Bitter Wind (Hickory Bear Rapids #1)

Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

C arly set down the last box of paint, and did a quick inventory of all the supplies sitting on the table. She was painting with the first graders today, and she had come into their classroom early so she could set up everything before they came back from recess.

The stacks of paper, paint, and brushes always made her smile, and she was looking forward to seeing the outcomes of the lesson she had planned for today. Even though it was messy, painting was one of her favorite things to do with the kids, and she loved admiring all of their finished projects.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and though nothing had happened in the past week, she felt reluctant to pull it out and look at the message. She hadn't received any more texts from her ex—or any random numbers—but Luke and his team didn't have any leads on who could have vandalized her place, and though the two things could have nothing to do with each other, she wasn't convinced.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket, and laughed at the GIF that Noah had sent her.

Even though they weren't going to complete the mating bond, she and Ryker were acting like a married couple, and the boys were having fun calling her mom and sending her funny memes about cookies. She wasn't much of a baker, but she had no problem stopping by the bakery on Main and making sure sweet treats were available whenever they stopped by the garage.

Which was almost every day. Ryker and his family were close, and it wasn't odd to see at least one of them stop by the shop for a few minutes each day. They sometimes stopped by the house, too, but she was glad that they didn't do that without texting first.

After she and Ryker discovered that his wearing a condom was a reliable way to stop the urge to mate during sex, they had been making up for lost time by christening every room in his house. They'd even had fun in her own home, but even though the window had been repaired, and nothing else had happened to her property, she didn't want to sleep there—not even with Ryker by her side.

And that worked out well, because Ryker wanted her in his home, and that's exactly where she wanted to be.

A week ago, after Luke and his team had finished their investigation, Ryker had taken her inside and helped her pack a bag—which had ended up being three bags—and then he'd taken her back to his home and explained everything. The next day, he'd arranged for someone to fix her window while she'd been at work, and when he'd taken her out to dinner the next night, he'd been the one to grab her hand instead of the other way around.

Everything was going great, and though she was happy, she couldn't stop the nagging feeling that something wasn't right. Ryker felt it too, and though they didn't find any evidence to the contrary, Luke didn't believe the vandalism to her place was completely random. And it wasn't just because of the texts, either. Although that did play a part in all of their thinking, it was morebecause of the weird feeling she'd felt in the grocery store and then on the way home.

The feeling that had caused her to stop at the sheriff's office because she was afraid.

Neither man believed that feeling was just acoincidence, especially when her house had been vandalized the same day.

The only place she'd been truly alone since that day was driving to and from work, and luckily, she hadn't had the feeling of being watched again. Unfortunately, she was still kind of afraid to be alone, and as much as she loved Ryker—because she did love him—she still wanted to do things by herself. She was glad that he understood her need for independence, but she hadn’t felt very independent this past week, and that bothered her.

Not enough to do something stupid knowing that there might be a threat waiting around the corner, but enough that she was wondering if they were all just being too cautious.

She was still holding her phone when it rang, and when she saw it was her friend, Jules, an uneasy feeling settled over her. Sometimes she would get texts from friends during working hours, but they never called until she was on her own time. It could be that her friend just forgot about the time difference, but Carly didn't think so, and after a quick glance at the clock, she answered.

"Hey, Jules. I only have a couple of minutes before my break is over. What's up?"

"Carly." Her friend let out a relieved breath. "I'm so glad you answered. I'm sorry to call during work, but this is important."

"It's fine," she said, that uneasy feeling growing stronger. "Everything okay?"

"I'm not sure, but I want you to be aware. I just found out that the car that James Wheeler was driving wasn't his. Apparently, he lost his job a few months ago, and stole that car after his girlfriend left him. I don't know why she left, but he told a mutual friend that all of his troubles were all your fault, and that he was going after you. I'm so sorry, Carly. I didn't know."

That feeling of being watched returned full force, and she looked out the windows of the classroom, scanning for anything that didn't seem right. She could see the kids playing on the playground several yards away, but the hallway looked empty.

"Why would he blame me? It's been two years since we dated, and he had another girlfriend after me."

"I don't know. The story seems crazy, but what if it's true? Has anything happened?"

The bell rang, and she used that as an excuse to hang up the phone. Now wasn't the time to tell her friend about her house being vandalized, and she needed to tell Ryker and Luke this new information. She had given Luke all the details she could remember about her ex, including his address and place of work at the time they were dating. Hopefully Luke would be able to use his badge to get the local law enforcement to check on him.

