Stone Bear: Sentinel (A BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (Stone Bears Book 1) (12 page)

***

“Holy hell,” she breathed as her SUV wound down the S-shaped driveway that led from the main road to the gravel parking lot out in front of the Tongue & Flame. This was her first time seeing the bar since it had been destroyed, and although she had only passed by it once before, never having actually entered it, the evidence of destruction and repair was clear. Several parts of the two walls she could see looked brand new, and the deck out front was still under construction. Or re-construction, she supposed.

Part of her didn’t even want to go inside. If the outside had needed this much work, she wondered if the inside was even still functional. But the “Open” sign was on, which meant that Ferro was at least there, though she wondered just how busy he was these days.

She took a quick glance around, but didn’t see Gabriel’s truck anywhere. That meant she was early, but perhaps that was a good thing. It would give her an opportunity to talk to Ferro without him around. The two of them had a prior relationship, she knew, which could help, but it almost might be a hindrance. Ferro might feel more compelled to talk to someone of “official” status than he would an old friend. If not, she would let Gabriel do the talking, but doing it her way wouldn’t hurt.

There were duel wooden swinging doors that moved easily as she pushed them inward, exposing the brightly lit interior. It was still a work in progress, but the ceiling looked to be almost complete. She recalled having heard of it as a dark and dingy dive bar, so the brightness caught her off guard.

Only part of the floor was finished, but it conveniently led from the door where she stood directly to the bar, along the middle of the left-hand side of the bar. She surreptitiously surveyed the bar as best she could while moving to stand in front of the giant piece of mahogany that covered the surface. It had been shined to a beautiful sheen, and she kept her hands on the raised front piece to avoid marking it up.

There were only two people in the bar that she could see. The man behind the bar had to be Ferro, since he matched every description she’d heard of him. The other man she didn’t know, however. That didn’t mean much because of how new she was to Genesis Valley, but she still didn’t like it. There was no way for her to determine if she could talk while he was around or not.

The bar itself was a block U-shape, with the long side facing out into the rest of the bar. She took a seat along the short side nearest her, which also happened to be the complete opposite end from the other man.

Ferro stared at her for a long time before he approached, one hand holding a towel that constantly wiped the mug in his other hand, though it was long since dry.

“What can I do for you miss?” he asked politely.

“I’ve been told that the house beer here is excellent. Are you still producing it these days?” she asked, looking around at the damage.

“Of course,” he said with a nod, setting the glass down in front of her. He walked smoothly back to the middle of the bar and grabbed a brown bottle. One deft twist of his hand and the lid went spinning neatly into a recycling bin at his feet. The entire process took no more than five seconds before he was pouring the bottle into the mug.

He spoke once more, his voice much lower. “How can I help you today?”

Her eyes wanted to narrow, but she kept a straight face. “I work for the Mining Consortium, LMC,” she told him.

He nodded in understanding, but didn’t speak. She had a feeling that he preferred to speak as little as possible, which meant that the words he had already spoken must have had great import to them.

Could he possibly know why I’m here?
Caia wasn’t sure how to proceed from there. She had been hoping to get Ferro on his own, but something told her that wouldn’t be feasible. She would have to dance around the subject.

“I was just looking for some peace and quiet,” she said at last. “I work as an assistant for Marcus and Valen Kedyn. I’m sure you know who they are.”

She saw the understanding in Ferro’s eyes as to her true point. Of course Ferro knew who they were. He recognized that she wasn’t truly as oblivious as she was pretending to be. By acknowledging that he knew who they were, he understood that she was referring to the fact that they were gryphon shifters. Which meant she was here because he was a dragon shifter.

Or at least, she hoped he realized that.

“I’ve met them a time or two, yes. Good folks,” he said. “Like me, if they can help you out, they will.”

Caia forced herself to remain calm. Had his eyes truly flicked over at the other man, or had she imagined it?

“True. I’m actually really enjoying working for them so far. Only thing they can’t help me with is finding a place to relax. I was told that this was a good place for that.”

