Don't Moose With Her (Bearbank Book 1) (16 page)

Ethan growled. “Someone connected to him?”

Alex looked at the paperwork in front of him. “A shifter sister and a human brother. What do we know about the brother? Nobody has ever mentioned him.”

“Leo is on the phone with the sister now,” Ethan said. He savagely kicked a filing cabinet as he passed, his growls getting louder.

“Calm down,” Alex growled. “You are no use to your mate in this state.”

Ethan glared at him and Alex’s eyes narrowed. Normally he was smart enough to not poke the bear but now Ethan was a hair away from losing all control. Before the situation could escalate, there was a knock at the door and Leo entered.

“I spoke to the sister,” he announced, eyes darting between the dented filing cabinet, Ethan, and Alex. Wisely, he didn't comment. “The older brother’s name is David Matthews. Sarah was considerably less fond of her eldest brother than she was of Eric. Apparently David is not a fan of shifters, not even his sister. Sarah has had little contact with him since their dad died but she says that he was always fiercely protective of Eric, considering it his job to look after him. She said that he has always followed Eric any time he moved, determined to watch over him.”

“Which means that David was also always in the same place as the killings,” Alex finished. His chair creaked ominously as he leaned back.

“It fits,” Leo agreed. “He seems a much more likely candidate than Eric ever was.”

“So,” Alex said. “Eric is obsessed with shifter women and his brother kills any shifter female Eric focuses on.”

“After the women show interest in someone else,” Leo said. “Becca was killed after she asked out Andy Woods, thinking that he was her admirer. Dana’s gifts turned nasty after she was seen in public with Ethan. I’m pretty sure if we look at the other cases, we’ll see a similar pattern.”

Alex nodded. “Eric fixates on a woman, she shows interest in someone else, and David takes revenge on her for hurting Eric. Then Eric tries to cover up his brother's crime.”

“I don’t care why!” Ethan exploded, his wolf lending a growl to his voice. “I just want to know where the bastard is.”

Leo shot him a look. “I have someone looking for his details now.”

Just at that, another knock sounded at the door and a nervous looking police woman entered. Her eyes were wide and she studiously avoided looking at Ethan.

“I have the address, sir,” she said, handing a piece of paper to Leo and leaving the room as quickly as possible. Ethan didn’t blame her. He knew he was behaving badly but his grip on his temper was slipping.

He stalked out the office, grabbing the paper from Leo on the way. It was time to find his mate.

Dana crawled over to the cabinet under the sink and opened the doors. There had to be something here she could use. She searched the cabinet as quietly as possible. Spare toilet rolls, a few cleaning products, a can of air freshener, a few toiletries, and the promised pregnancy test. No razor, which was unsurprising considering her abductor had a full, bushy beard. Nothing sharp, no obvious weapons. It had been a long shot. Most people didn't stock an arsenal of weapons in their bathroom.

Dana sighed. She pulled out the aerosol air freshener. Perhaps if she managed to get it in his eyes, she could distract him enough to get away. Her head was gradually clearing, thanks to her shifter genes, but she still wasn’t back to normal. She didn’t have a choice. She needed to attempt escape and she needed every advantage she could find.

“Get a move on,” came the voice from outside the door. “You have five minutes and then I’m coming in.” She believed he would.

Dana opened the box and pulled out the two sticks. It would probably be best to take the test. She was sure she wouldn’t be pregnant since she was on the Pill but it was usually best to humour the crazy man holding you hostage. She dutifully urinated on one stick and then washed up.

She grabbed the air freshener and headed for the door. It burst open just as she got there and she only narrowly avoided being hit by the door.

“Is it done?” he asked, as she reached the doorway.

She held out the test with her left hand. He reached for it, his attention drawn there. Seizing the moment, Dana brought up her right hand and sprayed the air freshener right at his eyes. He bellowed in pain and roared back. If air freshener stung anything like shampoo, he was in a world of pain right now. Dana took advantage of that to slip past him and run.

She didn’t make it far before she felt him grab her arm and swing her round. His eyes were red and streaming with tears. His face twisted and distorted with rage. Little flecks of spit dotted his lips, like a rabid dog.

“You’ll pay for that, bitch,” he snarled, his fingers digging into her arm.

