Stone Bear:Sentinel(Stone Bears Book 1)(27)

"Interesting," Gabriel said aloud. "Neither Caia, who I've tried to call several more times, nor Ben and the Sapphires are answering their phones. Either of you two believe in coincidences that big?"

He saw from the answering looks on their faces that neither of them thought Gabriel was overreacting anymore. They had the serious, drawn looks that the trio usually exhibited when they were retrieving a dragon stone.

"Sapphire apartments. Let's go," he said, and neither of them hesitated in following him out the door.

The bulked-up and heavily armored truck they normally used for transporting stones seemed the logical choice, and as Gabriel brought it to a halt in front of the Sapphire apartment building, he only wished that there were more than just the three of them piling out. The Sapphires numbered over a dozen, and though the Stone Bears were extremely well-trained, the weight of sheer numbers would play a factor. There had been no time for backup to arrive, though he had notified the shifters he trusted that something was going down.

"I have a feeling we're going to find this empty," he said quietly as they piled out of the truck. "But we'll go in quietly, just in case. Me, Uri, Raph," he said, pointing at each shifter in turn to indicate his desired order.

The desk in the lobby was devoid of any lookout, which all but confirmed Gabriel's suspicion that nobody would be home.                       
       
           



       

"Stairs," he ordered, and they proceeded upward.

They stopped at each floor and fanned out, inspecting for any signs of life. "Clear," Uriel reported shortly before Raphael returned from his sweep of the fourth floor. Gabriel looked up. They only had one floor left to go, but he was convinced by this point that they would find it empty.

Moments later, the three shifters regrouped in front of the elevator. Raphael and Uriel both shook their heads, indicating they hadn't found any signs of life.

"Fuck," he said into the silence, straightening and leaning against the wall. "Where the hell are they then? Try their shaft phone again," he said to Uriel before either of them could respond, then turned and headed back down the hallway to Ben's room.

He turned it over completely, opening drawers and moving pictures, searching for any sign of information on their whereabouts.

"Gabe?" Raph said softly from the doorway.

"What?" he snarled, turning to face his second-in-command.

"I think I have an idea about where the Sapphires-"

The elevator dinged before he could finish.

Two sets of eyes met briefly in surprise, and then they took off down the hallway.

The only thought going through Gabriel's mind was for his team.

Uriel.

They rounded the corner-the corridor was laid out in a U-shape-moments after they heard Uriel shout in surprise, followed by the sounds of a fight. When they got into sight of their comrade, Gabriel immediately slowed to a walk, a proud smile on his face.

Uriel was standing on his feet, the only thing out of place the cell phone lying on the floor. But it was the sight of Evan Mosier pinned up against the wall looking somewhat worse for wear that brought a smile to Gabriel's face.

"Well I'll be," he said, sauntering forward. "Now what brings you of all people to a place like this, on a day like today?" he asked, smiling wickedly as Evan's face crumpled at the realization that Gabriel knew something was up.

Still, he didn't immediately speak up, which was enough to arouse Gabriel's anger again.

"I have it from here," he told Uriel, giving his junior-most man a pat on the shoulder in recognition of a job well done.

Evan snarled as Gabriel approached. "What is the-"

The Stone Bear's hands clamped closed on the smaller shifter's shoulders and whirled him around. Raphael went ducking out of the way into an open room as Gabriel launched Evan down the hall, the sheer strength of his throw sending Evan right through the flimsy drywall into the room behind it.

"Where is she?!" he yelled, storming through the new hole in the wall and picking the stunned shifter off the floor with one rage-powered hand and delivering a vicious left-hand to Evan's face.

The Ridgeback had been caught so off guard by the violence of the attack that he didn't have a chance to defend himself. Gabriel reached down, grabbed his collar with both hands this time, and hurled Evan back into the hallway.

"Tell me!" he snapped, his leg landing a brutal kick to Evan's side as his anger raged unabated.

"What," Evan began to speak, raising a hand to ward off any future attacks as he hacked and coughed, trying to recover his breath. "What the fuck are you talking about?" he managed to get out several moments later as Gabriel stood over him, trembling with restrained energy and anger.

"Caia. She's gone missing. So have the Sapphires. Where are they?" he said, his voice turning into a full roar as he bent down and hoisted Evan to his feet, then slammed him backward into the elevator door. "I know you know where they are!"

"Ow!" Evan yelped. "Let me talk, dammit! I'm not one of them."

"Bullshit," Gabriel snarled, but he dropped the fist he had cocked back.

"Despite what you might think, I'm not," Evan said once more, glaring at Gabriel through the rapid swelling of his left eye.

"Just tell me where they took her."

"Well, considering I don't know for sure that they even took her, I don't know where they are. But," he said, raising a hand, "I can hazard a guess where they might be. Although kidnapping Caia would be one of the stupidest things they have ever done." Evan looked thoughtful as he spoke. "Then again, we all do stupid things on occasion."

"Where?" Gabriel said, his patience almost gone.

"Their property outside of town."

Gabriel frowned. "There's nothing there. It's just forest. Besides, they aren't allowed to live out there. It's only supposed to be for one or two of them to go at a time to keep their bears happy." He shook his head, taking a menacing step closer to Evan. "Try again."                       
       
           



       

"I've been out there, you oversized idiot. They've been building things out there for six months. I've seen it with my own eyes."

"What were you doing out there?" Raphael asked, stepping into the conversation at last. "Was that where they make the drugs you're selling for them?" Gabriel had told his team about the suspicions he and Caia held, but he hadn't wanted to reveal what they knew just yet.

The reaction from Evan, however, was the complete opposite of what he had expected when the topic was brought up.

"Selling?" the shifter all but yelped. "Fuck no. I don't do anything for them. I've been trying to get them to stop, ever since-"

He cut himself off abruptly, crossing his arms and refusing to speak anymore, even when Gabriel threatened him.

The head of the Stone Bears stepped closer.

"Tell me what else you know," he said. His smile made it clear he hoped Evan didn't cooperate.





Chapter Fourteen


Caia

"This is really one of the stupider ideas you've ever had, Ben," she said in disbelief. "I mean, you must at least recognize that, don't you?"

"It's not, actually," the Sapphire Alpha replied, much more calmly than she liked. "Once the next batch is done, you'll see what."

"The next batch of what?" she asked suspiciously, trying to feign ignorance. After Ben had caught her snooping around the Sapphire territory-apparently she had been spotted and followed for almost half of her journey-he had escorted her to a large building she hadn't noticed before, one large enough to house all of the Sapphires. Handcuffs around her wrists and ankles had reduced any hope of escape, so she had spent her time looking around. There was still an entire portion of the building she hadn't seen, but Caia had already deduced that it must be where the drugs were being made.

"It doesn't matter," Ben said, his voice serene, as if everything were going to plan.

"You must have your entire crew out here," she said, having counted numbers of individual shifters and come up with close to his entire crew, including the half dozen Opal members living there in exile.

"They are. Even those who don't agree, but know better. Every single one of them is here, because they listen to me."

"Hoo boy. Easy there Caesar," she said mockingly.

"Enough!" he snarled.

"You know who I haven't seen," she said conversationally. "Your liaisons. Where are Nash and Olivia? Aren't they supposed to be following you around? Or did you kill them too?" She spat the last part as an insult, but it didn't faze Ben. In fact, he simply laughed.

"Olivia is on her way home to see dear old dad, who is dreadfully sick, and Nash, well. Let's just say his leg is going to need some time to heal." His eyes fixed Caia with a stare that sent shivers down her spine. "I don't intend to kill everyone you know. Just those who insist on meddling in my business."