Blake led his prisoner behind a long strip of restaurants. Stopping between two dumpsters he shoved her against the wall.
“BLAKE!” the woman cringed.
“How do you know my name? Are you with CASO?” Blake demanded.
He leaned one hand against the wall and leaned close to her. She smelled of medical supplies and fear.
“I was.”
“Was? What the hell does that mean?”
“You really don’t remember, do you, Blake?”
“No, I don’t! I don’t remember anything!” Blake shouted.
His hand slapped into the wall chipping away at the brick.
“You were always so much stronger than the others. I thought you would remember,” the woman frowned.
“Who are you?”
“Cassie,” she said. “Blake, I helped raise you and the others. I didn’t know what they were doing. I didn’t know the teenagers I fostered were being used in a government experiment! By the time I knew it was too late, Blake! I swear I tried!”
“What are you talking about?”
“CASO,” she said. “Certified Animal Soldiers Operation.”
“That’s why,” Blake said, but stopped talking before the word “bear” moved over his lips.
“Yes,” Cassie nodded. “They looked for orphans and street rats. Those fucking agents looked for any child who wouldn’t be missed. When I was approached to aid in the project they told me they were testing medicine, Blake! They didn’t tell me the project was a result of two decades of scientist blending human and animal DNA in test tubes! They didn’t tell me that they were altering the DNA of the children I was responsible for! Then they came and took you all away in the middle of the night. They said the project was over. Five years later I found out they had lied to me.”
“What happened after that?”
“They took you all to their laboratories. It was time for the next phase of the project. They needed to add the final DNA strand that would enable you to shift and they did. Someone leaked the story to the New York Times. Of course the government announced it was a hoax and promptly shut down the experiment. They were supposed to kill all of you. A very kind-hearted man, Dr. Mendez paid with his life for disobeying orders. He drugged as many of you as he could. He told me that the drugs would make it impossible for you to shift and that you would remember nothing of your past. About a year ago they found out Mendez lied. They killed him, but not until torturing him to find out whom he had saved. Several of your friends are already dead. Others are constantly hunted. They’ve been looking hard for you, Blake, but had been unable to find you until recently. Blake, if you do not take them out they will hunt you down. CASO will stop at nothing to eradicate the proof of their existence. The backlash from the public would be immeasurable! They will kill you, Blake, and they will kill the she-bear, unless you find a way to stop them.”
“Where are they?”
“Where else would someone build an empire in New York?”
“Ah, it’s the big guy again,” a man laughed from the head of the alley.
“Isn’t he the one who killed your partner?” a tall man asked his companion.
“You do not want to fuck with me,” Blake said.
Slowly he turned to face the men. Anger washed over the bear and a primal growl echoed from his throat. Blake’s human mind was still processing what the woman had told him, but the bear within had only heard one thing. Either he took out CASO or CASO would take them down. Kill or die. The choice was a simple one.
Blake attempted to push the bear down, but it would not be silenced this time. Twice these foreign humans had invaded the sanctity of his domain. Like snakes they crawled through his streets that he called home. They would pay. If the olive-skinned woman proved to be telling the truth, he would hunt down every last CASO agent and maul them himself.
The men lifted their guns as the first patches of fur began to emerge on Blake’s face. His human mind scrambled to gain control. This couldn’t happen here! The bear within ripped off the shirt Greg had loaned him and threw it to the ground.
“You were always a Casanova, Blake,” the shorter agent laughed. “Sorry, we’re not pretty she-bears so we’re not interested in watching you show off.
The next place hair began to emerge was his chest and stomach. In human form, Blake’s abdomen and chest was hairless with deeply contoured muscles, but when the shift overcame him it was slowly covered with thick patches of dark brown hair. The tall man lifted his gun and Blake growled.
“You really shouldn’t point that thing at me,” Blake growled.
Then all at once his human form contorted into that of a very large and very angry grizzly bear. The shorter man backed away, remembering how easily Blake had ripped his last partner’s throat out while in human form. What damage would he deal out now?
He lunged at the taller man and the gun bounced to the ground. The impact jarred the trigger and a shot rang through the alley. The whooshing of a sharp blade through the air caused the bear to look up. He watched as it struck the center of the smaller man’s back.
The taller agent was penned beneath him. The man slapped at Blake, but the bear ignored it. His struggles were in vein. He was going to die. The only question was when. Blake’s eyes followed the route the knife had taken through the air. His eyes settled on a very smug looking she-bear.
“Thought I’d tag along anyway,” Bree said. “I didn’t know you’d run into an old friend with such interesting information.”
Blake tilted his head. The she-bear wasn’t running from him.
“Not that I’m trying to tell you what to do or anything, but a dead man won’t give us any answers.”
“Listen to the she-bear, Blake!” The man pleaded.
Blake studied Bree. Her shoulders and hips were squared to fight. Her senses were alert. She had pulled her long pony tail through the scrunchie twice to create a looped bun that kept her hair out of the way. She was so beautiful.
The man punched Blake’s chest again. He looked from Bree down to the man who was struggling to get free. His mate was right. Dead men didn’t talk. Blake drew back one large paw and the man covered his face.