Dana clenched her fists, realizing that she still grasped the pregnancy test stick. Screaming in anger, she brought up her hand and drove the stick straight into his right eye with as much force as she could. With a roar, he let her go, grabbing at his eye and stumbling back.

She stared at him for a moment in horror before pulling herself together and running. This time, she made it out of the door and kept going. Her legs were shaky and she felt dizzy. Somehow she kept to her feet. She suspected that only the speed of her flight was keeping her upright and if she slowed, she’d surely fall. She ran, stones and twigs bruising and cutting her feet, branches scratching at her face. She had none of her usual shifter grace. She lurched through the woods, leaving a trail that a blind idiot could follow. Was the madman blind? Had she actually destroyed his eye? Ugh. Not the time to think about it.

The house was in a lonely place, explaining how he had managed to drag an unconscious woman there without drawing suspicion. She stuck to the trees as she ran, hoping for cover, but roughly followed the long driveway leading from the house. Hopefully, it would lead her somewhere she could get help.

She continued running, afraid to look back to check for pursuit. If she stopped running, she might not be able to start again. If she fell, she might not be able to get up. She couldn’t hear anyone behind her but she didn’t dare turn to look. Hopefully, the man would be too busy patching himself up to come after her for a while. He must be finding it difficult to see and he didn’t have a shifter’s sense of smell or hearing to rely on.

Suddenly, she heard a noise coming from ahead of her. Had her abductor circled around to come from another angle? Maybe he was waiting to ambush her. Then the breeze from the wind carried a familiar scent to her. Wet earth after the summer rain. Ethan. Her mate was here. Heart hammering, she ran faster, desperate to make it to her mate, to safety. Finally, she burst through the trees and tripped, falling at her mate’s feet.

Ethan turned his head. A crashing sound came through the trees towards them. The wind wasn’t in his favour so he couldn’t smell anything. Leo looked at him and nodded, taking up position a little further back, hidden by trees. Cautiously, Ethan waited, prepared for an attack.

Something white streaked through the trees and burst from them. Dana! She stumbled forward and fell at his feet, breathing heavily. He dropped to his knees and pulled her into his arms. She was trembling fiercely against him, burrowing into his body. He could smell blood and pushing her back a little, he examined her for injuries, finding a scratch on her face and her feet were a mess. Her eyes were wide and frightened. He could hear her heart racing and her gasps for air. Shushing her, he pulled her back into his embrace, kissing the top of her head, rocking her gently.

“I’ve got you,” he murmured, wrapping his arms tighter around her. He was never letting her go again. “You’re safe now.”

“Where is he?” Leo asked, coming out of the trees.

“I left him in the house,” Dana spoke into his chest. “I hurt him and ran.”

“That’s my woman,” Ethan said, hugging her tight. Part of him desperately wanted to go after David Matthews and make him pay. The wolf in him howled for vengeance. His mate came first though and even his wolf understood that. He needed to care for his mate and ensure her safety. Only then could he hunt down the man responsible and put an end to it all.

“Take Dana back to the car,” Leo suggested. “I’ll check it out and then join you.”

“Thanks, Leo,” Ethan said. He drew Dana to her feet, keeping her body close to his. Remembering her injured feet, he swung her up into his arms. He’d spent a lot of time carrying his mate lately. Not only did he not mind at all, he actually liked it. He suspected that Dana would normally object but, right now, she simply laid her head against him and allowed it.

Reaching the car, he settled her into the back seat and climbed in beside her. He tipped up her chin to look into her eyes. Her face was pale and her eyes a little wild.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he said, stroking back her hair. “How are you doing?”

“I’m okay,” she said quietly. Her voice trembled a little. “I’m tired and my head hurts. My feet hurt. Various bits of me hurt. Nothing serious.”

“Did he…?” Ethan trailed off, unsure how to ask.

“He didn’t rape me.” Dana's voice remained quiet and shaky. “He intended to but he didn’t.”

“Thank God,” Ethan breathed. Relief coursed through him. Not that it would have made a difference to how he felt about her. He just couldn’t bear the thought of her having to endure that. He was close to wolfing out just from the sight of her scratches and bruises.

“He was crazy, Ethan,” Dana said, toying with the buttons on his shirt. “Really crazy. He said he killed his brother and that he had to father his brother’s children on me. He said his brother liked me and then I let him down.”

