Bear Mechanic: BBW Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (7 page)

Just then, Elise came rushing through the front door, her phone clutched to her chest and her face as white as a sheet.

“I just got a call from the Wild Dogs.”

Chapter Five

Elise

When Elise had first answered her phone, she had been greeted by an oily voice. She dimly recognized hearing it before, but couldn’t place it.

“Hello, Elise. Do you remember me?” His voice had a thin veneer of politeness that covered a darker menace underneath. It made her heart rate pick up in fear.

“Should I?” she challenged. Her voice wobbled.

He laughed, and that laugh she remembered. The not-quite-bark. This was the guy she’d been calling Gold Earring.
Lyle
, that was his name.

“We met yesterday,” he said, sniggering again. Elise shuddered. “Although it feels like I’ve known you for much longer… don’t you think?”

Elise was repulsed, and it showed in her voice. “No! What’s wrong with you?”

His voice changed in an instant, from disgustingly over-intimate to angry. “You should be careful what you say to me,” he hissed. “Or you might be sorry.”

“Sorry for what? I don’t think so.” Her eyes flicked to the office, where Noah was. She stood up. Her sketchbook fell to the ground, forgotten.

“I have your brother.”

Those four words stopped Elise short. A cold hand clenched over her heart.

“What?” All the heat had gone out of her voice, and only fear was left. She knew Lyle could hear it.

That horrible laugh again. He’d regained the upper hand, and he knew it. “I thought that might be compelling.”

Elise tried to recover. “He can’t be with you. He’s…” She looked toward the office again. “He’s right here, perfectly safe.”

“No,” he said, almost gently, and she knew he was telling the truth.

“What do you want? Is it the money? Just give me a little time…”

“It's like I said. The interest is running up.”

Elise wanted to scream at Cecil.
This is why you don't take money from loan sharks!

She took a deep breath. “So, how much does he owe you
now
?”

“The exact amount isn't important. I've heard you have considerably more than that.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked blankly.

“Little Cecil has a trust fund, doesn't he?”

Her heart skipped a beat. Cecil's college money. Which Cecil couldn't give them… But she could. Could she deny it convincingly?

“I don't know what you're talking about,” she said, and added for good measure, “Trust fund? Do we really look that rich?”

“Don't you try to play me. I heard it straight from the horse's mouth,” said Lyle. “He can't sign off on the money. But you can.”

She struggled to find appropriate words to reply with.

“Don’t forget,” he warned. “We’ve got your baby brother right here. Better watch what you say.”

She couldn’t let her pride get Cecil hurt, or worse. She’d gotten a glimpse of the sadistic streak in Lyle and his crew already. She had no doubt they could take it further. Much further.

“What do you want me to do?” Her voice only shook a little.

“First off, you can’t go telling this to the cops, or anyone else for that matter. If we get a whiff someone else is with you… That’s it for your brother. That’s a promise.”

Elise believed him. “I won’t. I swear,” she said, mentally crossing her fingers behind her back.

“That little house you got,” Lyle said. “Go there. Tonight, at sunset.”

“That’s where we’ll make the trade? The money for my brother? You’ll let him go?”

“Bring papers to show we got it all, not just the cash. And remember—no uniforms, no help. Just you.” She imagined him leering at her.

The phone beeped as he hung up. Elise stared at it for a moment, chewing her lip. No help, he’d said. She was terrified of how he might harm her brother. But at the same time, she couldn’t just throw away his future, either.

She strode to the office and opened the door. “I just got a call from the Wild Dogs.”

Noah understood what had happened right away. “What did they want? The money?”

“Not exactly.” Elise gave him an abridged version of the call and finished with, “They want to trade him… for me. At my grandfather’s house—tonight at sunset.”

Noah’s lip curled. “That’s not going to happen,” he stated confidently, and Elise’s heart fluttered.

“We’ll get your brother back.” He straightened up, and she saw the military in him come to the fore: ramrod spine, hard shoulders, and a slightly distant look in his eyes. She could practically see the gears churning behind his gaze. “Gabe, grab everyone.”

* * *

They met in the kitchen; it was the only place large enough to hold everyone and hear them at the same time. Noah gave them a short rundown of the situation, and, to Elise’s shock, everyone in his crew supported taking action.

But what, she wondered, could they do? Who knew how big the Wild Dogs were, or how well-armed they might be? Anxiety churned in her stomach. These were good people, and unusually buff, but still…

“I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” she burst out.

Everyone turned to look at her, and she flushed.

“I mean… I appreciate that you want to help. But I just asked Noah if I should go to the police. Can’t they…”

Tyler looked amused. “Do you think we can’t take care of ourselves?”

“It’s not that! But it seems like something professionals should take care of. Doesn’t it?”

“We’re going to tell her, right?” said Gabe.

Elise flashed back to Will saying the Grayson siblings had been assassins, and in a moment of disorientation wondered if she’d been the victim of a double-bluff. “Tell me what?”

Noah shot him an annoyed look. “Well, now we have to.”

“She’s one of us now,” Gabe continued.

A long look passed between the two ex-soldiers while Elise waited on tenterhooks.

“Only if she wants to be,” Noah said finally, relenting. “And if everyone else is all right with it.”

There were nods all around, though the Graysons looked more reluctant than anyone else.

“She’s your—she’s important to you.” That was Will, speaking softly. Elise wondered what he had been going to say first.

Cam gave a curt nod.

Then Noah turned to Elise, and the room fell silent.

“There’s a reason the Wild Dogs are so dangerous,” began Noah. “And it’s not because they’re bikers. The regular police can’t handle them.”

