“Goodnight, Clive.”
Clive made a low noise. Beth assumed that was his goodnight. She closed her eyes and weariness washed over her. Somehow, before she even knew it, she was fast asleep.
Beth awoke slowly in the morning. Warm sunlight was streaming in through the cave. Slowly, she got up and stretched. Sometime during the night, Clive had shifted back into his human form, but she'd hardly noticed. Together, they had stayed plenty warm enough.
Clive sat up, slowly rubbing his eyes. He glanced over at Beth, his eyes following every curve of her body. She raised an eyebrow to him, twirled a finger, and watched as he turned away. He held out her dry clothes with one arm.
Beth took them from him, grimacing at the grimy, stiff feeling. They were dirty, but at least they were dry. That's the important thing, Beth thought. She pulled them on, pleased to find that even her shoes were only a little damp. The back edge of the woods wasn't too far, so she decided she could deal with it. From there, Beth figured they could get to one of the little gas stations and call for help.
“How did you sleep?” Clive asked, still staring at the back wall. Beth thought about telling him he could turn around, but decided against it.
With a smirk, she responded, “Great. You?”
“Haven't slept that good in a long time,” he said. Silence pervaded the cave and Beth tried to hold back laughter. She watched as Clive fidgeted, getting impatient. She watched as he turned just a bit, getting a view of her out of the corner of his eye. When he saw she was already dressed, he turned around. Beth burst out laughing.
“I didn't think you..would ever...turn around!” she managed to say, through her laughter.
“You were supposed to tell me when you were dressed! That's how it works!” he said, but then he was laughing, too. Together, they laughed, trying to push the tension back. Beth found herself leaning in close to Clive, like last night. She glanced down, gasping at what she saw. I didn't know he packed a weapon, she thought.
Clive cut through her stream of thoughts with, “I'm going to Shift. It'll be easier to smell anyone out here that way. And I'll be able to protect you better. Once we get to the edge of the woods, we'll find a good place to get to a phone. Then you'll go in and call the number I give you. Once they're on their way, you come back to the edge of the woods where I'll be waiting.”
“Okay, that sounds good. There's an old gas station up on the highway. We can head there.”
Clive leaned down, kissing Beth gently on the lips. It was a short kiss. She found herself smiling as he walked outside, shifting into his bear form. He glanced back, his dark coat sleek in the weak sunlight. Together, they headed off.
Clive took the lead immediately, his nose alternating between the ground and the air. He moved fast, scouting the area, but he always let Beth catch up and made sure she was close. They made good time through the woods. Beth knew them like the back of her hand, but she wasn't sure if she could navigate them better than Clive was. There was something about him – something primal, beastly – that let him move through the woods like he was born in them. Maybe he was, she thought. I don't know anything about this man but I'm falling for him. Despite everything. And I know I can't.
They hit the road after only an hour in the woods. Clive had lead them to directly across from the old gas station. It was in disrepair, but still functional. She remembered the old man who ran it and knew that he was too stubborn to sell out to the bigger corporations. It would probably still be there long after she was gone.
Clive shifted back, telling her the number and then laying low in the ditch. Beth smiled and moved across the road as fast as possible. She didn't want anyone to see her if she could help it. She reached the door and stole a quick glance back to where Clive lay naked, but she couldn't see him.
Inside, it didn't take long to find a payphone. Beth couldn't remember the last time she'd actually used a payphone. She wished she hadn't lost her cell. In fact, she couldn't even remember where it was. Probably in her purse, somewhere on her lawn. She realized it didn't matter.
She asked the man at the counter for some change to make the call. Wordlessly, he pointed towards the take a penny jar. A couple of quarters sat in the jar, so she took them with a word of thanks. Returning to the phone, she dropped the quarters into it, punched in the number, and waited.
“Hello,” a rough voice said from the other line. It wasn't a question, more of a statement. This is Clive's friend? Beth wondered and shrugged her shoulders.
“Is this Joe?”
“Yup.”
“I'm with Clive. We need to be picked up,” she said. There was silence on the other line for a few seconds, then a muffled yell, as if the man had covered the headset.
“Is this Beth?” the man's voice grated.
“Yup,” she responded, unable to resist.
“Where are you? I'm sending someone to pick you two up.”
She gave him the address, adding that they would be in the woods across the highway. The man said they were on their way. “That's it?”
“Yup. Hang tight,” he said. And then the line went silent.
They didn't have to wait long. A large SUV pulled into the parking lot of the gas station. Three men stepped out of the vehicle, looking around. From their position in the woods, Beth couldn't see their features, but she could tell they were large. They scanned the woods for Clive.