“I know, little moose,” he said, stroking her hair from her face. He ruthlessly squashed the growl from his wolf. Nobody was fathering any children on his mate. Nobody except him. “We know who he is. His brother is a cop. He’s the one who sent the things to you.”

“Except the last two,” Dana said, shivering and snuggling in closer. “The nastier stuff came from the brother, after he saw us together.”

“I know,” Ethan said. “We know it all now and we’ll get him. He won’t hurt anyone again, sweetheart.” Not by the time Ethan had finished with him. They'd need a spoon to gather the remains.

He kissed her forehead and reached for his phone. He called Alex, keeping one arm around Dana the whole time. He had no intention of letting her out of his sight any time soon. She snuggled into his side, occasionally shivering and hugging him tighter for comfort.

By the time he’d finished updating Alex, Leo was back and climbing into the driver’s seat.

“He’s gone,” Leo said, frustration showing on his face. “We can get some guys out to look around but he’s made a run for it.”

Dana looked up at him, her eyes displaying her fear. His heart clenched. He kissed her forehead and hugged her.

“We’ll find him,” he assured her. “In the meantime, I’ll be following you everywhere. You’ve got your bodyguard back.”

She simply gave him a tired smile.

***

Ethan carried her straight to the bathroom and set her on the side of the bath. He began to run the water and fished out the first aid kit. He could feel Dana's eyes on him. She had said little in the car on the way home, other than to refuse to go to a doctor. She had insisted that she’d had enough of doctors lately and that her head was already healing itself. Everything else was just superficial and she just wanted to go home. Ethan could see for himself that her head was fine so he gave in and took her home.

He was a little concerned at her silence. She had finally stopped trembling and now she appeared to be deep in thought. Ethan wanted to help her but he wasn’t good at the emotional stuff. He was trying, for her sake, but this was a little beyond him. All he could do was keep her safe and wait for her to talk to him.

“Can you help me get this off?” she asked, plucking at the front of the nightdress.

Ethan walked over and helped pull it off over her head. “What the hell is this thing anyway?” He scrunched it into a ball and tossed it across the bathroom. The thing was hideous. He much preferred the little shorts she'd worn to bed. Well, naked was best. This thing? Even his granny would have found it old-fashioned. He made a mental note to burn the thing later.

Dana shrugged, her breasts bouncing in a most distracting way. “Don’t ask me. I was wearing it when I regained consciousness.”

“He undressed you?” Ethan asked, his temper boiling below the surface. Nobody had the right to do that.

“Honestly, I’m trying not to think about that,” Dana said. Her face scrunched. “I have no idea why he did that. I know he didn’t touch me. I’d have been able to feel that. Besides, he wanted to check I wasn’t pregnant first.”

Ethan couldn’t stop the growl that came from him. Dana reached over and leaned a hand against his cheek. Her hand still felt a little cold.

“Nothing happened, Ethan,” she said. “He pushed me around a little and grabbed my arm at one point. All my other injuries came from running. They shouldn’t take long to heal. I'm okay.”

He took a deep breath and ruthlessly controlled his temper. Turning his head, he kissed her cold little hand. He picked her up and placed her gently in the water, wincing a little as he heard her gasp.

“Too hot?” he asked.

“No, it’s fine,” she said, smiling at him. “Some of the cuts just sting a little, that’s all.”

Ethan knelt beside the bath. “Let’s get you cleaned up, sweetheart.” He picked up the shampoo, motioning for her to dip back and wet her hair. Once her hair was wet, he carefully applied the shampoo, gently washing the dried blood from her hair and rinsing it clean. Picking up the soap, he began to wash her shoulders, gently massaging her tense muscles. She sighed and he felt her gradually relax. As he moved around a little, her hand held his arm.

“You could probably reach easier if you were in here with me,” she said softly. Her green eyes held his captive.

He was tempted. Very tempted. He squashed down his desire, determined to care for her properly and not take advantage. This wasn’t about sex. It was about looking after his mate and comforting her. He just had to remember that. He soaped up her breasts, trying to remain impersonal but her nipples pebbled under his touch, immediately gathering interest from his groin. Think unsexy thoughts, dammit.