9. Chapter Nine

Her hospital stay flew by in a blur of pokes, prods, questions, and bright lights being shined directly into her pupils. Gaelynn was so happy to be released she almost cried.

The nurse wheeled her to a circular drive at the back of the hospital—away from prying eyes the woman said.

She wondered whose eyes were prying. She hadn’t seen anything on the news about two eviscerated thugs found in the woods, so she chalked that entire part of her memory up to concussion induced hallucinations.

What wasn’t a hallucination were the three black SUVs idling in a row waiting on her. Or the seven musclebound people lined up in front of them.

Behemoth and River stepped forward to help her from the wheelchair into the vehicle.

“Is the motorcade really necessary? I feel like the president with all the muscle and black cars.” She frowned at her shaking hands as Behemoth clicked her seatbelt into place.

“Yes.”

So they were back to grunts and one-word answers. She sighed and hoped the lack of vocabulary only lasted until the others left. The me Tarzan, you Jane act took some figuring out, and made her head hurt.

Trees zipped past the windows as they maneuvered Damruck’s streets. Gaelynn was drifting off, her head on Behemoth’s shoulder, when the supports of the city’s main bridge came into view. She blinked and sat up.

“Where are we going?”

“Safe house.”

River expanded on his answer before she smacked him in frustration.

“Zeus is sending you to a new location.” River’s eyes met hers in the rear-view mirror. “One only we know about. Until we catch The Level’s new upper management, it’s best for all of us to stay hidden.”

“The Level? What’s The Level?”

River’s eyes cut to Behemoth in the rearview. “You didn’t tell her?”

His arm around her shoulders pulsed. “Wasn’t time.”

River’s eyes rolled before returning to the road. “The Level is Damruck’s own drug organization. We suspect their leader sent the men who attacked you.”

Gaelynn jerked back in surprise. “Not Matthew?”

“No, your creepy cult leader wasn’t involved as far as we can tell.”

“How did they even know I was there? No one but Supe Sec knew I was staying with Behemoth.”

His arm pulsed around her shoulders again, harder this time. She could tell the conversation agitated him, but not enough to get him talking.

River’s voice darkened. “We think they have a high-level government official working with them. They didn’t know you were there. They were after Behemoth, but when they found you, they grabbed you instead of leaving empty-handed.”

Gaelynn’s head spun. Running from Matthew was bad enough, but now she’d been drawn into some next level shit targeting Supe Sec.

“Maybe I should—”

“No.”

His tone said the argument was over, but she thought differently. “If Supe Sec is being targeted by these drug people, then it stands to reason I’d be better off somewhere else.”

A growl rumbled through his chest, seeping in through her side where they were pressed together. She tried to sit up, away from him, but he held her in place. River’s voice ceased her struggle.

“Bee’s right this time, I’m afraid. The Level’s reach is considerable, and with who we suspect at the helm, it’s also formidable. There’s a possibility they know who you are now. I’m sorry, Gaelynn, but you’re stuck with us.”

Her heart pounded, making her head swim. She didn’t want to think about logistics. She didn’t want to wonder where the next blow would come from. She wanted to run. It was what she knew, what was familiar.

She felt trapped and renewed her struggle against Behemoth’s hold.

His voice breathed against her ear, low and steady. “Shh. I’ve got you. I won’t ever let anything happen to you. You are safer by my side than anywhere else. Breathe with me.”

Without thought, her lungs filled and emptied with the rise and fall of his chest. Her heartbeat slowed and the dim edges of her vision cleared.

She looked up and caught his eyes. “How can you be so sure?”

He stared at her so long she thought he wouldn’t answer. She got caught in the depths of his dark brown eyes, feeling his confidence seep into her like a warm blanket.

“Because I love you, and I will give my life for you.”

Her mouth gaped. She felt like she should say something, anything, but her throat refused to work.

He loved her? How could he love her? Was he having the same post sex feelings she was? They weren’t real. The emotions welling inside her chest were fake. They had to be. Why would he say he loved her? He didn’t have to say anything to get back in her pants. She was a sure thing. Wasn’t that why men said they loved women?

His hand slid up her back and cupped her head, pushing it down onto his pec. His chin settled on top, holding her close.

“Sleep now. We have a ways to go yet.”

She would never be able to sleep now. Not after he dropped a bombshell like that.

The road noise and the sway of his chest rising and falling beneath her ear made her a liar.

“You’re an idiot.”

Gaelynn had no sooner fallen asleep in his arms than River’s hiss echoed through the car. His eyes flew to the rearview where the other bear glared at him.

