“Wha—?”
Prisha's blood turned to ice.
“L-last...meal,” she repeated, the tray finally dropping from her shaking hands to clatter noisily against the tiles.
“Yes. You must know that we can't let you live. It's a real pity, and I am dreadfully sorry about it. But death comes to us all.”
“Death will be coming for the Mayor as well,” someone quipped. There were chuckles as the men clinked glasses.
Prisha shook her head and tried to scramble away but the big, bad bodyguard had his hand on her shoulder. Ray had called him Tom.
Well, Tom was going to get his nuts kicked in if he didn't let her go.
Prisha twisted round and propelled her foot forward, preparing to deliver the mother of all kicks.
But Tom simply sidestepped her and her own momentum made her topple forward and land in a heap on the floor.
Ray clucked his tongue. “Don't exert yourself unnecessarily, Miss Singh. It doesn't have to be painful. In fact, I can promise you that it'd be quick. Pop, and it will be over.” He mimed a gun to his head with his thumb and forefinger.
“You won't feel a thing, my dear. Not a damn thing.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Caleb shrugged off his security vest and deposited it onto the reception counter. “Take care of that, will you? Thanks, Paul!” he called out and gave his receptionist a two-finger salute as he walked backwards towards the glass door.
“Beta?” Paul grabbed the vest and jumped up. “There are a few calls...”
“Leave the notes on my desk. I have to go,” Caleb snapped.
“Go? But we just got back!” Baxter's thick brows flew up. “What's up, Beta?”
“Yeah. We just finished a death-defying mission with the dragons. Liam Skyworth is buying us drinks at Skyflame Bar. Aren't you coming?” Paige squinted at him.
“Where are you going anyway? Do you want us to come with you?” Baxter pushed away from the counter and walked towards him.
“No, you guys go celebrate with Liam and James. I have to...see someone.”
“Someone?” Paige said, her lips curling.
“You have a date?” Li added with a grin.
Caleb groaned inwardly. His Black Bears were too inquisitive, and way too sharp. Everyone knew everyone else's business. No one could get away with anything. That was what made them such good investigators and interrogators.
“It's not a date.”
His bears burst out laughing. “You're blushing, Beta!”
“This must be serious.”
“Who is she?”
“Come on, tell us!”
“You're not usually so secretive. Wait, you're not dating a succubus, are you? Oh, once they sink their fangs into you, you're pretty much done for.”
“Did you not know she was a succubus?”
“You can tell, you know, by the noise they make when they...”
“Were you waylaid, Beta? Or were you happy to...”
They kept coming at him with their questions and innuendos until finally Caleb exploded. “She's not a succubus! She's human!”
They grinned at him. “Yep. Definitely serious,” Baxter diagnosed solemnly. “You've got a serious case of mate fever, Beta.”
Caleb exited the building before those nosy bears could question him further. Once outside, he huffed and shook himself. He was usually calm and collected, and he could smell their tricks a mile away. No one could bait him, or trick him into answering questions he didn't want to answer.
So why was he feeling so edgy and out of sorts tonight?
He had planned to drop by at Curry Corner to surprise Prisha. He would stop by the florist on the way so he could get her a bouquet of flowers. His bears could laugh their boorish heads off, but he would woo his mate properly.
Caleb's watch beeped.
He stopped and read the short, terse message.
In the next heartbeat, he was running hard down the street and charging across busy junctions without waiting for the lights to change. Horns blared but he didn't care.
He had to get to Curry Corner before it was too late.
Caleb sighted the little restaurant and saw the “Closed” sign hanging from the front door. The blinds were drawn across the wide glass windows, and the lights within the restaurant had been dimmed.
Inhaling sharply, he smelled human and tobacco scents coming from the restaurant. There were at least a dozen males in the restaurant. He could hear voices, laughter, and he could smell cigarette smoke and guns. Those men were armed.
Prisha wasn't in the restaurant.
But he could scent her terror and rage. And the scent was coming from the back alley.
Caleb palmed his gun out from his holster and slid silently along the wall to the back of the small restaurant. He could hear Prisha's quick, shallow breathing now. She wasn't alone. He could scent two males with her.
Holding his gun ready, Caleb tensed for an instant then pushed swiftly into the alley.
He saw Prisha kneeling on the ground, her hands laced behind her neck.
A man had a gun pressed to the back of her head. Another stood to the side, watching the execution.
Caleb took a step forward and the man flicked his gun up suddenly from Prisha's head and pointed it in Caleb's direction.
The man was fast, but Caleb was faster.
Caleb met his blue-and-green eyes head on and fired.
Prisha's executioner slammed against the wall and slid to the ground.
Caleb's gun spat again, and the second man dropped to the ground beside his comrade even before he could draw his gun. Caleb's gun was silenced, so the loudest sound coming from the alley was the thud of the man's body as it hit the ground.
Holstering his gun, Caleb ran to Prisha.
She was in shock, but uninjured. She clung to him and stared at the two black suits on the ground. Both had dark stains on their chests.
“Come on. Let's get out of here,” he hissed, steering her forcefully towards the other end of the alley.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Prisha swiped at her eyes as Caleb tugged her forward. She didn't want to cry, but the tears just came. She had almost died, almost been executed in the small alley just behind her restaurant.
