Bear with Me (Bear Mountain Patrol Series Book 1) (17 page)

Chapter 25

Tag lay on top of his roof as darkness descended in the mountains. The evening orchestra of bugs and wildlife filled the air with various solos and choruses.

“Mate safe?”

“Yes, she’s in the bunker with Tyra. Safe while we hunt.”

“Hunt prey that hurt mate? Hurt Ryan?”

“Yes, I think so.”

Grizzle hummed in anticipation but Tag wouldn’t shift unless he had no other choice. Since the bonding, Grizzle hadn’t demanded anything, didn’t seem as antsy or angry. Quite the opposite, Grizzle felt different, peaceful, and content.
Dad said a mate would settle both parts, man and beast.
Thoughts of his dad hurt but not the gut-wrenching, debilitating pain that robbed him of sleep and sent him traipsing through the mountains at night. Camilla, her safety, her happiness, and her well-being rose to the top, blotting everything else.

Inhaling he waited for the scent of human or dual-natured intruders on his mountain. His fingertip rubbed the trigger of his automatic. Whoever had the misfortune of following Justin would take the first round.

The low hum of a military copter, followed by the scent of human intruders, registered after midnight. Damn Justin for being a coward and sending humans in as cannon fodder. The man would pay for littering his property with human blood.

Glad his thermal-reducing camouflage wouldn’t give away his position, Tag remained still waiting until the three men moved toward the house. Disappointed but not surprised Justin wasn’t with them, Tag wondered how skilled these men were.

He pulled back the tarp just enough to uncover his automatic rifle with the suppressor attached, sighted the men and picked off two before the third man ran into the woods.

Grabbing his gear, Tag rolled from the roof, crouched on the ground then changed positions. He stopped, turned to the left and inhaled.
Bears.
There were three from the wooded area surrounding his home and two from the direction of the main road. Would they allow the human in the woods to see them shift or would they remain human? If he shifted into Grizzle, he could make short work of these assholes but he’d be breaking all kinds of rules. Anonymity had been ingrained in him all his life, he couldn’t change now.

Leaning against the wall, he pulled out Baby, a Colt M4 Carbine assault rifle with a suppressor. They’d been together for seven years and next to Grizzle, Baby was his constant in battle.

“
Prey. Get prey
,” Grizzle said.

Glad they were in sync, Tag agreed.

This time they split up and were coming from various directions. Inhaling, he locked onto their scents, zeroed in on their locations, pointed Baby and pulled the trigger. Moments later, five bears lay on the ground along with the human he picked off in the woods. For some reason, black bears always thought grizzlies were slow. They’d just learned differently.

Tag jumped up and landed on the roof. Inhaling, he searched for Justin’s scent. Nothing. Arrogance personified, Justin would never allow Tag to put down his team without making an appearance, even if it was to collect the bears and take them away to heal. Without assistance, their recovery would take much longer because of the heavy ammunition.

Tag just needed to be patient.

The wind changed directions, pungent odors of blood, death and gun-powder teased his senses. With the sudden shift in the air, he picked up Justin and another scent he’d smelled before. Grizzle growled as the memory crystallized. “
Hurt Ryan
.”

This same scent had been near Ryan at the park after the attack.

Grizzle roared, demanding retribution. Had Justin been involved with that? Or did he keep the deranged bear on a short leash? Why attack Ryan?

The sound of three single claps split the silence. “I told them not to send these men. I tried to explain, without saying what you are, how difficult you’d be to take down.”

Tag searched the darkness for Justin and pinpointed his scent just shy of Tag’s property line.

“So I invited an acquaintance. He’s wanted to tangle with a Grizzle, just to gain some experience you see. You may know him,” Justin said.

The next second, Tag swiftly moved back barely escaping long, gleaming claws as the renegade bear flew past him. Turning, Tag tracked the beast’s scent and prepared for its next move. He dropped to the ground as a bullet whizzed over his head. Adrenaline pumping, he rolled, grabbed Baby from where he had dropped her and searched for Justin’s scent. The asshole had moved into the trees.