He shut his eyes but the accusation stung. “I know.”

River harrumphed but remained otherwise silent. Telling Gaelynn he loved her felt right, but the way she reacted was clear. The stark panic in her eyes, the beat of her heart, the stillness of her muscles let him know without a doubt how his declaration was received.

Not well was an understatement.

He wanted her to know she would be safe with him. He wanted her to know he would die before letting her come to further harm.

He wanted her to know he’d ripped her assailants apart.

Telling her he loved her seemed the only way he could. He couldn’t very well tell her he was a bear shifter, that the polar bear she’d been supposedly hallucinating was his cousin, and their chauffeur was a black bear.

That conversation was best had while not in an enclosed space. Certainly not one that was hurtling down an interstate.

A vision of her throwing herself from the moving vehicle was enough to turn his stomach.

He had to tell her. The conversation loomed over him like a dead pine tree. He needed to get it done and over with before it bit him in the ass, but the idea struck terror in his heart. He’d rather use his claws to rip through his own chest than face her fear and disgust when she realized what he was. What he’d done.

Telling her he loved her was safer. She’d panicked, but at least she hadn’t tried to throw herself from the car. She’d even fallen asleep on his chest.

His bear whispered to trust her. She was strong. She wouldn’t reject them. But his logical, human, mind rebelled.

She would feel betrayed. She’d trusted him with her body when she didn’t know the truth of what he was.

“Stop it.”

River’s whisper jerked him from his thoughts.

“She won’t reject you. She just needs time to heal from the attack. Give her time.”

He nodded. Time. That’s all she needed.

He didn’t believe that. Time was not on either of their sides. They needed to deal with The Level quickly so they could handle the problem of Matthew. Once they dealt with those, he could address the very large, very furry problem hiding beneath his skin.

Zeus was working on a plan to flush The Level into the open. They tabled the Garrison issue, for now. Society didn’t think he had direct involvement in the cartel’s business but was kept on some sort of retainer.

He probably wasn’t any deeper in bed with the organization than he needed to be. He would want to keep his hands clean. Plausible deniability was big in Garrison’s world.

So the former commander could wait.

Matthew was a bully, and like most bullies, a coward. He would wait until Gaelynn was unprotected, which would never happen.

That left finding The Level and shutting them down as the clear priority. With Sean dead, there were two possibilities. One was chaos as the second-in-commands all vied for the position of power. The other was that Sean was the second-in-command and the true leader was still in control. Finding out which option was true shouldn’t be a problem.

If it was the former, then street skirmishes between the various factions would be on the rise as each tried to establish dominance. If the latter, then day-to-day operations would continue as normal.

By the time they reached the safe house, Bull would know which scenario they were dealing with. That werewolf was a genius with computers.

Superhuman Security was still a small company, with one full team and a second that needed a few more to round it out. Zeus had called everyone in. A crowd of SUVs greeted them as they pulled up to the safe house.

It didn’t seem like a big house. Behemoth cringed. Being cooped up in a house wasn’t pleasant, and the tensions would run higher since they wouldn’t be able to shift with Gaelynn around.

That problem moved to the top of the list.

Too many problems. He just wanted to protect his mate. It shouldn’t be so complicated.

River pulled the vehicle off the driveway and parked in the last available open space. She leaned toward the windshield and grimaced. “I hope this place has a basement.”

He grunted and squeezed Gaelynn. She blinked and sat up, stretching her arms as wide as she could and drawing her shirt tight across her chest.

He looked. He couldn’t help it. He needed to try harder, because walking around semi-hard for however long they were stuck here would make it exponentially worse.

Gaelynn’s eyes flicked to his crotch and she smiled. He shook his head at her and unfolded from the car, taking time to stretch himself.

The three of them stopped just outside the door when raised voices reached them. Behemoth shoved Gaelynn behind him and nodded at River. Weapons drawn, they opened the door and crept inside.

What they found was absolute chaos. Bull was shouting at Ghost, threatening to rip him limb from limb. Ghost plastered himself against the far wall, hands raised in supplication. Zeus stood between them, a palm on each of their chests to keep them separated. The shattered remains of some piece of tech lay scattered under their feet.

River holstered her Glock and grinned. “At least we haven’t missed anything. I’ll make popcorn.”

Gaelynn surveyed the scene with mild horror and annoyance. The shouting and carrying on were loud and her head was already pounding.

The others watched with swiveling heads like they were at a tennis match. Zeus was the only one trying to calm the situation down, and it didn’t look like he would quit laughing long enough to be effective.