Or something.

She wasn't sure how it all worked, but if her ex told someone he was coming for her, blaming her for whatever had gone wrong in his life, then she was pretty sure the cops could do something.

She created agroup text with both Ryker and Luke, but she'd only been able to type a few words when the door swung open and James Wheeler walked in pointing a gun at her chest.

"Put the phone down and come with me."

She glanced out the window, and then looked back at him. Aside from a few strands of hair out of place, his appearance looked good. He was wearing a pair of Khaki pants, a blue polo shirt, and a dark brown blazer, and from where she stood, the clothing looked clean.

"What are you doing, James?"

Even if she could distract him, the phone was too big to conceal in the pocket of her jeans.With no other choice, she set thedevice down on the table.

"What the fuck does it look like, bitch? You're coming with me, and then you're going to pay for fucking up my life."

She didn't want to go with him, but she could hear the kids lining up outside the door. Their teacher was walking down the hallway toward the front of the line, and she knew they would start filing in any minute. If James was stupid enough to bring a gun into the school, then there was no doubt in her mind that he would use it if provoked.

"Okay," she nodded. "I'm coming."

She started walking toward him, and when she reached his side, he grabbed her wrist with his free hand and leaned in close so that his face was only an inch away from hers. He wasn't an overly strong man, but his grip on her wrist was painful, and she was sure she would have a bruise there later.

"Don't try anything stupid," he seethed, "or someone will get hurt here today, and it won't only be you."

"Okay," she nodded. "Where are we going?"

"That's none of your business. For now, just walk out to the parking lot."

He shoved the hand holding the gun into his pocket, and pushed her toward the door. As soon as she opened it, she could hear the kids filing into the classroom from the other side. Relief swamped her, but it only lasted a second.

"Miss Carly." One of the boys from the class ran up and grabbed her hand. "Where are you going? Aren't we painting today?"

"We are," she said, smiling down at him, "but I need to go to the office first. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Who is that?" The boy asked, frowning at James.

James moved closer and shoved the pocketed gun into her back.

"He's a friend, and I need to get him something from the office." She squeezed his hand before gently pulling hers away. "Go back inside now, and tell Miss Anderson that I'll be there in a minute."

The boy was still frowning at James, but then he looked at her and smiled.

"Hurry now," she said, "I'll be there, soon."

"Okay."

He turned and ran toward the door, and James pushed on her back again.

"Move!"

The word came out as a harsh whisper, and she started walking, hoping they didn't run into any more kids on their way to the parking lot. Because she worked in every classroom at least once a week, she knew most of the kids by name, and they all knew her as well. It wasn't odd for any of the kids to strike up a conversation, and some of the older kids would be able to pick up on the fact that something was wrong.

Luckily, they made it to his car without any more distractions, and once she was seated, he pulled some zip-ties from his pocket.

"This is so you don't try anything stupid like try to escape on the way." He tightened one tie on each wrist, and then used a third to bind them together. He studied his handiwork as he stood, and then he leaned down and pulled the plastic tighter. She could feel the hard material digging into her skin, and she knew that if she moved the wrong way the plastic would start to cut.

He lifted her arms by grabbing onto the middle tie, and then dropped them back into her lap. The rubbing of the plastic against her skin made her wince, causing him to laugh, and then he grabbed the plastic and did it again.

"You're not so tough now, are you?" He nodded and stood. "I should have kept you tied up like this during our relationship. Then maybe you would have learned your place."

She wanted to roll her eyes at his stupid comment, but instead she just looked straight ahead. She had no idea why he thought she'd ruined his life, and honestly, it was probably something trivial.He was a needy baby who always wanted to be the center of attention, and when things didn't go his way, he always blamed others.

Choosing her to blame—and following her half way across the country to do it—seemed excessive, but though he seemed mostly normal, he was obviouslycrazy, and she was more concernedwith his end game than what his motives were.

Where was he takingher?

And more importantly, what did he want?

C arly was surprised when James drove her to Ryker's house.

"What are we doing here?"

"You'll see," he laughed. "You and your boy think you're so slick by going intothe park to fuck, but you refused to suck my dickbefore my big presentation. Do you remember that? I needed you to help me, and you laughed in my face. Told me you didn't fuck in public places, and acted all haughty. Like you were better than me. I knew you were lying, and my presentation was shit because of it. Because of you. So now you're going to make it up to me, and your boyfriend is going to watch."

