Unbearable: Russet Falls Series (16 page)

Somehow Zane had managed to keep
himself in check, but he wasn’t quite sure how. When he saw Gabby being held
against her will by those thugs, he wanted to shift right then and there and
rip those pieces of shit into nothing but bloody slabs of meat.

Yet, he kept it together.

“Let her go,” he roared, charging
into the room and knocking down the man holding Gabby.

Surprised, the man released Gabby,
yelling as he swung at Zane. But Zane was so full of adrenaline and anger that
the man was no match for him. Zane punched him again and again, even when the
man was curled up into a ball on the floor, moaning.

“Zane! Zane!” Michael yelled.

Zane finally took a step back,
realizing he had beaten the man into a bloody pulp. It was nothing short of
what he deserved.

Out of his trance now, he looked
around, watching the fight that had erupted in the small living room. Michael
and Grayson were holding a dark skinned man who seemed to be fighting the
hardest, and Tommy and Sam each restrained two men who had surrendered. Mick
was picking up the unconscious prick that Zane had beaten, and Quentin was surveying
the damage.

Zane finally noticed Gabby, Lucy
and their mother huddled in a corner of the room.

“Hey. It’s okay,” he said, moving
slowly towards them. Lucy looked pretty bad; she had been hit in the mouth. And
their mother seemed pretty upset, though she was clearly drunk. Zane reached
out to touch Gabby’s arm but she recoiled at his touch.

“Don’t touch me!” she shrieked,
jumping back.

Shit.

“I know!” Gabby cried, hysterical
now. “I know what you did!”

Zane stared at her blankly. She
couldn’t
possibly
be talking about her father.

“I
know,
” she raged. “I know
it was you! You’re the one who is responsible!” Her eyes were wild and
unfocused.

“Gabby,” Michael said slowly,
moving towards her and leaving his prisoner with Grayson. “We need to get you
back to safety and then we can discuss it.”

“No! I’m not going back!”

Michael leaned down so he was
looking her directly in the eyes. He            spoke calmly. “Tonight was the
perfect example of why you are not safe and how easily you can put your loved
ones in harm’s way.”

Gabby looked sickened by his words.

“Now, please come with us and we
can discuss things.”

Gabby nodded slowly and moved to
follow Michael.

“Gabby! No!” Lucy cried through her
fat lip. “You can’t just follow these—these strangers!”

Gabby shook her head sadly. “They
aren’t strangers, Lucy. And I promise you they are trying to help me. Even if
it doesn’t look that way.”

Lucy shook her head, tears falling
down her face, as Andrea shrank back against the wall. Michael turned toward
Lucy. “We will take good care of your sister, I promise. She will be in touch
soon.”

Gabby nodded, trying to give Lucy a
brave smile, which made Zane feel even more like an asshole. “It’s true. I’ll
see you real soon. You have to trust me.”

“I’ll stick around and take care of
things here,” Quentin said as he moved toward Lucy, who looked like she was
ready to run after Gabby.

“Good idea.” Michael turned back to
the women. “This is Quentin. Allow him to help you. You’re in good hands.”

Lucy looked wildly at Gabby. “This
is crazy!”

“Quentin’s nice, Luce. Trust me.
He’ll help you and Mom out, okay?” She was already moving behind Michael,
accepting her fate.

“But—but, Gabby! No!” Lucy
exclaimed, stumbling after her.

Gabby hugged her tightly. “I
promise. Everything will be fine,” she whispered. Then she looked over at
Michael. “Let’s go, please.”

He nodded, and they slipped out the
door.

Zane followed as anger, remorse and
rage bubbled inside him. His bear tore at his insides, wanting out.

A van pulled around to the back of
the house. Zane wasn’t surprised to see Alicia driving. It seemed that she was
involved with everything these days, especially since she and Grayson had
become an item. Her eyes were red and puffy, and Zane figured that she felt so
guilty over Gabby escaping that she was willing to do whatever she could to
help.

