Search (The Empire Chronicles #2) (23 page)

“Yes, and I’m the only one who can help you do that.”

“Just tell us where she is. We’ll do the rest.” Toby hesitated in the doorway.

“I’m coming with you. The only way in is with me.”

“Are you sure?” I generally try not to agree with Toby, but I also didn’t like the idea of bringing this girl, bear or not, into combat.

“Yes.” She scowled at me. “What? You think I can’t take care of myself?”

She even looked hot angry. I didn’t say anything. That was my mistake. She started stripping down.

“Uh, what are you doing?” Toby asked.

I couldn’t talk as she slipped off her panties. I didn’t get long to admire her body.

In a split second, she transformed. Before I could respond, she had me backed against the counter. There’s usually something incredibly unsettling about watching a person transform into a giant bear, especially a giant grizzly, but not Vera. Even in bear form, she still had attitude. It was like she was saying “anything else to add?”

“I get the point.” I waved her off.

She transformed back to her human form.

I stared with my mouth wide open as she got dressed. This time, I had more time to study her. Hot was an understatement. Vera was curvy and muscular in all the right places. It’s not that she had a better body than Casey, it was just different. I blinked a few times to stop myself from staring.

“I guess this means you don’t have to imagine it anymore.” She clasped her bra.

“Can I turn around now?” Toby called.

“Did you miss all of that?” I asked.

“My relationship with Casey is complicated enough. Do I need to add seeing her sister naked to the list of hurdles I have to get over?”

Vera laughed. “Sorry, nudity isn’t a big deal in the clan.”

“If the whole clan looked like you, I wouldn’t mind either.”

“I’m one of three girls.”

“And how many guys?” This number was important for more than jealousy reasons. Jealousy? Did I really care how many men had seen this girl, or more than seen this girl, naked? She was a bear. I wasn’t touching her. And even if she was human, she was Casey’s sister. I’d slept with sisters before, but not ones I ever planned to see again.

“Twenty-five.”

“There are twenty-five bears in that cave?” Toby sounded alarmed.

“Usually, but most of them go out to hunt together. We have to time this right. They’ll only leave a few behind to guard her. One of the guards, Fin, will help us. He used to date Casey, and I know he isn’t as much of an ass as the others.”

She definitely had a mouth on her. I didn’t mind. “Leave only a few behind? Are they that confident?”

“They have her chained to the rock wall. She isn’t going anywhere.” Vera sighed. “I would have brought her out myself if I could have.”

“Chained to a wall? Isn’t that a little over kill?” I had to ask. “Wouldn’t keeping watch and tying her hands be enough?”

“They seem determined to keep her there. I don’t know what they have planned, but it can’t be good.”

Normally, I’d have been highly skeptical. The girl had admitted to being part of the same clan that took Casey, but I wasn’t. Something about her face said it all. She was as worried about Casey as we were. Either way, she was our best shot of finding her.

“What!” Toby yelled. “We have to get to her.”

“I didn’t know anything about it until they brought Casey in.” Her face paled. “I’d have never stayed. Everything changed when the boss came into the picture, and then I found out they were hunting my sister.”

“But why would they hurt her?” I asked the obvious question. “That’s insane.”

“It’s the boss. I haven’t met him, but he’s here.”

“We’re getting her now.” From the tone of Toby’s voice, I knew he wasn’t playing around.

I couldn’t wait a second more. Chained? They had her chained? My stomach churned and my heart beat out of my chest. We had to find her.

I tried to tune out Vera and Jared. They’d been bickering constantly since leaving my grandfather’s house. How two people who didn’t know each other could find so much to argue about was beyond me. At the moment, they were discussing the art of the hookup. I couldn’t listen. I knew they were distracting each other, making every moment more tolerable, but it was just making it harder on me. I couldn’t relax. I could barely breathe until I had Casey at my side again.

“We’re going to get her out.” Vera caught up with me as we walked through the woods. It was only a three mile walk, but it felt endless. Vera had scoffed when I offered to fly her. I guess bears don’t like to leave the ground.

“I know. I just want her now.”