Ferro’s eyes
definitely
flicked over to his shoulder toward the other man. It was so slight she would have missed it again if she hadn’t been looking for it.

“Well, you may have been steered wrong there,” he said, chuckling, though the laugh didn’t extend to his eyes. “I’m not sure I can help you.” He paused. “The Jade and Emerald crews are likely to be here later, and it can get pretty rowdy when they are.”

She nodded. Caia was fairly certain she knew what he was saying. There was nothing more to be said, so she downed her drink, and pulled out her wallet.

“It’s okay, it’s on the house today. I feel bad that I can’t help you out with your quest for quiet, but my hands are tied. They always come by shortly after five, and after what happened, well... I can’t say no.”

She blinked, then nodded.

“Thank you. Is there a better time for me to come by?” she asked.

“If there is, I’ll let you know,” he said.

“Thank you.” She turned to go, just as the door banged open.

It was Gabriel.

“Hey Ferro!” he shouted across the floor.

Shit.

She needed to get him out of the bar, and quickly. If he spoke about their reason for being there out loud, things would go badly.

Before she knew what she was doing, Caia was halfway across the bar, bearing down on Gabriel.

She needed to shut him up, whatever it took.

Gabriel

Gabriel went to greet Caia next, but he didn’t get a chance.

“Hello sexy,” she purred, walking straight up to him, grabbing his collar and pulling his face down to her level, where she pressed her lips against his firmly.

His eyebrows raised and then furrowed in surprise and confusion, before relaxing as he gave in to the kiss.

His brain worked furiously as their lips pressed together. He could taste the last lingering bits of Ferro’s house beer on her breath, and for whatever reason, that drove him more insane with desire.

After several moments, she pulled back slightly. He badly wanted to speak, but his delirium-addled brain had managed to work through the fact that if she was kissing him like this in public, there had to be a reason for it, and that he should probably shut up and let her explain it.

“Uh... hi,” he said with a lopsided grin.

She promptly kissed him again. This time he got the idea that perhaps she was doing it for fun.

“Did you get my text?” she asked, pulling back after another moment.

He shook his head. “I don’t think so?” Gabriel pulled out his phone at the same moment she did, and checked it. “No, I didn’t get a thing.”

“That’s weird,” she said, tapping away at her phone. “It looks like it sent.”

His phone buzzed. “Oh, weird. I just got it now.”

“Yeah, I re-sent it,” she said. They weren’t talking overly loud, but loud enough that a dragon shifter could hear them.

Gabriel opened it, and forced his eyes to stay calm.

Place compromised. Can’t speak inside.

“Really? You want to do that? Right now?”

Her face reddened at the suggestiveness in his tone. “The kitchen is still under construction and Ferro isn’t serving any food yet, so we’ll have to go somewhere else for dinner.”

“Okay, well I guess we’ll go to your place then,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Take me home,” she growled, deciding to roll with his teasing and started pushing him toward the door. “I’ve been waiting all day for you.”

“As you wish,” he said, turning and heading for the door. He tossed a wave over his shoulder to Ferro, though he didn’t notice if the bartender even saw it.

The moment the doors to the truck closed around them, Caia attacked him once more, her hands moving frantically over his body.

He grabbed hold of her and returned the favor, his hands roaming everywhere. Whatever else might be going on, she was his, and he would take any chance he could to ravish her.

After a few more moments of frenzied passion, he pulled back and punched the ignition button on his truck’s dash. It seemed a bit over the top technology-wise, but he loved the feature.

“Okay, so what’s going on?” he asked as the truck backed out of the parking lot. “And where am I actually going?”

“Just stay here for a bit, then we’ll take both vehicles back to my place, and maybe I will do that to you,” she said with an exaggerated wink.

“Do what?” he asked.

“Whatever you want.” Her tongue flicked out and wet her lips while she stared right at him.

“Oh, okay.”

Her grin widened for a second, then disappeared completely.

“Ferro can’t talk. Whoever that other man is, he’s not there because Ferro wants him there.”

“Luthor? What’s wrong with him? I always got a good impression from him,” Gabriel said, thoroughly confused.