Gabby climbed silently into the
front seat, slamming the door hard behind her. The rest of the men, along with
the intruders from the other clan, got into the back of the van. Once everyone
was inside, Alicia sped away. Tommy and Sam began tying up the four men; the
man who Zane had beaten was just starting to stir. Once the men were tied up
and gagged, Mick shoved them into the very back of the van.

“I’m getting sick of this shit,”
Mick swore under his breath, but Michael shot him a lethal look.

The drive back to the clan lands
was filled with stony silence. Alicia and Gabby got out at Alicia’s house, and
Grayson hopped into the driver’s seat and took the van to Sam and Tommy’s place.
Sam, Tommy and Mick jumped out, taking the four men with them.

“Get all the info you can,” Michael
ordered, “then report back to me.”

They nodded and then dragged the
men toward the small house.

Grayson dropped Michael and Zane
back at Michael’s house and then pulled away. The prick was probably headed
straight back to Alicia’s.

Zane was exhausted, and wanted to
sleep, but he knew Michael wouldn’t allow it. There was too much going on. The
men went inside and settled in Michael’s living room.

“She knows,” Michael said flatly.

“No shit,” Zane snapped, and then
instantly apologized. “I’m sorry.”

Michael let it go. “She must have
overheard us. That’s the only thing I can imagine.”

Zane shrugged. “Either way—she
knows and that’s all that matters now. She’s never going to forgive me. And
she’s right not to,” he added. He killed Gabby’s father. Why should she ever
forgive him?

“We need to make this right. You
need to speak with her in the morning. She’s been through a rough time. We also
have to deal with the matter of Liam’s death.” Michael cringed, and Zane knew
that tomorrow Michael would spend the day with Liam’s parents—Alicia’s brother
and sister-in-law.

“What if she won’t speak to me?”
Zane said, knowing he sounded like a pussy.

“Try. Do what you can do. Even if
she doesn’t forgive you, you owe her an explanation.” Michael stood up and
stared out the window into the darkness. “And now the cubs,” he sighed. “Go
home and get some rest, Zane.”

“Are—are you sure?” Zane faltered.
This was unexpected.

“Yes. It does no good for two of us
to sit here and try to figure out the cub issue. I just don’t know how to
protect them!” he exclaimed, pounding his fist against the wall. “And we need
to get Gabby in check. We can’t be dealing with her running away when he have
more pressing matters on our lands.”

“Agreed.” Zane stood up. “Good
night.”

Michael nodded, and Zane left the
house.

It wasn’t a restful night, but Zane
managed a few hours of sleep. He was up not long after the sun, and he showered
and dressed, trying to take his time. He wanted to speak with Gabby
immediately, but he knew it was far too early to go over to Alicia’s.

His blood boiled as he thought of
Grayson comforting Alicia in the wake of Liam’s death.

Zane padded around his house,
trying to pick up. One of the older clan widows, Mila, cleaned his house, and
he was grateful for it. He was not much when it came to domestic tasks, and
sometimes Mila was kind enough to leave him food in the fridge.

He pulled open the fridge, and sure
enough, there were three Tupperware containers filled with chicken, sausages
and spaghetti. She had also left a large plate egg and bacon casserole. If she
had been standing in front of him, he would have given her a hug and a kiss.

Gratefully, he heated up the
casserole, forking the delicious food into his mouth and washing it down with a
container of orange juice. He really should pay Mila more, and ask her to stock
his fridge once a week. Then he wouldn’t spend so many nights eating Ramen
Noodles and protein bars.

When he was nearly crawling out of
his skin, he decided that he couldn’t wait any longer to see Gabby; it had to
be now. He jumped into his Hummer and drove the mile to Alicia’s house. He
could have walked it, but he wanted to see Gabby as soon as possible.

Before he could knock, Alicia
pulled the back door open.

Damn. She looked like shit.

