Free Bearly Hers: A Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance by Maria Amor Page B

hearing for any small sound that might lead him to Gia. He tasted the air, sharpened his vision as he approached the house.
    Her vehicle was still parked out front, both the front doors slung wide open. He tasted exhaust lingering on the air current. Beside her SUV, deep tracks in the dirt suggested someone had taken off in a hurry. The flurry of footmarks near her driver’s door created a story Trey pieced together. She’d been dragged out of the car, had fought him, twisted and turned, but his boot prints remained solidly outlined and imprinted, suggesting he used his height and strength to absorb her struggle.
    And then he’d dragged her into his vehicle and sped off.
    Trey called 911, quickly relaying information on the fire and Gia’s abduction. Out here, there was no telling how fast either resource would reach them. There wasn’t a shifter here that was afraid to take matters into his own hands.
    Just about to rush inside for his truck keys, Trey heard it on the air. Close.
    Gia’s scream.             
     
    Mack pulled her hair, wrapped it around his hand and drawing Gia in like a fish on a line. She clawed at his wrists, trying to kick, but the painful twist on her scalp was all consuming. He’d just shown up, in broad daylight, apparently not a lick hesitant about tromping through shifter land with harmful intentions. It had taken her a moment to recognize him, having only seen him once at the mixer. As soon as clarity clicked in, fear had started.  He’d threatened to come, and he really did. Their spot in front of the house wasn’t clearly visible from the rest of the ranch, creating obscurity that gave him the perfect opportunity to approach her.
    He knew it. And she knew it, too, the moment she saw wicked intent in his eyes.
    A truck drove slowly past on the side road leading right to the barn, giving her hope that it would divert and come to the house. No luck. She’d wanted to scream out for Trey, for anyone, but Mack had been on her too fast. Grabbing her arm as she tried to toss her bag into the passenger seat.
    She hadn’t stopped flailing or punching at him as he sped off, finally hitting him in the side of the face and making him veer off the road. The Tahoe went nose-down into the slight ditch, giving Gia the chance to open her door and bolt. But Mack had been faster, grabbing her hair and pulling her backwards. They were pelted with rain, the cold going bone-deep.
    She got off one anger-fueled scream before he clamped a hand over her mouth.
    “Such a bad, girl, Gia. So, so bad.”
    His chest rose and fell hard behind her, the heat from his palm over her lips making her want to gag. Pulling her back to the vehicle, Mack leaned over her shoulder and whispered in her ear. “You’re not going to scream again, understand?” There was nothing in his voice to make her doubt the question was really a threat. She nodded slowly, looking sideways down the drive for any sign that someone was coming. He almost rippled with tension, in a hurry to get her out of here before the bears came.
    Mack dropped his hand and Gia wiped her lips with her fingers. She twisted, turning halfway as he released her hair. She looked down the road just as he grabbed her shoulder hard.
    “He’s not coming, so stop looking. His barn’s on fire, love, with no sprinkler to stop the spread. He’s too busy to come after you.”
    Her stomach sank. After what she and Trey said to each other, and his inability to trust her or feel confident that she wouldn’t reject his scars, she wasn’t sure he would come anyway. But the barn…his precious horses!
    “What the hell do you want?” She hissed.
    Mack studied the Tahoe, likely trying to decide if he could get it out of the ditch.
    “You know how much you could be worth to me, Gia? I tried to ask you nicely, but you had to be a bitch about it. So, here we are.”
    “Worth to you?” Even as she said it, clarity crossed her mind. The mixers. The thief and the