Vera smiled. “And that’s admirable. I’ll be sure to tell Casey she has the real deal with you, but we can’t rush this anyway. We have to get in there when most of the clan is out hunting.”

“What if they don’t go hunting tonight?” I’d been through enough crazy experiences to realize that things rarely went perfectly as planned.

“They will. They didn’t leave for two days while waiting for Murphy to bring in Casey and for the boss to show up. They’re going to be gone awhile.”

“Who’s the boss?” I needed more information. At least it would keep me occupied as we walked.

“I don’t know. I wasn’t allowed in, and I left the first chance I had.”

“Wait.” I spun on her. “You left Casey with the boss?”

“I knew I couldn’t do anything on my own.” Vera glanced at me nervously. “She told me you guys would help.”

“What’s happening to her? How could you leave her?” I bellowed.

Jared grabbed my arm. “Shut up! Do you want to give us away?”

He was right. I had to calm down. I just couldn’t believe Vera was only mentioning this information now.

“I want to get her too, remember that.” Vera’s voice was soft and far less confident than I’d gotten used to her sounding like. She seemed like the kind of girl who had to be right all the time. Casey had some of that in her too, but she was more balanced. Just thinking about her made my chest hurt. I’d never felt half as strongly about anyone in my life. How was it possible that we’d only known each other a few months? It felt like ages—and not in any semblance of a bad way.

Finally, the cave came into view. I started toward the entrance, but Vera pulled back on the collar of my t-shirt. “We have to wait.”

I spun on her. “How much longer?”

“It shouldn’t be much longer now.”

We waited what felt like an eternity but no one came or went. I was losing it. I couldn’t wait.

“I’m going in alone.” Vera stood from the crouch she was in.

Jared pulled her back down “Are you crazy? I’m going with you.”

She put a hand on her hip. “I’m a bear. I can handle caves better than you.”

Jared gave her a long look. “They know you left. It’s not like you can just return like nothing happened.”

She seemed to think over Jared’s words for a moment. “Maybe, maybe not. Maybe no one noticed I was missing.”

“You’ve been gone for hours. They have to have noticed.”

“What good is it going to do if you both get caught? I’m going in and getting her. I’ll bring her out to you, Toby. Then you get her the hell away from here.”

“I’ll go in with you. Toby waits out here.” Jared said it like he was actually in charge.

I wasn’t having it. “No. Why should I wait?”

“Didn’t you hear what Vera said? We’re going to get her out to you. That way, if something happens to us, there’s still a chance for her.”

I gritted my teeth. “She needs me. I’m going.”

Vera placed her palm on my chest. “Trust me on this. Stay here. She has a better shot if we’re split up. If we don’t come out quickly, come in after us.”

I didn’t like it, but I also didn’t have a better plan. I could wait a while, but I wasn’t waiting too long. Casey needed me, and I wasn’t going to let her down.

Terrified. I’d never understood the true meaning of the word until I woke up and found myself left there helpless and chained to a cave wall. One chain was attached to each leg while another covered my body that was wrapped up in that straight jacket again. I was in trouble.

By temperature I wasn’t cold, but I couldn’t control the shivers caused by fear. I needed to believe Vera would find Toby in time. I knew I was leading him into danger, but I needed to trust his words. I needed to believe he wanted me in his life. I also knew that something was wrong with me. My head throbbed and vague memories of a robed figure started coming back to me. The room was pitch black, and I had no idea how much time had passed. It could have been hours or days since they first brought me in for all I knew.

I struggled against the chains again even though I knew they wouldn’t budge. What good was Pteron strength if it wasn’t enough to get me out of the situation?

I heard muted voices in the passageway around me. Was it Vera? Was Toby with her? I closed my eyes, building up all the strength and confidence I could muster. The voices died down. It wasn’t them. How much longer would it take? When would the boss come, or had he already? I thought back on the shadowy figure.

My eyes flew open sometime later when I heard footsteps approaching. A torch lit up the face of my visitor.

“Fin?” Confusion flooded me. Did they need to make things worse? Did they need to remind me of another mistake years before.

“Don’t talk.” His voice was sharp, so I listened.

