"They've seen some shit, Bear."
True. The boys zeroed in from different directions, still somehow in sync. "I like that they're not playing around," Bear said.
Lucas nodded. "All business. Even with something simple like this. Sometimes it takes centuries to learn that."
Bear leaned forward. "It's as if they're hearing the same beat. Watch their footsteps."
"They probably train together daily," Lucas said. "What was the story about their getting in trouble on vacation?"
"Something about too many girls," Bear muttered. "They were being stupid kids, and the king yanked them home and put them here. To give them direction."
Lucas set down his bottle. "The king wants to keep tabs on us. On everyone."
"He is a busybody." Bear didn't care. He kinda liked the kids. His heartbeat picked up. "They're about to make a move."
"Yeah." Lucas kicked back in his chair.
The boys attacked at the same time, each taking a bounty hunter. The hunters fought fast and hard, showing impressive training. Some of the punches were too fast to see clearly. Fire danced down Redmond's arms, and he threw plasma at the boys. They ducked and dodged, hustling in to punch. The other hunter also threw fire, but he lacked Redmond's speed. The fight continued, bloody and precise.
In the end, Garrett and Logan stood over two unconscious witches. Each boy hefted a body over his shoulder and stomped to the edge of the territory, throwing the witches across the road.
Garrett, blood pouring from a cut above his right eye, turned and saluted the camera.
"Smart-ass." Bear grinned.
Approval curved Lucas's smile. "I guess we don't need to worry about them in Seattle."
"No. I'd say not. Track down all the information you can on Slam downtown and that bartender. As soon as we have decent intel, we'll send in the boys." Bear finished his beer. The scent of roses still tempted him. "I think I'll go see how Nessa is doing in the office."
Lucas didn't even try to hide his grin. "Whipped."
Bear flipped him the finger and strode through the war room to the storage room. His vision narrowed. He kept going, trying to appear nonchalant to the prospects already cleaning up the rec room. Nobody stopped him.
He stepped outside, and the freezing snow slapped him in the face. His knees went weak.
Damn it. He had to get himself under control. Why wasn't he staying healed? He didn't want Nessa to see him like this. Not again. Biting his lip, he turned into the second garage and staggered up the steps like an old man, finally reaching one of the small rooms they kept for anyone who wanted to crash. He shut the door and dropped to the bed. Just a small rest, and he'd go find Nessa.
With that last thought, he passed out.
Chapter 15
Nessa sneezed for the seventh time but kept organizing papers into neat piles. Payables. Receivables. Correspondence. Within an hour, she'd created file folders for each and set up a system in the file cabinet, after she'd taken several engine parts out of the various drawers. Apparently, Bear had a pretty good business going.
The shifters worked on just about anything with an engine or motor, and they seemed to have a consistent clientele.
Another hour later and she'd set the entire office to rights. Even the desk drawers contained neatly organized supplies.
She angled her head and looked outside. Club members had come and gone, several giving her a wave. The sense of belonging was foreign, and she tried to pretend it was real. Oh, her uncle was more than enough family for anybody, but she'd missed having siblings. With her work, she didn't have close friends.
The Grizzlies seemed like family.
It was funny, because Bear was such a loner. Yet he'd created this family in a safe place for himself. But he'd still shifted from bear to human form in the last few months, and it seemed nobody around here knew about that. What kind of a secret was he keeping?
She sat at a surprisingly new computer and booted it up. If she had time, she wanted to digitalize all of Bear's records. There was no need for so much dusty paper.
But for now, she had a job to do. She backtracked through the Internet to a secure site and then put in several of her codes. Soon there was a beep, and Jasper came into view. He had a black eye, a broken nose, and a fat lip. Static came across the line, and she tapped the monitor. "Jasper?" she gasped.
"I've been trying to get you," he said, wheezing.
What in the world? Jasper was one of the best-trained members of the Guard. "Are you all right? Were we attacked?" She partially stood.