking his head, he grimaced as he shoved his beast back into its cage. Against his will, an animalistic snarl erupted from his lips with his bear’s rage of being denied. Beside him, he could feel that he’d drawn the attention of Dr. Vega.
“Is everything alright?” she asked warily.
Stretching his neck to the side to relieve the tension that begun to build, he focused his gaze on the SUV behind them that was moving closer. “I think we’re being followed.” He uttered gravely.
Gasping, Gabriella struggled to look over her shoulder. “Is it Malca’s soldiers?”
“Stop,” He bit out roughly as his hand landed on her shoulder, preventing her from turning around. Maintaining a hand on the wheel he reached across her with his free hand until he found the lever on the side of her seat. With a quick tug, her seat went falling back and forced her to lay flat.
“What are you doing?” She hissed out, struggling to lift her upper body up. With her hands restrained behind her back, there was little she could do in her present position.
Moving his free hand to his hip, he withdrew his handgun from its holster. Flicking the safety off, Robert’s hand tightened around his weapon. He didn’t like guns; they were unpredictable and sometimes unreliable. He’d take the sharp claws and massive jaw of his grizzly form any day, but this was the only option open for him now.
“Don’t try to sit up.” He ordered firmly.
“What are you going to do?”
Not replying, he waited. Slowly, the SUV began to speed up; bringing whoever it was closer to his vehicle. With a squeal of tires the SUV jerked into the left lane and began moving along side them. His hand tightened around the handle of his gun as they drew up beside his window. Then to his surprise the SUV sped up and passed him completely before disappearing around the twisting county road. Coming around the bend, Robert expected to see Malca’s soldiers laying in wait for them. But there was nothing. Even with his superior sight, he couldn’t find the SUV that should be on the road in front of them.
Releasing a breath of relief, his gun wielding hand relaxed. “It's alright.” He assured after returning his gun to the holster at his hip. “It wasn’t them.”
Scoffing, Gabriella rested her head back against the seat. “I don’t know why I was worried.” She mumbled. “Aria or Malca, it doesn’t really matter who kills me.”
“No one is going to kill you—” His reassuring words were drowned out as an explosion rang through the air.
Trees and the road before them exploded with a fiery flash as several trees tumbled across the disheveled road. Slamming on the brakes, he jerked sharply on the wheel. Tires squealed as he swerved to avoid an enormous tree that now blocked their path. The driver’s side door slammed against the wooden trunk as they came to a harsh stop beside the fallen tree, causing his side window to explode with the impact. Gasping, Robert turned to look over at Gabriella. Her face was white and her chest rose and fell with rapid, fearful breaths.
“Are you alright?”
Gasping, she nodded. “I think so.”
Moving his eyes over her to check for injuries that she may not realize she possessed, Robert’s ears picked up the sound of several approaching footsteps. An overly sweet scent with accompanied with the scent of something rotten reached his nose. The hairs at the back of his neck stood erect as his bear recognized the smell, it was Malca’s enhanced soldiers.
Turning to look out his window, his bear rose to the surface as he watched four men striding through the smoke toward them. All stood tall with muscled bodies beneath the dark clothes they wore. Three of the four came to an abrupt halt on the other side of the debris. With expressionless faces and moving as one; each raising an M-4 rifle and taking aim at Robert.
The fourth man stepped in front of the three rifles trained on Robert’s scowling face. He moved differently than the others with confident strides while the others moved like mindless drones. Leaping onto a fallen tree, the fourth man smirked at him as realization filled Robert. It was the man from Gabriella’s apartment. The man he’d left for dead. Wyatt.
“Wipe that surprise off your face. I know you didn’t really think you’d seen that last of me, did you?”
“Oh Dios,” Gabriella gasped out in Spanish from beside him. Ignoring the fearful tone that tugged strong at his bear, he glared at the man that stood between him and their way home.
“Let me make it easy for you, delivery boy.” Wyatt said, lifting his hands in front of him in offering. “Toss out Dr. Vega that I know you have and I’ll let you leave with your life.”
“That simple, eh?” Robert asked as his hands tightened around the wheel.
Glaring at Wyatt’s smirking face, Robert felt his claws lengthen. It was hard to even pretend to believe that Wyatt just wanted to bargain with him while three high powered rifles were trained on him. He may be a grizzly shifter, but he couldn’t stop a bullet and neither could Gabriella.
Protect out mate! His bear snarled as it fought against the last of his restrains on it. Mentally he agreed with his animal’s rage. He’d fought Malca’s soldiers before and he would do so again. No one would harm Gabriella if he had anything to say about it.
“So I just toss her out on the road and drive away, right?” He bit out between tightly clenched teeth.
“That’s right or else I give the order.” Wyatt indicated behind him at the three aimed rifles. “You have one minute to decide.”
Smirking, Robert nodded his head. “You got it. There’s no need to waste your bullets on me.” Turning to look at the dark scowl that Gabriella was throwing at him, he ignored it as he reached over to jerk sharply on the seat belt across her lap, tightening it further.