“Please! Please don’t kill me! It’s nothing personal! It’s just my job! If I don’t bring you in they’re going to kill me!”
Blake silenced the man by slapping into his face hard. The back of his head hit the concrete and the impact rendered him unconscious. Sitting down, Blake surveyed his surroundings. The olive-skinned woman was no longer standing between the dumpsters.
“She ran away as soon as you turned,” Bree said.
Blake nodded. Bree walked towards him and stopped several feet away.
“So this is what you meant by we’re bears?”
Again Blake nodded. The bear within was receding. Blake’s transformation back into a man was less dramatic. Seconds later Blake found himself sitting nude next to an unconscious man. Shifting had ruined more than one pair of jeans in the past. He grinned up at Bree. Her eyes lingered over his body for several seconds, before looking away blushing. Blake chuckled and began to strip the agent of his pants.
“What are you doing?” Bree asked.
“I need some clothes. His will have to do. He’s unconscious who cares if everyone in New York sees his rubber duck boxers. I’m not walking back to the house naked. It would draw too much attention.”
“Is he really wearing rubber duck boxers?” Bree asked arching her neck to see.
“Yes,” Blake laughed.
After he was dressed in the man’s pants, Blake slung the unconscious agent easily over his shoulder. Bree retrieved her knife from the body of the other agent.
“Two dead in two days,” Blake said.
“Better them than us. You’ll learn that quick hanging around here.”
With his free arm Blake pulled Bree close to him and rested his forehead against hers. He locked his gaze to hers and studied her eyes for a long moment.
&n
bsp; “Nothing will ever hurt you,” Blake said. “Not as long as I have breath in my body.”
“Don’t worry,” Bree grinned. “I’ll keep saving your ass too.”
Blacked chuckled and shook his head, “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
“Uh, you can’t just walk down Twenty Eighth Street carrying him over your shoulder. Not everyone is going to laugh at his rubber-duck clad ass. Someone is definitely going to ask questions.”
A taxi rolled to a stop at the mouth of the alley. The bright yellow cars were not an unfamiliar sight in New York City. Not trusting CASO to not infiltrate mundane services, Blake stepped in front of Bree.
The electronic buzz of the window rolling down irritated Blake’s ears. His senses were still in hypersensitivity. He took a deep breath and sighed quietly in relief. Greg was the man behind the wheel.
“Need a taxi?” he smirked.
“Right in the nick of time as usual,” Bree laughed. “Come on, Blake.”
Blake propped the man up in the front seat. Greg buckled him in.
“I don’t want him flopping around up here while I’m trying to drive.”
“So you’re a taxi driver?” Blake asked sliding into the backseat after Bree.
His arm instinctively went around her shoulder as he spoke. Bree leaned into his warm body and rested her head against him. He could feel the slight twitching of her facial muscles as her eyes darted around the street. His she-bear was forever on guard.
“It pays the bills. It’s hard to get a decent job when people are hunting your head.”
“About that,” Bree said.
Blake closed his eyes and listened to Bree repeat what Cassie had told him. She had heard the whole conversation. Blake himself hadn’t believed it at first. If Cassie was telling the truth why had she disappeared when the action started? Was she just frightened by the gunmen or had she lied?
“That sort of makes sense,” Greg said. “So you’re telling me he shifts into a grizzly bear?”
“That’s what she said,” Blake growled.
“And the rest of us don’t shift because?”
“Because the supposed Doctor Mendez injected us with something to prevent it,” Bree said before Blake could speak.
“Why does he still shift then? Did it not work on you, Blake?” Greg met his eyes in the rearview mirror.
Was Greg questioning his motives?
“Because it didn’t,” Blake gave a one shoulder shrug. “I guess I was just too strong for it.”
“Don’t you two start another pissing contest! If we’re going to take down CASO, we have to stand together. Blake, I’ve been friends with Greg for a long time. I trust him. Greg, I know I just met Blake, but he saved me when he didn’t have to. He’s going to be around for better or worse. So you better get used to it!”
CHAPTER FIVE
Bree glanced at Blake who was staring at the unconscious man. Greg had secured him to a kitchen chair and Blake had double checked his work. Anne and Vixa sat across from them on a sofa that lined the opposite wall. Greg perched on the arm closet to Vixa.
“So will you explain it one more time?” Vixa asked.
Blake sighed as Bree opened her mouth.
“We were meant to be soldiers for the government! We were made to be killing machines. Someone leaked the operation to the Times and the government shut it down. We weren’t meant to survive. A man named Doctor Mendez saved us. CASO wants us dead so there are no loose ends that can be traced back to them. We kill them or they kill us. It’s simple.”
“Blake,” Bree said, gently touching his face.
He smiled softly at her, but the annoyance returned to his eyes as soon as he looked away.
“And you turn into a bear?” Anne finally spoke.
“Yes, I do,” Blake nodded, “but don’t worry. I still don’t like the taste of rabbit.”
“Why do you guys think I’d be a rabbit?”
“Because of the paw print on your ankle, honey,” Bree said gently.
“Why do all of you get to be something big and scary and I have to be a rabbit?”
