Unbearable: Russet Falls Series (10 page)

“No.”

Gabby gulped. “Zane. What are you doing?”

“I’m taking you somewhere safe.”

“Huh?”

“Please, don’t ask any questions,” he said, visibly
struggling to talk.

“Where the fuck are you going?” she burst out, gripping the
door. She did not sign up for this bullshit. The past few days had been out of
control, and she had had just about enough crazy to last her a lifetime.

Zane seemed to relax just a bit, and Gabby could swear that
she had seen him smile slightly.

The son of a bitch.

“I’m taking you to the park.”

He must be kidding.

“The park?” she asked incredulously. “For what?”

He gripped the steering wheel tightly. “Just trust me,
alright? I need to go there and talk to my boss.”

“What the hell does your boss have to do with it? Does he
know the guy?”

“He might, okay? Let me just get you there and keep you safe
so I can sort this out.”

Gabby took a deep breath, but she could feel herself about
to blow. “Look. I really appreciate you helping me, honestly I do. I swear that
wacko was about to kill me. But I really don’t think taking me to the park
office is going to do a bit of good. We need to turn around and go to the
police.”

Zane glanced over at Gabby and then fixed his eyes back on
the road.

They were nearly at the park.

“Sorry. No can do.”

Zane was trying as hard as he possibly could to focus on the
task at hand—getting Gabby to the park office in one piece. His bear was
roaring angrily for its release and Zane had to focus every ounce of energy on
not shifting while driving and killing them both in the process.

He could still smell the stench of that stupid fucker, and
the bear was lucky that Zane hadn’t ripped out his fucking throat after he had
dragged him out of that hotel lobby.

Zane had been leaving and was already driving away when he
picked up the other bear’s scent. Given all the strangeness with the
trespassers over the past few days and Gabby’s possible involvement, he didn’t
think twice before racing back to the hotel. And thank God he had, because
there was that stinking bear, standing over Gabby with a knife.

What was with her?

He couldn’t be sure if the bear was Cruentus or Atrocitas,
but it didn’t fucking matter to him. Right now he needed to focus on getting
Gabby back to the park office where she would be safe, and where he could talk
to Michael. He didn’t care what Michael said, there was no way that this was a
coincidence.

He also took some satisfaction from the fact that he was
probably right about the bears and Gabby from the beginning.

He glanced over at Gabby, who looked like she was ready to
push open the passenger door and roll out onto the pavement.

Not good.

She clearly wasn’t happy that he had lied about going to the
police station and was now taking her back to the office against her will.

Too fucking bad.

He pulled into the parking lot and whipped the car
haphazardly into a spot.

Gabby exploded. “I’m not going in there!” she raged,
crossing her arms across her chest like a child.

He didn’t have time for this shit. He needed to get her
inside before another possible attack. With her now on the grounds, who knew
what the hell was going to happen.

“Then I’m going to drag your ass of out this car, and I
don’t care if you kick and scream.” He got out, slammed his door and walked
around to her side before yanking the door open. “Are you coming?” he snapped.

“This is bullshit!” she hissed. “I could have you arrested
for kidnapping.”

“Sure, you could do that. But if you get killed before then,
it’s not going to make a damn difference, is it?”

Gabby muttered something about an egotistical asshole, but
she got out of the car and stomped after Zane as he climbed the hill towards
the office.

“What is going on?” Michael demanded, stepping out into the
foyer as he sized up the situation.

“We need to talk,” Zane said. “Alone,” he added, not wanting
to say anything in front of Gabby.

Michael nodded, and Zane knew he probably glimpsed enough
from his own thoughts.

“Upstairs,” Michael said, before disappearing into his
office.

“Follow me,” Zane said, moving towards the steps.

Gabby stayed root in her spot. “What? And go upstairs? I
don’t think so. How do I know you aren’t going to rape me or something?”

“Really?” He rolled his eyes. “I don’t have time for this,
Gabby. Let’s go.”

“And then what? Why the hell am I here?”

“I told you,” he snapped, “It’s for your own damn
protection! Now stop being such a pain in the ass and get upstairs.”

“I am not some child you can order around,” she lashed out,
but she went up the stairs, regardless.

Zane strode down the upstairs hallway, and he nearly growled
at the scent which filled his nostrils. Gabby turned to stare at him.

Shit. He was too close to exposing his bear. He needed to
get a fucking grip.

“Is something wrong?”

“Everything is fine,” he said through gritted teeth. Michael
could have at least given him a fucking warning.

