“She’s not answering her phone.” Gabe tossed his phone back to the counter. “Where is she?”
In the few minutes since Captain Williams had called to tell him that not only had Billy Benson not been recaptured, but had recently been spotted two towns over, Gabe’s instincts had taken over.
Zoe. Ashton.
He knew they were in danger. He could feel it. And she wasn’t answering her phone.
“Is there a chance she’s just not answering your call?” Kade spoke cautiously, and held up his hands in defense as Gabe spun on him. But his friend was right. She hadn’t answered any of his calls all week; she was probably just avoiding him. She was probably out trick-or-treating with Ashton the way they’d planned.
But he knew she wasn’t. He could feel it.
“I’m going over there.” Gabe started to gather his things. He’d radio dispatch on the way over and have someone else take over the Halloween watch group. This was too important. “Maryann said she picked up Ashton fifteen minutes ago. They should be at the house. Where is she?” He slammed his fist down and coffee splashed out on the counter.
“Okay,” Kade said. “I’ll go with you.” He turned to Brian, but the wolf was already by his side.
“I’m coming, too. I hope you’re wrong, Wilder, and there’s nothing to worry about. But if you’re not…”
He didn’t bother to finish the thought because they all knew what he hadn’t said. If Gabe wasn’t wrong, and Billy Benson had Zoe and Ashton, he was going to need backup.
Gabe nodded. A second later, his phone rang in his hand. It was a number he didn’t recognize but he didn’t hesitate.
“Wilder.”
“Dad?” Ashton’s voice was thin and small and…Gabe’s heart stopped at the sound.
“Ashton? What’s wrong?”
His voice shook, but Gabe could tell he was working hard not to fall apart.
He was only a kid.
“Dad. He took her. He took Zoe.”
“Who?” He didn’t need to ask. “Where are you? Are you okay?”
“I’m next door at Mrs. Caldwell’s. I used her phone to call you. Zoe told me to go. She told me to run. She didn’t even say anything, but I heard her.” Gabe didn’t have a chance to register what that meant, because Ashton was still talking. “I shouldn’t have left her, Dad. I’m—”
“You did the right thing. Stay there. I’m sending Brian Blackwood over there to get you, okay? He’s going to take you to the ridge until I get back.” Gabe didn’t even have to ask Brian; with a nod of his head, the wolf shifter was gone out the door and Gabe had no doubts that his son was in good hands.
“Did you see the car he was driving?”
“He took Zoe’s truck,” Ashton said.
“Zoe’s truck? She doesn’t—”
“Luke’s truck,” Kade said next to him, providing some clarification. “She borrowed it.”
While Gabe continued to talk to his son, both calming him down and getting as many details from him as he could, next to him Kade was on the phone with Grizzly Ridge.
“Is Zoe going to be okay, Dad?”
“Of course.” He hoped he wasn’t lying to his son, because Gabe knew without any doubt that if anything happened to Zoe, it wouldn’t only be Gabe’s heart that would be destroyed—it would be Ashton’s too. And he would never let that happen.
He hung up the phone when Ashton told him that Brian was there and, with his son safe, focused his attention on his mate.
“We know where they are,” Kade announced. “Turns out Luke left his phone in the truck and he tracked it. It looks like he’s taken Zoe to an old hunting cabin. It’s off Settler’s Road. The guys are going to meet us there. Do you need to call it in?”
He probably should have. Hell, if it were anyone else, he might have. But this was personal, and it wasn’t anyone else. It was Zoe.
“I’ll call it in,” he said after a moment. “Later. But this is a shifter matter. Let’s handle it like shifters.”
When Zoe came to, the aching in her head had intensified and now was accompanied by sharp pains from her ribs that only just healed up from the last injury.
That asshole had kicked her, too! Rage swelled up inside her and her bear growled for release.
“Easy, tiger.” The voice came out of the shadows. “Or should I say, easy, Teddy.” The grimy cat shifter came to stand in front of her. “You don’t look like much of a cuddly bear, though, do you?” He kicked her again, his foot making contact with her already broken rib, and Zoe cried out.
“Go ahead and scream.” The man laughed. “No one can hear you out here. At least not until I want them to.”
She needed to shift into her bear. At least then it might be a fair fight. But he had her hands tied in front of her. It wasn’t impossible, but it was definitely harder and it would hurt, but—
“Don’t even think about it.”
She lifted her head and met his eyes.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he said. “And if you shift into your bear, you’re going to find yourself face-to-face with a mountain lion with nothing to lose.”
Mountain lion. She knew it.
“What are you going to do with me?” She needed to keep him talking. Because at least if he was talking, she could think about her next step. Maybe she could catch him off guard. He might be a mountain lion with nothing to lose, but he underestimated her. She’d already lost everything. The only thing she cared about now was keeping Gabe and Ashton safe. And there was only one way to do that.
“Oh, I’m going to call your mate so he can come and save you, just the way he tried to save mine. And then when he gets here, I’m going to let him watch while I kill you and then I’ll kill him. And then, just for fun, I’ll go get the kid.”
