“Learn our secrets, you mean,” Foster bit off.
“No,” Addy started, but was cut off by Lockwood.
“We're not interested in giving up our methods. What would stop you from learning our business and putting us out of business?”
“My father eventually wants to combine our businesses. His idea is one gigantic protection service business, run by our two Clans with joint leadership. If we pooled our resources, we could service a larger area. Expand. Bring other Clans into the fold. It's time for us to stop living in the shadows. We could make a successful push to show that shifters can integrate into society.”
“It does sound like a good idea,” Joe agreed, though contempt blazed in his eyes. “But I'll leave the decision up to my most trusted advisers. Lockwood?”
“No.”
“Foster?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Marcus?”
Beside her, Marcus noticeably jerked. And she suddenly realized what Joe was doing: he was putting more trust in Marcus, making him a trusted part of the Clan, trying to sway him over to his side.
“Yes,” he answered, surprising even her. The two Elders let out deep growls, the hackles on the back of their necks standing up. Even in their old age, Addy knew that these were dangerous shifters.
“Well, the Elders outnumber your vote two to one. I'm sorry, Miss Croft, but I don't think our Clan is ready to work with outsiders.”
“I know it was you,” Marcus growled, his golden eyes brighter than she'd ever seen before. Joe visibly stiffened and the Elder's growls died in their throats.
“Excuse me?” Joe asked, though he knew exactly what Marcus meant.
“You ordered Judge and others to kill Addy and me. I know it was you.”
Joe was on his feet in an instant, hands spread flat on the table and leaning forward. Rage was building in his face. “How dare you accuse me of that! I told you that Ramsey is behind what happened to you!”
“You're in league with Ramsey, Joe. Don't try to deny it anymore. I don't want to be a part of this Clan. My father would be disgraced to learn what you've turned it into.”
“So that's how it's going to be, Nephew?”
“It is, Uncle,” Marcus answered.
Joe looked like he was going to sit back down, but at the last second, he lunged forward. Before Addy or Marcus had a chance to react, Joe was halfway across the table, shifting into a bear. His clothes shredded as his claws left gouges in the table, closing in on Addy with blinding speed.
“Russ!” was all Marcus had time to bellow before Joe was on them. He pushed Addy to the side. She fell, hard, knocking the wind out of her. Marcus was trying to shift, but Joe was already on him. On the other end of the table, the two Elders were shifting. Addy caught a glimpse of the one on her side of the table, Lockwood: pelt gray, heavily scarred, and dangerous as he rushed at her.
She scrambled up, pushing a chair uselessly in front of the bear's path. The doors exploded open, splinters of wood spraying across the length of the room. Two bears rushed in immediately, followed by Russ and a woman with a large gun. She raised the rifle, pointing it at Lockwood. With an extremely quiet shot from a gun so large, Lockwood dropped to the ground. Addy looked at his still form, a tranquilizer dart buried deep in his neck.
One of the shifters crashed into Foster, the two bears crushing the table under their weight. More wood exploded as the two bears wrestled, crushing chairs as they fought. Fangs and fur flew everywhere. Addy dove to the side as they crashed down exactly where she'd been standing a split second earlier.
“Marcus!” she screamed, turning back to him. The second shifter tackled Joe, both bears tumbling away. As they rolled off of Marcus, Addy dropped to her knees. He hadn't had time to shift before Joe had got to him. One of his forearms was shredded, blood covering his entire body, but he didn't appear to be hurt anywhere else.
“Russ! He needs a doctor!” she yelled. Russ and another woman, who she assumed was Zoe, were next to him in a split second. The woman pushed her away, both of the doctors dropping to either side of Marcus. “Is he going to be okay?”
“He's going to be fine!” Russ yelled, and Addy realized she was crying. She had thought she had lost him for a split second. She was sure that when Marcus had pushed her out of Joe's path, he had signed his death warrant.
The room was in shambles. The table and most of the chairs had been undeniably destroyed. Lockwood lay in his bear form, tranquilized and out. Emma was crouched down beside the bear, ensuring he was knocked out. Jace, naked, knelt next to Foster. He was dead. Joe had fled through a broken window. Clive stood at the window, looking out.
“I can't believe he attacked us,” Marcus said, getting to his feet with the help of Russ and Zoe. “I had an uneasy feeling the whole time while he was lying to us, but I never expected him to explode like that. I hadn't seen him shift for nearly 10 years. Since before he took over the Clan. Guess he still has it in him.”
Addy rushed over to him, wrapping her arms tightly around his huge chest. He wrapped his good arm around her, holding the other out to the side as Russ bandaged it.