He stood up from the woods, covering himself with one hand and waving with the other. The three men saw him and they chuckled. Together, Beth and Clive started to move across the highway, checking both ways that ensure that none of Hudson's men were closing in.
“Forgot an extra change of pants, Xan?” the largest one said. He had short brown hair, the same golden eyes, and tattoos all of the way down his forearms. Beth saw the edges of another tattoo around his neck. She had never been into tattoos, but she could not deny that he was attractive. “And who is this?”
Beth saw that the man was looking at her, intently, sizing her up. Clive got in between them. “She's mine, Marcus.”
“Yours?” Beth retorted.
Marcus let out a loud laugh. “Go ahead. I can't handle her. Let's get going and we'll fill you in. And Clive, put on some pants.”
They piled into the car. Marcus got behind the wheel. Another man, shorter and hairier than the others, climbed into the passenger seat. He turned around and extended his hand. “Name's Track.”
“Track?” Beth asked, sticking out her hand.
“Parents had a sense of humor. It was a bad one, but they still had it.”
Next to her on one side sat Clive. On the other sat the final man that had come to pick them up. He was large, heavily built, and silent. He had dark hair down to his shoulders and a large, black beard. His golden eyes really stood out from his tangled mass of hair. He smiled at her but said nothing.
“That's Jace,” Clive said, leaning in. “He doesn't talk much.”
“I can tell,” Beth said, smiling back at Jace. “Why not?”
“He's the strong, silent type,” Marcus said from the front seat. “Now, the rest of you do the same and listen. Joe's got this all planned out for us. It should go off without a hitch. When you didn't show up last night, Joe started to get worried. He figured that things had went south. Had a couple of the guys scout out your house. They couldn't get close, though, with all of Hudson's men around the place. We were lucky enough that a few of his men went back to his hideout. Our guys followed them. We're going to go meet them now.”
“We need to drop Beth off. Then what? Charge in guns blazing?” Clive asked. “It's not a good idea.”
“No, it's not. That's why Joe thought of another plan. We're going to send your girl in first. Draw Hudson out. Get his guard down. Then we're going to ambush him.”
“No way! No fucking way!” Clive exploded. Beth flinched back, but didn't say anything. As she watched, he gripped the back of the seat in front of him. His nails started to grow long, digging into t
he fabric. He growled, closing his eyes, and was silent. A few seconds later it was as if nothing ever happened. “We were hired to protect her. Not put her directly in harm's way. That's not what we do. That's not what your father would have wanted, Marcus.”
“Keep yourself in check, Clive,” Marcus said. “I don't like it any more than you do. But we do what the Pack Leader says. It's the best way to actually get Hudson out into the open.”
“Beth, you don't have to do this,” Clive said, grabbing her hand and squeezing it.
In the mirror, Beth watched Marcus's golden eyes. “I'll do it.”
“What? Beth! You could get hurt! You could die!”
“I'm not going to be safe until Hudson is out of the picture. It's the only way I'll be truly safe. And the sooner he's gone, the better,” Beth said. In the mirror, she watched Marcus smile.
They pulled up to an old, abandoned building back in the city. Beth hadn't expected to be back so soon. The weather had cleared up, but it did nothing to raise her spirits. If anything, it felt colder and more unforgiving. She was about to be part of something she never had before. We're going to kill him, she thought. The thought was foreign, strange, and to her surprise, welcoming. She wanted Hudson gone. She wanted to be free. To be safe.
She hesitated. If Hudson was gone, then there would be no need for a protector. She would be safe. But that meant that Clive would be out of her life. She watched him, standing off to the side of the SUV. He hadn't said a word since she had told the shifters that she would go along with Joe's plan.
“Hey,” Beth said, moving over towards him. “This is the best way.”
“It's not,” Clive said, head down. “It's recklessly dangerous. Ever since Marcus's dad died and his uncle took over, things have gotten worse. Way more dangerous than they used to be. They're in it for the money. That's never why we were founded. We're supposed to protect our clients. We've been doing it for nearly 70 years. We use our powers to protect those who can't protect themselves. And now we're throwing you into harm's way to get it over with. But once it's over, we can move forward.”
Beth didn't know what to say at first, so she grabbed his hands. “It's going to be okay. I'm nervous, yeah, but once this is all over with, it'll be done. There's something else I wanted to talk about.”
“Okay. Shoot.”
“Listen, Clive. When this is over, we should go our separate ways. We can't move forward. I won't need you protecting me all of the time. Move on and focus on the next job. I'm no good for you and your lifestyle.”