“Times up, decide now!” Wyatt shouted. Jumping off the fallen tree, he moved out of the path of the waiting soldiers. “Give up the doctor or be killed. She’s hardly worth the effort.”
“You’re an idiota.” She hissed out. “He will kill you no matter what you do.”
Ignoring her, Robert settled back in his seat. Looking straight ahead, he whispered in a low voice. “Hold on, Doctor.”
Smirking, Robert’s hands tightened around the steering wheel as his eyes focused on the forest in front of them. The trees were set far enough that they would fit and hopefully escape and survive. Slamming his foot on the gas pedal, the SVU shot forward and into the interior of the forest. The car shook as bullets struck with a deadly burst of sound. As the rear window exploded with impact, Robert gritted his teeth. Beside him, Gabriella gasped as the car bounced and shook as they flew over the thick tearstain. Her upper body jerked and lifted with the sharp movements of the car.
Trees struck mercilessly at the metal frame as they flew past. Robert’s bear snarled in warning as he saw the lush forest floor was leading to a drop off. From behind them, he could still hear the soldiers at the top of the ridge. They couldn’t stop. Heart pounding in ears, he pressed back against his seat as they went over the edge.
For a moment there was no
thing beneath them but air. Abruptly the wheels struck the hard ground beneath them. Screaming beside him, Gabriella began hyperventilating. The need to reassure her nearly overwhelmed him, but first he had to get them out of this alive.
Jerking sharp at the wheel in effort to miss colliding with a tree, the rear struck the tree at the last second, causing the car to fishtail. Gasping as a large cluster of rocks rose in their path with no way to dodge it, Robert thrusted an arm toward Gabriella.
“HOLD ON!” He yelled in warning just a second before the car struck the rocks. The smashed metal frame flipped upon striking the wide boulders and nearby trees. Gasping as the windshield exploded in a rain of shards, Robert was thrown against his seat as his head struck the side of his door.
Then they were still and there was nothing.
* ~ * ~ *
Gasping, Gabriella struggled to draw air into her lungs as her chest ached with immeasurable pain. She could taste blood in her mouth as she felt something warm running down her face. Opening her eyes she saw that she was still in the car or what remained of it. The car was now a twisted and obliterate box of metal and glass around her. She was pressed against her door at an awkward angle. It was then that she realized that the car was on its side with her door at the bottom. Attempting to move she cried out as pain shot from her shoulder against the door, robbing her of breath.
“Don’t move.” a harsh voice said from above her.
Turning her head, her eyes lifted to Robert. He hung against his seatbelt as he struggled to free himself. Snarling at his inability to free himself, Gabriella’s eyes widened as she watched his hands sprout deadly claws. Unaware of her gaze, he slashed at the seatbelt. Barely having enough time to grip the edge of his seat and the mangled steering wheel, he prevented from falling on top of her. Moving off his seat, Robert stretched out his legs until one foot was braced on the side of her seat while the other pressed against her door beside her stomach.
Ignoring the way he grunted and winced with movement, Gabriella fought against her inner logic at what she’d just seen. It wasn’t possible that he’d just sprouted claws like one would see off a movie. Blinking against the sunlight that sought to blind her, she focused on his hands again as he reached for the door above them.
His hands still possessed lethal black claws like nothing she’d ever seen before. Teeth grinding together, he pushed at the door with all his strength. The caved in door refused to move. Huffing in frustration, he lowered his hands. Flexing his hands, he reached up again. The roped muscles of his arms tensed and bulged with strength as the mangled door groaned with forced movement. Hearing him inhale deeply, she was surprised as he gave the door a final hard shove, sending it flying off its hinges before crashing to the ground somewhere.
Satisfied that they now had a way out of the twisted metal walls that surrounded them, Robert bent down to free her from her seatbelt. Without much effort, her seatbelt was ripped away, causing her to fall fully against her door with a cry.
“Are you alright?” he asked with concern.
Gasping against the pain of her shoulder, she didn’t reply. Startled, she jerked when his hands settled on her arm to assist her by lifting her away from the door. Would she look down to see his claws pressed against her vulnerable flesh? Against her will, her eyes dropped to his hands as one shifted to her across her stomach to assist lifting her; to her surprise she saw only human hands.
“Answer me; are you injured?” He repeated with a rough voice. As he moved her onto her feet, Gabriella bit her split lip as her shoulder protested to the sudden movement.
“My shoulder; I think.” She answered breathlessly through the blinding pain. “I think it’s just bruised—not broken.”
Grunting in response, she felt his hands move to her wrists that still remained handcuffed behind her back. With a strong jerk, her hands are suddenly free. Not risking moving her injured shoulder, she raises her other hand to her face. A thin metal cuff still lied circling around her wrist with a broken link. Had he broke them apart? How strong was he really?
“Don’t move.” He ordered abruptly, startling her from her thoughts. Her brows pinched together at his words as he reached out the grip the sides of the opening above them. Muscles along his arm tightened as he lifted himself up before climbing out. The metal above her groaned as his weight shifted to the side. For a moment, she didn’t hear any movement from outside. Was he still there or had he abandoned her? Fearing that he’d abandoned her to the mercy of Malca’s soldiers that could arrive any moment filled her with dread. Before she could dwell too long on her morbid thoughts, Robert’s face appeared above the opening.
