Bear Necessities (8 page)

Tabby’s
hand rested on his shoulder, calming him even further. “Are you the one who
called it in to 9-1-1?”
Good question.
One that hadn’t been answered
yet, at least as far as Bunny knew.

Julian
frowned and sat up straight. “No. They arrived just as I got there.”

Tabby
and Julian exchanged a worried look. These two obviously had some history, and
his mate trusted the other Bear. He decided that was good enough for him. He
relaxed, settling into a chair next to Julian’s bed. “So who did call them?”

“That’s
a good question.”

Tabby
frowned. “I know just the man to answer that.” She pulled out her cell phone
and touched a number, then put the phone to her ear. “Hi, it’s Tabby. Can you
put me through to Gabe?”

“Good
girl. I should have thought of that.”

Bunny
frowned when Julian settled back against the head of the bed. “Thought of
what?”

Tabby
moved to the door and opened it, stepping out into the hallway. “Hey, Gabe. Any
news on Chloe’s case?”

Julian
folded his hands behind his head and crossed his ankles. “She’s friends with
the sheriff. She’ll get an answer out of him faster than anyone but his mate,
especially where Chloe’s concerned.” Julian gave him a speculative look. “She
may have lost her family in Georgia, but she found a new one here. You
understand?”

Bunny
studied Julian and slowly nodded. Yeah, he understood. “Thank you again.”

Julian
shrugged. “I’m not the only one. There are a number of people who would go to
bat for that girl without thinking twice about it. In fact, I think she’d be
surprised at how many would.”

“Including
the Alpha?”

“Not
sure, but I think so. From what I’ve seen, Max is pretty confident and he
trusts his hierarchy.”

“And
if Gabe says she’s family, he’ll what? Accept that?”

Julian
looked mysterious. A streak of palest white flashed through his hair, gone
almost as quickly as it appeared. “I think when all is said and done, Tabby’s
going to find that she’s got a lot more family than she ever dreamed of.”

Julian
and I need to sit down and have a nice, long talk. Soon.
“She doesn’t know about the
Kermode.” He grinned. “Can I be there for that discussion?”

Julian
snorted. “Sure. Can you have it for me?”

Bunny
rolled his eyes. “Remind me to introduce you to Ryan. You two should get along
really well.” He held out the bear. “Here. From Tabby and me.”

Julian
took the white bear and snorted. “Cute. But why the Superman costume?”

Tabby
stepped back into the room before he could answer. She looked shaken, wild.
Bunny stood, ready to comfort his shaken mate. “I just talked to Gabe.”

Julian
sat up slowly, all of his attention suddenly focused on Tabby. Bunny tensed all
over. The look on her face was horrible. “What, baby?”

“Chloe.”
She gulped. “She wasn’t hit by a car. They’ve confirmed that the marks on her
body are consistent with a beating.” She stepped forward and clasped her arms
around Bunny, laying her head against his chest with a sigh. “Someone tried to
kill your cousin.”

Bunny
blinked in the late afternoon light filtering in through the hospital window.
He’d made sure Julian got home safely, following the cab to the small house on
the outskirts of town Julian called home. He’d dropped Tabby off at work
immediately afterwards and headed right back to the hospital. He’d been sitting
there ever since.

“Go
home.”

Bunny
blinked up at his father. He couldn’t leave Chloe. What if something happened to
her? He needed to be there to protect her. It was bad enough he hadn’t been
there before.

His
father’s hand landed on his shoulder. “I know what you’re thinking. We’re more
alike than you know.” Will pulled Bunny out of the chair. “I promise nothing is
going to happen to Chloe while I’m here.”

Bunny
looked into his father’s shifted eyes and nodded. He and his father were a
great deal alike. Will would protect Chloe against anything and everything that
came at her. The only difference was William didn’t have the anger issues Bunny
faced on a daily basis. The rage in him was much more focused and directed.
He’d taken that anger and turned it on the land itself, creating his business
with his own two hands. Just as Bunny used yoga, his father used physical labor,
and it worked. “Okay. I’ll go rest. Call me if she wakes up.” He winced. He’d
meant to say
when
.

