Chapter 13
Chance had Isabelle back to the cabin in record time. Without asking, he carried her in and settled her on the couch and stoked the fire before rushing in to start her a bath. When he came out, she still had her eyes pinned to the phone gripped so tightly in her hand that her knuckles were white. Chance hated to say anything, but he knew he had to. “Belle, we gotta take the battery outta that thing so they can’t track it. Is that okay?”
She nodded and used her tiny shaking fingers to pry it apart before handing him the battery. Even though it was dead, she kept staring at it, and his gut churned as he imagined what could possibly cause her to want it so badly.
“Belle?”
Without looking at him she stood and crossed to the fire, dropping down to toss the phone into the flames.
Chance had never burned a cell phone before, and wasn’t sure the damn thing wouldn’t explode, so he picked Isabelle up and carried her to the bedroom while her eyes stayed fixed to the fire over his shoulder.
In his bathroom he paused for a moment, unsure how to help her. As traumatized as she was he offered to leave her alone to clean up, but she clutched onto his shirt and wouldn’t let go. He helped her strip, wanting to puke at what he saw. Her wrists were raw and bloody from where Zeke had obviously tied her up. She was bruised and battered, and when she turned to climb into the tub, he saw there was blood smeared across the back of one ass cheek.
Chance swayed with the knowledge of what Zeke had done, and inside his wolverine raged at how quickly they’d killed the fucker. He wanted a do-over like he wanted his next breath.
Isabelle was silent as she lowered slowly into the hot water and curled her knees up to her chest, hugging them as she stared unseeing at the wall. Chance offered again to leave, but Isabelle quietly held out her hand. Unsure what to do, he took her delicate hand in his, holding it gently. She pinched her eyes closed and buried her face in her upraised knees. And then, she cried.
He hated this. He felt helpless and hollow, and he could only imagine what Isabelle was feeling. It had to be so much worse, a million, billion, trillion times worse.
Hours later, after the bath had gone cold, and he’d gotten her cleaned up and tucked into bed, he paced in front of the fire going over the day’s events. He didn’t want anything coming back to Belle, so while she slept, he shifted and hauled ass back to Tracy’s diner. The Sheriff and his deputies were still there, still investigating. He got close enough to hear them lamenting over the poor city bastard. His pawprints were confusing them, because they looked wolverine but were way too large. In the end, they finally decided it was a bear attack because of the evidence confirmed Joyce’s claim. The Sheriff and his deputies left it at that. It was too dark now to do anything about finding the bear, so they planned to send out trackers in the morning to hunt it down. He wasn’t surprised when he heard his name mentioned to lead the trackers. His reputation for dependability and excellence at predator control meant he was often called in for dangerous hunts. He was relieved to know they’d be calling him in the morning to…well, to hunt himself down. He wouldn’t let some poor bear take the fall either. He’d tell them he shot the damn thing and couldn’t recover the carcass, but he’d assure them the animal was taken care of. He was good for it. His reputation had earned him a great deal of respect, and this wouldn’t be the first time law enforcement came to him for help tracking rogues.
Satisfied, he made the trek back home, his attention wholly focused on Isabelle. He wanted desperately to help her, but he didn’t know how. Hell, he wasn’t even sure if he was supposed to take her to the hospital or not! Before, when he’d thought he couldn’t handle her tears, was nothing compared to this. This was a whole other level of out of his league. He wished he had sisters, or a mother he could call for advice. For a minute he considered going back to Ruby’s, but he didn’t want to do that to Isabelle. He wouldn’t go behind her back. No, they’d figure this shit out together.
***
Isabelle woke with a start. It felt like she’d been asleep forever, and something had just jarred her awake. She scanned Chance’s room, wondering if she’d bumped her blistered feet. Looking down at her blanket-covered toes, she realized they weren’t sore…but everything else was.
Memory came flooding back as she lifted her hands into her line of sight. Her wrists were bandaged, and she suddenly remembered Chance carefully applying salve before wrapping them in gauze.
Chance! He’d saved her. Again! She pinched her eyes tight as relief flooded her. She was back with Chance, finally safely away from Zeke. Zeke. Jagged memories of what she’d seen at the diner slammed into her, and her eyes snapped open. The Monster was dead.
Chance’s voice carried to her softly through the dim light of the room. “You okay?”
She turned to find him seated on the floor with his back pressed against the wall. His forearms were resting on his upraised knees and he looked like he’d been there a while.
“I’m okay.”
“Should I take you to the hospital, Belle? Do you need to get checked out?”
“No,” she replied immediately. The hospital could tie her to Zeke, and to his strange death behind a tiny diner along the highway. Her being seen for rape just after his brutal, though well-deserved, death would look suspicious. Besides, she didn’t want anyone else knowing what was done to her. Zeke was dead, and as far as she was concerned, this thing was finished…well, almost.
“If you want, I can take you home, Belle. Back to your Aunt Ruby’s?”
She was shaking her head before he finished, one hand fisting the blanket over her stomach. “I can’t go back there right now.” Tears flooded her eyes. “Maybe never.”
