Guardian Bears: Karl (3 page)

A
llison watched the men talking
, too far to actually hear what was being said. It was frustrating – she wasn’t sure what was going on but seeing Karl and the boss of the TV crew talking, she felt sure that both knew more about what was going on than she did.

I have to do some investigation of my own
, she thought.
Whatever this monster is, whatever is happening to me, I need to know. But how?

She wished she could confide in someone, could get some help. But who could she possibly trust? Kirby was a trained investigator, but she worried that he’d take any kind of invitation personally rather than professionally. The thought made her shudder. Other than him, though, who did she know who might help?

The two big men facing off against each other in the middle of the bar were both looking into the Monster, but could she trust either of them? They were both strangers. Her instincts told her to trust Karl, there was something about the big man that spoke to her in a way she didn’t understand. Something that made her want to open up to him.

That just made her more suspicious of him.
I can’t trust someone just because I have a good feeling about him
, she told herself firmly.
That’s ridiculous. Remember high school, and the boys you ‘had a good feeling about?’

The embarrassing memories of her teenage crushes gave her a firm reason not to blindly follow her feelings. The TV crew didn’t even have that going for them – they scared her on the same level that Karl attracted her, and she just wanted to be away from them.

Standing abruptly, she headed for the ladies’ room, wanting to at least have a look at the scene again.
If I can’t trust anyone else to help, I’ll just have to investigate on my own
. No one seemed to be paying her any attention as she left the bar. Everyone was watching Rick being interviewed by the blonde woman. He was making the most of it, his story growing in the telling, full of big, sweeping gestures as he described the fight between Jeremy and the Monster.

The restroom was still a mess, of course. It looked like Rick had done his best to clean it up, but he’d not had long and didn’t do a great job of it. The blood she remembered from the night before had been mopped up, at least, but the mirrors hadn’t been replaced yet. A single small mirror had been taped in place on the wall instead, and some of the larger shards of the old one still hanging were usable, but that was all.

Allison went to the window and looked at it, frowning. She had hoped, ridiculously, that the whole experience had been a dream – but now that she was back in the room, she couldn’t hold on to that. Everything matched her memory too perfectly.

Turning back to the mirrors she looked at the wreckage, wondering what she was doing there. How she could try to work out what had happened last night. Rick clearly hadn’t seen her come in, and there was no sign of any of her clothes here – but she couldn’t imagine that she’d made it through the bar naked without being spotted!

Did I come in through the window, too?
It seemed implausible, but what other explanation was there? Her mind shied away from the only other idea that occurred to her, it was too unbelievable for words.
It couldn’t have been me. Could it?

Something on the wall caught her eye, and she turned her mind away from the thought with relief. Leaning in, she could see that there was a tuft of hair caught on the remains of the mirror, just a few dark strands.

Maybe I should leave it
, she thought, wondering if it was evidence. And if it was evidence, whether she wanted it to be found. Before she could think about that too much, she yanked it off the shard of glass that trapped it and took a closer look.

It was fine, and dark, and familiar. Holding it next to her own hair and looking in the remaining mirror section, she found that she couldn’t tell the difference. She stared at it, leaning in to look closely. The color was exactly the same, identical, and it somehow
felt
the same, too.

Allison’s heart pounded and her throat was dry. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been staring into the mirror when she heard someone enter the room.

Jumping guiltily, she spun to face the entrance, finding herself face to face with Megan, the blonde woman who’d been interviewing Rick. The woman’s face was cold, hard, and her blue eyes were icy. The smile on her face didn’t look friendly at all.

“What’s that you’ve found?” The woman asked, her heels clicking on the tiled floor as she stepped closer. Allison backed away, and the woman’s smile broadened a touch.
She likes scaring me,
Allison realized, a flare of anger shooting through her at the thought. She straightened, thrusting her hand into the pocket of her jeans to hide the tuft of hair.

“None of your business,” she told the other woman. The ice-blue eyes flicked over her, down then up, and Allison felt the blonde judging her.

“You found something, didn’t you? Give it to me,” Megan said in a tone that made it clear she expected to be deferred to. It made Allison determined to do anything but give in.

She shook her head, watching those blue eyes narrow.

“If you’ve found something useful, then you’ll get the credit for it when we track down the Mayfair Monster, ma’am.” The woman’s voice was as cool as her gaze, and despite the hot day Allison found herself shivering. She shook her head.

“No thanks,” she said, “I don’t think I’m cut out for TV.”

With that she walked out the door, hand still firmly in her pocket. Megan stepped out of her way, a frown marring her perfect face. Allison contained her satisfaction at the sight of it until she was past her – no need, she thought, to annoy the woman more than she had already.

Not wanting to risk staying in the bar any longer than she had to, Allison headed straight for the door. Behind her, she heard the precise
click click click
of Megan’s heels, but a glance back showed that she wasn’t being followed. The blonde was going straight back to the bar, her attention now on her cell phone.

The evening was still bright enough to make Allison wince as she stepped into the sunlight and headed for her car. The parking lot was fuller than usual, and not just with local cars. There was the big SUV that she recognized from Karl’s visit to the sheriff’s office, as well as a van and several other cars she didn’t recognize.
Must be the TV crew’s,
she thought, walking past them to her own car. She hadn’t paid much attention on the way in, but now she frowned a little. There were too many of them for the three members of the crew she’d seen inside.