“Sleep,
son. You’re exhausted. You helped heal Chloe. Now it’s time to heal yourself.”

Bunny
nodded again and shuffled to the door.

“And
leave the bike here. Take a cab.”

He
froze. He
never
left the bike. That Harley was his baby.

“Maybe
you could call your mate and get a ride?”

Now
there was a thought. Maybe he’d convince her to come back to the hotel room
with him. “Good idea.” Maybe he’d do more than nap, too. He pulled out his cell
phone and called Living Art.

“Living
Art, Glory speaking.”

“Hey,
Glory. Can you put Tabby on?”

“Sure
thing.” She sounded so sweet and demure, right up until she screeched at the
top of her lungs, “TA-BBY! PHO-ONE!” He pulled the phone away from his ear with
a wince. Damn, that girl had a healthy set of lungs.

His
father chuckled. “Isn’t that the girl Ryan showed some interest in?”

Bunny
gaped. Ryan had shown interest in one of the girls?

“Tabby
speaking. How can I help y’all?”

He
shivered. That deep drawl washed over him again, his cock perking up with
insistent interest. Damn, he’d left her only six hours ago and already he was
jonesing for the sight of her. “Can you do me a favor, baby?”

“Sure,
sugar. What do you need?”

“Can you
come pick me up? I’m exhausted and I’ve been ordered to leave the bike here.”

There
was a pause. “I can’t. I’m expecting a customer in about ten minutes.”

He
hated to ask, but damn it he was starting to see double he was so exhausted. He
hadn’t slept a wink in that damn hotel room, pacing and worrying about Tabby
and Chloe. His mother had taken one look at him and shaken her head,
exasperated. “Can one of the other girls give me a lift?”

“I’ll
do one better. Wait there, someone will pick you up shortly. And don’t even
think
about sneaking off on the bike. If you’re tired enough to call me, you’re too
tired to ride.”

He
could feel himself blushing. “I wasn’t.”

“Good.”
She paused. A bell jingled in the background. It sounded a lot like the one
attached to Living Art’s front door. “I have to go.”

Bunny
frowned. Her voice had sounded tight. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah,
I—” Something crashed. “Shit. I will be. Gotta go.” She hung up, leaving him
standing there, a red haze of anger rising inside him.

“Something’s
happening at Living Art.” Bunny headed to the door. “Where’s Ryan?”

“Trouble?”
Will followed him.

“Yeah.
Dad, you need to stay here or get Ryan to stay here. I need to head to the
tattoo parlor and check up on Tabby.”

“Not
in your condition.”

Bunny
turned and growled at his father. He’d never challenged the older man, but he’d
never had a mate before, either.

Will
threw his hands up in the air. “I’ll call Ryan, have him meet you there.”

Bunny
nodded and stalked toward the elevator, the possible threat to his mate
thrumming through his veins. Suddenly he wasn’t so tired anymore.

God
help anyone who laid their hands on what was his.

Tabby
called 9-1-1, but the damage was done. Someone had thrown something through the
window and she had let Bunny know something was wrong. Fuck. Ten to one he was
already on his way over here.

“What
the fuck?”

She
turned to look at the patron who’d entered the store just before the thing came
through the window. What the hell was that anyway? It looked like some kind of
metal tube. A pipe, maybe? “Ryan?”

He
looked over at her, his pale blue eyes turning brown as she watched. “Where’s
Glory?”

“Here.”
Glory stepped out from behind the curtain, followed closely by Cyn.

He
went right to Glory’s side, his gaze roaming over her, his hands twitching at
his sides. “What happened?”

“That
came through the window.” Tabby pointed toward the metal object. It lay less
than a foot from her.

“Oh
no! Are you all right?” Cyn was suddenly right there, checking Tabby over for
damage.

“I’m
fine. I called 9-1-1.”

Ryan’s
gaze was glued to Glory. He sniffed and his nose wrinkled in disgust. “What’s
that smell?”

