Night Shift (Grizzly Cove Book 3)
TALES OF THE WERE
GRIZZLY COVE
NIGHT SHIFT
BY
BIANCA D’ARC
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
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Copyright © 2015
Bianca D’Arc
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Tales of the Were – Grizzly Cove #3
Sheriff's Deputy Zak is one of the few black bear shifters in a colony of grizzlies. When his job takes him into closer proximity to the lovely Tina, though, he finds he can’t resist her. Could it be he’s finally found his mate? And when danger comes to her door, will she turn to him, or run into the night? Zak will do all he can to make sure she chooses him.
DEDICATION
With many thanks to my family for allowing me the space to do what I love.
I also want to thank the readers who have been so nice and supportive over the years—especially my favorite Southerners, Suzanne and Shanda, who have both been having a rough time of late, in different ways. I hope this little story can give you a few minutes of escape and maybe a few smiles. Hugs to you both.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
Zak really liked the new duty Sheriff Brody Chambers had him working. Every night since a reporter had come to town to try to make trouble for Ashley, the middle of the three Baker sisters, the sheriff, who was now mated to the eldest sister, Nell, had sent Zak to watch over the youngest sister, Tina. Tina worked the night shift at the bakery the three sisters owned, and since it was the only place that served food in their new town so far, a lot of people frequented it.
The baked goods were downright delicious. The sisters used natural ingredients, including a lot of honey, which was a favorite of Zak’s and most of the town, for that matter. It was true that bears really did like the sweet stuff.
Zak had been admiring Tina from afar since she’d moved to town, but hadn’t really had much chance to get close to her since they both worked the night shift. He hadn’t had much reason to stop in at the bakery while on duty until now, and he was taking full advantage of the sheriff’s request that he keep an eye on the one remaining unmated sister.
Brody had claimed the eldest sister, and about two weeks later, Tom Masdan, the town lawyer had announced his relationship with the middle sister, Ashley. Turned out they were both lawyers, though Ashley had given up a high-powered career when a rat in her New York firm had made her look bad and inadvertently caused grief for her client. Unfortunately, the client had been very high profile, and tragedy had resulted from the poorly handled court case. Ashley had needed to go into hiding from the press, which she had, right here in Grizzly Cove, working at her sisters’ bakery.
In this tiny town, there were only two lawmen, at the moment. Brody worked days, and Zak overlapped in the afternoon, then worked the evenings alone, unless there was trouble. Both of them were always on call, but then again, since all of the men who formed the nucleus of the new community had served together in the military, just about everyone in town could act as backup, if needed. It was just that Brody and Zak had been handed the roles of sheriff and deputy when the Alpha, Big John, had been assigning tasks according to each man’s abilities and desires.
They’d all retired from the military now, though none of them were old by human standards. They were all bear shifters of one kind or another. The majority, including the Alpha, were grizzlies, but there was at least one polar bear, a couple of Kodiaks, a big-assed Russian bear and a few black bears. Zak Flambeau was one of the latter. Smaller than his grizzly friends, Zak was no less deadly. And though he’d taken his share of guff from his buddies over the years, he knew they respected his skills as a marksman and as a shifter. He was smaller, but that also meant he was a lot quicker and more agile than some of his larger comrades. He’d used that to his advantage many times in the field. But now, all that was over. He was retired from that life. It was a bit of an adjustment.
Big John had come up with the insane idea to build their own town from scratch. He’d been quietly buying up land over the years, and when the time came, he’d laid out his idea for the rest of his men. They’d balked a bit, at first. After all, Big John wanted them masquerade as an artists’ colony, for cripes sake. They weren’t artists. Although, most of the guys had given it the old college try and had come up with some passable
objet d’art
, Zak had to admit.
He couldn’t draw his way out of a paper bag. He couldn’t even do self-portraits of his bear half, using a chainsaw and a stump of wood. He left that to Brody. Zak didn’t have a talent like that. Nothing in the visual arts, anyway. If he had any talent at all, he’d have said it was for cooking, but he couldn’t see a way to turn his Cajun heritage of spicy, down home dishes into an art form that could contribute to the town’s artists’ colony status.
So he contented himself with being the deputy. Good ol’ Barney Fife to Brody’s Andy Taylor. That he could handle. Blindfolded. And with one hand tied behind his back.
Running security was second nature to him. Zak had left home at eighteen, leaving the bayou and his bastard father behind, striking out to join the Army. He’d never looked back. Not even once.
When his mate had died of illness, Zak’s father had turned mean. Or maybe he’d always been mean, and losing his mate just made him worse. Zak didn’t know for sure. His mother had died when he was still a boy. He missed her to this very day, but he felt like maybe, sometimes, she was watching over him from above—or wherever spirits went when they left this realm.
“You know, deputy, I’m going to have to start charging you rent if you keep coming in here every night.” Tina brought over the carafe of coffee, pouring him a fresh cup without even asking. She knew by now that he would never say no to good coffee.