“He's gone. Should I follow him?” Clive asked.
“No, let him go,” Marcus answered.
“We'll lose his scent, Marcus.”
“I know. But we're family. I know where he's going to go.”
Marcus had initially said no, but Addy was persistent in joining him to find his Uncle. Now, she sat next to him in an old car, driving silently down the road. She wanted to talk to him, to help him, but she knew that he was dealing with what had just happened in his own way.
After all, his only surviving family member had betrayed him. She knew it was one thing to suspect it, but it was an altogether different thing to actually have him leap across the table and attempt to kill Marcus himself. She knew shifter life wasn't always easy and was often very dangerous, but seeing it up close shook her, too.
She was still reeling from her own decision to step back from her Clan, something that had ruled her whole life up to this point. She wondered what opportunities in life she had missed out on. Then she looked over at Marcus, and realized it didn't matter. Everything had led her to Marcus, the man who she had not only helped, but who had helped her.
“Thank you for coming with me,” Marcus said, eyes focus on the road. His bandaged arm rested in his lap. They were driving slowly, as if Marcus was in no rush to confront his Uncle.
“I thought you didn't want me to,” Addy asked.
“I don't want to put you in harm's way, but I didn't want to have to do this alone. You're the only one who understands what I'm going through, trying to take a step back from the Clan. It's not something any of the other guys would understand. Betrayed by my own Uncle and friends. For what? All because they don't want any outside influence? Times are changing, and Joe just can't accept that.”
“A lot of shifters oppose change. Only the brave accept it.”
Addy placed her hand softly on his hand, linking her fingers over his. He squeezed gently, but even with his injured arm, she could sense the strength in him. Marcus was ready for whatever was to come.
“So what is the plan?” she asked.
“Not many other shifters know it, but Joe owns a bar up the road. It was always a place for him to lay low when Clan business got to be too much and he needed to hide out from my father. After he took over as Clan Leader, he stopped going. I'm sure that's where he went to hide out for a while. He has an office in the back.”
“What are we going to do once we get there?” Addy wondered out loud. She had a terrible feeling that Marcus would take all of his anger, pain, and frustration out on Joe and end up going too far. She'd known of shifters going too far – and once many of them crossed that threshold, there was no going back. She remembered Judge. The man was dangerous, but she suspected he hadn't always been like that. He'd pushed himself too far and hadn't been able to turn back.
In response, Marcus reach
ed behind the seat, pulling up the tranquilizer gun that Emma had used on Lockwood only hours earlier. “We're going to throw the book at him. He'll want to die, but that's letting him off too easy for what he's done. We're taking him down and taking him to jail.”
“Glad to hear it,” Addy responded, relieved that Marcus was thinking clearly. At that moment, Marcus turned the car off of the road, gliding up to an old bar. The neon lights, those that weren't burned out, showed a martini glass with an olive. There were few cars in the dirt parking lot and the building was made of dirty cement blocks painted an off white years ago.
“This is the place,” Marcus said simply, getting out of the car and grabbing the gun. He rummaged around in the back seat, grabbing a pair of hand cuffs and holding them out to Addy. “Think you can handle the cuffing?”
“Give me those,” she said, snatching them out of her hand, ready to get Joe into custody. She thought, the sooner he's behind bars, the sooner we can start our life.
They entered the bar, a bouncer immediately moving to block their entrance. The second he saw the gun, however, he backed off.
“Where's Joe?” Marcus growled, motioning with the gun.
“He's not here,” the bouncer stammered, though his eyes flickered to a door towards the back.
“I'm not going to ask again.”
“In the back, through that door,” said the bouncer, pointing with a fat finger.
“We'll be in and out. Don't bother calling the cops,” Marcus said, walking through the bar. Addy held up the cuffs, as if saying, Don't bother, I am the cops! and the bouncer backed off.
Marcus flashed her a smile, both knowing that his bluff waving the gun had worked perfectly. Addy took two quick steps to catch up with him. They reached the door and paused for a split second, before Marcus lifted his foot and kicked squarely.
The door shattered inwards, the frame splintering and cracking. Marcus was through the door in a split second, Addy immediately behind him. She caught a glance of a dingy little room: windows curtained over, stacks of old paperwork littering the floor and a small desk, and Joe wide eyed behind it.
“This is over, Joe. We're taking you in,” Marcus said. “Either come with us peacefully, or I'll tranq you. It's your choice.”
“You're making a big mistake, Nephew,” Joe growled. Anger was flaring in his eyes and his body was bristling in rage. “Do you really think you can get away with this? I'm a Clan Leader!”
“Your Elders are either dead or behind bars. You have no one to back you up.”
