“I don't think you're qualified to be giving me medical advice, Mr. McGregor. I'm a trained medical professional with years of experience. A lot of patients think they know better than their doctor, and they never do.”
He laughed. He actually had the gall to laugh at her! Her defenses were back up, her embarrassment burned away in a flash of anger that she felt at him. She'd had patients yell, scream, call her a bitch, and everything else under the sun when she told them she was more qualified with administering her care than they were. But she'd never had someone laugh. Still, she had to admit that she liked the sound of his laugh, even if she didn't like what he was laughing about.
“What's so funny?” she huffed.
“Hey Doc, call me Russ. And from doctor to doctor, you need to work on your bedside manner,” Russ said, laughing again.
“You're a doctor? I've heard that one a few times. Well, Doctor Russ, where did you get your medical degree?”
“Nowhere you would know.”
“Exactly,” she said, crossing her arms.
He opened his mouth for his rebuttal, but froze. His eyes narrowed, his nostrils flaring. Without a word, he grabbed her by her shoulders, peering out of the room. She attempted to fidget away, unsure of what was going on, but his grip was like steel.
“What floor are we on?” he asked, eyes still locked down the hallway. She tried to turn around, but he held her firmly. When she didn't answer, he repeated his question.
“The fourth.”
“Fourth,” he said, pulling away from her, musing over what she had said. “I can survive that.”
“What?” she asked. “What??”
In answer, he moved away from her, trying to open the window. It only opened a crack, so he unattached his IV lines, picked up the cart, and tossed it through the window with a loud CRASH!
“Oh, shit. That's far,” he muttered, turning back to her and grabbing her. He took a few steps backwards to the window. Zoe's heart was thumping in her chest. He was going to throw her to her death!
“I'm sorry! I believe you're a doctor! Is that what you want to hear?” she asked, nearly hysterical. “I shouldn't have used your bathroom! Don't kill me for it!”
“I'm not going to kill you,” he said, his voice suddenly turning dark. Turning dangerous. “But those guys might. Do you know them?”
He allowed her to turn around. Two barrel-chested men were moving down the hallway, dressed in dark colors. One was pulling a large rifle from underneath his coat and the other was pulling a round object from a pocket. What is that? She couldn't make it out.
“Who are they?” she asked, realizing she was trembling all over.
His nostrils flared before answering, “Don't know. They're not human and they're after you. It's your lucky day, Doc.”
“Mr. McGregor! Russ! What are we doing?”
In answer, Russ climbed onto the window sill, glass crunching under his bare feet. He winced in pain but pulled her up behind him. She watched the men coming straight at them, one throwing the round object: grenade, she thought. The other raised his rifle. In stark clarity, she saw his finger squeeze the trigger, saw the texture of the grenade, and saw the darkening sky opening up around her.
“Russ!” she screamed, and they were falling out of the building, falling towards their deaths. The crack of the rifle filled the air as they fell, but she wasn't hit. Only a split second after they dropped below the window, there was a gigantic, WHOOSH! The room above her exploded, stealing her breath. Zoe attempted to scream, but no sound came out.
And they were still going to die. She heard Russ yell, his voice turning loud and primal. His hands lengthened, his body thickened, hair growing around her body. Oh, my God! What is happening? Zoe wondered, and then with a bone crunching stop, they hit the ground.
There was pain and darkness. Zoe hadn't been knocked out, not exactly, but she was sore and groggy. Her memories were jumbled. What had happened? She felt hot air across her face, felt something wet coating her, felt a warm blanket settling over her body. Hot air? Wetness? A blanket? What was going on?
It all came back to her at once and she snapped her eyes open. A massive bear was resting on top of her, gently, enough not to crush her. His tongue lapped at her face and she screamed again. The bear roared in surprise, moving off of her.
She scrambled away from the bear, watching the massive creature shrink, his fur receding, his claws morphing back into fingers. Within seconds, Russ stood in front of her, a hand covering his package – a nice package, she had enough time to think – before he was coming towards her, grabbing her by her hand.
“We've got to get out of here. They didn't fire on us when we fell, so they must already be coming down to finish off the job,” he said, tugging her forward. “Can I have your coat? Do you have a car?”
She nodded, peeling off her doctor's coat and handing it to Russ. He gratefully took it, covering his naked body. Without it, Zoe suddenly felt naked. Every time she took off her doctor's uniform, she felt like she was someone else. The cold wind howled through the cars as they moved through the parking lot, the steel gray sky threatening one last dusting of snow before nightfall.
“This way,” she said, leading her way towards the parking garage looming on the far side of the parking lot. She nervously glanced backwards, expecting to see the two men closing on them, but all she saw was the bloody footprints Russ was leaving in the snow.