Briefly, her eyes closed as a breath of relief escaped her lips. Raising her eyes up to him, she faintly smiled. “I thought you left me.”
His dark brows lowered in a frown. “Don’t be stupid, why would I put myself though everything I have so far just to abandon you now?” Shaking his head at her he gestured upward with his hand. “Come on; time to get you out of there.”
Wiping his sweaty hands against his shirt, Robert braced one hand against the edge of the doorway before extending a hand down to her. Biting back the pain in her shoulder, she stepped up on the edge of her seat as her good arm reached up to his offered hand.
“Take a breath.” He ordered suddenly as his hand tightly shackled her arm.
“Wha—” before she could ask what he meant, she was jerked off her feet as he lifted her up.
Pain radiated through her as her weight pulled on her arm. Now standing with his feet braced on either side of the opening, Robert used both hands on her arm to pull her up. Once her shoulders were out, he shifted his grip down to her elbow as his other hand reached down wrap around her waist. Taking a firm grip, he lifted her out before allowing her feet to touch the mangled metal. Sweeping her up into his arms, Robert carefully leapt down to the ground.
He grunted in pain as his sore muscles of his legs ached upon his feet hitting the ground. Wincing, he pushed the pain aside as he moved toward the reason they’d crashed. Stopping in front of the cluster of boulders, he carefully lowered his injured captive to ground. Allowing her back to rest against the jagged stone surface, he crouched down beside her. Dismissing how she watched him with a silent wary look, he proceeded to run his hand over her arms and down her legs searching for broken bones.
“I-I told you that it was my shoulder that was hurt.” She stated defensively as both his hands cupped the sides of her thigh before carefully sliding down to her ankle. Though his touch wasn’t meant in the slightest way to be sexual, she couldn’t help the way her body shivered in reaction to his strong hands gripping her.
“I heard you before, now be quiet.” He muttered without raising his eyes from his task.
Despite the shivers of awareness that coursed through her arms, her temper rose at his commanding tone. Parting her lips to give him a piece of her mind, her words suddenly died on her tongue as he jerked off her ballet flat to cup the bottom of her foot. The feel of his hard, warm hand on her foot caused butterflies to flutter inside her stomach. Unaware of her reaction, he tenderly held her bare foot as his other hand gripped the back of her ankle, sending more shivers up the back of her leg.
His sharp gaze locked on her startled face before he carefully rotated her ankle. “Does that hurt?”
Shaking her head, she whispered, “No.” Nodding with acceptance, he lowered her foot to the ground before sliding her shoe back on. Moving to her other leg, he repeated the process while Gabriella struggled to remain still as heat washed up her face. Setting her leg down, he sighed with relief.
“Good news, neither of your legs is broke.”
“I think I knew that before, genius.” She replied mockingly at him in an effort to mask her response to his touch. His lips pursed in response to her words. Rolling his eyes, he sighed.
Why couldn’t Doyle have me kidnap a more agreeable person?
In other circumstances he would have found her attitud
e alluring, but in that moment it only made him want to throttle her. Sadly; his bear wasn’t at all put off by her show of sass, if anything it had the opposite effect. He would have one heck of a battle on his hands if he didn’t keep his inner animal in check.
Shaking his head, he then motioned to her blood stained blouse. “Take off your shirt.” He roughly ordered.
Eyes widening with surprise, she gasped out, “I beg your pardon?”
5
There had to be a mistake. It wasn’t possible that she’d heard him correctly. Her fingers curled into a fist against the front of her shirt in response to his words. Gabriella didn’t care if it was in some misguided effort to assure that she wasn’t injured elsewhere. Surely he didn’t think she’d take off her top for him simply because he ordered it?
“You heard me.” He replied with a firm voice. “Take off your shirt or do you need me to help you?” His words may have been disguised as innocent offer of assistance, but truly it was a veiled threat. The threat that his words hinted was clear; if she didn’t do as he said—he would do it for her.
Over my dead body.
Robert huffed out in exasperation at her stern look. Roughly shoving her hands aside, he began undoing the top two buttons on her blouse. Fighting him, Gabriella struck out at him with her good arm and legs in an effort to push him away. No matter how hard she fought, Robert didn’t seem to even notice her strikes. It was almost like punching a boulder and expecting it to crack.
As her tiny, closed fist struck Robert for the second time in the face, he snarled with frustration. This woman acted like being difficult was her reason for living and it was driving him crazy. Dropping his hands from his task, he gripped her good arm while wrapping his other arm around her kicking legs and pinning them to his side.
Glaring down at her, his lips pinched together. “Enough.” He hissed out with anger. “No more fighting me; I am serious. I am sick of it. Believe it or not; I am trying to help you. If you prefer Wyatt company to mine I can always save my own ass and leave you here.”
Big, Bold & Bearing (Grizzly Affairs Book 2) Page 6