“Just following orders, ma’am. Though to be honest, I’m enjoying these orders way more than any other I’ve been given to date in this town. It’s nice to have an excuse to sit here, drink coffee and eat your marvelous pastries.” He popped a slice of the danish he’d been eating into his mouth to emphasize his point.
“But you ran the reporter off. Nobody’s seen him since. I don’t think he’s coming back, and even if he did, I could handle him. I’d tell him to go straight to hell, like I did the first time he came sniffing around.”
Tina was a little more outspoken than her older sisters, and Zak liked that about her. She had spirit. But that sort of spirit could sometimes get a person into trouble.
“I won’t argue the point, but Brody asked me to keep an eye on the place, and I’m just as happy to do so. Come on,
ma chere
, don’t tell me you don’t enjoy my company, at least a little.”
The little bell above the door tinkled out its merry tune as the door opened, and every hackle on Zak’s body rose in alarm. He spun to face the newcomer, taking in the dark, wet clothing, the blood-red eyes and the hesitant gait.
“Holy shit.” Zak grabbed for his radio as the newcomer eyed him.
“Call your Alpha, little cub. I am hanging on here by a thread.”
Zak’s sensitive nose smelled the blood—new and old—on the creature in the doorway. That he was probably outgunned and outclassed entered his mind briefly, but he dismissed the idea. All that mattered was protecting Tina. And hopefully, getting them both out of this confrontation alive.
“I beg your pardon, miss, but do you happen to have any wine on the menu? I am greatly in need,” the newcomer asked politely, though Zak could see that every word cost him.
Then he remembered what he’d heard about vampires and wine. The creature was seeking something that would help him, not attacking. That was a good sign. Zak keyed the mic, calling for Brody in low, urgent tones. Then he palmed his cell phone, hitting the speed dial that would bring the Alpha on the run.
“I’m sorry, sir, we don’t serve alcohol. Our liquor license hasn’t come through yet,” Tina answered politely, though Zak could hear the confusion in her tone. Bless her little human heart, she didn’t recognize the danger standing in her doorway.
Zak didn’t take his eyes off the vampire. “Tina, don’t you have some wine upstairs? Go get it, honey. Bring as many bottles as you can down here on the double. Leave them at the bottom of the stairs and then go back and get more. Everything you have. And then stay the hell upstairs for me, will you?”
She opened her mouth to argue. He could just feel it. But the vampire stepped forward and left a trail of blood across her doorstep. She gasped as the man’s fangs showed.
“Get the fuck upstairs now, honey. And whatever you do, do
not
invite this guy up there. Vampires are big on invitations. Do
not
issue one, okay?”
“I won’t. But, Zak…” She sounded worried now.
Zak couldn’t tell if she was concerned about him or the bleeding bloodletter. Either way, she was a sweetheart for her concern, but right about now, with a vamp on the edge like this one clearly was, such weakness could easily get her killed.
“Take your bear’s advice, little one. I am not to be trusted, at the moment. I have lost too much blood. The wine might help,” the bloodletter said as he all but collapsed into one of the chairs at the front of the bakery. He leaned back, blood and seawater pooling beneath him as he sat.
Zak didn’t take his eyes off the man, but—thank the Goddess—he heard Tina leave. Her scent went upstairs, and she closed the door behind herself. Zak almost sighed in relief, but he was too keyed up to relax even that much. Everything in him recognized the threat that now sat in front of him.
“I’m Zak Flambeau, the town deputy,” Zak introduced himself to the bloodletter, hoping the man could keep his wits a little longer.
Zak knew that bloodletters could go mad when starved of blood, either by being unable to feed or bleeding from serious wounds, like this one. The red eyes gave it away. They were just on the good side of sanity, right now, but that could change in an instant.
“I am Hiram Abernathy, master of this region. I am headquartered in Seattle but was enjoying a few nights on the ocean when my yacht was attacked and destroyed by…something.” The red eyes looked confused and sort of haunted. “I seek your aid and will apply to your Alpha for safe harbor, though as you seem to understand, I am
in extremis
. I need blood, or I will run mad. I am trying my best to stay sane, at the moment.”
“If I give you my blood, will you leave the girl alone?” Zak asked. He’d do anything to keep Tina safe.
The vampire licked his lips in an unconscious gesture. “Shifter blood…” His flaming eyes seemed to glaze over a bit. “It would heal me much faster than mortal blood. I wouldn’t need as much, and it would safeguard your human playmate. But I will warn you, feeding from you will create a link between us. That could be both good and bad. It will also give me some of your strengths for a short period, making me even more powerful than I already am. Bears are very magical, I hear. Still, I have lived many centuries,” the vampire said, seeming to consider the situation, laying it all out for Zak. “Even with your inherent magic, I do not believe anyone in this town is my equal, so giving me your blood will probably not matter in the long run. My powers are already superior to everyone here.”
