Chapter Twenty-Eight
Static cracked in my earpiece and Barrett’s voice boomed, “Got a credible lead on Jen.”
“Where?” I pressed my hands over my ears so I didn’t miss a detail. Grizz Lee Royale had whipped the crowd into a frenzy, and some of the other performers were in the hallway, celebrating their own performances.
“Parking lot,” Barrett grunted. “Looks like they’re gonna use her as leverage.”
“For what?”
“Don’t know,” he grunted between static snaps. “I need you out here.”
“I’m guarding Synamon.”
“Synamon’s in the interview,” he countered. “Just need a show of force. Not sure how many guys they’ve got with them. But we can’t let them make a statement.”
Fuck. I wasn’t leaving Synamon, but I couldn’t tell my boss to send someone else. “Not comfortable leaving Synamon unguarded,” I finally said.
“She’s safe. I’ll message Stephanie, tell her to hold her in there,” Barrett countered. “Bibi’s in there. She’s a fierce wolf. Legend has it she’s never lost a fight.”
The last thing I wanted her to do was test that track record. “How long is this gonna take?”
“Be over a lot quicker as soon as you get your ass out there.” He chuckled.
That wasn’t like him.
“I don’t like this,” I groaned as I glanced at the closed door behind me. I could poke my head in, tell Synamon to wait for me, but Barrett said he had it handled.
Barrett doesn’t usually say things like get your ass out there, my bear said.
We were on the same page. It usually comforted me, but not this time. Still— The Werewives crew would make sure Synamon was safe, and it was probably best that the call came in now, so I could keep her from charging out there in her pasties and stilettos and giving the captors a piece of her mind.
I chuckled to myself as I headed down the hallway, past the storage closet that Synamon fired me in, and toward the stage.
Grizz Lee was still performing, dangling from a metal circle that had been hooked from the ceiling.
The crowd was rightfully captivated, and I was glad she’d signed on to be part of the new Bearlesque show so I’d be able to enjoy her performance one day.
But right now, I was laser focused on Jen.
“Barrett, can you hear me?” I didn’t want to shout over the crowd and blow his ear out.
A little bit of static was all I heard. Once I got outside, I tried again.
“Copy if you hear me.”
No answer.
I hadn’t thought to ask where they saw Jen.
“Barrett?”
Nothing. I switched channels.
“Bellamy, go to channel nine.”
More dead air.
I reminded myself that we were on a closed network that might not have signal. And now, I was looking for a needle in a haystack.
If I were trying to hide someone until I needed to exploit them, I’d probably have them in a van. And I’d guard it closely. I didn’t know Jen well, but she was Synamon’s best friend. No way this woman could be meek.
I stalked down each aisle of the lot. The place was packed, and the lot was huge. Synamon was probably done with her interview, and bargaining with Bibi and the Werewives to let her go on stage.
My earpiece crackled. “You’re coming closer. Keep walking, bear.”
It wasn’t Barrett’s voice. Or Bellamy’s.
Not only did the system get hacked, but that meant that no one had told the Werewives I’d left my post, and Synamon had no instructions to stay put.
Where else were these fuckers?
I suppressed my growl. The time would come to rip these assholes’ heads off soon enough. Right now, I needed to find them and keep myself from shifting.
“What do you want?” Because it was definitely something.
The voice chuckled. “Come find out.”
I scanned the parking lot, looking for someone, anyone from Sawtooth Security. I couldn’t remember who was assigned parking lot duty, my mind was racing, doing everything I could to stay human.
“It was fun crashing Synamon’s live feed,” the voice added. “And if you don’t want to come to us, we can bring Jen on stage.”
“You won’t.”
“We will.” Another chuckle. “We didn’t let the viewers see her last time. But now they’ll understand what their queen was so upset about.”
There was no way I could let Synamon go through that—she still hadn’t fully recovered from the live feed hack. She tried to put up a wall, act like she could handle it, but off camera, she’d been quiet. Withdrawn. Somewhere else.
No. They wouldn’t take everything from my mate, I’d make sure of it.