He pushed the second door on the right open and prepared
himself.

There, pacing near the back of the room, was Alicia.

His ex-fiancé.

The woman who had smashed his heart into a million tiny pieces.

“Zane!” she exclaimed, clearly surprised by his presence.

“Alicia,” he said tightly.

The awkward exchange wasn’t lost on Gabby as she looked from
Alicia to Zane. Grayson was also there, along with Quentin. Mick, another
member of the clan was there, too. Zane didn’t care much for Mick, mostly
because he seemed to be up Grayson’s ass all the time.

“What’s going on?” Quentin asked, striding over to Gabby.

“I can’t talk about it,” Zane said, hating how cryptic he sounded.

“Okay, no prob. What do you need from us?”

At least Quentin wasn’t a dick.

“I need you guys to keep her safe while I go talk to
Michael.”

“I’m right here,” Gabby interrupted. “I can hear you.”

“I know,” Zane said, irritated, and he didn’t miss Alicia
raising her eyebrows.

“And my name is Gabby,” she added, her voice dripping with
annoyance.

“Wait,” Grayson said slowly, looking Gabby over carefully.
“Is she-”

“Yes,” Zane cut him off sharply.

“Did something else-’’ Grayson started, but the look Zane
gave him caused him to shut up immediately.

“I’ll be back,” Zane said “And don’t let her out of your
sight.”

“Seriously?” Gabby yelled, hurrying after Zane as he started
to leave. “You’re just going to leave me with these people? I don’t even know
who they are!”

“Hey, it’s fine,” Alicia said softly, approaching her. “I’m
Alicia.”

“Zane!” Gabby yelled, ignoring Alicia. “Who the hell are
these people? Where are you going?”

“They’re my cousins,” he said dryly, and then he pulled the
door closed behind him and made his way down the hallway. He couldn’t help but
smirk at the hell he knew Gabby was going to give the others.

Oh well.

Let someone else deal with her for bit. He got great
pleasure from the fact that Gabby was probably going to drive Grayson up the
fucking wall.

His smirk died on his face when he saw Michael pacing at the
bottom of the stairs.

“What the fuck is going on?” he barked.

“I have no idea,” Zane said, following Michael, who was now
walking briskly toward his office. They stepped inside, and Michael slammed the
door, running his hand through his messy, dark hair. He normally looked more
pulled together, but Zane could see the toll this was taking on him. Zane
quickly recounted what had happened.

“And you’re certain that he was trying to kill her?” Michael
asked when he was finished.

“I’m positive. He went to her work. She was the only one in
the hotel lobby. There’s no doubt.”

“Why? Why?” Michael asked.

Zane hesitated. “I’m not sure, but I feel like there has to
be a connection between the bear chasing her in the woods and the trespassing
Cruentus.”

Michael shook his head. “I didn’t want to believe it, but I
feel like I can’t ignore the evidence now. But why? What the hell is it?”

Zane shook his head, at a loss.

“We’re sure that she’s not a shifter?”

“There’s no way. We would have smelled her blood
immediately.”

Michael nodded. “Right. We should have.” He paced the floor.
“Could it have a connection to the cubs being killed?”

“I wondered that, too,” Zane said, “But how?”

“I have no idea,” Michael said, exasperated. “Like we don’t
have enough to worry about with our damn blood being diluted and the cubs being
killed. We’re all going to be extinct at this rate!” he nearly bellowed,
slamming his fist down on his desk. He took a deep breath. “Until we figure
this out, we need to keep surveillance on her. I’m not sure what the connection
is, but I don’t see any other way.”

“Like we have time for that,” Zane scoffed.

“No shit. I don’t even know if she’s our damn problem. But
it seems that if she’s not protected, then the other clans will be after her,
for whatever reason. Could you tell if was Cruentus or Atrocitas?”

“I couldn’t tell. My thought was Cruentus though. Again.”
Zane remembered something. “She said the attacker mentioned her not being protected.”

Michael snapped his head back around. “Meaning we had been
protecting her?”

“I’m not sure. But what else? I protected her in the woods,
and then we offered her protection here when the Cruentus were on our land.”

“Damn!” Michael cursed. “Then we need to keep an eye on her
until we have it figured out.” He sat down, clearly tired. “Have a seat. We
need a plan. That’s the only way we’re going to get to the bottom of this
fucking mess.”

Gabby glanced around the room, not having any idea who the
hell these people were. For all she knew, Zane had left her with a bunch of
mass murderers.