“Ramsey won't let this go unpunished. I'll be out in less than a week! Are you sure you want to do this, boy?”
“Ramsey won't be a problem. Now, are you going to go easily, or do I have to shoot?”
Joe stood up, hulking behind his desk. He held his arms out in front of him, waiting for the cuffs.
“Turn around,” Addy ordered. Joe's look of indignation faded as he turned around, extending his arms out behind him. Marcus raised the rifle, nodding. Addy took a few uneasy steps forward.
She looped the cuffs around one wrist and snapped them in place, then placed them over his other wrist. As she went to lock them, Joe sprang into action. He twisted around, surprisingly quick for his size, grabbing Addy by the forearm and yanking her over the table. She screamed and saw that Joe was starting to shift.
Marcus fired the rifle, the dart flying out towards Joe. Addy watched it in slow motion, the feathers tickling her face as the dart passed her. It embedded right in Joe's neck. He gave a cough and dropped to the ground immediately, pulling Addy down with him. She landed on his unconscious body. She got up, but not before slamming his other wrist shut in the cuffs.
It wasn't more than a few minutes before two cops piled into the room. Emma gave her a hug of relief and then was immediately all business.
“Here's the perp, Franklin,” she said, bending down and checking his pulse. The other police officer nodded, calling into his radio for an ambulance and more backup.
Addy and Marcus stood off to the side, leaning against Joe's desk and watching the whole scene unfold. Joe came to right as he was being taken out of the room on a stretcher. He shot Addy and Marcus a venomous look and fought against his restraints, but there was nothing he could do.
Marcus looked uneasily at his Uncle. “Do you think we did the right thing? He could come after us later.”
“There was no other option, Marcus. You wouldn't be able to live with yourself if you did anything more.”
He nodded, silent for a few moments, then he wrapped an arm around her and kissed her deeply.
Things had moved fast when they got back to King's Security Solutions. Without any leadership, the rest of the shifters were looking up to Marcus. All of the shifters, with the exception of those loyal to Joe who had fled, agreed that Marcus should take over as Clan Leader. The Elders were gone and Marcus was the next logical step in line.
Marcus, to Addy's surprise, had asked for her opinion on the matter. Together, they had agreed that Marcus should become temporary Clan Leader, with Clive and Russ serving under him as his second in commands. They had stood by him no matter what – even when he had made the wrong call so long ago. He would be able to trust them.
Now, Addy and Marcus sat together in the conference room. In their absence, the room had been repaired and cleaned as much as possible. New doors replaced the old shattered ones and many of the broken chairs had been removed. The main table, something that Addy had assumed was nothing more than firewood, had been put back together with wooden braces running along the bottom of it. It was a temporary solution at best. The room seemed more empty and lonely than ever.
“So, what do we do now?” Marcus asked, leaning back in the same chair Joe had been sitting in earlier. Addy was sitting to his side, elbows on the table, wondering the same thing.
“I don't know,” Addy said. “This changes everything.”
“It doesn't have to, Addy.”
“How?”
“We've focused our whole lives into serving our Clan. That can change, still. I know we wanted to take a step back, but we can actually make a difference now. Move our Clans forward. Move shifters forward. And we can do it all together. Once we've set things on the right tracks, we can step back and live our lives how we want to.”
Addy mulled it over. She would be lying if she said she hadn't been thinking about the future now that Joe and the Elders were out of the picture. After meeting Marcus but before he had taken over the Clan, she'd thought it would be best for both of them to take a step back. To live their lives without the Clans always imposing on them. But could they live their lives, within the Clans, and still be happy together? She thought they could. At least long enough to make a positive difference.
“Are you sure, Marcus? I want a life. I want a life with you. I don't want to look back on my life and realize I'd done nothing but serve my Clan until the day I couldn't any longer.”
“We can make a difference, Addy. I can become a Clan Leader, guiding my Clan and business into the new age, just like the way my father wanted. You can help bridge the gap between my Clan and your father's. We can help each other. We can help every shifter out there. If you want to, we can give it a shot.”
Addy smiled, leaning close to Marcus. Their lips inches apart, Addy whispered, “Okay, Clan Leader.”
Marcus was up on his feet in a second, wrapping Addy up in his long, thick arms. He pulled her close and she slid her arms over his shoulders, wrapping around his neck. His mouth found her's, kissing slowly at first, his lips knowing exactly what to do. His tongue darted between Addy's lips, tentatively at first, then pushing deeper when her own tongue came up to meet his.
Dancing Bearback (BBW Shifter Cowboy Western Romance) (Bear Ranchers Book 3) Page 16