This alarmed Elise. She looked around the table, where every face was set in grim determination. “I don’t want to be rude, but if the police can’t handle them, then what makes you think you can? And what makes them so special?”

“The same thing that makes us special.” There was a pause while Noah took a breath. “We’re shifters. We can turn into animals. In our case, powerful predators.”

A few beats of silence passed as Elise took in this information.

“You’re kidding, right? This is like the hitman thing.” Her voice was flat. They couldn’t be trying to punk her, could they? When the situation was so serious?

But no one seemed amused, or looked like they were making fun of her at all. In fact, at her words, Noah looked hurt.

“It’s better to just show her,” said a voice from the other end of the table. Will stood up.

His skin shimmered, moving in a way Elise had never seen before. But before her eyes could adjust to the strangeness, Will was no longer there. A wolf stood in his place.

Elise gasped. She couldn’t believe her eyes.

The wolf was huge. His shiny, thick coat was deep gray, the same color as Will's eyes. He trotted over to her side, panting a little. A lifetime of conditioning around dogs took over, and she held out her hand for the wolf to sniff, which he did promptly.

“Are you…” Elise couldn’t believe she was going to ask this question, feeling supremely silly. “Are you Will?”

The wolf nodded.

“Can I scratch you?” she asked, her voice faint.

Was it her imagination, or did the wolf look amused? But he nodded and bowed his head. Elise ran her fingers through the silky hair on the wolf’s—Will’s—head, and scratched him lightly behind the ears.

There was a cough from the other end of the table. Elise looked up to see Noah, who looked amused and maybe a little bit jealous. She pulled her hand away and looked around, regarding everyone in a new light.

“Are you all werewolves, then? Like a… pack?”

“No, Will is the only wolf. We’re all different animals. A motley crew, you might say.” Noah gave her a brief, but sincere, smile.

While he spoke, Will-the-wolf returned to his chair and rippled back into his human form.

“So what are you?” she asked.

“I’m a bear,” replied Noah.

Elise could see it. He was tall and broad and exuded a certain protectiveness.

“Really?” she asked, delighted. “A brown bear, or a grizzly, or…?”

“A grizzly.”

“I’m a tiger,” Tyler broke in with a grin.

“Panther,” said Oliver. His long fingers drummed on the table—elegant.

“I’m a dragon,” said Gabe.

“You’re pulling my leg. Dragons aren’t real,” said Elise.

But then again, her sense of what was possible had been greatly expanded in the last few minutes.

He gave her a small smile. “I’ll show you sometime.”

That left Cameron. “I’m a fox shifter,” she said finally, settling back in her seat. Then she turned her gaze to Noah. “So are we going to save this kid, or what?”

Elise’s mind had already turned back to what Noah had been saying before. “You’re saying the Wild Dogs can turn into animals, too?”

Noah nodded. “They’re a pack of hyenas. They’re highly territorial. They’ve ruled this area for a while now.”

“Do they know about you guys?”

He hesitated. “It’s hard to tell, but I don’t think so. We’ve kept it very quiet, and we try not to draw attention to ourselves.”

Elise mulled that over. “So you have an advantage?”

“Yes. But we don’t know how many of them there are.” Noah’s forehead creased. “We need a plan.”

* * *

We want everything to seem normal
, Noah had said.
We don’t want to tip them off that we know anything about his gang

Even after visiting the bank, that left time until their plan could be put into motion. Time that Elise would spend chewing her nails, if it weren’t for Noah grabbing her hands gently when they were alone.

His hands were large and enfolded hers completely in their warmth.

“How are you?” he asked. His worried eyes searched hers.

“I’m worried,” she replied softly, hoping this admission wouldn’t be taken as a lack of faith in him.

He drew her into his arms, so that her cheek rested against his broad, muscled chest. One of his hands came up to cup the back of her head. He smelled like sweat and grease and machines. It was strangely comforting. Then again, she couldn’t imagine any situation where being held in his arms wouldn’t be comforting.

“He’s your family. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for my crew.”

Elise was silent for a few moments. When she spoke, her voice was tentative, questioning. “Yes, but… Why would you do this for
me?
” It was easier to ask when she wasn’t looking him in the eye.

He stroked her hair. “I’ve never met anyone like you. Someone I wanted to be with, I mean. That’s a consequence of being a shifter, maybe. Sometimes you meet someone and you just know.”

Elise didn’t believe in love at first sight, but she couldn’t deny what she was feeling either. “I know what you mean,” she whispered into his chest.

“Maybe it’s crazy. I don’t know.” He turned to look at her, and she lifted her eyes to his. His gaze was brimming with something she could only call love.

“Then we’re both crazy.”

Their lips met in a soul-shattering, earth-shaking kiss that Elise felt down to the soles of her feet. His lips sought hers out, nipping and sucking. It wasn’t playful like the night before, but fiery and deeply felt.

His tongue slipped across her lower lip, and she met it with her own. The kiss deepened. Electricity zipped across her skin where they touched, new with the knowledge that he was hers, all hers, and she was his, too.

After what felt like an eternity, she ended the kiss and pressed her forehead against his, breathing deeply of him. He brushed her cheek with his knuckles in a tender gesture.

That kiss hadn’t been a prelude to sex. Instead, it was affirming, and acknowledgement of what they were to each other … and what they might be in the future.

“Are you ready?” he murmured.

Outside, the sun was low on the horizon. Elise’s heart constricted. But she wouldn’t be facing the danger alone anymore.

“I’m ready.”