“Brad!” a familiar voice called out, and I braced myself for more bullshit.
Bishop jogged toward me. He wasn’t dressed in all black like the rest of us—he'd been pulled straight from the forest and had on his utility pants and flannel. He was far more feral than the rest of the guys.
“Glad to see you, man.” I held my hand up in greeting.
He furrowed his brow, hesitating before accepting the handshake. “What are you doing out here? Is this where she is?”
“That’s what they say.”
He furrowed his brow. “Who says?”
“Whoever has Jen.” I tried not to get impatient. Bishop was damn good at what he did, but he was new to the case.
“Jen? Right.” He tipped his head. “Wait. You’re not looking for Synamon?”
“Why would I be looking for Synamon?” The question was more, why did I ever get myself get lured away from her. I would never doubt my instincts again.
“You didn’t get the alert?”
I shook my head, willing my bear not to jump out of my skin.
Bishop lowered his voice, “She’s missing, Brad.”
“No.” I couldn’t have heard him right. “Listen, the system’s been hacked. That’s how they got me out here. But they’re not hiding it anymore. If I don’t get to Jen before Synamon goes on stage, they plan to bring her out there. I can’t do that to her.”
“Listen to me.” Bishop took my shoulders. “Synamon’s not going on stage. We can’t find her.”
“We don’t know that’s true.” I swallowed hard.
“It’s hard to think clearly when it’s your mate, but listen to me. We have to assume both things are true until proven otherwise. Someone wanted to get you away from Synamon—and they knew you’d come running if her friend was in danger. But the rest of us didn’t get that notification.”
He pulled his earpiece out and handed it to me. It was a completely different feed than was playing in my other ear. My heart sank.
Fuck, my mate could be in danger and everything about this Jen goose chase could be a lie.
“Tick tock, Brad,” the voice in my own private feed taunted. “Getting ready to bring Jen inside.”
Both things couldn’t be true.
I handed the earpiece back to Bishop. “We can’t trust anything right now.”
He shook his head. “We can trust ourselves. Our instincts. Some things never change.”
“We need to take control of this situation,” I growled.
Bishop nodded. “You’re the lead on this job. I’ll follow you.”
I need to get my shit together, regain my bearings, even if my legs felt like jelly and my bear wanted to scorch the earth. If I shifted, I’d lose my earpiece, my body cam, everything that was meant to help me.
We don’t need any of that, my bear growled. Trust your instincts.
“We’re close to Jen, I can feel it,” I finally said. It felt like everything was moving in slow motion and double time simultaneously. “They think they’ll fight me without backup. They have no idea they’re about to go up against two of the best bears in the business.”
That was the logical answer. Truth was, I wanted to drop everything and make sure my mate is safe. But there was a reason I got called out here. My bear was right, I had to trust...something. Myself.
Bishop nodded.
I hit the button on my earpiece. “I’m ready for you.”
“Oh.” The voice sounded surprised. “Thought you gave up.”
He had to know I'd gotten the news about Synamon.
“That’s something I never do,” I snarled.
“Do you really think they’re gonna give you Jen on a silver platter?” Bishop asked as we started walking
“Of course not, but I’m not gonna let them think they have the upper hand. We don’t run from trouble--”
“We make trouble run.” Bishop snickered.
I pressed the talk button on my earpiece again. “I’m coming for you now. Tell me what I’m looking for.”
“Red van.” The answer came quickly “Aisle J.”
I motioned for Bishop to follow me. We weren’t far and moments later a red van came into view.
“Do you want me to come with you or hang back?” Bishop asked.
“Come. We have nothing to hide.” There were no rules to this game, and when they saw my six-and-half-foot sidekick who was more beast than man, they’d probably be in the mood to renegotiate.
Three people stood outside the van, wearing bear heads—much like the one Synamon had described that her home invader had worn. So they were either part of the same group, or they wanted us to think so.
No telling if any of them were Nick until we knocked these stupid bear heads off them. There was no telling what these people would do.