She had been dragged out by Tom and another black suit, and made to kneel on the ground. They had told her that if she made a sound, they would hunt down the rest of her staff and kill them all.
Nurin, Ali and Jennifer would be dead because of her.
Kneeling in that dark, damp alley with a gun to her head, Prisha knew that she was doomed but she refused to accept her impending death. There was no way she could outrun a bullet. She couldn't fight those two burly men. She was alone and unarmed. But if her death could save the lives of her three loyal employees, well, she could live with that—or rather, die with that. But she didn't want to die. She refused to die.
As she knelt in the dark, Prisha had silently asked her grandmother for guidance and courage. Her grandmother was her inspiration, her guide, and her guardian angel. “I hope you're not disappointed with me, Nanni,” she'd whispered. “I don't want this. I'm not ready.”
Even stronger than her fear was her anger. She was angry at her own helplessness. She had to just shut up and die. Struggling and screaming would just make those thugs madder, mad enough to go after Nurin and the rest after they'd finished her off. She wasn't ready to die. There was still so much left to do, so much to live for.
“Nanni, help me,” was her last whispered plea.
And it seemed, her grandmother had heard her. She had sent someone to save her.
Caleb.
When Prisha heard the pop of a gun, she wondered for an instant if she was already dead but didn't know it yet. As she tried to breathe, she was aware of Tom and his partner slumping to the ground in rapid succession. Someone had shot them in the chest.
Were they dead?
She d
idn't care. She only cared that she was alive.
Alive!
She had been spared.
She was saved. Her angel had come.
She saw Caleb then. He looked mad as hell, his eyes glowing with raw, feral rage. His movements were swift, silent and sharp, and in that moment, she saw him as he truly was, a deadly, efficient predator and protector.
As they ran on, Caleb asked, “Is there anywhere you can go tonight?”
Prisha shook her head. “I don't want to put Nurin and Jennifer in danger. I'll be fine.”
Caleb's jaw tightened. “In that case, you're coming home with me.”
“Home? But you live just opposite me. There's no difference...”
“Not this home. My other home,” he answered.
“Other home?”
“I have a place farther out, out of the city. We'll go there.”
“You have a house?”
“Yeah. I'm taking you to my tree house.”
“Okay,” she replied automatically even though his words didn't really make sense. She wasn't even sure if she'd heard him correctly. Her brain was shutting down even as her legs and arms continued pumping. She just kept running, even though she had no idea where she was going.
Prisha felt everything spinning around, going topsy-turvy as she ran. Nothing looked the same anymore. Nothing looked right.
She was just a hardworking, genteel chef, whose hands had only ever held a knife to chop and dice ingredients, not kill or maim a person. Yet she had almost been executed by the Mob tonight, and she was now running for her life.
Why?
Why her?
She heard Caleb's voice and turned her wild, unseeing eyes to him.
“Prisha! Breathe, Prisha,” he ordered. “Take deep breaths. In, out, in, out.”
“I'm breathing...I'm breathing,” she recited as she stumbled blindly forward. “Breathing...I'm still breathing...”
CHAPTER NINE
Prisha was vaguely aware of Caleb opening the car door for her and bundling her into the front seat. He fastened her seat belt and gave her a quick kiss on her forehead.
She started and gasped, but he had already closed the door and was jogging over to the driver's side. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and tried to stop the soft, whining sound wheezing through her teeth. Why was she making that awful, pathetic sound? She sounded like a wounded animal, for God's sake.
She brushed her quivering fingers across her forehead and touched the spot where Caleb had kissed her. It was the only part of her face that didn't feel cold and numb. His kiss had warmed her, and assured her that she was still alive. There wasn't a bullet hole in her head.
Caleb started the engine and swung his car out into the street. She tried to look out the window but all she saw were flashing lights and contorted shadows. The city suddenly looked unfamiliar and menacing, and she had to turn away and try to block out the horrible, harrowing memory of her near death.
She focused on Caleb instead. His eyes were steady on the road, and his knuckles gleamed against the steering wheel. Expertly, he weaved the vehicle through the traffic, not slowing down, not stopping at all. He was driving like a maniac, but a very competent, skilful one.
A muscle was ticking in his jaw as he drove. His green eyes were glowing dangerously and there was the glint of claws from his fingertips. His bear was rippling close to the surface, and she knew that he was containing his beast for her sake.
He didn't want to spook her further, and he wanted to get her to safety as quickly as possible.
Prisha stared straight ahead, hardly noticing the landscape that was whizzing by at blinding speed. The traffic thinned out as they drove out of the city, and skyscrapers gave way to widely spaced houses. Gradually, the houses disappeared altogether and all she saw were trees, tall grasses and shadows as they bounced along a dirt track.
“You...you saved my life,” she whispered at last. “Thank you.”
Caleb made a sound like a growl. “Your life is still in danger. I'll kill those shits. I swear!”
“No, no, don't.” She swallowed hard. “Don't take them on. Please, Caleb, you don't know what you're up against. Ray Shapez is planning to assassinate the Mayor! There's nothing he won't do! He's not someone to...”
