Page 23 of Bad Blood Bear

Lissa knew it was probably really, really stupid to let herself be “brought in,” but she didn’t seem to have much choice at the moment. She needed to know what Tank knew about her condition. But she fingered her pepper spray inside her pocket and looked around for exit strategies, just in case.

As Lissa walked up the steps, Tank behind her, she suddenly heard a muffled yell from inside the meth lab. “Let me out!” Someone started pounding on the inside of the door.

Everybody stopped.

Sloan looked up casually from his book, gazed at the shed, and then at Flynn. “Should I let him out?” he said.

Holy hell, it wasn’t a meth lab, it was a prison. What was going on in this place? She glanced around for an escape route, but she was on the stairs, sandwiched between the giants with no way out.

Flynn took a deep, frustrated breath and blew it out. “I guess,” he said. “We can’t keep him in there forever.” He kind of sounded like he wished he could.

Sloan put a bookmark in his book, and then strolled over to the shed. He took down a big iron key from a hook on the outside wall, opened the padlock, stepped to the side, and waited.

Someone hurled themselves at the door. Without the lock for resistance, it burst open, and a man stumbled into the yard, landing on his face. “Fuck you, Sloan!” he yelled, spitting out dirt. He was completely naked, with bits of straw clinging to him, and he was clearly pissed off. Sloan just grinned.

The naked guy rose to his feet, glared at each and every one of them individually, gave Sloan the finger, and stalked off toward one of the other sheds.

Holy Moses, was everybody here scary as hell and hot as fuck? The pissed-off man had dark silky hair, and he moved like some kind of jungle cat. Lissa barely managed to close her mouth.

Sloan went back to his book, a little grin still hovering at the corner of his lips. Flynn sighed and shook his head.

“Trouble?” Tank asked.

“Just the usual,” Flynn said.

The usual what? What was usual about stripping people naked and locking them in a shed? Lissa glanced hesitantly over her shoulder at Tank, and he reached out and put his hand reassuringly on her back.

His touch made her feel calmer, but her senses were still on the alert for bad guy vibe. She wasn’t getting that, but she was getting…something. The demon was scratching at her insides, uncomfortable.

They went inside, Lissa’s nervousness growing. The inside of the cabin was beautiful, all warm wood, with an open floor plan, soaring ceilings and a loft. But most of Lissa’s attention was on this Flynn person. He was clearly in charge, and clearly the most dangerous in a sea of dangerous men.

Once they got inside, Flynn leaned his butt on the back of the couch, arms folded, biceps bulging. Tank stood by Lissa, his hand still just barely touching her back.

“So?” Flynn said to Tank. “What’s her story?”

Lissa knew one of the things scary guys respected was strength. “I’m standing right here,” she pointed out. “And my story is that Tank brought me here so he could supposedly tell me what’s wrong with me. Now would be good.”

Flynn was still speaking to Tank. “So you were right?”

Tank nodded.

Lissa snapped her fingers to get Flynn’s attention. “Still here, bud. Right about what?”

He ignored her. “Sheeyit. You gonna tell her now, or did you intend to wait for hell to freeze over?”

Tank snapped, “Well, I wasn’t going to tell her while we were standing in front of the Sherriff’s Department security cameras. Or inside my truck while I was driving. She was on the edge.”

Lissa put her hands on her hips. The demon was clawing at her, making her reckless. “You’re pissing me off, now. The edge of what?”

Tank turned to Lissa. She went cold inside at the look in his eyes, and she suddenly wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

He took a deep breath. “You’re not the Bear God’s consort, and you’re not a zombie.”

Flynn snorted. “For real? That’s what she thought?”

Tank went on, “You’re a shapeshifter. Brother Damien really could turn into a bear, and when he bit you, he put a bear into you. You’re a bear shifter. And so am I.”