My Hero Bear (16 page)

“Keep laughing,” she said. “You won’t be laughing when Dylan shows up and rips that stupid smile off your ugly face.”

It was a bluff. She knew Dylan wasn’t coming. She’d run away and he had no reason to follow. Not after what she said to him. Not after the way they’d ended things. Still, she had to bide her time until she could figure some way out of this mess.

Bishop’s smiled widened. “Dylan,” Bishop spat. “The big hero? I’m not afraid of him.”

“Then you’re as dumb as you are ugly.”

Bishop shrugged. “Let him come. I have a little surprise for him.”

Bishop whistled. Shapes seemed to materialize out of the darkness. Bishop had brought friends with him and they’d been hiding in the shadows. They weren’t hiding anymore.

Rory swallowed hard at the sight of them. There were so many. She knew Dylan was strong and he’d been trained for war. Still, there wasn’t much he could do in the face of sheer numbers. For the first time, she hoped he wouldn’t follow her out into the darkness.

With this ambush waiting for him, he would surely be killed. The thought of Dylan with his bright green eyes staring lifeless into the night sky sent shivers through her and made her feel like throwing up. She would rather die than let anything happen to the man she loved.

She couldn’t let him suffer on her behalf. These were her problems. Not Dylan’s. She should have never come here in the first place. She’d brought death to Dylan’s doorstep, and if he got involved now, his blood would be on her hands.

A tear trickled down her cheek. Everyone she’d ever loved ended up dead. She didn’t know what kind of curse she was living under, but it had to end. Whatever she had to sacrifice to make things right and protect the last person in the world she truly cared about, she would do it.

“Fine,” Rory said. “I’ll go with you.”

Bishop raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Is that right?”

Rory nodded. “Yes, that’s right. I’ll go with you and do whatever you want. As long as you promise me you won’t hurt Dylan.”

“Still in love with him after all these years? Nothing’s changed since we were kids.”

“Who I love is none of your business.”

“Oh, but it is. Dylan wasn’t the only man in love with you. But what chance did I have with him around? Everyone loved Dylan. So strong, so brave, and so protective of you. Made me sick watching you fawn over him. But I held back, waiting until the right time to make my move against Dylan. Tonight’s the night.”

Panic flared inside her. “No, you don’t have to do that. I’ll give you what you want. Just leave him alone.”

Bishop shook his head. “Don’t you get it? I want everything. You and me together, and Dylan’s head on a platter.”

Rory wanted to die. This was all her fault. She should never come here. She should have just turned herself in and hoped that others would believe the truth. Instead, she gave into her fear. She gave into weakness. And now, both she and Dylan would pay for that weakness.

Bishop flashed a cocky smile at her, like he’d already won.
He looked over her shoulder in the direction of the clearing, and
the smile melted from his face, replaced by a hard look of fear and doubt.

“If you want my head, come and take it,” Dylan’s voice thundered in the darkness.

Chapter 13

Dylan stood at the edge of the forest, outlined in moonlight. He almost seemed to glow. Rory’s heart swelled with affection at the sight of him, her knight in shining armor, her hero bear. She loved him for coming after her, the damn fool. But now that he was here, he was in trouble.

Rory knew he he was strong and brave, but even Dylan couldn’t hope to triumph over this many enemies. There had to be at least twenty of Bishop’s friends surrounding them in the darkness. One man, no matter how impressive that man was, could stand against that many.

“Well, look who joined the party,” Bishop said. “We were just talking about you.”

Dylan marched towards Rory, seemingly unconcerned by the crowd of men gathered in a loose semicircle around him.

“I’m only going to say this once,” Dylan said. “Take your hands off Aurora, walk out of here with your lackeys, and I’ll let you live to see the sunrise.”

Bishop threw his head back and laughed. His men joined in, as well. Rory couldn’t help but think the laughter felt a little forced. There was an edge of fear to it, like they believed Dylan could make good on his threat.

Rory felt a sense of pride at how strong and dominant Dylan was. Even outnumbered twenty to one, he stood tall and proud and unafraid. He was a legend among shifters. Now these men were coming face-to-face with that legend, and fear was the appropriate response.

“I hate to break it to you, tough guy,” Bishop said. “But you’re outnumbered. You’re not in any position to make threats or deals.”

Dylan crossed his arms over his massive chest. “You brought a bunch of untrained boys to try and take me on? All of these guys combined aren’t worth one of me in a real fight.”

Rory looked around at Bishop’s goons. Before, they had been standing around with their backs straight and their chests puffed out. Now they looked deflated. The wind had gone out of their sails, and they looked around at one another, nervous and unsure.

Even Bishop seemed to have lost some of that cocky swagger. His grip on Rory’s arms loosened, and he eyed Dylan warily.

“You would let me live if I let the girl go?” Bishop asked. “I don’t believe that for a second. The Dylan I know would never forgive anyone for even laying a finger on his precious Rory.”

“I didn’t say I’d forgive you. I said I’d let you live to see the sunrise. After that, all bets are off.”

Rory saw Bishop swallow hard. She looked from him to Dylan. Their gazes were locked. Dylan’s eyes were calm and steady, except for a hint of rage crackling like lightning. Bishop’s eyes were desperate, like an animal backed into a corner.

For a second, Rory actually believed Bishop would run. Then his eyes hardened and his grip on Rory’s arms tightened painfully.