“Why do you get to decide what's good for me?” Clive asked. “If you've felt only a fraction of what I've felt these last two days, then you know there's something there. Isn't that worth it?”
Before she could answer, another car pulled up. He withdrew his hands and trudged off, greeting the newcomers. Out of the car stepped another three large men, all eyes the same striking golden color. The first was a dark skinned man, head shaved bald. He was leaner than the other men, though the feeling of danger still rippled off of him. He may not have been as massive as the other men, but Beth knew he was no less dangerous.
The next man was just a bit smaller than Marcus. While the other men wore jackets, jeans, and boots, this man wore expensive looking khakis and a nice suit jacket. His face was soft, yet he had a few day's growth of stubble. His golden eyes burned with intensity and intelligence, though he still had a primal air to him. In one hand he held a suitcase and the other a stethoscope. Beth almost laughed. A doctor? Well, it makes sense. Still, he's almost a contradiction, she thought.
The doctor was moving towards Clive, who was moving towards the third man. “Clive, wait. Joe told me you'd been shot. I need to check your wounds.”
“I'm fine, Russell. The wounds were only superficial,” Clive said, holding up his hand in the doctor's face.
“If you insist.”
“What are you doing here?” Clive asked as he approached the third man. Beth raised her eyebrows when she got her first look at the man. He bared a striking resemblance to Clive. He looked a few years younger and wasn't as large. There was no denying that they were brothers.
“Joe sent me,” Clive's brother said.
“Joe sent you? You're barely old enough to be out of school, Derrick!”
“If my uncle cleared it, we're not going to question it. He knows what he's doing,” Marcus said, placing a hand on Clive's shoulder. Clive swung around, ready to attack, but backed down. Fury crossed his face, and then it was gone. He nodded.
“Here's the plan. Hudson is holed up in that building over there,” Marcus said, pointing towards a dark building on the edge of a weed overgrown parking lot. Beth wasn't sure, but she thought there were a couple of lights shining in one of the top floors. “Track and Beth will head straight up the middle of the lot. They're going to be tracked, of course, which gives us the opportunity to sneak around the sides.”
“What makes you so sure that Hudson won't just open fire immediately? Or think it's a trap?” the dark skinned man asked.
“Joe has put out lines of information that one of us shifters has gone rogue and wants a reward for turning over Beth. We think Track fits the description the best.”
Track let out a throaty, rough laugh. “Yeah, I think I do.”
“It should be me,” Clive said. “I was assigned to protect her and this should be my job.”
“Joe says it's going to be Track. Now, Russell, Jace, and Judge are going up to an adjacent rooftop to keep an eye on Hudson. Clive, Derrick, and I will go to the rear of Hudson's building and wait for his location. Once we figure out where he's at, we'll move in.”
Beth held up one of her hands. It was shaking uncontrollably, so she placed it against her side. The world around her was silent except for the steady sound of footsteps. Track strode confidently beside her. He even had a smile on his face.
“You know, Clive's falling for you,” Track said, trying to lighten the conversation. Beth appreciated it, but wasn't sure if it was going to help. They were drawing closer to the building and hadn't seen a soul.
“Nothing can come of it.”
“Why do you say that?” he asked, calm as ever.
“He's a bear shifter. I'm a normal girl. Once he's done protecting me, he'll have no reason to see me any more. I told him that he needs to move on.”
“He's yours if you want him,” Track said. I do, Beth thought. More than anything. But I can't, no matter how much I desire him.
Track suddenly tensed up, his nostrils flaring. He held out a hand and Beth stopped in her tracks. He moved between her and the building. “Fresh, nervous sweat. They're tensing up. I can smell it. They're going to open fire. We need to get into the building, now. Stay behind me!”
Track started to sprint, Beth close behind him. Immediately, a shot rang through the air. Beth watched as blood exploded out of the back of Track's neck, covering her. She screamed, almost stumbling over Track's dropped body. Miraculously, he got to his feet, a hand to his shredded throat. He opened his mouth to her but nothing came out except a stream of blood. He started to shift, his body turning, even as more shots rang out.
Track pushed Beth away and she was running, bullets hitting the pavement and kicking up plumes of dust. She stole a glance backward, seeing Track fully shifted into his bear shape and coming towards her. She knew that he was never going to make it. She reached the doors, finding them locked. Beside the door was a half broken cinder block, which she used to shatter the glass. Carefully crawling inside, she unlocked the door from the inside. Another glance at Track showed her it was pointless. He was on the ground, barely moving forward. His eyes met hers and then closed.
Dancing Bearback (BBW Shifter Cowboy Western Romance) (Bear Ranchers Book 3) Page 51