“What did you say?” Caleb turned to her.
“I heard what they were planning. That's why they want me dead,” Prisha said, twisting the corner of her blouse. “He's planning to shoot the Mayor at City Hall next week.”
“City Hall,” Caleb exhaled slowly. “The Mayor is going to give a speech announcing a new initiative. He is cracking down on organized crime. There's going to be a new department, and the police force will also get a new budget. A special task force will be set up to clean up the city. The Mayor will announce it all next week.”
“That's when they plan to strike. To send a message.”
The furrow deepened between Caleb's brows.
“And now, they'll want to hunt me down and destroy me,” Prisha sighed and gave a sad little laugh.
“I'll send my Black Bears in to scope out your restaurant and your apartment.”
“They might have wrecked the place already.” Prisha shrugged.
“Maybe...not. That will draw unwanted attention and set the police on them. They'll leave your restaurant intact.”
Prisha smiled half-heartedly. “I...I just hope they'll leave my staff alone. Ray's bodyguards let Nurin, Ali and Jennifer leave. They didn't hear anything. They're innocent!”
“I'll send a team to protect your staff. My Black Bears will watch your staff quietly and they can keep a lookout for anyone who might be watching them.”
Prisha nodded. “Thank you.”
Caleb reached over to squeeze her hand. “Ray Shapez and his goons won't touch you and yours.” He smiled grimly and flicked his eyes back to the road ahead.
After making a sharp turn, Caleb pulled the car to a sudden halt and announced, “Here we are.”
“Okay.” Wherever here was.
Prisha gulped and squinted at the moving shadows. “I don't see anything. Just...trees. Are we...eh, sleeping in the trees tonight?”
With a low chuckle, Caleb hopped out of the car and opened the door for her. “You can say that.”
Prisha got out of the car warily. They were in the middle of the woods. There was a lake nearby, but she saw no sight of a house anywhere. No boat, no tent, nothing.
He had to be joking, right?
She wasn't an outdoorsy person.
Not in the least.
“Ah, Caleb,” she began nervously. “I've never climbed a tree before. I don't think I can...” Sleep in one!
How was she going to drape herself around a branch and just snooze? She would probably fall and break a leg, an arm or her neck.
“There's a first time for everything,” Caleb said calmly.
Prisha rounded on him, but the man was grinning insanely at her. “Welcome...to my castle in the trees!”
CHAPTER TEN
Caleb led Prisha to the base of a thick, sturdy tree trunk and pointed. “Look up. There it is,” he beamed.
She gasped when she saw a spacious, ultra-modern tree house nestled in the branches between two humongous trees. “You built that?” she breathed.
“Yep. Ethan helped me. It took us a whole year.”
“It's amazing! But...how do we get up there?”
Caleb whipped out a small remote control from his pocket and pressed a button. There was a whirring sound and a ladder began to descend from the side of the house.
“It looks plain and rustic, but it's equipped with all the necessary security and communication devices and technology.”
Prisha put her foot on the ladder tentatively and shot him a questioning look. “Go on,” he encouraged. “It's perfectly safe.” After a pause, he added, “I'll catch you if you fall.”
“I won't fall,” she huffed.
> “Well, if you do, I'm here.” It was meant to be a reassuring statement, but all it earned him was a glare.
She began to climb, and Caleb followed closely behind her. He kept his eyes on her, but his hungry bear kept directing his gaze to her ample, fleshy buttocks swinging and swaying just above him.
At the top of the ladder, Prisha was staring in speechless wonder at the modern wood-and-glass structure that had taken him ages to design and perfect.
“This is no tree house,” she spluttered. “This...is a penthouse!”
Caleb laughed as he retracted the ladder. He unlocked the door and held it open for her. “Come on in.”
Once they were in the house, he swiftly flicked on all the lights and re-activated the security alarms.
The whole house was bathed in a warm, buttery glow. Prisha murmured in amazement and appreciation as she stepped carefully across the hall area, into the modern open kitchen and towards the large bed that faced a floor-to-ceiling glass wall. Waking up to a view of a stunning sunrise was one of the pleasures he relished.
“This is beautiful!” Prisha exclaimed, pressing her palms to the glass and gazing out at the peaceful, moonlit lake.
“You...like it here?”
“Yes! It's so peaceful,” she sighed.
Caleb smiled and went over to the kitchen. “Let's get you something to eat.”
“I'm not hungry...”
“You still have to eat.”
She frowned, then came over and took the pot firmly from him. “Leave this to me. I'm the chef here,” she said, giving him a playful shove.
Caleb tried to wrestle the pot back. “You must be tired. Go take a rest and...”
“No. I will cook for you.”
Caleb put up his hands. He recognized that note of finality in her voice.
“Okay, okay, but at least let me help. I've got to make myself useful,” he grumbled.
“Useful?” Her eyes widened and she put the pot down. “You saved me, Caleb,” she said softly, coming up to him. “If not for you, I would be lying face down in a puddle of my own blood and brain matter right now. I wouldn't be standing here in your kitchen arguing with you.”
Bear's Kiss (Bear Heat Book 2) Page 3