Tabby
looked down at the tube, only then noticing the stench beginning to drift up
from it. “Oh, hell. Grab your stuff. Everyone out.”

They
hurried out of the store, careful of the broken glass. Ryan scooped Glory up
and carried her out, his eyes hard. He barely seemed to notice her weight, but
as a Bear, he was much stronger than most men. She probably
did
feel
like a feather in his arms.

Glory,
on the other hand, was freaked. She was stiff as a board in his arms. Ryan set
her down on her feet, his expression a mix of confusion and concern. “Did you
get hurt?”

She
backed away rapidly. “I’m fine.”

He
looked puzzled, the brown fading away, leaving behind the blue. “Glory?”

Tabby
shook her head and moved away. It seemed Glory wasn’t going to take to mating
as easily as she’d thought she would. She saw Cyn snarl and pull out her cell
phone, gesturing for people to get back, move away from the store.

Then
the back of Tabby’s head exploded and the world went black.

Bunny
roared to a stop outside Living Art. He turned off the bike and ran toward the
huddle of people. “What happened?”

The deputy
speaking to Cyn and Glory pointed to the store. “Someone threw a pipe through
the window with some kind of stink bomb attached to it. Oh, and that lady over
there got attacked. Sheriff’s dealing with her.”

Bunny
caught sight of Tabby’s green hair on the concrete and lunged toward the sheriff.
His heart pounded with fear. Visions of Chloe lying in a pool of blood haunted
him.

Ryan
grabbed hold of his arm, trying to stop him. “Tabby’s hurt, but she’s okay.”

He
ripped free of his cousin’s grasp and lunged to the center of the crowd. He
didn’t care who he shoved out of his way. He had to get to his injured mate.
“Tabby?”

She
pulled her hand away from the back of her head with a wince. “Ow. I got hit.”
That Georgia drawl was slurred by pain.

The
sheriff and a deputy stood aside and let Bunny get close to his mate. He knelt down,
probing the back of her head with his fingers. Sure enough, there was a small,
bloody wound forming into a lump. He reached for his Bear, grateful for the
strength he gave him. He healed the wound, the exhausting drain worth it when
she sighed in relief and sagged against him. He stroked her hair, grateful
beyond belief when she smiled up at him. He muttered a silent thanks to Bear
for healing his mate and looked up at the sheriff. “She’ll be all right.”

“Did
you see who hit you?”

Bunny
turned and glared up at the deputy standing next to the sheriff. The man had
spoken in a bored tone, rasping across Bunny’s protective instincts. How dare
this man take the attack on his mate so lightly? Hell, even Gabe looked briefly
disgusted before he once more controlled his expression. Bunny wondered if the
deputy was the type of cop who figured anything that happened to a tattoo
artist had to be linked to something illegal and was therefore deserved.

Tabby
shook her head, wincing a little. “Nope. It was pretty much
bam
, then
lights out.” Bunny stroked her forehead, brushing away the last vestiges of the
headache her attacker had caused.

“And
no one else was injured.” Anderson was staring down at her, his expression
completely closed off. But there was a glint of gold in the man’s eyes that
Bunny recognized.

Bunny
knew what Anderson was thinking. He closed his eyes, lest someone see the
possessive rage boiling in their depths. Someone had deliberately targeted his
mate. “Tabby’s coming home with me.”

He
knew she was going to protest, but before she could, Cyn’s voice cut through
the crowd. “Of course she isn’t. She needs x-rays and stuff, and no argument,
you got it?” Tabby bit her lip. Cyn stood there with her hands on her hips, her
eyes blazing. “Some son of a bitch thinks he’s going to shut my shop down, take
you out without a fight? I don’t think so.” Cyn pointed at Tabby. “You. Go to
the hospital.” She pointed to Gabe. “You. Find out who did this and stick their
asses in jail, where I sincerely hope they will get reamed multiple times.” The
people around Cyn chuckled, but Bunny noticed Cyn wasn’t joking. “Glory and I
will clean up.”