Chapter Three
Intense eyes stared at her. Ana's heartbeat increased in desire, heat pooling in her intimate regions. Big, strong hands grasped her hips, pulling her closer to him. Some part of her brain told her to protest, that he was just like all the other men who had broken her heart; as soon as she asserted her independence, didn't submit to his every whim, whether it was what she should eat at a restaurant to what they would do in bed, he would drop her like a rock.
And she knew it would be far too easy to fall in love with Joseph Baker, so she had to stop this now before it was too late.
But his mouth was on hers now, demanding, hot, and her body was tightening. She had never wanted a man more than she wanted Joseph Baker at that moment and suddenly they were in a bed, his big, strong hands gripping her shoulders as he feasted on her breasts, a primal growl vibrating through her body—
Ana was jerked from her dream by the sound of an explosion. She gasped, pulse racing, disoriented as she clung to the blankets circling her. There was a soft lamp glowing on the nightstand–Ana had never really gotten over her fear of the dark–that lit the room. For an instant she thought it was a sound in her dream that had woken her, the night seemed so utterly still now. But then there was the sound of an engine roaring and the pop pop pop of gunfire.
She rolled out of bed, flattening herself on the floor at once. There was shouting in the house, the sound of voices both angry and frightened. Was it a coincidence, or had the assassin found them again? Was he trying another attempt on Seth's life?
Seth.
Just as she was about to scramble to her feet, the door burst open. Ana crouched behind the bed, but it was the senator who came into the room. He slammed the door shut and dragged the desk in front of it. Seth ran to the nightstand, turning off the lamp.
"What's going on?" Ana asked, clutching the bed, completely disoriented in the dark.
"Get out of the window," Seth hissed. "We've been betrayed, I saw one of the cops shoot the others."
Ana's heart stopped as she thought of Joseph. Had he been one of the ones killed…? She felt Seth brush by her as he headed to the window and followed him, not knowing what to think. Now was not the time to worry for Detective Baker, not when there was gunfire and a cop in the house trying to kill them!
"It's stuck," Seth grunted, trying to open the window.
Somebody pounded on the door.
"Let me," Ana replied. She groped blindly, finally finding the bed. Yanking one of the blankets off, she wound it around her fist. She punched the glass, shattering it, and continued to knock the glass clean off the window so they wouldn't cut themselves while climbing out.
But it was too late. The desk went flying as the door burst open. Bright, flashing lights blinded her. Seth cried out–it turned into a growl and he launched himself forward. One of the intruders smashed his face with the butt of his rifle and Seth collapsed.
"Bring him," one of the men said. "Scott wants the senator alive."
Ana trembled as they dragged Seth to his feet and pulled him out of the room. She felt so helpless, but what could she do, with the guns now pointed at her? Her hands clenched–they didn't need her alive, they would kill her the moment they got the order. A cool breeze brushed against her arm. Had she smashed a big enough hole in the window to get out?
A desperate cry strangled Ana as she snatched the lamp off the nightstand, ripping it from the wall, and hurled it at their attackers. It hit one of them dead on and he stumbled back, swinging his gun around towards her.
Ana dove out of the shattered window as the bullets came at her. Pain lanced her thigh. She screamed.
She hit the ground hard, rolling several times. Her leg throbbed and stung, but she didn't look to see if she had been shot. Adrenaline pumped through her, temporarily suppressing the pain as she scrambled to her feet. Lights peered through the window and found her. Somewhere in the house, she heard Seth screaming at her to run and she did. Bullets rained at her. She could hear them whistling by her ears and threw herself behind a tree. The impact of the bullets vibrated through the thick trunk, thrumming against her heart.
From where she was, she could see the back of the house. Seth was being dragged limply into a black van. Blood ran down his face. Ana patted her pockets, instinctively looking for her cellphone. If she could find it, take a picture of the vehicle…
"No!"
Tires squealed as the van pulled away. And from behind her, another sound came. A sound that sent shivers running down her spine and that told her to flee, to run as fast and hard as she could. A primitive sound, punctured by the screams of men and intermittent gunfire. Ana pressed herself to the tree, legs shaking with the desire to run, but somehow suppressing that instinct. If she ran, she would open herself up to gunfire again.
Something crashed behind her. It sounded like something huge bursting through glass and wood. More strangled cries.