She pushed past Behemoth and waded into the fray. She sidestepped the trio and approached from the far wall, which meant they didn’t see her until she grabbed a solid handful of Bull’s t-shirt and yanked.

He was a tall man, and she wanted him at eye level.

The surprise caused a momentary cease fire.

She pointed at the remains on the ground. “Was it irreplaceable?”

Bull’s forehead wrinkled. “No, but that’s beside the —”

“Good.” She cut him off and looked at Zeus, without letting go of Bull’s shirt. “Buy him another one.”

Zeus’s lips tipped up. “Yes, ma’am.”

She turned to Ghost. “Was it an accident?”

“Yes! I didn’t mean to knock it over I —”

“Apologize.”

“I already did.” He rolled his eyes.

She used her other hand to grab a handful of the shirt he wore and yanked him down to match Bull. “Apologize again, then.”

His mouth shut with a click and then opened when he said, “I apologize.”

She nodded and released them both. “Good. Ghost is sorry, and Zeus is buying you another whatever. My head hurts and I expect this to be the end of it.”

“But—”

She yanked Bull back down. “No buts! No more arguing! No more yelling!”

She waited until his eyes fell and he mumbled, “Yes, ma’am,” before releasing him again.

Large, muscled bodies crowded the small living room. Nobody moved as she wound her way through them and into the equally small kitchen. She found a broom and dustpan, took them, handed them to Ghost, and waved at the mess.

The only sound after that was the scraping of glass and metal against the tile floor. Satisfied the shouting was over, she pushed Behemoth down onto the couch and curled up next to him.

She looked around the room when she was settled. “So what’s the plan?”

Zeus nodded and moved to the back of the room where everyone could see him. “Before you came in, Bull was telling me he doesn’t think Sean was the man in charge.”

“If Ghost hadn’t broken the projector, I could show you.”

Gaelynn pointed at Bull. “Stop. Don’t make me get a squirt bottle.”

Behemoth’s chuckle rumbled under her back. He whispered in her ear, “I’d like to see that.”

“You might, if they don’t behave.” She waved at Zeus. “Go on.”

He looked at her sideways. “Thanks.”

She knew he was being sarcastic. He owned the company, and these people were his employees. He didn’t need her permission to conduct the briefing.

She didn’t care. If he couldn’t keep them on track, she would. She had no patience for bullshit right then.

“There haven’t been reports of skirmishes which would indicate fighting between factions seeking control. It seems like business as usual within the organization, so Sean’s death didn’t disrupt anything. The only question is who’s leading The Level?”

He rubbed at the back of his neck. “The usual way of finding out, taking down low-level runners and working our way to the top, is no longer an option. They clearly know who we are and where each of us live. They aren’t afraid to target us, individually at least.

That’s why we’ll be sticking together for the foreseeable future.”

A groan rolled around the room. Zeus held up a hand until everyone settled. “We move in groups of no less than three, preferably four. All outstanding jobs will be completed in this manner. Any jobs on the books that can be rescheduled, will be.

“Alexi, Colt, and River will take the prince job since it’s time sensitive and too close to cancel. He’s expecting Alexi, and shouldn’t complain about getting three bodyguards for the price of one. It’s an easy airport to hotel transfer. The prince’s own security will take over at the hotel. Get it done and get back here.”

Zeus continued as those three packed up and readied to leave. “The rest of us will stay here.”

Another groan had Gaelynn sitting up and scanning faces to see who needed a reminder to be quiet. Her stomach dropped when she realized there were two people missing.

“Titan and Virginia?”

“Getting settled downstairs.” He turned his attention to the others. “There are two underground levels in this property, so you won’t be double-bunking. Ghost will show you the way. It’s been a long day. Get some rest. We’ll reconvene in the morning.”

Ghost led them to what Gaelynn had thought was the pantry. The unassuming door concealed an elevator, which dropped them two flights underground. A short hallway with two closed doors on each side ended in a blank wall.

Ghost opened the first door and waved them inside. “This is you two. Titan and Virginia are next to you. I’m across the hall, and Wasp is next to me. Team two will be one level up. Zeus and Bull took the two bedrooms on the main level. If you need anything, just holler.” He stepped back and winked at them. “The walls aren’t thick.”

She stepped inside. “Good to know.”

Behemoth closed the door behind them. “Get some rest.”

The bed looked plush, with a thick comforter and plenty of pillows. She couldn’t deny that she could use a nap. What little she got in the car wasn’t great. “What about you?”

“I’ll be there in a minute. I want to go over some things with Zeus first.”

She barely heard him leave. She was safe and warm in this underground bunker. The bed was soft and its siren song had her asleep in no time.