Lying on the ground, Tag searched for the beast who attacked Ryan, aimed Baby and fired. The bastard roared and screamed.

“Guns? I told you he wanted to fight you,” Justin yelled. “But since you won’t fight him as a Grizzle, weapons it is.”

A barrage of bullets hit the area around Tag. He inched back and remained still. The renegade moved, Tag scented his position and fired again. This time, the only sound heard was a grunt and fall to the ground.

Tag filtered all the scents in the area, discarding small animals, death and everything other than Justin. He pinpointed Justin high in a tree northeast of his position. The scent of Justin’s recently fired high-powered rifle and handgun made a mockery of Justin’s last remark. Obviously Justin had no intention of taking on Grizzle and used all these men as a distraction. The window shattered in the kitchen. Smoke quickly filled the interior. Another shot fired into that same window, more smoke.

The smoke seeped through the window and interfered with his scenting ability. Inching forward, he moved away from the stream of smoke leaving the window. A bullet hit the spot he’d just vacated.

Tag inched backward then moved into a crouching position. If Justin expected Camilla to run out the house because of the smoke he’d underestimated Tag - again. But Tag needed to eliminate Justin before he realized he’d miscalculated.

Moving around the side of the house, Tag inhaled the crisp mountain air to clean his nostrils from the remnants of the smoke. Next, he scented the air and located Justin.
Good.
Tag intended to teach the bear a lesson he’d never forget.

Justin left the tree which surprised Tag. With a burst of speed, he ran toward Justin and knocked him to the ground before he could train his weapon on Tag. Justin hit the tree trunk with a loud “oomph” then shook his head with his hands up.

“Whoa, you don’t want to do that,” Justin said pointing at Baby. “Aren’t you tired of rescuing women who don’t want to be rescued? You made that mistake with Amber, she tricked you, made a fool of you. That’s happening again with this one.”

Tag grabbed the smaller man by his shirt, lifted him from the ground and shook him like a leaf in a wind storm. While Justin was disoriented, Tag disarmed him. A pile of pistols, blades and explosives lay around on the ground next to them.

Squeezing Justin’s neck while lifting him, Tag pulled his cell out and punched the keypad. “Call Jackson.”

“Calling Jackson,” the voice in his phone said.

Jackson answered.

“If you’re not here in 15 minutes, they’ll probably die.” He stuffed the phone back in his pocket and punched Justin in the face. Justin’s head snapped to the side then he threw a punch, clipping Tag on the jaw.

This was more like it. Guns had a place in combat but Grizzle needed to tear into flesh every now then. Pushing Baby behind him, Tag swung.

Justin deflected the blow and connected with another punch to Tag’s mid-section.

Tag grasped Justin’s fist and bent it backward. Justin leapt and wrapped his other arm around Tag’s neck causing him to stumble and release Justin’s hand. Spinning, Tag took Justin’s hand and pried it from his neck, dislodging his enemy.

Justin backed away, looking behind and around as Tag stalked him. Justin charged.

Tag sidestepped and plowed his fist into Justin’s chin lifting the smaller man and sending him flying backward. On the ground, Justin shook his head and scooted backward as Tag approached.

“This about Amber? That bitch had it coming. She lied to me, to everyone.” Justin grabbed a branch from the ground and waved it at Tag. “All of this? For what? Her honor? She don’t have none.”

Tag stopped. “Why are you here?”

Justin’s eyes widened then narrowed. “Don’t be a bigger asshole. You sent that note threatening my boss and demanded to meet me.”

Tag smelled no deceit and that bothered him. “Why’d you trash that condo in town?”

“Small job.”

Tag ran into Justin and knocked him on his ass. Before he could move, Tag placed his knee on Justin’s chest. “Answer me, why did you trash that condo?”

“Told you,” he gritted. “Small job to trash the place. Human females, no one was to be there when I did it. That’s all.”

