9. Bear
A blacked out, bulletproof, Land Rover chirped as the lights flashed proving it was now unlocked. If Von was right and someone was trying to lure her out, or into a trap through Mamba, I wasn’t willing to take any risks with the safety of my goddess.
I signaled for Erik to toss our bags in the back while I started the vehicle. When it came to unknown situations like this, every fucking second mattered. I’d gone through this routine before but found it easier to manage and stay ahead with an extra pair of hands. I might not trust Erik with Von’s life, but I trusted him a hell of a lot more than I did the snake slithering his way into the back seat.
The Land Rover purred to life as Von climbed in beside me. Quickly, I checked to ensure we had a full tank, spare magazines for our handguns, and a wad of emergency cash. Reassured that everything we needed was on hand, I hit the button for the hidden garage door. Instead of it opening like a typical garage, this set of doors lifted like the flaps of a box revealing the ramp down into the lowest level. I glanced at the rearview mirror and found Apollo’s smug gaze staring back at me. He gave me a saucy wink which triggered a low growl deep in my chest I couldn’t stop. I’d never been so pissed, all because I couldn’t kill the fucker.
“All clear, Bear,” Erik informed me as he grabbed the back of my seat, leaned forward so I could see him, and blocked my view of Apollo. Fucking beta, I knew he was trying to keep the peace long enough for us to get the hell out of there.
With a grunt I nodded, slammed the SUV into gear, and burned rubber on the way out of the garage. It was early afternoon on a weekday so there weren’t many people on the road yet, which was a good thing considering I didn’t feel much like following traffic laws.
Von hadn’t said a word since she got in the car, but I already knew what she’d say. Get the fuck out of the city, away from the airport, and head in a direction that makes no sense. Our priority was to vanish so we lived long enough to regroup and figure out what the hell was going on.
After an hour of complete silence, Von finally spoke. “Are you driving toward, Trian?”
I nodded, guiding the steering wheel with my knee to free my hands. “ If there’s a chance this might be Serena or one of her hired guns, I doubt they’d expect us to head this direction. ”
“Huh, what do you know, you do listen from time to time,” Von teased. “Drive for another hour this way then start to head south. We might need to backtrack a little but that won’t be a problem since we’ll be on a different highway. I want to aim for the town right on the border of Hasnad, Trian, and Nepreea.”
“Why there?” Erik asked.
“It’s a hub of information,” Von shared as she leaned her seat and made a show of getting comfortable. “I’m sick and tired of being two steps behind the bitch, so instead of playing defense, I’m going on the offense.”
Erik let out a low whistle. “Did you just use a sports metaphor?”
Von’s arm shot up with her middle finger standing proudly which had Erik chuckling, and I couldn’t help but grin. The growing relationship between Von and Erik was something I wouldn’t have expected but was exactly what my goddess needed.
We’d been driving for about an hour and a half before Von woke up from her nap. It was a good thing too, because I was about to pull over and tie Apollo up so he’d stop climbing around the car to stare out the window at something. Von never got enough sleep, so when she managed to fit in a nap, I refused to wake her up unless it was necessary. I’d learned pretty quickly my goddess couldn’t resist the powers of a moving car, it would put her out every time.
“Fuck that was a good nap,” she said, then took a moment to yawn and arched her body in a stretch.
I nearly groaned as her crop top was on the verge of exposing the underside of her breasts. It wasn’t until I noticed her grin that I realized she was teasing me.
With a wink, she settled in her seat and looked around. “Anyone know where we’re at?”
I punched the dashboard screen with my finger which woke it up and revealed a map. We’d been heading south toward our destination for roughly twenty minutes. There was nothing outside but flat grassland with cattle grazing for miles.
“Let me put in the hotel information and see how long it’s gonna take us to get there,” Von muttered.
Curious about what hotel she was talking about, I watched as she typed in the information. The moment I read the name I knew exactly where Von planned to take us. Without warning I swerved off the road, down a short dirt service lane, then slammed on the brakes and put the car in park.
I yanked off my seatbelt and twisted to face Von as I signed. “Like hell I’m gonna take you there.”
Von fluttered her lashes at me. “Now, my grumpy Bear, why would you be so upset about us going to a hotel?”
“You know exactly why I’m acting like this. Why the hell would you think it’s a good idea to go there? What if they want you to check out the hotel and are using it as a trap? Mamba told you Serena has used the hotel to funnel information across borders. The witch has probably already spread whatever goddamn lies she could to turn people against you, and you want to walk in the front door?” I shot back, my chest heaving with how worked up I was.
My goddess was a woman who didn’t fear much in this world, not after all she’s been through. I loved how her past made her into a feral wolf, stalking through the shadows of the biggest and baddest criminal empires. Yet there were moments, like now, where her lack of self-preservation forced me to step in. Granted, it was for purely selfish reasons since I planned to keep her alive as long as I could, despite her feelings on the matter.
“Geeze, Bear, tell me how you really feel, why don’t cha,” Von scoffed. “Look, your reasoning for us not to go, is exactly why I want to. Think about it, if we can find one of Serena’s agents, then I can torture information out of them. Who knows, maybe we might find a few people to persuade with a few well-placed bullets to get some invaluable intel. We’ll never know until we try.”