He leaned over me, and I held my breath. He couldn’t hurt me. There was no way. His hand brushed against me as he unlocked the chain fastened over my body. He also released my hands from the straight jacket. “Give me a head start out of here. I’m putting myself on the line.” With a quick glance back, he disappeared through the rock entryway.

I waited until I heard his footsteps disappear before I tried to move. With my hands free, I was able to break the chains on my legs. Had Fin just helped me escape? Why? If it was a trap, I had to tread lightly, but I also didn’t have time to stop and worry. I got up and away from that darn stone wall.

The passageway was silent so I left the enclave, hoping I could somehow find my way in the darkness. Pteron night vision is great, but it has its limitations. It requires at least some light source to work off of. The pitch darkness of the cave was too much.

I fell to my knees and tried crawling. With my eyes closed I could focus better on my other senses. I heard what sounded like running water. I remembered hearing the same noise on the way in. I tried to calm my breathing and beating heart.

I followed the sound of water and kept crawling until I saw a small sliver of light. I was going to make it.

A bear claw reached out for me, and I jerked away, ready to fight. But with the limited light I could see again, and I saw the hazel eyes. I knew this wasn’t an ordinary bear, it was Vera. She wasn’t alone, and I just barely made out Jared’s muscular form.

I couldn’t speak at first. I was too afraid of getting caught. I was so relieved to see them, but I froze when Toby’s absence dawned on me. Where was he? I whispered Toby’s name, knowing Jared could hear. He only nodded forward. I hoped that meant he was okay.

Vera pushed her nose against me, urging me forward. I followed her out, passing two bears lying in a heap on the floor. I wondered if Vera or Jared was responsible for that. Seeing the hurt animals made me worry. I hoped nothing had happened to Toby. I’d never forgive myself.

What felt like an eternity later, we stumbled out onto the forest floor.

“Casey!” Toby yelled as soon as we emerged.

I picked myself up off the ground and ran into Toby’s arms. I knew we didn’t have time to waste, but I needed to feel his body against mine. Neither of us said anything. We just wrapped up in each other’s arms and let the physical contact say the rest. Wordlessly, we broke the embrace and turned toward Vera and Jared. Vera was still in bear form.

“I’m going back in.” Jared hadn’t said a word to me yet. “The boss might be in there, and I have to find him. Otherwise, we’re never going to get answers.”

I pulled myself from Toby and walked toward Jared. “Be careful and thank you.” I hugged him.

“You be careful too.” Jared turned to Toby. “Take care of her. We’ll meet back in the city.”

Toby put an arm around me. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

Jared grinned. “Would I ever do something like that?”

Vera let out a grunt that probably would have been a laugh if she were in human form. I still couldn’t quite accept that she was my sister. Pterons still look like people when they transform—bears were entirely different.

Jared shifted his weight from foot to foot. “We’ll catch up with you soon. You have to get her out of here, Toby.”

Toby didn’t need to be told again. He transformed, and I did the same.

We flew for a half hour until neither of us could wait anymore. We landed in an open field.

I knocked him over in my excitement, unwilling to bother transforming back. “You came for me.” I gazed down at him with a grin on my face.

“Of course I did.” He reached up and rested his hands on my hips. “Did you really doubt it?”

I shook my head, shaking out my hair while enjoying the fresh air and the feel of Toby’s strong hands on me. “No. Not for a second.”

He grinned. “Then we’re making progress.”

“I love you.” The words flew off my tongue without a second of hesitation. I had no doubts about how I felt. My heart was so full. Nothing else in the world could change it.

“I’ve been in love with you since the first time you served me coffee.”

I swatted at him. “That’s not true.”

“Sure it is.” He took both of my wrists in one of his hands. “Ever hear of love at first sight?”

“And you just didn’t realize it until now?”

“Oh, I realized it ages ago. You just didn’t give me the chance to say it.”

“Here’s your chance. I love you, Toby, and I always will.”

“I love you, Casey Bates.” He pulled my body down on his and his lips crashed into mine. I needed the taste of his lips, his mouth. I indulged in him, feeling a mix of relief and passion as he deepened the kiss. Everything else disappeared. It was just the two of us alone in a field in the middle of the night.