“Well, that’s a real nice offer,” Bishop said. “But I’m going to have to decline. I’m afraid, old friend, that it’s you who won’t see the sunrise.”

Dylan nodded, almost sadly. “Just remember that I gave you a chance.”

Bishop looked at Dylan, seemingly off-balance by the certainty in Dylan’s voice. Bishop’s grip loosened again, and Rory decided to move. It was now or never.

She threw a hard kick at Bishop’s knee, propelling her leg as hard as she could. Her foot connected with a crack and she was sure she’d torn something in Bishop’s knee.

Bishop’s hand slipped from her arm as he toppled off his feet. Rory ran to Dylan, throwing her arms around his waist and pressing her head against his strong chest. She felt his corded arm slip around her protectively.

It felt so good to hold him again. All the stupid and petty things they’d said to each other evaporated into thin air. The only thing that mattered was how much she cared about this man. The idea of losing him was literally the worst thing she could think of. The fear she felt at that idea put everything in perspective.

“Oh, Dylan. I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I said those horrible things. I don’t know why I didn’t trust you.”

His strong hand stroked her back soothingly. “It’s all right, Aurora. I’m sorry, too. I don’t care about anything in this world unless you’re part of my life.”

Rory’s tears soaked into Dylan’s T-shirt. She squeezed him tightly.

“I’m sorry I waited until this moment to tell you,” she said. “Now that it’s too late.”

“It’s never too late, Aurora,” he said, hugging her close. “You showing up again in my life taught me that.”

Dylan leaned down and kissed her. It was quicker than she would’ve liked, but their happy reunion was cut short by sarcastic clapping.

Bishop was getting to his feet. “As heartwarming as all this bullshit is, that’s my woman you’re kissing. I hope it was a good one because it’s the last kiss before you die.”

He gestured at his men. They fanned out into a circle surrounding Rory and Dylan. The circle began to tighten, like a clenching fist about to crush them.

Fear tugged at Rory’s chest. There was no way out. Her only bit of comfort was knowing that she was able to make things right with Dylan before the end. Dying with the knowledge that she’d hurt him was too much to bear.

“I’m sorry, Dylan,” she said.

“Hush now, Aurora. No need for that.” He pulled her out of his embrace gently and positioned her behind him. “Just stay close to me and everything is going to be all right.”

Even now, at the end, Dylan was still protecting her. And not just physically. He didn’t want her to be afraid. He tried to soothe her with reassuring words, trying to keep her safe from the grim knowledge that there was no way out.

A wild shout sounded from the direction of Dylan’s home. Everyone turned to look. There, standing on the edge of the woods, was Xander. He stood with his hands on his hips like Superman. All he was missing was the cape.

“All right, boys,” Xander shouted. “I’m only going to say this once—”

“Your brother already gave us the speech,” Bishop said, interrupting Xander. “You can see how well that worked out for him.”

“Oh,” Xander said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. “Well that takes some of the fun out of it.”

“Stupid, Xander,” Bishop spat. “Did you think you were going to play the hero?”

“I thought I was rather dashing.”

“Always the fool,” Bishop said. “Did you really think that one man would make a difference in this fight?”

“One man? Nah. Good thing I didn’t come alone.” Xander threw both hands up into the air. “Unleash hell, boys!”

Everything was silent, like the entire world was holding its breath. Bishop and his men stared at Xander like he was insane.

Then all hell broke loose.

***

Dylan watched with pride as his old squad mates seemed to materialize out of the shadows. One of Bishop’s men fell immediately, probably never seeing the man who cut him down.

All of their attention had been on Xander so Bishops men were wholly unprepared for the sneak attack coming from behind them. It was a familiar tactic to Dylan. Focus attention one way and distract your enemy while your forces sneak around and attack from behind.

Confusion reigned in the forest. Surprised cries and screams of pain made a terrible symphony in the night. Dylan watched grimly as Bishop’s men finally caught on to what was happening and started shifting.

Growls from many different bear filled the air. Bishop’s men weren’t going to give up without a fight. Dylan knew victory was far from certain, despite his confidence earlier.

Dylan’s friends from the Sin Eaters were trained killers, just like he was. But the numbers were still against him and his friends. Still, their presence gave Dylan a fighting chance.

A good soldier is always prepared for the worst, and once Dylan knew Bishop was after Aurora, he knew Bishop wouldn’t just let Aurora go. So Dylan called up Gideon,
one of his old squad mates.

Gideon was a blue Maltese tiger who had served on the squad at the same time as Dylan. He was retired from the military now, too. He ran private security for a bunch of high roller types. Dylan knew Gideon kept in touch with some of the former members of the squad.

When Dylan contacted him, he asked Gideon to round up some of the troops and head to a nearby location, just in case Dylan had to call in the cavalry.

Dylan hadn’t been sure they would show up in time. The original plan was for them to helicopter into the valley by Dylan’s house. Once Dylan realized the fight would be in the forest, he’d left his brother behind to meet up with the reinforcements and fill them in on the situation.

Dylan had been stalling for time, allowing his friends to get into position to strike. Bishop’s men had been caught by surprise, but Dylan and his friends were still outnumbered three to one.

Two bears barreled towards Dylan. He shifted and roared in defiance. He could sense Aurora still behind him. He wouldn’t let anyone get past him and hurt her.

He wrestled with the two bears. He was a blur, dodging and attacking so fast that his two attackers were thrown completely off-balance.