Tag inhaled, stood and pulled Justin from the ground. “If you want to see sunrise, come with me.” He pushed Justin toward the pool house, punched in the security code and they stepped inside.

Justin looked around then faced Tag.

“Who do you work for?”

Justin opened his mouth then shook his head.

“So you’re ready to meet death then?” Tag asked as he placed Baby’s muzzle on Justin’s forehead.

“No. But I can’t tell you his name. Hell for all I know, it could be a woman. They’re tricky as hell and the root of all evil if you ask me.”

“Who gave you instructions to come here then and told you I threatened your boss?” Tag asked wondering if this was about Camilla or something else.

“Messenger. My instructions are either sent by text or a delivered message. No way would I ever involve humans on a job like this, that wasn’t my doing.” He glared at Tag. “My brothers are lying on the ground bleeding behind this bullshit.” Jaw clenched, he shook his head. “This shit’s not right. None of this should’ve gone down like this.”

Tag planned to kill Justin before Jackson arrived but alarm bells rang in the back of his head. This whole situation stank of manipulation. He tried to put the pieces of the puzzle together and kept returning to one point.

“Why did your brothers jump me that day at your place all those years ago?” Tag emphasized brothers to remind Justin those men weren’t innocent.

Justin ran his hand through his hair and looked at Tag. “Amber said you were jealous she chose me and you were coming to take her away from me. She begged me to protect her from you, she cried and acted all scared.” Justin snorted and rolled his eyes. “That bitch belongs in the movies. She played me a hundred ways and when I questioned her on the inconsistencies, she jumps me and runs off. Like I said, if this is about that bitch, she’s not worth all that blood on the ground.”

“It’s not about her, at least not on my part. I got a tip you were coming here gunning for me and mine,” Tag said watching Justin closely.

“Why? After all this time avoiding you whenever possible, would I be stupid enough to come on your property? That shit makes no sense,” Justin said shaking his head.

Tag smelled confusion, not deceit. “Yet you are here,” Tag said.

“Only after you took out everyone else,” Justin snapped then closed his eyes. “Look, I know you plan to kill me for everything that’s happened in the past. If I could give Amber back to you I would but she left me and I’m damn happy to be rid of her crazy. But this, tonight, I’m here because I had no choice. Either you’d kill me or the guy who hired me said he would have me killed for disobeying orders.” He lifted his hands and dropped them to his side.

Although Justin wasn’t lying, Tag didn’t trust him. Maybe the distrust stemmed from all those years hating the man, he didn’t know. “Who’s the guy you brought to fight me?”

Justin grinned. “You didn’t recognize him?”

Tag stared at him without speaking.

“Okay, don’t get… all you. Remember Rudy Rivera?” Justin asked with a sly grin.

“Yeah.”

“Well, he didn’t die like everyone thought. He was shot in the head, point blank but his people got him out of there before the fire finished the job.” He waited for Tag’s reaction.

Tag remembered placing the barrel of Rudy’s own weapon against that cockroach’s head and pulling the trigger. He assumed the fire took care of anyone clinging to life, especially since the front door had been locked.

“That’s Rivera out there?” Tag asked to be sure. The scent smelled familiar but he never attributed it to Rivera.

Justin nodded. “He’s not in his right mind most of the time and is a thorn in BMP’s side. They need to keep him on a tighter leash but if you catch him at the right time, buy him a couple of bottles he’ll do whatever you want.”

Did BMP know about Rivera? “Who needs to keep him on a tighter leash?”

Justin shrugged. “Whoever takes care of him I guess. That’s one thing; he never talks about no matter how much he drinks.”

“So you just happened to see him tonight, of all nights, bought him some drinks and dragged him along? Is that what you expect me to believe?” Tag growled even though he didn’t smell deceit.

“He’s kinda like a zombie these days if you know what I mean. Thinks he can fight and win against everyone. For the most part he’s won all his fights but he’s never fought a Grizzle. I wasn’t lying when I said he came to fight you. For him that was enough of a prize and an added layer for me. He’s that good.”