Caia recanted her conversation with Ferro quickly. “What I got from that is that he can’t speak freely, and he can’t help us, because something happened that’s forcing him to cooperate with them somehow.”

“With who?”

“Them. Whoever it is that’s behind all this. I don’t get it,” she said, turning to face forward, though her hand drifted across the console and began to caress his upper leg as she talked. “Who is Luthor?”

“I’m not sure,” he said, the last word trailing off abruptly as her delicate fingers swept up the inside of his leg, carefully tracing an outline in his jeans.

“He must be a somebody,” she pressed. “How else would he be able to prevent Ferro from talking simply by being there? Could he be another dragon shifter?”

Gabriel was having a hard time focusing on the subject at hand as her hand continued to swirl around between his legs, but there was something to what she was saying.

“I think we’re in over our heads,” he stated. “This, all the odd goings on, and us.”

“And us?” Her hand paused in its motion, much to his disappointment.

“Whatever’s going on between us is more serious than simple sexual attraction,” he stated flatly, no longer bothering to conceal it. “I care for you. A lot.”

She blushed. It was hard for him to see in the dark, but she ducked her head and her cheeks darkened slightly. “I feel strongly for you,” she admitted quietly.

“I’m not comfortable with you staying involved in this,” he said bluntly, then rushed on as she prepared to protest. “Can you honestly expect me to be?”

Her jaw snapped shut. “That’s not fair,” she complained.

“I never said it was. I’m not that dumb. I know you, and I know you’re strong. But this is Genesis Valley. There’s no police force to protect you. It takes one hard swipe from a shifter to break your neck. They don’t even have to be in their animal form either. Life doesn’t matter to them as much as it does to you. And your life matters a lot more to me than your pride at being strong in a situation like this. We’re outclassed, Caia, admit it.”

She looked unhappy, but she nodded.

“I’m not asking you to get out of the Valley until this whole thing is dragged into the open and dealt with. Just promise me that you won’t do anything rash or stupid that might get you killed. Promise me that you will always think things through from the perspective of the shifters involved before you do something.”

“I promise, Gabriel. That I can promise.”

“Good. Because I love you, and I don’t want to lose you,” he said, meeting her eyes as he uttered the words that had occupied so many of his thoughts lately.

“Oh Gabriel,” she whispered. “I love you too. I wasn’t sure until just now, but I do. I love you so much.”

He leaned across the center console and snaked his hand behind her head, pulling her in close to him. Their kiss was tender and gentle, a thing built from their emotions, not their desires. It lingered on, neither of them willing to part as they realized that whatever was going on in Genesis Valley was far larger than either of them were prepared to handle, even together.

“What do we do?” she whispered. He could sense the fear in her. It didn’t bother him. He was glad to know she was afraid, because he could also tell that she wasn’t letting it rule her. Her fear was there, but she had harnessed it, and was using it to make her stronger. There was a word for that, he thought to himself.

Courage.

And his mate had it in spades. He smiled fiercely, knowing she would never completely understand why.

“We need to find more people on our side to bring them in and get their perspectives. Who knows how far this extends, and how many people are in its web? So we need more people we can trust.”

“The Kedyns are out,” she said bluntly. “The more I think about it, the more I think Marcus directed me to Ferro the way he did because there’s something that has sway over him as well, something that he can’t speak openly about. I think Ferro knows it too.”

“There are very few things that would hold sway over those two,” Gabriel said solemnly.

“Dragons.”

He nodded, not wanting to say more.

“Shit.”

He snorted at the understatement.

“Who do we talk to then?” she asked.

“We start with Ajax,” he responded instantly.

“Why him?”

“We can’t go to Michael or Marcel. They’re too far removed from everything. They and their crews don’t give a damn, and they would probably go and report us to Marcus anyway, which wouldn’t exactly help. Ajax is a strong Alpha, and he hides an extremely intelligent mind as well. If anyone can be trusted, I think he’s the one.”

“Where do we find him?”