She remembered that day. He'd wanted her to suck him off while kneeling on the floor in the men's bathroom, and she'd told him exactly what she thought of that idea. She also ended things with him the next day, but neither of those things were the reasons for his shit presentation. His presentation sucked because he'dbeen overconfident and unprepared, and he was damn lucky his boss hadn't fired him on the spot.

He reached down and tucked something into his jacket before getting out of the car, and then hewalked around the front of the vehicle, keeping an eye on her the whole time. When he reached her door, he slid his hand back into the pocket holding the gun and glanced around quickly. Even if there had been someone on the street,Ryker's neighbors were far enough away that she knew the chances of anyone seeing them and noticing her bound wrists were slim.

He led her to the side of the house, pulled a small crowbar out from under his jacket,and started tearing down a few of the slats on the fence. When he got three down, he pushed her through the opening, and led her to the riverbank.

There wasn't any snow on the ground, but the air was still chilly, and because she had left her coat back at the school, she only had on a t-shirt as a barrier against the cold.She couldn't help but shiver when the water coming up off the rapids swirled around them, and though she refused to look down to check, she was sure her nipples were peeking through the cotton.

"Don't worry," he laughed. "I'll get you warm soon enough."

Her stomach rolled at the meaning of his words, and she took a deep breath to try and settle it. She wanted to believe that Ryker would somehow save her before James touched her, but she hadn't been able to send that last text, and he wouldn't be home for hours. Her stomach rolled again, and the only thing that chased it away was James yelling at her.

"How the hell do you get this thing down?"

He was talking about the bridge that was hidden in the tree. She didn't want to tell him, but she also didn't trust him not to shoot her, or throw her down into the rapids, so she explained how it worked. He didn't use the same care that Ryker did, so the thing was unsteady as they crossed, but there was no way to put the thing up from the other side, so at least it would leave behind a clue to her whereabouts.

If she survived that long.

Hepushed her forward until they reached the entrance to the cave, and then he practically shoved her inside. The path down the side of the rock was narrow, and his careful footsteps gave her the impression that he'd never actually been herebefore. Ryker had said that he could scent any intruders, so that meant he had somehow watched them from afar.

His next words confirmed her suspicions.

"This is a nice little set up," he nodded, walking around the space. "You've fucked in this water, haven't you?"

She hated that he was now wandering around Ryker's spot like he owned the place, but she knew there was no way to make him leave.

"We don't fuck in here," she said, her voice calm.

"Don't you fucking lie to me," he said, storming across the space.

He raised up the hand holding the gun, and hit her across the face with the barrel.Pain seared across her cheek and seemed to radiate around her head as tears filled her eyes. "You guys come in here and don't come out for hours. I know what you're doing. Fuck, the whole god-damned town knows what you're doing, and soon you're going to do it with me. Get on your fucking knees."

He kicked the back of one of her kneecaps, and she fell to the ground. Her hands slid against the dirt,scraping her palms, and she dug her fingers into the earth to stop themomentum.

He grabbed her messy bun and pulled hard, and when she sat back on her heels, he smiled.

"That's better," he said. "This is exactly where you're supposed to be—on your knees so your face is level with my dick. We'll get to the fun soon, but first you have to call your man. He's going to watch me feed my dick down your throat, and then I'm going to kill him and fuck you hard while his body grows cold. I'll kill you, too, but how fast or slow depends on how well you follow directions."

Another wave of nausea swept over her, but she tried to remain calm. She knew Ryker healed fast, so he might survive a gunshot wound, but he wasn't invincible. If James aimed for his heart—or his head—Ryker could die on the spot, and there was only one way in and out of this cave, so he wouldn'thave the element of surprise.

"Call him," he said, dropping a phone on the dirt in front of her. "Tell him to meet you here, and make it fuckingbelievable. Give away any clues, and I'll still fuck you, but I'll shoot you first. Maybe more than once."

She nodded and picked up the phone.

R yker took a deep breath, and glanced at the screen on his phone again. The metal threatened to crack under his grip, and he forced himself to relax his hand. Destroying his phone wouldn't help Carly, and right now, it was his only link to her.

And even that wasn't a guarantee.

They were only guessing that her kidnapper would have her call because he was the new boyfriend, but in reality, the guy could take her far away from Hickory Bear Rapids, and he might never see her again.

Fuck!

