Free Bear Necessities by Dana Marie Bell Page B

a customer in about ten minutes.”
    He
hated to ask, but damn it he was starting to see double he was so exhausted. He
hadn’t slept a wink in that damn hotel room, pacing and worrying about Tabby
and Chloe. His mother had taken one look at him and shaken her head,
exasperated. “Can one of the other girls give me a lift?”
    “I’ll
do one better. Wait there, someone will pick you up shortly. And don’t even think about sneaking off on the bike. If you’re tired enough to call me, you’re too
tired to ride.”
    He
could feel himself blushing. “I wasn’t.”
    “Good.”
She paused. A bell jingled in the background. It sounded a lot like the one
attached to Living Art’s front door. “I have to go.”
    Bunny
frowned. Her voice had sounded tight. “Are you all right?”
    “Yeah,
I—” Something crashed. “Shit. I will be. Gotta go.” She hung up, leaving him
standing there, a red haze of anger rising inside him.
    “Something’s
happening at Living Art.” Bunny headed to the door. “Where’s Ryan?”
    “Trouble?”
Will followed him.
    “Yeah.
Dad, you need to stay here or get Ryan to stay here. I need to head to the
tattoo parlor and check up on Tabby.”
    “Not
in your condition.”
    Bunny
turned and growled at his father. He’d never challenged the older man, but he’d
never had a mate before, either.
    Will
threw his hands up in the air. “I’ll call Ryan, have him meet you there.”
    Bunny
nodded and stalked toward the elevator, the possible threat to his mate
thrumming through his veins. Suddenly he wasn’t so tired anymore.
    God
help anyone who laid their hands on what was his.
     
     
    Tabby
called 9-1-1, but the damage was done. Someone had thrown something through the
window and she had let Bunny know something was wrong. Fuck. Ten to one he was
already on his way over here.
    “What
the fuck?”
    She
turned to look at the patron who’d entered the store just before the thing came
through the window. What the hell was that anyway? It looked like some kind of
metal tube. A pipe, maybe? “Ryan?”
    He
looked over at her, his pale blue eyes turning brown as she watched. “Where’s
Glory?”
    “Here.”
Glory stepped out from behind the curtain, followed closely by Cyn.
    He
went right to Glory’s side, his gaze roaming over her, his hands twitching at
his sides. “What happened?”
    “That
came through the window.” Tabby pointed toward the metal object. It lay less
than a foot from her.
    “Oh
no! Are you all right?” Cyn was suddenly right there, checking Tabby over for
damage.
    “I’m
fine. I called 9-1-1.”
    Ryan’s
gaze was glued to Glory. He sniffed and his nose wrinkled in disgust. “What’s
that smell?”
    Tabby
looked down at the tube, only then noticing the stench beginning to drift up
from it. “Oh, hell. Grab your stuff. Everyone out.”
    They
hurried out of the store, careful of the broken glass. Ryan scooped Glory up
and carried her out, his eyes hard. He barely seemed to notice her weight, but
as a Bear, he was much stronger than most men. She probably did feel
like a feather in his arms.
    Glory,
on the other hand, was freaked. She was stiff as a board in his arms. Ryan set
her down on her feet, his expression a mix of confusion and concern. “Did you
get hurt?”
    She
backed away rapidly. “I’m fine.”
    He
looked puzzled, the brown fading away, leaving behind the blue. “Glory?”
    Tabby
shook her head and moved away. It seemed Glory wasn’t going to take to mating
as easily as she’d thought she would. She saw Cyn snarl and pull out her cell
phone, gesturing for people to get back, move away from the store.
    Then
the back of Tabby’s head exploded and the world went black.
     
    Bunny
roared to a stop outside Living Art. He turned off the bike and ran toward the
huddle of people. “What happened?”
    The deputy
speaking to Cyn and Glory pointed to the store. “Someone threw a pipe through
the window with some kind of stink bomb attached to it. Oh,