Gabriel gunned the truck up the incline toward the main road.

“Silverlake Resort. It’s their territory. A campground on a lake. Beautiful place really.”

“Okay. Who else can we bring in? What about Garrett?”

“I don’t know,” he responded.

“Why not? He seems like a good person.”

“He is. But he’s close to the issue at hand. Evan is his second. And Garrett can’t remember his life leading up to a few months ago. Maybe that’s related to everything going on.”

Caia pursed her lips thoughtfully as he laid out his train of thought.

“It could be related, but I think we may have to give him the benefit of the doubt.”

“Why?”

“I’m not sure,” she said slowly. “It just seems like the right thing. We can ask Ajax what he thinks.”

“Agreed.”

They sat back in silence as the truck flew down the road, headed as fast as he dared toward Emerald Crew territory.

“Why are you stopping?” Caia asked as they rolled up to a sign that read
Silverlake Resort, Home of the Silvertips
. The dual-naming convention for the crews had screwed her up at first, but after a few days of jumping back and forth between the terminologies, it no longer bothered her. She knew that the Emerald Crew was formally known as the Silvertips, so the sign told her they weren’t lost, but in fact exactly where they should be.

“This is Silvertip territory. It’s not polite for another bear to go charging into a crew’s territory without permission when in human form.”

“And in animal form?” she asked slowly as his words sunk in.

“A shifter can be ended for that,” he said bluntly, not reacting to the surprise that was evident on her face. “I told you, life isn’t valued the same here in the Valley as it is elsewhere. You need to really let that sink in, Caia. We look like humans, but the biggest lesson you can learn is to remember that we aren’t.”

“I don’t think you’re all that bad.”

He stared at her while the truck idled, waiting for someone to greet them. “I ended a man in the mountains the other day and would have ended another, but Michael got to him first.”

“What?!” her voice exploded inside the cabin.

“He attacked me with a pickaxe.”

“So you killed him?”

“He ended himself,” Gabriel said, using the shifter terminology. “He chose to attack me. I didn’t force him to.”

“But what about a trial and imprisonment?”

He shrugged. “Not our thing. If you come to the Valley, you’re already in prison, effectively. If you fuck up again, there’s no more room for you here.”

Caia looked horrified, but he could see her brain working behind it all. “Why are you telling me this? I know you aren’t bragging. That’s not you.”

“No, I’m not bragging,” he confirmed. “But I am telling you that, because I want you to understand just how casually life can be extinguished here. So that it really sinks home with you and that you take the proper measures to ensure that you stay alive. Because I couldn’t bear to lose you.”

He swallowed at the last statement, trying hard to maintain his composure as he thought about life without the vibrant, energetic woman by his side. It wasn’t a pretty picture.

“But if that’s the case, how come you had no problem charging into the Sapphire apartments, not once, but twice?” she asked.

“City property doesn’t count. Those buildings don’t belong to them. This,” he waved his hand around, “belongs to the Silvertips. Those apartments are really the only place I can pull that stunt, which is why I have such fun doing it,” he said, giving her a big smile.

A bear appeared in front of them, shuffling out of the woods on the driver’s side, twenty or thirty feet in front of them. It evaluated them for a moment before shifting back into human form.

“What do you want?” he called out, not approaching any closer.

“It’s Gabriel. I need to speak with Ajax.”

The shifter seemed to consider it a moment, then waved him on in.

“He’s in his office, you know which one that is?”

Gabriel nodded and they drove on in.

The forest was dotted with little cottages that became denser as they got closer to the lake. Gabriel pulled up in front of the biggest one.

“This is beautiful,” Caia said as they exited the truck. She pulled her jacket tighter against the cool breeze that blew in over the lake.

“They definitely lucked out with this spot,” he said, throwing an arm around her and bringing her close as they walked up to the wood cottage that served as Ajax’s office.

“Come in,” came the reply to his quick, firm raps on the door.

Turning the handle, he opened the door and ushered Caia in ahead of him to get her out of the cold.

“Gabriel,” Ajax said, rising from behind his desk to come greet him.