Standing around doing nothing was killing him, but it seemed like the best choice considering they didn't have any leads. Of course, that didn't mean they were doing nothing. Luke had deputies out searching the town and reaching out to neighboring communities, and Noah, Rhys, and Hattie were searching the National Park in their bear forms.

He wanted to be out searching, too, but he couldn't risk missing her call.

Their timeline had her missing for just over an hour, but a lot could happen in that amount of time, and as the minutes ticked on, hisapprehension grew.

Of course, she would have been missing a lot longer if the teacher in her classroom hadn't acted quickly.

After receiving a message from a student that Carly had left with a man and would be back in a few minutes, the teacher knew something wasn't right when she'd found Carly's phone and jacket left behind. They were always careful about not leaving devices outfor the children to find, and it was way too cold outside to be wandering around without a coat.

Once the teacher had confirmed that Carly had never made it to the office, the school called the sheriff.

While no one had actually seen her leave the school, the student had gotten a good look at the man she'd left the classroom with, and the boy had been able to positivelyidentify who had taken her.

Unfortunately, they still didn't know so much.

Where was her ex taking her? And why? Was he working alone?

They literally had no answers, and thepossibilities of what was, or could be, happening to her wereshredding him up inside.

More so, because this not knowing was all his fault. If they had completed the mating bond, he would know all of these answers, but most importantly, he would know that she was safe, because he would have found her already.

Instead, he'd let the pain, anger, and fear from his past dictate what he did now, and because of that, he might lose his mate forever. His true mate, who unlike his ex, is his perfect match. Even thinking that she could be anything like his ex—that she could ever be filled with so much hate—had been a mistake, and it was one that he would never make again.

Beneath the surface, his bear roared in agreement, and in the next minute, everything seemed to happen all at once.

Both his and Luke's phones started ringing at the same time, and when Ryker looked at his screen, he actually had two calls coming in. He ignored the one from Noah, and answered the unknown number.

"Hello?"

"Ryker." She let out a heavy breath, and her voice was strained, but she was alive.He didn't have to see her to know that she was hurt, though, and both the bear and the man wanted blood."It's me. I'm in the cave, and I want you to come and meet me here."

Even if they didn't know that she'd been taken, those words alone wouldhave clued him in that something was wrong. She liked visiting the cave, but she still considered it his space, and she would never go there without him.

"Whose phone are you calling from?"

"Oh, um?—"

She grunted, and there was a loud banging sound on her end of the line.

"Carly!"

"I'm here," she said. Her voice was tight before she forced out a laugh. "I just dropped the phone. My new phone. Ihad to get a new one because I lost mine."

Like hell she did, but he was done asking questions. If he said the wrong thing, she might get hurt again, and he didn't need any more information. They already knew whereshe was.

"Okay. I'm leaving now, and I'll be there as soon as Ican."

"Okay...," there was a long pause. "I love you, Ryker."

Before he could respond, the line went dead.

She loved him.

They were pretty much living together, and they'd already decided to be exclusive, but they hadn't said those words yet.Maybe she'd only said it because she thought she might die—or that he might—but he knew she wasn't lying. His true mate loved him, and soon she would know that he loved her, too.

When he looked up, Luke was handing him one of the vests he'd brought from the station.

"Put it on," Luke said. "Did she say she was in the cave?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Unknown number, and claimed it was her new phone. She was already hurt, but he hurt her again when I asked about the phone. I'm taking my weapon, but I know you might not be able to protect me if something goes down, and that's okay, son. I don't want to jeopardize your job—or ruin your life—in any way, so you do what you have to do, okay?"

"I will," Luke nodded. "One of the deputies found a stolen car parked on the street in front of your house, and the side fence has been messed with. He used a crowbar to take out three boards, and left the tool sitting right on top of the mess.I called everyone else back in, so it's just you and me. Noah also called me after you didn't answer and confirmed they found her. They didn't enter the cave, though, and I told them all to take the long way back and meet us at your house. If this guy has a gun, he'll definitely start shooting if a bear walks into the cave."

Luke was right, and he didn't want any of his sons, or Hattie, to get hurt. He didn't want Luke going with him, either, but he didn't bother bringing it up again. His son took family, and his job of sheriff, very seriously, and there was nothing Ryker could say to change his mind.

"We'll get her back, dad," Luke said, clapping him on the shoulder.

"I know." And when they did, he was never letting her go. "Let's go."

" W here is your fucking boyfriend?"