“Hey,” Alicia said again, “Like I said, I’m Alicia. And this
here is Grayson,” she pointed to a tall man with light brown hair and light
eyes. “This is Quentin,” she explained, pointing to another tall and broad man
with a buzz cut. “And that’s Mick,” she said, pointing to the guy in the
corner. He was more wiry than the other two men, but he would certainly be large
compared to most others.

“What the hell do they feed all of you?” Gabby muttered, and
Alicia chuckled. Gabby fixed her eyes on Alicia. She was very pretty, in that
storybook kind of way. She was tall and willowy, with long, soft blonde waves
of hair and a creamy complexion. She had pale green eyes, and heart shaped
lips—she looked like she could easily exist in another time period if only she
were dressed in some long, frilly gown. Gabby couldn’t help but wonder if there
was any substance to her, or if she simply floated through life.

“And you all are Zane’s family?” Gabby asked dryly. That was
bullshit. She didn’t know who these people were, but they certainly weren’t
family.

Alicia laughed again, her laugh having an almost musical
quality. “Something like that.”

Grayson scoffed and Gabby looked over at him. He walked over
and put his arm around Alicia’s waist and pulled her to him. Gabby rolled her
eyes and walked over to a chair by a window. She flopped down and looked
outside at the grounds. At least the view was nice.

“So what? I just sit here now until Zane comes back for me?”

“I guess,” Quentin said, moving towards her. “Sorry we can’t
give you anymore information. Did something happen today? What made Zane bring
you here?”

Gabby couldn’t understand what this strange group of people had
been doing up in this room, but maybe they all worked for the park.

She rolled her neck, hearing it crack and then looked out
into the parklands. “I was nearly killed today.” She pursed her lips. “For the
second time this week,” she added flatly.

She turned around to look at the others, and they were
exchanging looks.

“What?” she demanded.

“Can you tell us what happened?” Alicia asked.

“What, today?” Gabby challenged. “Today some lunatic showed
up at my job with a knife and cornered me. The other day, some big ass bear
started chasing me.”

Everyone exchanged looks again.

“What?” Gabby demanded, jumping up. “Do you all know
something that I don’t know?”

“No, no,” Alicia said quickly, coming towards her. “Just
have a seat. I’m sure Zane will straighten it all out.”

“Yeah, sure,” Grayson said sarcastically.

“Shut up, Grayson,” Alicia shot back.

“Enough,” Quentin ordered. “It seems like Gabby has been
through an ordeal. Let’s leave her alone.”

Alicia and Grayson sat back down at the table in the room,
and Quentin sat with them. They began talking in low tones, though Gabby could
care less. She closed her eyes, her tired to her bones.

After a few minutes she had the strange feeling that she was
being watched, and when she opened her eyes she saw Mick sitting in the chair
across from her.

“Geez! You scared me,” she complained, sitting up straighter
in the chair.

Mick stared hard at her, and Gabby shifted uncomfortably.

“Where do you work?” he asked.

“The Russet Falls Hotel,” she said slowly.

“And some guy came in and tried to kill you?”

“Yep. Pretty much.” She closed her eyes, hoping that he
would get the point; she wasn’t in the mood to talk.

She waited thirty seconds before she opened them again.

Sure enough, he was still sitting there.

“What?” she demanded, not caring if she seemed rude. The
other three were still involved in their conversation over at the table.

Mick shook his head. “Nothing, sorry. I’ll leave you alone.”
He got up and started to walk away before turning back to her. “So, are you and
Zane like an item or something?”

Seriously? When would this circus end?

“No.” She said flatly. “And I have no intention of that.”
Except a small voice in the back of her brain said that she might pretend she
has no interest, but she sure as hell was into making out with him.

“Really?”

“Yes, really. Now, without meaning to sound rude, I would
really like to just be alone for a few minutes.” She glanced towards the door.
If Zane didn’t come back soon she was going to freak the hell out.

“So, if you and Zane aren’t together, could I take you out
sometime?”

She gritted her teeth. Like she needed this crap.

“Thanks but no thanks.” She physically turned her back to
him. She had just about reached her limit for crazy. She was locked in a room
with four strangers and now one of them was coming on to her.

“Oh, come on. Give me a chance.”

She kept her back to him, taking three deep breaths and
counting to ten. She could be calm. Really, she could. It didn’t matter that
she seemed to be in the nut house.

“Aww, what? You aren’t going to answer me now?” He prodded,
seemingly finding the whole exchange humorous.