They reached her car in record time, taking the stairs up the garage two steps at a time. Russ offered to drive, but Zoe shook her head. “You have to baby it. Not just anyone can get it started.”
When they reached her car, Russ said, “I see what you mean.”
Zoe's car was over 20 years old, an old beater that had been handed down through her family. It was small, the paint a dull red, windshield cracked. She opened the door, yelling, “It's unlocked!” to Russ, while he stood around nervously in her doctor's coat, eyes scanning the garage.
He hopped in, barely fitting in the seat even when he slid it all of the way back. In crunched under his weight, his eyes going wide at the sound, but held.
“Hey! Treat her nice! She's done a lot for me!” Zoe ordered. She pressed the gas to the floor, once, twice, then turned the key over on the third press, just like she'd been doing for years. Nothing happened.
“What's going on, Doc?” Russ said. “They're here! If you don't get this car started, we're dead!”
“Hold on, hold on!” she yelled, trying again. Nothing. Her heart was thumping in her chest. “Can't you go out and stop them? You can turn into a bear, for God's sake!”
“So can they. And after my recent hospital stay and my attempt at flying, they'll shred me like a rabbit. Then they'll shred you. So get the car started!”
In her rear-view mirror, she saw the men appear at the stairs. This is it, she realized. She stomped her foot on the gas, harder than normal, cranking the key over. The car stuttered, almost starting, the ignition finally catching, and then the car roared to life. Zoe jammed it into reverse, gunning out of the parking spot. One of the men had come close, a pistol outstretched, and he jumped sideways as Zoe clipped him. He fell to the ground as she put the car in drive, speeding downwards through the garage.
Glancing behind her, she saw the two men turning the opposite direction, moving downwards to cut her off. She came around the bend and they were standing there, waiting for her. The man with the rifle raised the weapon, aiming at her.
“Get down!” Russ yelled, forcing her below the windshield. Bullets exploded through the windshield, glass shattering and covering her. The headrest where her head had previously been was shredded, thick foam floating through the air. The firing stopped suddenly. Zoe and Russ looked up.
The man with the gun was reloading and the other man was… a bear. “Oh, no! He's blocking the way!”
“Hit him!” Russ bellowed.
“I can't!”
“Hit him!” Russ said, grabbing her knee and forci
ng her foot down on the accelerator. The car picked up speed, barreling down the ramp. The other man dove to the side as they approached the bear, who stood up and roared. In the instant before they collided, Zoe thought she saw surprise on the shifter's face.
With a sickening thud and the squeal of crumpling metal, Zoe's tiny car crashed into the bear. He dented the front right quarter panel, shattering her headlight before rolling into the windshield. Already weakened from the gunfire, it shattered under his weight, the frame in front of Russ bending inwards. And then just as quickly as he'd been on the front of the car, the shifter was gone, rolling over the hood and denting it. Then he was on the ground, still, as Zoe guided the car out of the parking lot, into the gloom. They drove in silence, Zoe's hands shaking on the wheel, one headlight piercing the night.
They hadn't gone far before Zoe's little red car shuddered. She couldn't remember the last time that had happened. In fact, she couldn't remember any time her car had acted up. Despite its appearance, it was a trooper. And now, something those shifters had done had hurt it.
“We need to pull over somewhere with a payphone. I'll call a couple of my guys and we'll have them come pick us up. I don't think your car is going to make it, Doc.”
“It'll make it,” she snapped, but pulled off into a gas station parking lot with an ancient payphone out front. She dug through her change and handed him some. From inside of her car, she watched Russ clutch the doctor's coat as he used the phone.
He was back in the car less than only a minute later. “I got in touch with one of my guys. I couldn't hear much of what he was saying, but it looks like someone is targeting those who have helped shifters previously.”
“Yeah, I helped out a couple a few weeks ago at the hospital. I didn't know this was going to happen, though.”
“We need to get somewhere with a better connection and I'll get us a ride.”
“My house isn't far from here. It's just a few blocks off the interstate,” Zoe said, peering through her windshield. The snow was really starting to come down, now, way more than the forecast had projected.
Russ considered it for a few moments. “That might not be a good idea. If those shifters are after you, they might know where you live. They could be watching us. Still, we might not have a better option right now.”
Zoe was silent, letting Russ think some more. “Let's head to your house. After what we did to those two back at the hospital, I think we've bought ourselves some time, Doc.”
“Can you knock it off with this Doc stuff? It's Zoe,” she stated, irritated and turning off the interstate. She guided them through nice residential areas, rolling through stop lights. The city was deserted.
“Yeah, sure, Zoe. No disrespect meant. We're both doctors, we're supposed to be friends.”
