Free Grizzly Flying Home by Sloane Meyers Page B

license behind. She hadn’t wanted to run back and get it right away, though. She couldn’t face the clerk again, and figured she’d wait until there had been a shift change or something so she could talk to someone other than that nosy man.
    But the awkward situation in the store had paled in comparison to the trouble she found when she arrived home. She’d climbed the stairs to her apartment quickly, eager to crack open a beer and a box of crackers. When she got to the third floor, however, she gasped in shock as she saw her front door splintered and hanging crookedly from its hinges. She heard the sound of Scott’s angry voice yelling from somewhere in her apartment, followed by the crashing sound of shattering glass as he threw something of hers onto the hard tile of the kitchen.
    Emily had dropped her bag of food and turned to run. She hadn’t expected Scott to return again so soon. Usually, after he yelled at her and beat her up he’d disappear for a little while, giving her a breather. His violent tendencies must have been getting worse. With her heart pounding in her chest, Emily had run to her car and fired it up, speeding out of the parking lot and toward the only place she knew to go: Chance’s home at the bunkhouse.
    When she’d made it to the hangar, Chance hadn’t been around. The first person she’d run into had been Charlotte, and Emily had spilled out the whole story between sobs, telling Charlotte how she wanted to move away and had been planning to ask Chance about where to go in Alaska. Charlotte seemed to only understand about half of what she said, but it didn’t matter. Just getting it all out made Emily feel better.
    Charlotte had done her best to calm Emily down, and then had pulled out her phone to call Chance. Apparently, Chance had been at Emily’s apartment, talking to some policemen who were there thanks to Scott’s out of control rampage. Emily had no idea how Chance had known where she lived, or that Scott was breaking into her apartment. All she knew was that the sound of his voice coming on the line was the most beautiful thing she’d heard in a long time. Somehow, she knew when she heard him speaking to her that everything would be okay. Now, he was on his way back here to talk to her, and she could hardly wait to see his face. For a fleeting moment, she even considered abandoning her plans to move to Alaska just so that she could stay here with him. But she pushed away the thought. She had already made up her mind about what she was going to do. It was time for her to follow her own heart for once, and not chase after a guy. Besides, she had no proof that Chance cared about her as more than just a friend. It would be silly to stick around here for a man who might not even be interested in her.
    “Don’t apologize,” Charlotte was saying, bringing Emily back to the present moment. “I’m just glad I could be here and help you. What did the cops say?”
    “They’re holding Scott at the local jail. He’ll likely be charged with criminal assault, but they’ll need me to come down to the station and give them a formal statement. I’m safe for the moment, though, at least.”
    Charlotte reached over and warmly squeezed Emily’s arms. “Don’t worry. As long as you’re here, you’re safe, even if Scott does get out of jail. The guys won’t let anything happen to you.”
    “That’s what Chance said,” Emily said with a smile.
    “Speaking of Chance, I just heard a truck pull up. I bet that was him,” Charlotte said. “Let’s go see.”
    Emily followed Charlotte out of the hanger and into the parking lot, where Chance had indeed just pulled in. He brought his truck to a speedy, grinding halt and jumped out with the dust from his quick parking job still swirling around him. He ran toward Emily and quickly took her face in his hands, searching her eyes with concern.
    “Are you okay? I was so worried about you. I swear to god Scott is lucky he’s behind bars