“Rabbits are quick,” Blake grinned. “They know how to escape and have very strong legs. Next time CASO comes after you give them a good swift kick to the family jewels and haul ass.”
Anne laughed and the tension in the room broke.
Bree leaned against Blake’s side and pressed her lips gently against his cheek. She had intended on telling him how sweet he could be when he wanted to, but the man bound to the kitchen chair groaned. Everyone swung into action.
Anne was the first to move. She leaped over the back of the sofa and crouched low trying to stay out of sight. Vixa rushed forward so that she stood before the man who was just coming to. Bree stood with her shoulders squared. Greg moved for his gun. Blake sighed and shook his head. He leaned back against the sofa and closed his eyes.
Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he considered explaining to the others that the man wasn’t going anywhere. He had a concussion and was tied to a chair with a rope strong enough to restrain a zoo animal. The human was no longer a threat.
“Where am I?” the man murmured.
“Somewhere safe,” Blake said, without opening his eyes.
“Don’t eat me!” the man shouted.
“I don’t eat humans,” Blake grumbled. “I don’t want a case of the shits.”
Anne peaked from around the sofa, “Back off, guys, he’s afraid.”
“He should be,” Blake chuckled. “If he goes after my mate again I’m going to rip off his balls and leave him to die a slow humiliating death.”
“Honey, don’t talk about going for anyone’s balls,” Bree teased. “It sounds like such a bitch thing to say.”
“No, I just know how to tear a man down.”
“I’ll remember that if you ever break my heart,” Bree narrowed her eyes.
“Cut the crap, Bree,” Greg rolled his eyes. “You two aren’t even official yet.”
“We’re official enough,” Bree said. “We’ve fought together, we’ve eaten together, and we’ve shared the floor as a bed. Neither of us is going anywhere so that makes us pretty damn official.”
“You two were always a pain in the ass,” the agent spoke, “but not nearly as bad as the fox that joined the wolf pack. I’ve never seen an alpha male with such bad taste!”
A blur crossed the room and Greg had barrel of his gun dug into the man’s throat.
“You’re not hear for a gossip hour, friend,” he said spitting the last word. “You’re only alive because Bree believes you might prove useful in taking down CASO. You’re dead either way. Either we’re going to kill you or they’re going to kill you. The only choice you have is how painful your death is going to be. If you give us the information we need, I’ll make it swift. One bullet to the brain and you won’t feel anything. If you don’t I’ll turn you over to Blake and his emasculation fetish.”
“Just kill me then,” the man spat.
“Believe me, I’d like to. You wouldn’t be the first and you won’t be the last.”
Blake chuckled from the sofa.
“What’s so funny?” Greg turned on him.
“Nothing,” Blake shook his head. “Nothing at all. Except for the bastard doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about. He’s fighting for CASO, but since all of the photos in his wallet are at least two years old I’m betting they took out his whole damn family.”
“You leave them out of this!” the man swore.
“Did they mean so little to you?” Blake asked. “You’re going to work for the organization that killed your family. Well, your wife was one of us, wasn’t she?”
“You leave Olivia out of this!”
“Olivia, she was a bird shifter wasn’t she? A crow, if memory serves correctly. She was supposed to be part of the intelligence unit.”
“How do you know that?” Greg asked.
“Cassie left this behind when she pulled her runner,” Blake said.
He tossed the thick brown envelope to Greg.
“Take a look. It has a record of all of us.”
“Let me see that!” Bree snatched it from Greg before he could open it.
She dumped its contents onto the floor and searched through the photographs.
“This is us, Blake,” she said picking one up to take a closer look.
Blake slid to the floor next to her and leaned into her. The photograph showed them lying in the grass together at the park. One of his arms was wrapped around Bree’s shoulders. The other held the camera up high in the air. They were smiling and Bree’s head rested on his shoulder. The sun was bright and dandelions spotted the grass around them.
Blake closed his eyes and the long ago day washed over him. They had sneaked away from the group for some time alone. The lab was becoming more and more insistent about monitoring them around the clock. That was the last day they spent mirthfully alone and normal before the press release.
“Blake,” Bree said, “She was telling the truth wasn’t she?”
“Yes,” Blake nodded, “Cassie was telling the truth.”
The others had gathered around the pile of photos and paper work searching for any clues to their pasts. Blake spotted a photograph of a woman with raven black hair and picked it up.
“This was her, wasn’t it?” he said standing up.
Blake shoved the photo into the agent’s face.
“This was your wife!”
The man looked away.
“This was your wife! She was your mate and you stood by while the executed her! I ought to kill you right now and information be damned!” Blake growled. “You didn’t owe any of us anything. What were we to you? Nothing! Olivia was your mate, your wife, and you let them kill her! You still work for them! You’re a coward!”
“What was I supposed to do?”
“You fight for your mate! You die for your mate!” Blake growled. “Now you’re going to tell me what’s going on. You’re going to tell me where CASO is operating and what their plans are. You’re not going to beg for mercy and you’re not going to lie. You’re not going to say anything that isn’t about CASO and you’re going to be grateful I’m even letting you speak instead of cutting out your tongue right here and now!”
Simply Bears: A Ten Book Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance Collection Page 10