Ashton. No. Icy fear trailed down her spine and her stomach churned. She would not be sick. She had to focus.
He took a step toward her and in a flash, hoisted her to her feet. “But first, we’re going to have some fun.”
She closed her eyes in the face of his foul breath and tried to turn away but with his free hand, he twisted her head so she was once again looking at him as he backed her up against the wall.
As a bear shifter, she was strong. But he was a cat. His reflexes were insanely fast. Plus he had at least a hundred pounds on her and with her hands tied in front of her, Zoe was at a huge disadvantage. It was clear what his intentions were.
Panic flash through her, and she had to force herself to focus. She couldn’t allow herself to get lost to fear.
Think of Ashton.
“Don’t do this.” She tried to push against him, but he had her pinned against the rough wooden wall with his hips. She could feel his hard arousal pressed up against her stomach and had to force the nausea down.
Her senses were clouded with his scent, overpowering her instincts. She tried to fight against him as he reached down and unzipped his jeans, but she could only move a little from side to side.
Desperation started to creep in. But no, there was no way she would give up and give in to this creep.
Just when the man moved to pull down the pants of the ridiculous costume she was still wearing, something happened. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and something inside her leapt to attention.
Gabe.
No. Was it possible? How did he know? Was he—
Before she could finish her thought, the door to the old cabin slammed open. A massive, very angry grizzly bear filled the doorway.
He was going to kill him. He was going to rip him limb from limb until he begged for mercy.
Gabe didn’t even need the GPS tracking that Kade provided. He would have found her without it.
Zoe’s scent. Her fear. Her pain. They filled him.
Gabe and Kade had made it to the edge of town before shifting into their bears to run through the forest. They could travel faster in their animal form, and he wasn’t about to waste one more second. They moved fast, uncaring about the branches that tore at their fur as they crashed through the trees. When the old hunting cabin came into sight, Gabe could sense the presence of the other Jackson brothers.
His brothers. Not by blood. But something almost stronger. Friendship.
Overpowering it all, though, was Zoe. She was scared. She was hurt and she was in trouble.
She was the strongest woman he knew, but Gabe also knew Billy Benson. He was a massive mountain lion. One of the biggest he’d encountered. Also one of the most troubled. He had no family. No connection. And he’d turned to alcohol. A terrible mistake for a shifter with no tether. He was formidable, and worse: he had nothing to lose.
But Gabe had everything to lose. And she was inside that cabin.
Gabe, wait.
Kade tried to stop him, but there was no slowing him down. He didn’t slow his pace as he crashed directly into the door of the cabin. He knew without looking that the Jacksons would be right behind him, but Billy was all his.
Zoe’s eyes found his immediately.
She was safe.
But that cat was on her. Oh, hell no.
In a flash, with his cat-like reflexes, Billy spun around, one hand still on Zoe.
Gabe growled.
“Wilder. Nice of you to join us.”
He was done with niceties. Gabe stood on his hind legs and roared. The sound shook the walls of the old cabin. Anyone else would have stepped back. But not Billy. He grinned.
“Do you want to watch me kill her?” he taunted Gabe. “Or maybe I should just kill you so I can have a little fun with your mate?” He sneered. “Yes.” He nodded. “I think that’s the way to go.” He moved like lightning and shifted so quickly into his animal that Gabe hardly had a chance to brace himself before Billy crashed into him, teeth and claws bared.
The sting of his claws ripping through his shoulder burned, but Gabe didn’t have time to think about it. He bared his own teeth, and lunged forward.
Behind him, he vaguely recognized that the Jackson brothers were there. He also knew they wouldn’t step in unless they had to. This was Gabe’s fight and they’d let him have it.
Billy’s teeth sank into his back leg, and Gabe howled before shaking him free. He twisted and attacked from the side. His claws made a satisfied swipe against Billy’s face, but a moment later the cat was on top of him.
His black eyes stared into Gabe’s, and he knew he was in trouble because there was nothing but loss reflected back in his blank stare. He didn’t have to hear the words to know what Billy was thinking.
This is all I have left.
Billy let out a sound that was part shriek and part howl, and bared his teeth, ready to sink them deep into Gabe’s neck. But before the cat could complete his cry, a flash of black fur crashed into him and knocked Billy off him.
Zoe.
She had him pinned to the floor, the roles completely reversed.
He was much larger than her and should have easily been able to overpower her. Especially because she was injured. Gabe could feel her pain. He could also feel her rage. And he knew Billy was done.
So did the Jackson brothers. They all entered the small cabin, filling the space as they waited and watched to see what Zoe would do.
She raised one heavy paw, ready to slash Billy’s throat, but she hesitated, and Gabe knew. He couldn’t let her do it.
No. He communicated with her.
I have to.
No. He repeated himself.
She looked over at him and for a moment, their eyes locked. For Ashton.
Her words, unspoken, reverberated loudly in Gabe’s head as she once again raised her paw and brought it down sharply.