Free Bear Necessities by Dana Marie Bell Page A

of palest white flashed through his hair, gone
almost as quickly as it appeared. “I think when all is said and done, Tabby’s
going to find that she’s got a lot more family than she ever dreamed of.”
    Julian
and I need to sit down and have a nice, long talk. Soon. “She doesn’t know about the
Kermode.” He grinned. “Can I be there for that discussion?”
    Julian
snorted. “Sure. Can you have it for me?”
    Bunny
rolled his eyes. “Remind me to introduce you to Ryan. You two should get along
really well.” He held out the bear. “Here. From Tabby and me.”
    Julian
took the white bear and snorted. “Cute. But why the Superman costume?”
    Tabby
stepped back into the room before he could answer. She looked shaken, wild.
Bunny stood, ready to comfort his shaken mate. “I just talked to Gabe.”
    Julian
sat up slowly, all of his attention suddenly focused on Tabby. Bunny tensed all
over. The look on her face was horrible. “What, baby?”
    “Chloe.”
She gulped. “She wasn’t hit by a car. They’ve confirmed that the marks on her
body are consistent with a beating.” She stepped forward and clasped her arms
around Bunny, laying her head against his chest with a sigh. “Someone tried to
kill your cousin.”
     
     
    Bunny
blinked in the late afternoon light filtering in through the hospital window.
He’d made sure Julian got home safely, following the cab to the small house on
the outskirts of town Julian called home. He’d dropped Tabby off at work
immediately afterwards and headed right back to the hospital. He’d been sitting
there ever since.
    “Go
home.”
    Bunny
blinked up at his father. He couldn’t leave Chloe. What if something happened to
her? He needed to be there to protect her. It was bad enough he hadn’t been
there before.
    His
father’s hand landed on his shoulder. “I know what you’re thinking. We’re more
alike than you know.” Will pulled Bunny out of the chair. “I promise nothing is
going to happen to Chloe while I’m here.”
    Bunny
looked into his father’s shifted eyes and nodded. He and his father were a
great deal alike. Will would protect Chloe against anything and everything that
came at her. The only difference was William didn’t have the anger issues Bunny
faced on a daily basis. The rage in him was much more focused and directed.
He’d taken that anger and turned it on the land itself, creating his business
with his own two hands. Just as Bunny used yoga, his father used physical labor,
and it worked. “Okay. I’ll go rest. Call me if she wakes up.” He winced. He’d
meant to say when .
    “Sleep,
son. You’re exhausted. You helped heal Chloe. Now it’s time to heal yourself.”
    Bunny
nodded again and shuffled to the door.
    “And
leave the bike here. Take a cab.”
    He
froze. He never left the bike. That Harley was his baby.
    “Maybe
you could call your mate and get a ride?”
    Now
there was a thought. Maybe he’d convince her to come back to the hotel room
with him. “Good idea.” Maybe he’d do more than nap, too. He pulled out his cell
phone and called Living Art.
    “Living
Art, Glory speaking.”
    “Hey,
Glory. Can you put Tabby on?”
    “Sure
thing.” She sounded so sweet and demure, right up until she screeched at the
top of her lungs, “TA-BBY! PHO-ONE!” He pulled the phone away from his ear with
a wince. Damn, that girl had a healthy set of lungs.
    His
father chuckled. “Isn’t that the girl Ryan showed some interest in?”
    Bunny
gaped. Ryan had shown interest in one of the girls?
    “Tabby
speaking. How can I help y’all?”
    He
shivered. That deep drawl washed over him again, his cock perking up with
insistent interest. Damn, he’d left her only six hours ago and already he was
jonesing for the sight of her. “Can you do me a favor, baby?”
    “Sure,
sugar. What do you need?”
    “Can you
come pick me up? I’m exhausted and I’ve been ordered to leave the bike here.”
    There
was a pause. “I can’t. I’m expecting