“Keep talking like that, treasure, and I might be forced to seduce your faithful pup,” Apollo quipped, offering Erik a saucy wink. “What do you say, will you help a poor man out since our woman’s made it clear she won’t ease my suffering?”
“The fuck?” Erik spluttered. “First of all, no. Von wants you to suffer and I’m more scared of her than you. Second, why the hell would you think you could seduce me?”
“Oh, my sweet, naive gingerbread man,” Apollo cooed as he rested a hand on Erik’s shoulder and leaned closer. “I know because I planted a bug in her room and heard every word of your truly heartbreaking story. It’s understandable why you wouldn’t take another male into your bed after all that happened. However, what I’m proposing is purely carnal. My heart, like yours, belongs to another.”
“Yeah, I’m gonna pass,” Erik said, smacking Apollo’s hand off.
“I can see you’re hesitant. There is no shame in liking some variety in your sexual partners. We’re all part of the same harem so why don’t I give you a sample? My skills at playing the one-hole flute are renowned,” Apollo offered, a slight purr to his voice as he shifted closer to Erik.
While I didn’t have the best view of Erik from where I was sitting, I had a pretty good guess of how this was going to end. Acting preemptively, I hit the unlock button, then the switch to a custom feature I’d had installed. Both passenger doors popped open allowing for a fast exit. Seconds later, Erik and Apollo tumbled out of the car onto the dirt road. Apollo got in a nasty kidney punch, but Erik returned the favor a moment later. Apollo kicked out but hit the door instead, slamming it shut. Von reached to unbuckle her seatbelt but I’d been prepared for that as well and got there first.
“What the fuck, Bear?” Von shouted, yanking at the seatbelt then turning her glare on me. “If we don’t break them up, one or both of them will end up dead.”
“ Not until you tell me why you really want to go to the hotel, ” I challenged.
“I told you why I want to go,” Von growled, averting her gaze.
My goddess didn’t lie to me when it came to business. However, that rule didn’t apply when it had anything to do with emotions, her past, or something she knew would put her life in danger. I never told Von I knew every time she’d lied to me, and I chose not to push the matter. This time things were different, I wasn’t just her shadow. I’d earned my place beside her and wasn’t keeping quiet any longer.
“ Yes, and it was a lie, ” I countered. “ Tell. Me. The. Truth. ”
Von’s jaw clenched as her hands balled into fists. “Why are you choosing now to be such a cock-nugget?”
The thud of a body hitting the car drew our attention for a second. Then the other open door slammed shut followed by a stream of cursing. When nothing else happened, I returned my focus to my brooding dark angel and raised a brow.
“Fine,” Von yelled, throwing up her hands. “I need to know if Mamba really turned on me or if someone is trying to manipulate me into killing him. Doing that would set off a chain reaction in the criminal world landing me in a shit storm I don’t want to deal with on top of everything else.”
I didn’t react, I simply waited for her to continue now I’d gotten her on a roll.
“Asp Lodge has been turned into a goldmine of information, thanks to Mamba. Since we can’t go back to the city, I figured I could find out more there,” Von explained as she raked a hand through her hair and closed her eyes for a second before locking her gaze with mine. “Bear, if people thought I went too far when someone stole from me, they’ll be pissing themselves when they see a truly ticked-off feral wolf. I know what it’s like to be someone’s puppet and I vowed on his corpse it would never happen again.”
The glint in her eyes was one only a true predator could manage. Von was on the verge of blood lust, and if she crossed the line and allowed her demons to run free, the city would be painted red. It caused my own demons to rejoice, filling my head with images of us naked, covered in blood, and fucking in celebration.
Unable to resist, I wrapped my hand around Von’s throat, unbuckled her, and drew my goddess closer until our mouths slammed together. It took mere seconds before she straddled me and dragged her nails down the back of my neck. Then she tried to shove my leather jacket off to feel more of my skin. Just as quickly as the moment started, it ended abruptly as Apollo tore Von from my grasp. My vision went red as I barreled out of the vehicle like a bear ready to destroy the bastard who dared to take my goddess from me.
There weren’t many times I resented not being able to speak, but this was one of them. I wanted the ability to do more than just roar at the man I was about to decimate. However, that wasn’t an option, so my fists had to do the talking for me. Apollo ran from the car into the field without looking back, but the snake knew I was coming for him.
Like a linebacker on a football team, I charged with my shoulder dropped and plowed right into Apollo. My shoulder made a direct hit to his lower back, and I heard the grunt as the air was forced out of his lungs. Together we landed in the dirt, but I’d been prepared so I rolled to the side and popped up on my feet.
Apollo had rolled to protect Von who he’d still been holding. His hold had loosened on her enough that she could slam her elbow into his gut. Free from the man, she scrambled to her feet ready to beat some sense into him.
I stalked over, dragged Von back before I grabbed Apollo’s shirt, and slammed my fist into his face. There was no chance for him to block before my attack while still trying to catch his breath. Just as I was about to repeat the move, I felt the shock of something sharp piercing the skin of my inner thigh. I looked down and found Apollo had the tip of a knife he’d concealed at the ready to do real damage.
“Hit me again and I’ll push this blade deeper until it hits the femoral artery,” Apollo threatened as blood leaked from between his lips.
I narrowed my eyes unsure if he’d really go through with it. However, I never got the chance to see if Apollo had the balls enough to kill me and ruin any chance he had with Von, because we were all knocked down by an explosion.