Zane didn’t think she had slept one
bit. Her blonde hair was knotted and messy, and there were dark circles under
her red-rimmed eyes.

“You know that she doesn’t want to
see you, right?” Alicia asked bluntly.

“Yes, I know.” He paused. “Alicia,
I am so, so sorry about Liam.”

Alicia nodded, and Zane knew she
was struggling not to cry. She held the door open and Zane walked in. His bear
growled when he saw Grayson sitting at the kitchen table, looking smug.

“Good morning,” Grayson greeted
him.

“Morning,” Zane muttered.

“She’s still sleeping,” Alicia
said, coming in behind Zane. “Coffee’s hot if you want a cup. You know where
the mugs are.”

He helped himself, hoping it pissed
Grayson off that he knew his way around Alicia’s kitchen. He looked over at
Grayson, who did seem to be miffed.

Good.

Stupid fucker.

Zane made up his coffee and leaned
against the kitchen sink as he drank it. He looked out the back window as
Grayson and Alicia spoke in low tones. Just when Zane didn’t think he could
take it anymore, he heard a toilet flush upstairs and the sounds of someone
moving around.

He put his cup down and headed
upstairs, not waiting for Alicia or Grayson to say anything. The door to
Gabby’s room was closed, and he knocked.

“Just a minute,” came Gabby’s
muffled voice and Zane wondered if she was getting dressed. The thought aroused
him and he tried to push those feelings away. Walking into her room with a
hard-on would not go over well.

“Alright. Come in.”

Zane opened the door, and the first
thing he noticed was that Gabby was squeezed into one of Alicia’s tops.

Holy shit.

Her tits were practically falling
out, and he knew he was staring like a creeper.

Gabby’s face turned red and twisted
into a scowl; she quickly crossed her arms over her chest. “What are you doing
here?” she demanded.

“I need to explain.”

“You don’t need to explain
anything!” she said, her voice raising an octave. “I heard everything I need to
know on your porch last night!”

“Please, Gabby,” Zane heard his
voice crack. “It’s alright if you never want to speak to me again. I don’t
blame you for hating me. I hate myself for what I’ve done, and have since
before I even met you or developed feelings for you.”

There.

He said it.

He had feelings for Gabby.

Gabby seemed surprised by his
admission too, but she still turned away from him. “You killed my father,” she
accused, a sob caught in her throat. “I basically have
no
parents,
thanks to you. My father’s death is what turned my mother into an alcoholic. At
six years old, I had to grow up. By the time I was nine, I was practically
raising Lucy!” She whirled around, fixing an angry stare on him.

“Christ, Gabby, I’m sorry,” he
said, sinking down into a chair in the corner of the room. “I was just a kid! I
was fourteen. I didn’t understand where the boundaries stopped and started, and
I was late to shift.”

Gabby stared unfalteringly at him,
tears running down her cheeks.

“The later cubs shift, the more
power they have. I didn’t know my own strength. And I didn’t realize that I was
outside our lands. Your father must have thought I was trespassing, so he came
after me. I—I thought he was attacking me.” He hung his head in shame. “I
defended myself. I didn’t know what to do. I had never been in my bear form
before.”

He stared at the ground, wanting to
pour out every last detail of that terrible ordeal, but he knew that Gabby
didn’t need or want all of that information.

“Have you known all along?” she
demanded, and Zane looked up at her.

“No,” he said hoarsely. “I didn’t
realize it until the other night. The day that you had ordered Mick to leave
you alone, and everyone felt the power in your order. That night, one of the
elders in the clan made the connection between you and your father.”

Gabby’s face twisted in disgust.
“The night that you came to my apartment? Before I was brought to these lands
against my will?”

He hung his head in shame again.
“Yes.”

“So that’s why!” she raged. “I knew
you were acting funny that night at my apartment! It was because you knew! And
you knew how angry I would be!”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Just—just get out! I can’t even
look at you!”