Bear to the Bone(57)

If it hadn’t been for his fight with Carrie, he probably wouldn’t have come to the bar. Which was stupid in hindsight. After Pete told him the bar’s importance, he’d been dumb enough to think he trusted him to get the bar under their care and could wait until then.

Cage crouched behind the desk, wondering if they planned to take their chances on opening the door. The box was in his hands. Soon, it wouldn’t matter if they found him or how many of them there were. The pictures would be in the right hands.

The door to the office swung open, and Cage faced them. He hoped he had taken as many photos as they needed.

Pete glared at him, eyes widening. His hair was mussed from a long ride, and his leather was dusty. Beside him, Harvey and another officer folded their arms, twin looks of disgust on their mean faces.

“So you came here. Didn’t know if you’d do that or go with your girlfriend. Thanks for finding our book,” Pete said in a cold voice.

“Don’t thank me just yet,” Cage said. He held out his phone. “All the pages have been scanned and sent to my friends a few states away. Nothing you do now can erase the evidence.”

A slow grin spread over Pete’s face. “More like nothing you do now can make a difference. We’ve already won.”

Cage felt something off, a tension that made his hair rise on his neck. “What do you mean?”

“Your girl, Carrie. I told you what would happen if you ever crossed us.”

His heart pounded. “What the fuck do you mean?”

“When we headed this way, we sent a few guys her way. Just in case. If you don’t want her hurt, you’re going to turn over the book and tell your buddies to delete the photos. We’ll hold on to your girl for a while, just in case. We hear anything from the police or the head chapter, we take her fingers.” Pete grinned at Harvey. “We’ll take other things in the meantime, as payment for your betrayal.”

Cage felt his body go totally calm, the way it always did when adrenaline raced through him. The bear in him was pacing, ready to go. But right now, the soldier in him could handle this one.

He sighed and pulled a pistol from his waistband and held it on Pete as Harvey and the other officer drew their guns. “We can do this the hard way or the easy way,” he said, knowing he was outnumbered on firepower alone. He could heal quickly from most bullet wounds, but he couldn’t risk catching one in the head and not being able to go save Carrie.#p#分页标题#e#

“What’s the hard way?” Harvey asked.

“I shoot Pete, and one of you hopes you can kill me before I kill you.”

Pete glared. “And the easy way?”

“We all put the guns down and do this hand to hand.”

“That guy’s a monster,” Harvey said.

“So am I,” said Pete, rolling up his shirtsleeves as he motioned for his men to drop the guns. “Everyone put your weapons on the floor.”

Cage put his down as well. Pete kicked them over near the door, where no one could quickly dodge for one.

Pete cracked his knuckles and walked toward Cage, his hulking form not intimidating him at all. “Three on one,” he said, his face spreading in a grimy grin. “I like the odds.”

Cage lunged forward, ready to fight. He didn’t have time to wait for them to make the first move. He had to get to his mate.





* * *



Carrie heard the roar of motorcycles and for a second, wondered if it was Cage.

But it was too loud and there were too many. She’d only just finished helping Willow get the kids tucked safely into the basement, where there were several rooms in a kind of storm cellar environment. Willow had taken the news that they were in danger with stoic resolution, and Carrie had once again been impressed with the woman who raised her.

Tim and Thane looked mutinous, and Carrie knew they probably didn’t plan to stay in the basement if trouble broke loose, but for now, she needed them there.

She looked out the front door and saw headlights coming down the road, accompanied by raucous yells.

“Dammit,” Willow said, standing next to her. “Didn’t think they’d be coming this fast.”

“Cage didn’t either,” Carrie said, wrapping her arms over her waist. “He said it would break out in the morning. Something must have gone wrong.” Her heart pounded with a painful possibility. “Oh no, what if he’s hurt?”

Willow caught Carrie by the chin and forced her to look at her. “That man is going to be fine. He’s strong as a bear, with healing abilities. It’s us we need to worry about right now. Us and the kids.”