He swallowed hard as he looked down at his own hands. “Does Ruby know?”
Her eyes shot to his. “NO!” Then, more quietly, “No. He…he threatened to hurt her to get me to do what he wanted. Ruby doesn’t know. She can never know. She’d burn that house to the ground if she knew what happened there.”
Silence hung between them for long minutes until she asked, “Is it okay… I mean, can I stay here for now?”
His response was instantaneous. “Yes! You can stay for as long as you want. Stay forever.” He eased off the wall and crawled to her before slowly reaching out and taking her hand. “I’m sorry, Isabelle. I shouldn’t have let you go. I should’ve followed my gut and kept you with me. If I had…”
“He’d have found me here and hurt us both.”
“I would have killed him before I ever let him lay a finger on you.”
She smiled, “I know. You’re my protector.”
His look was solemn when he said, “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you.”
And here it was, as good as any admission. “I’m glad you say that because there’s one thing I need to ask of you.”
“Anything.”
She dipped her head, not wanting to look him in the eye when she said it. “Chance, would you go into town, to the pharmacy, and get me a…a day after pill?” The rest came out in a rush like she felt the need to hurry and explain. “He’s a demon, and I don’t want to carry any part of him with me. I know it sounds selfish, and you may not believe in it, but…”
“Hey!”
She lifted her head and her eyes collided with his.
“I’m gonna go right now. I promise. Is there anything else I can get you while I’m in town?”
She looked down. “No. Nothing else.” She didn’t want to inconvenience him any more than she already was.
Chance glanced at the clock on the nightstand. “It’s a half hour there and a half hour back. You gonna be okay alone? You could come, wait in the truck, but I’m afraid it’d be an uncomfortable ride.”
It would, and she didn’t want to leave the safety of his home. She felt protected here. “I’d like to stay if it’s okay.”
“Yeah. I’d prefer you stay too.” He stood abruptly, disappearing into the living room before coming back with a shotgun. “You know how to use this?”
She smiled up at him. “Montana girl. Remember?”
“Hell yeah, I remember.” He bent and brushed his lips against her forehead. “My lil’ badass country girl.” Crossing to the dresser against the far wall, he fisted his keys. “I’ll be back. Keep the door locked. Stay inside.” He surveyed the room and then his eyes landed back on her as he gave her a halfhearted grin. “You’re safe here, Belle. I own this mountain. No one fucks with it. No one fucks with me, which means no one’s gonna fuck with you. Understand?”
She nodded, feeling a warm tide of relief at his words.
He winked at her then turned and left. She heard him use his key to lock the front door behind him and, suddenly alone, Isabelle felt shamed at the fact that Chance knew what Zeke had done to her. She tried to convince herself that it wasn’t that bad, that it wasn’t really rape because they’d dated and had slept together before, but that was a lie. She didn’t want what was done to her. Zeke had not only forced her, he had been utterly brutal in the act. In the end, she opted to admit to herself what had been done so she could start tackling how to heal from it.
She had worried about conceiving Zeke’s child, but Chance was taking care of that. She also worried about Zeke’s cop friends hunting her down, but Chance assured her that all reports confirmed that Zeke had been mauled by a rogue bear. Well, it had been an animal, no one could fake that, so his cop friends would just have to accept it as truth.
Chance had, and still was, taking care of everything. The acrid taste of guilt rose in her throat at the burden she was placing on him by dumping her nightmare of a life at his doorstep. She thought back on his offer to take her back home, and now she wondered if he was trying to get rid of her so he could be done with her and all her drama. Maybe he didn’t want her in his life. Maybe he didn’t want her getting close and finding out… Finding out what exactly it was she’d seen him do behind the diner. And no, she wasn’t talking about the whole ‘ripping Zeke to shreds’ bit. No, Chance had turned into an animal! Chance was the bear! But, not a bear.
Thinking back, she remembered sitting locked in Chance’s truck like he’d told her to do, but then she heard screaming. She’d been afraid it was Chance, so she’d scrambled from his truck and was racing back into the diner when she realized the sound of agonized shrieking was coming from behind it. She’d rushed around, heart in her mouth, only to come to a sudden terrified stop at the carnage in front of her. A huge beast was ripping Zeke apart, and she’d felt such satisfaction at the sight that she’d stood and watched like a deranged fool instead of running for her life. She hadn’t even been worried about the animal turning away from his now-quiet prey and attacking her. No, she’d gotten such sick pleasure from watching Zeke die that at first, she didn’t even realize the animal had stopped mauling the bits and pieces left over. That is, not until terrible popping noises cracked through the cold air. Her attention snapped back to the huge beast, and she suddenly realized that the monster who had just killed the Monster was changing. Right there in front of her eyes, it warped and shrank, changing, shockingly, from a animal to Chance. She’d seen it! It had happened!
And now she was sick for a whole new reason. Chance wasn’t human, and it terrified her because…well, because she loved him! Whatever he was, she loved him.