“Take a clue,” she muttered.

“Now, don’t be like that. I promise I’ll treat you good.”

That was it.

“Seriously?” she exploded, turning around. That got the
attention of the others, and their conversation stopped. “What part of
no
don’t you get?”

“Aww, come on. I was only teasing you. Don’t be so touchy,”
he cajoled.

Anger, exhaustion, and annoyance coursed through Gabby’s
body as she tore into Mick.

“I don’t know why the hell I’m here! I want out of this damn
room! I don’t know what Zane is doing or why he brought me here, but I’ve had
enough! And you,
Mick,
” she practically snarled his name, “need to leave
me
the hell alone!
”

She watched as Mick seemed to physically recoil from her, as
if an invisible hand had pushed him back. Strangely, the other three also
seemed to have a physical reaction to her words; they all seemed to experience
some type of invisible wave through their bodies before they seemed to right
themselves.

They all stared at Gabby with amazement, wonder, and what
else? Could that be fear?

“Whoa,” Alicia breathed.

Quentin and Mick just stared at her as if she were an alien.

“What the fuck?” hissed Grayson, making the first movement
as he stumbled from behind the desk and came to face her.

Gabby stared at him. She wasn’t sure what it was, but something
about her words had felt…
powerful.

“What are you?” Grayson demanded, his eyes flashing.

This got Gabby’s attention. “Excuse me?”

“What. Are. You?” he asked between clenched teeth.

“I don’t know what you mean!” she shot back, feeling
somewhat frightened. Something had just happened, though she wasn’t sure what
it was.

“Grayson,” Alicia said quietly, moving beside him and gently
touching his arm.

He flinched from her touch. “No! There’s something she isn’t
telling us.”

Gabby stared, wide-eyed.

“What aren’t you telling us?” he asked, his voice harsh.

“Grayson!” Alicia said sharply. “Look at her. She has no
idea. Stop.” Her tone was hard, and Grayson looked back and forth between
Alicia and Gabby.

“This is bullshit,” he exclaimed, stalking out of the room
and slamming the door behind him.

Alicia sighed. “I’m sorry,” she apologized.

“What is going on?” Gabby asked slowly.

“I’m not really sure. And even if I was, I don’t think I
could say anything.”

“What the hell? Why is everyone tip-toeing around me?”

Alicia exchanged looks with Quentin; he shook his head.

“What?” Gabby demanded, feeling panic rise inside of her.
Something was definitely going on, and no one would tell her what was
happening.

“Listen, I’m sure Zane will be back up in a few minutes, and
we can get everything sorted out,” Alicia said.

Gabby looked over at Mick, who was now in the corner,
watching her cautiously. Why were they treating her so strangely now?

She didn’t have time to think any more because Zane and Michael
came rushing into the room with Grayson on their heels. All three men looked
agitated.

“Finally!” Gabby exclaimed. “Get me the hell out of here.”
Michael looked like he was going to object, but Gabby cut him off. “And if you
don’t let me out of here now, I am going to seriously flip the fuck out.”

Michael and Zane exchanged looks.

“Fine,’’ Zane agreed, “Let’s go.”

They left the room together, but not before Gabby overhead
Michael ask, “Are you sure?”

Once they were outside and walking towards the park office
car, Gabby finally spoke up. “Is someone going to tell me what the hell is
going on?”

Zane’s face clouded over. “I don’t know what you’re talking
about.”

“Bull shit!” she snapped. “Something just happened upstairs,
and suddenly everyone starting treating me like some kind of freak.”

“What do you think happened?” Zane asked, glancing over at
Gabby as they got into the car.

“I have no idea. I told that weirdo Mick to leave me alone and
then—then,” she faltered, “I don’t know. You wouldn’t believe me even if I told
you.”

“Try,” Zane whispered.

“It was like—like they all had some physical reaction to
me.” Now she felt crazy. “I’m losing it.”

Zane remained quiet.

“Let’s go get your car,” he finally said.

“That’s it? No thoughts? No observation?” she asked
sarcastically.

He pursed his lips. “No.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I think you need some rest,” he said slowly.

Gabby crossed her arms and looked out the window. She wanted
out of this car and away from Zane. She didn’t care how sexy he was, or how
badly she wanted to kiss him again, she just wanted out of his car and away
from the park.

“Yeah, rest,” she agreed through gritted teeth. “That’s just
what I need.” She couldn’t hide the disgust in her voice.