Ryker could hear the shuffling of angry footsteps, and the way the sound was transitioning from loud to soft told him Wheeler was probably pacing. If he was moving around the room, then he wasn't touching Carly, and that was a good sign.Whatever his plan, the other man wanted Ryker present for it, and that knowledge eased some of the tension running through him.

He had no idea what he was walking into, but he needed to stay calm, and he wouldn'tbe if Wheeler was touching his woman.

"He'll be here soon," Carly said. Even though he could hear the pain in her voice, he doubted the other man could. Her words came out strong, and if he was standing in front of her, he would see the fire in her eyes. "His shop is on the other side of town."

"You'd better hope he gets here soon," the pacing stopped. "Because I’m getting tired of waiting."

Carly's cry of pain pushed him forward, and he walked inside the cave. Carly was kneeling on the ground with her hands bound in front of her,andWheeler was holding her up by her hair, rubbing his covered dick all over her face. The man's other hand,the one holding the gun, was resting at his side.

Beneath the surface his bear roared, and Ryker drew the weapon he had tucked in his pants. He had no problem killing the man for touching and hurting his mate,but Wheeler was too close to Carly, and he couldn't risk the man getting off a lucky shot.

"Take your fucking hands off my woman, and drop your weapon."

His voice boomed around the cave, andWheeler jumped back in surprise, letting go of Carly, but it only took him a few seconds to recover. He raised his weapon and pointed it at Carly's head.

"I don't think so," he laughed. "I'm the one calling the shots here, and this bitch is going to pay for what she did to me. Dead or alive, it doesn't matter, so I suggest you be a good boy and put the weapon down."

Carly was sitting almost impossibly still, and if they had completed the mating bond, he could tell her through their link that everything was going to be okay. He'd let her know that Luke was standing just a few feet away, waiting to bust in like a hero at the first sign of trouble, and that they would be going home soon.

Instead, he'dallowed his life to be ruled by fear, and now he couldn't tell her anything.

The ache in his chest tried to force its way back in, but he didn't allow it. Both he and Carly were walking out of here alive, and then, when she was ready, he was claiming his mate. He was done letting his bitterness over the past make his decisions, and rightnow, there was nothing he wanted more than to hear her voice in his head.

But that would never happen if he didn't follow the haphazard plan he and Luke had made.

"Okay," Ryker nodded. "I'm putting it down."

He leaned forward to place the weapon on the dirt, and took a deep breath as he stood back up. He knew what was coming next, and he hoped that Wheeler didn't aim for his head.

"Good boy."

Wheeler laughed, and then he trained the gun on him and pulled the trigger. The pain that filled his chest was more than expected, but as he fell to the ground like he and Luke had planned, he was damn glad the other man had aimed for his center mass.

"Ryker!"

Carly's scream filled the cave, and then Luke was there and more shots were fired. When he heard the heavy sound of a body hitting the floor, he started to sit up at the same time Carly arrived at his side. Tears were streaming down her face as her hands roamed her body, and he realized she must have gone into traumatic shock.

He grabbed her hands and stilled them against his chest.

"I'm okay, sweetheart," he said, lifting her chin with his other hand. "I'm wearing a vest, and he didn't hurt me."

As soon as his words registered, she sagged against him, and broke down into heavy sobs. He pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her, wishing the heavy vest wasn't between them as she buried herself against his chest.

He kissed the top of her head.

"I love you so much," he murmured against her temple. "Not knowing how to find you nearly killed me."

When her sobs started to ease, Luke started walking toward them.

"He's dead, and I've already called it in," Luke said, handing him a tool that unfolded into a pair of scissors. "Use this for her wrists. I'll be outside waiting for the crews."

"Thank you, son."

"Anytime," Luke said. "You know that. You only have a few minutes."

"Let me cut these off," he said, loosening his hold so he could open the tool. He sat back and brushed his thumb across the gash on her cheek, and he silently wished he'd been the one to kill her kidnapper."The emergency crews will be here soon. Are you hurt anywhere else? Did he... do anything else?"

She shook her head, and winced when he cut the zip-ties.

"He kicked me a couple of times, and pulled my hair like you saw, but that was it. He was waiting for you. Wanted you to watch him rape me. I don't know why."

More tears started rolling down her cheeks, but these ones were silent,andhe wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. Soon, they were going to have to talk to the deputies and give statements—and she was definitelygetting checked out by the paramedics—but for now, he was just going to hold his mate.