No sooner had she finished the thought than a hand grabbed her by the elbow, making her gasp in shock. Spinning, she looked up at a wiry man wearing dark glasses, a smile on his face. It looked as though he was trying to be reassuring, but it really wasn’t working. The man was dressed for the outdoors, a hat keeping the sun off him, and he had the hard look of someone used to a tough life.

“Sorry to startle you, miss,” he said, sounding anything but sorry. “Megan told me you had something for me, is all. Evidence about the Mayfair Monster?”

She stepped backward, looking around. There was another stranger behind the first man, leaning on a car, and as she glanced towards the bar her heart sank. She’d hoped that she’d see someone local leaving the bar, someone who would help. But instead, she saw the man who’d arrived with the cameraman approaching. His smile looked more polished, more genuine, but it didn’t make her any more comfortable.

His long stride devoured the distance between them. She looked up at the man who’d grabbed her, and he grinned.

“Let go of me,” she said, trying to focus on her anger over her sudden fear. It would be insane for them to do anything to her here, with so many witnesses so close. But then, some people were insane, and the way the three men looked at her didn’t reassure her at all.

“Matt, why don’t you do as the woman asks,” the approaching man said, tone entirely reasonable and friendly. “We’re all friends here, after all. We all want to find the Monster.”

As the man at her side let go, she turned to face the newcomer. “I’m not your friend,” she told him. “And who the hell do you think you are?”

“My name’s Damian,” he told her, chuckling nastily, entirely unimpressed by her anger. “And I hunt monsters, so you can give up on trying to intimidate me. I’ve seen far worse than you, little lady.”

That stung. Allison glared at him, suddenly certain she’d made the right choice in walking away from Megan – confiding in someone who’d speak to her like that couldn’t have been a good idea. And the way he spoke about monster hunting, she didn’t think that the main aim was catching one on camera.

Forcing herself to relax, she spoke quietly but firmly. “I wouldn’t be so quick – you might not be scared of me, but I work for the sheriff.”

That was stretching it a little, but ‘working in the deputy’s office’ wouldn’t sound as intimidating. At her comments, the men exchanged glances, but they didn’t back off. In fact, Damian took a step closer, forcing her back against her car.

“Good for you,” he said. “But he doesn’t intimidate me either, I’m afraid. So why don’t you give me whatever it is you’re trying to hide in that pocket, and we’ll all go our separate ways, okay? We don’t need trouble with the sheriff, but you
really
don’t want any trouble with us.”

He held out his hand, palm up, and Allison bit her lip, trying to think of what to do. It didn’t look like they would take no for an answer, and they had her surrounded.
Maybe I should shout for help?
She glanced at the Blackrock Bar’s door, all too far away, and swallowed. Probably they’d just walk off if she called out.
Probably
. But if they wanted to do something worse, they’d have time before anyone reached them.

And they looked crazy enough that she didn’t want to take the risk. Looking up into Damian’s eyes again, she saw no fear at all, just the dark amusement of a man holding prey at bay. She certainly didn’t want to hand over the hair sample to these crazy hunters, not when it looked like it might link her to the scene. God alone knew what they’d make of that!

“What’s going on here?” The voice was hard, angry, and deep. Her eyes snapped back to the bar’s door, and there, striding towards the confrontation, was Karl.

* * *

S
triding out of the bar
, Karl felt his blood boil. The men surrounding Allison all looked up at the angry tone in his voice, and he didn’t blame them. The threat was very real, and he was having difficulty keeping his bear in check.

Something had drawn him out of the bar when Damian had left. He hadn’t known what it was, but his bear had insisted. It meant pushing past the camera man, and now he was certain that the way the man had blocked the exit wasn’t an accident. Now he could see that the filming was at least partly an excuse to keep people inside and let their boss hassle Allison.

And that made Karl very, very angry.

“Nothing to do with you,” Damian said, turning around to meet him. “You get on your way and we’ll be finished up here soon enough.”

“You’re finished now,” Karl growled. “The lady doesn’t want to talk to you, so back off. Unless you want me to
make
you back off.”

He half-hoped they’d take him up on that offer. There might be three of them here in the parking lot, but he knew that he could take them all if he had to. If not in his human form, his bear was itching for a fight, and these three wouldn’t stand a chance against the giant predator he could become.

It would be so easy to change forms and deal with this, and he could feel his body wanting to shift. It took an effort of will not to give in to that temptation, but he knew it would be a foolish thing to do. It would just confirm the existence of shifters to them unless he got rid of all the witnesses, and it wasn’t as though they’d done anything deserving of death.

The predator part of his soul didn’t see it like that, though. It saw people threatening Allison and wanted to
hurt
them, no matter the risks.

“We don’t want any trouble with you,” Damian said, spreading his hands and smiling. There was still no fear on his face, though he did step away from Allison, giving her some space. The other two men looked at each other and then up at Karl, more nervously. But they didn’t look like the types to take the hint from their fears. More likely they’d respond to fear with anger and lash out.

Karl looked between the three of them, lips drawn back in a snarl. “In that case, I suggest that you leave. None of us want any trouble, but if you hassle her, you’ll get some anyway.”

Another step forward, and now he was up close. Close enough to intimidate, though Damian didn’t take any notice of that. He met Karl’s gaze with a calmness that Karl found a little disconcerting. Even other bear shifters tended to be a little nervous at his gaze.

“We’re here to help this town, and everyone in it,” Damian said, still smiling. “There’s a monster out here. We’re going to find it, expose it to the world, show everyone what’s hiding in the shadows around them. And she knows more about it than she’s letting on.”