A man ran by her, shooting wildly behind him. Ana threw herself to the ground; bark splinters rained down on her. She looked up to see the man jump into a car. Heavy feet pounded the ground behind her, and something massive leaped over her.
Her heart stopped as a huge bear attacked the car the man had climbed into. Claws tore the door clean off and massive jaws clamped down on the roof. With the horrible screech of metal, the bear ripped the car in half as easily as aluminum foil.
The man inside screamed as the bear bit down on him. A single gunshot, and then all was silent except for the cracking of bones.
Ana lay where she was, too horrified to move. The bear tossed aside its kill and turned. It was as big as an elephant, with long legs and a bulldozer body. Grey-brown fur, with some tan markings around its mouth and eyes, rippled as it walked towards her. She lay there, frozen, eyes as wide as saucers. Her body seemed to have shut down, the earlier urge to flee having disappeared as every muscle in her body tensed to the point where none of them would listen to her.
The bear stopped right above her. It shimmered for a moment, disappearing for the blink of an eye. Ana's breath caught in her throat as Joseph Baker knelt beside her. Utterly naked, his skin gleaming with a layer of sweat. His massive chest heaved as he reached for her.
Ana flinched back instinctively. The detective froze, a hurt look flashing over his face. That look disappeared quickly and was replaced by a frown and clenched jaw.
"And here I thought you were shifter-friendly."
It took a moment for Ana to really understand what he was saying. Her eyes flashed and she pushed herself to her knees, ignoring the pain pounding in her thigh. How dare he?
"I am! But you can hardly expect me not to be afraid when this is the second time in two days somebody has tried to kill me! Plus I saw the way you mauled that man. You still have blood on your face." Ana's stomach churned. "I don't do well with blood."
Baker blinked. He wiped a hand over his face, smearing the blood further, then focused on her leg. He muttered a curse and grabbed her by the hips. Ana's heart jumped, thinking for the briefest of seconds her dream was going to come true. She yelped as the detective ripped off her pants.
"What do you think you're—"
"You cut your leg. Doesn't look like there's anything in the wound. But I have to bandage it."
He tore the cloth as easily as tissue paper. Ana's protest died as she watched his impressive muscles work. It was the adrenaline, she was going into shock… that was why she suddenly had the urge to launch herself at him, blood and all. It had to be. The detective bunched half of her pants on her thigh, making her hiss with pain and tied it into place with the other half. It was a good thing she had decided to wear cotton to bed…
"I am going to shift again," he said. "You climb onto my back and hold tight. We can move faster this way."
Ana stared at him. Her head felt a little spinny–she opened her mouth to tell him that she wasn't sure she was going to be able to hold on. But then she slumped to the ground, blackness overtaking her.
***
The agony in her leg woke her. She gasped, jerking, her hands going to her thigh. Big hands grabbed hers, stopping her from tearing off her bandages, and she was pulled into a strong embrace. A peculiar scent hit her nose and she instantly relaxed against the giant that held her. Blinking, she glanced up to see Joseph Baker looking down at her, their faces inches apart.
If it wasn't for the pain in her leg telling her that this wasn't a dream, she would have kissed him.
Come on, girl! Get your head in the game.
"Here." He pressed some pills into her hand. "Tylenol. Your leg is going to hurt, but it's not a deep cut. I had to sew it, though… I'm sorry, I couldn’t risk taking you to a hospital. There could be more of those assassins out there."
Ana managed to get herself sitting up straight and accepted the painkillers, which she dry swallowed easily. Was the massive bear that she remembered just her imagination? Everything from before she blacked out felt scrambled, and she wasn't entirely certain what she was supposed to be thinking right now.
"You're a shifter."
Joseph nodded.
At least he had cleaned off the blood. Ana pressed her hands together. "A Bear shifter."
"Yes."
"Do your superiors know?"
Joseph stared at her. "The only person on the force that knew is Buck. He is my partner… Was my partner."
He turned away from her, shoulders hunching. Ana didn't have to ask what had happened. She knew that Detective Harmon had been watching the house with him. So Harmon either betrayed him or died. Whatever it was, Joseph clearly didn't want to talk about it. She put her hand on his arm, trying to comfort him.
"I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry about," he replied gruffly. "Just try to rest. The sooner I can drop you off somewhere safe, the sooner I can go after the men who killed him."
Drop her off somewhere? Ana narrowed her eyes. Not likely.