“Hmphh.”
“How much farther until we're at your place?”
“It's just right up here, at the end of this road.”
“Okay, let's go slow,” Russ said. “No, not that slow. Try not to be suspicious. Okay, that's better. A little bit faster. Faster. No, no, too fast.”
“Do you want to drive, Doc?” Zoe blurted. Her answer was another of Russ's laughs. She still found them grating, still found him grating, but she had to admit, that laugh was wearing her down. Somehow, it still had levity and real joy. Despite everything, Russ was happy. She wasn't sure how he could be in a situation such as this. Zoe realized she envied him. She was scared for her life, and Russ thought it was all some hilarious joke.
“Okay, it looks clear. Once we get to your house, give me the keys. I'll go in and scope the place out. I'll be able to smell anyone around your property, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. You stay in the car.”
They pulled up into her driveway, Zoe's poor car barely making it up the small slope. It was shuddering and spitting, but thankfully not smoking, when she finally turned it off and handed the keys to Russ. He immediately went inside, searching her house. She got out of the car, trying to see how much damage had been done in the darkness. She couldn't see everything, but it was bad. The grill was riddled with bullet holes and while she was no mechanic, she suspected the engine had taken some serious fire. She feared it would never run again.
“You should have stayed in the car,” Russ said from behind her. She gave a little jump at his voice. “It could have been dangerous out here.”
“I thought you said you would be able to smell if there were any intruders.”
“Yeah, good point. It's safe, let's get in and get out of the cold,” Russ said, motioning for her to lead, her doctor's coat looking ridiculous and tight on his large body.
Inside, the first thing Zoe did was turn the heat up. For everything her old car did right – or used to, she realized – heating the inside of the vehicle was not one of them. Every now and then she'd get a blast of hot air, but those were few and far between.
“Can I use your phone?”
“It's in the kitchen,” said Zoe, showing him. She waited as he dialed the number, hearing the quiet rings before the phone went to voice-mail. He tried two other numbers, but no one picked up.
“Odd,” Russ said, putting the phone back up. “I'm not surprised Jace wouldn't pick up his phone, and Clive's been pretty busy lately, but I can't believe there's no one at the HQ to answer the phone. I hope everything is okay. Especially with everything going on.”
“It's getting pretty late, Russ. Maybe they're busy, or in bed, or something.”
He shrugged. “I guess that could be it. We can lay low here for a few hours. Get a shower, a change of clothes, some rest. Then we're heading to the HQ so I can figure out what's going on. And figure out why you're being targeted and by who.”
Zoe had somehow convinced Russ that he should take the main bathroom and that she could use the guest bathroom downstairs. Once she got down to the guest bathroom and stripped, however, she'd realized that she had forgot to grab any of her soap, shampoo, or moisturizers. She wrapped a towel around herself and headed upstairs.
When she reached her room, she made sure to knock before going in. Remembering how embarrassed she'd been when Russ had walked in on her, she wanted to avoid returning the favor. There was no answer, so she slowly cracked the door and peaked in. Her bedroom was deserted. The door to her bathroom was cracked, hot steam billowing out in waves. She'd heard that shifters were less sensitive to temperatures, and she figured this proved it.
She knocked on the door but heard no answer. The shower must be too loud, she reasoned. “Russ?” she called. No answer. “Russ??” A little louder. Nothing. She felt her heart beating. He was gone. Maybe those shifters had broken in and gotten him. Was she next? “Russ???” she yelled at the top of her lungs. There was no answer for a few seconds, then the shower turned off.
“Zoe? Sorry, I couldn't hear you over the water. Is everything okay?”
She placed her forehead on the door, trying to still her beating heart. “Things are fine. I need to borrow some shampoo. I forgot to grab any before I headed down. I can leave the room. Can you put them on the other side of the door and I'll grab them?”
“Zoe, you have nearly 30 bottles of shampoo in here. Special moisturizing cream? Shampoo for split ends? What is all this stuff? Come in and I'll hand you whatever you need.”
She came into the bathroom, the steam thick on the air. She considered what she needed, then listed them off to Russ. She gasped when she saw his naked form through the foggy window to the shower. She couldn't see anything for sure, but she liked what she saw. She saw the faintest hint of what was between his legs before he handed her the bottles of the top of the shower. She reached up, grabbing for the bottles, their fingers touching for a split second. It felt like electricity was flowing between them: she wanted to fling the door open and hop under the warm spray, let him take her however he wanted. Instead, she dropped a couple of the bottles on the ground, picking them up with one hand while trying to keep her towel on with the other.
Breakwater: Rick (BBW Bad Boy Space Bear Shifter Romance) (Star Bears Book 2) Page 103