“Didn’t think you’d bring a friend.” One of the bear heads stepped forward, and his voice matched the one who’d lured us here.
“Were there rules? Because I missed them,” I grunted. “Show your face. Stop being cowards.”
“Clever. Cocky.” He clucked his tongue. “That gets your friends into trouble.”
A muffled cry came from inside the van. I had to assume it was Jen, and she wasn’t alone.
Or a recording, my bear warned. Wouldn’t be the first time they fooled you with fake fuckery.
“Let us take her,” I said as calmly as I could manage.
The guy laughed. “That’s cute. However, we did bring you here to negotiate. On our terms. Here’s what we propose. Eleanor, or Synamon, as she likes to call herself, doesn’t testify. In return, we let Jen live. But if she even sets foot into that courtroom--”
Another scream came from the van, as if it was on cue.
Bishop and I looked at each other. We’d worked together long enough, trusted each other’s instincts as much as our own, we didn’t need words anymore.
He simply nodded. Mother fucking go time.
We knocked the leader over, capitalizing on sheer surprise. Bishop fought off two more bear heads while I went for the door.
The last bear head standing was fast, and she got in between me and the van.
“You don’t want to do this,” a woman’s voice warned. “This is much bigger than Ellie. They won’t stop until they get what they want.”
“You know her,” I said. “Something tells me she considers you a friend.”
“No comment.” Her bear head turned away from me just enough to give me the leverage to shove her out of the way. The leader rose from the gravel with a roar—not animal, just pissed-off human, and I had to act fast.
My body heat spiked as I turned to fight him off. Once Bishop had the other two guys on the ground, he grabbed the leader around the waist and flung him, sending him skidding across the parking lot.
My bear took over, my skin splitting to accommodate my animal body, fur rippling where my clothes had been moments before. I didn’t wait until I was fully transformed to let out a growl that sounded much more like a roar.
The woman cowered, slipping away from me. Bishop jumped forward to open the door, but she grabbed him and stuck the blade into his arm.
A body wrapped in rope lay inside the van, doing their best to buck against the restraints. Good. If this was actually Jen, she had fight in her.
But why hadn’t she shifted? I wondered. Either she’s too weak or this isn’t her.
Neither were good options, but I didn’t have the luxury of contemplating them, because the captive wasn’t alone. Another bear headed guard pointed a gun at me.
Unless they were a good shot there was far more chance of Jen getting killed than me. I could shield my chest, but not my head.
Their hands shook as they leveled the gun.
I had to act fast before they found the courage to shoot or any of the others were able to peel themselves away from the gravel. I took Jen’s leg in my jaws and tugged. She cried out.
At this angle, in my bear form, it was harder to move her than if I was human. And if I pulled too hard, she’d fall awkwardly to the ground. I had to get her to a place I could rip the constraints off her, and then hope she was in good enough shape to move on her own.
“It’s Brad. Stay with me,” I said.
Another cry. I took that to mean she understood me, because failure simply wasn’t an option.
Moving her quickly and carefully, I was aware of chaos all around me. Shouting. Grunting.
Then, the gunshot.
I braced for impact. Expected Jen to scream. None of that happened. I cautioned a glance at the shooter, who Bishop had in a headlock. No sign of the gun, but a lot of blood I hoped didn’t belong to Bishop.
Jen groaned as her body hit the ground. The bear heads were nowhere in sight. Not a good sign, but it gave me a chance to tear the restraints from her wrists.
“Thank you,” she gasped.
“Are you hurt?”
“Yeah.” The word was labored. “But I can do what you need me to do.”
I rose onto my hind legs and lifted her. “It will be faster this way.”
Bishop jumped out of the hatch, covered in blood.
“Did you get hit?” I asked.
“No, but that bastard in the bear head, not so lucky.” He squinted in the direction of the Stepchild. “What the hell is going on?”
Patrons flooded out of the club, waving their arms and chanting. As the swarm moved closer, the cadence became clear.
“Syn-a-mon! Syn-a-mon!”
I growled. My mate would never disappoint her biggest fans—which could only mean one thing—she was really missing.