Chapter Seven
Ryker bit back a groan of pain as he tried to find a comfortable position on the couch in Hannah's apartment. Given the fact that the couch was only a two-seater, and he stood six-foot-three, he didn’t like his chances of being able to stand upright in the morning. Settling onto his side, he looked over at Hannah, who was curled up on the bed across the room. All of this and the risk of losing the ability to stand straight was worth it, if it meant he and Bastian could keep her safe.
He had arrived at the garage at the same time as Lucas and a few other members of his clan. He'd leapt from his car, raced for the garage, and when he stormed into the workshop through the remains of the front door, he had been filled with fear. Seeing his mate and his brother wrapped around each other on the floor of the garage eased those fears enough that the rage he felt that someone had dared hurt his mate, slammed into place.
"Drew!" He yelled as he turned to face the men running in his direction. "You and Tony head out back. Bastian saw the prick who did this run out that way. Find him and bring him to me." He stepped aside to let Lucas into the store. Once he was sure the garage was secure and his men were chasing the culprit down he ran over to his mate.
"Although I find your company charming, young lady," Lucas said to their mate dryly as his hands manipulated the back of her head, "I would prefer to talk with you over coffee rather than you needing my professional services."
Hannah winced when Lucas must have pressed against a sensitive area, and Ryker couldn't withhold a grumble of displeasure. "Oh, shut up with the grumpy ass bear sounds, you." Hannah glared up at him, and Ryker couldn't help but grin back. He really did enjoy riling his mate.
"I can't help it, love. My bear is a grumpy ass."
Ryker ignored the snickers from his clan and kept his gaze locked to his mate. Although her eyes remained narrowed, he caught the flash of amusement that flickered through them.
"Ignore him, doc," Hannah said in a voice dripping with indignation, "I do. And yes, I would love to have coffee with you, rather than you needing to look at my bumps and bruises, but I seem to have become quite accident prone since moving to Blackwater Falls. Not to mention I might really need to speak to a professional. I'm hearing voices now, too."
Lucas frowned at her. "What do you mean?"
Hannah looked slightly sheepish. "Well, when I was sneaking across the floor looking for a weapon," Ryker's blood thickened at the thought of his woman fighting this asshole, "a voice sounded in my head telling me to dodge left. When I didn't follow the instructions, she told me to drop."
Lucas's brows went up. "Okay, and it was a woman's voice? One that you recognized, at all?"
Hannah shook her head. "Nope, never heard her before. But let’s not gettocaught up on my potential psychotic episode, and concentrate on what happened in reality. I think I just interrupted a break-in."
This time it was Bastian's turn to grumble. "This was no random act, baby. A guy deliberately leaped at you through a pane of glass and managed to not get hurt by the damn glass, but I couldn't scent the bastard, either."
Lucas lifted his head in shock. "How in the hell can that happen?"
Ryker understood his confusion. Black bears were known to have a very keen sense of smell. "He had no scent. I catch nothing in here either, and Bastian spotted him only minutes ago. His scent should be all over this place."
"It should be all over me, too. The heavy prick landed on me pretty damn hard." Hannah groaned as she sat up. Ryker and Bastian both reached to help her, but she pushed their hands away. "I'm fine, just a little shook up is all." Ryker chuffed in anger again at the thought of his woman being slammed to the ground, and Hannah sighed, reaching out a hand to pet him, calming man and bear at the same time. "I'm okay, Ryker. A little bruised, but fine. This guy's scent should be strongest against my back. Can you catch anything there?"
Ryker and Bastian both leaned in and inhaled. Ryker frowned. "No, nothing."
"In fact," Bastian said as he sat up, "your scent is somehow … muted. I don’t know how to describe it any better than that."
Ryker knew exactly what Bastian was saying. He caught the alluring scent of orange blossom and honey that was uniquely their mate, but it was by no means as strong as it should be when he was standing this close to her. "There has to be something onhim, thathas transferred to her that is masking or muting their scent."
Lucas frowned. "I haven't heard of anything that could do that. Lauren, Tomas, and I will get to researching this tomorrow. In the meantime, young lady, did you lose consciousness at all?"
"She was out when I got here," Bastian was quick to point out.
Hannah sighed once more. "If I was I think it was more a faint out of shock than anything long term. I have a headache, but it’s mild."
Ryker stepped in when Hannah began to try to stand up, and lifted her up and away from the glass, and straight into his arms. He was careful to make sure there were no pieces of the glass fragments on her or him that might hurt her.
"Christ, Ryker," Hannah said a little breathlessly, "warn a girl before you go swinging her around like she weighs nothing."
Ryker just grinned as he held her closer to him, and she snuggled into his arms.
Lucas grinned knowingly. "All right, so it looks as though you are in good hands. I will be by in the morning to check on you."
Ryker moved toward the stairs that would lead him upstairs. "Great, we'll see you then, Lucas. Bastian, could—"
"We'll get down here cleaned up," Bastian interrupted, knowing exactly what Ryker was about to say. "I'll order the glass to replace the window and the security system in the morning. Once down here is squared away, I'll meet you upstairs."
Hannah sat up at that. "Don’t you mean you'll meet him at home?"
